Hey Writers!
Are you an aspiring author with a manuscript? Self-publishing offers a fantastic opportunity to take control of your writing journey! Recent studies show that self-published authors can earn up to 70% royalties on their books, compared to traditional publishing. This guide will walk you through the essential steps to self-publish your book successfully. Let’s get into it!
Understanding Self-Publishing
So, what exactly is self-publishing and why would you, as an author, want to go this route?
Self-publishing is when you do not involve a traditional publishing house. You do it yourself, hence the ‘self’ in self-publishing. You use nontraditional ways of publishing.
Why would you want to do it like this? There are many benefits to self-publishing your book. Authors may have more control and more options.
The upfront cost of self-publishing is often lower compared to traditional ways of publishing.
Preparing Your Manuscript for Publication
First things first, you need your first draft, meaning, WRITE THE DAMN THING. You can use a program called Reedsy to write and format your book. Once you have this completed you want to revisit your work and this is where you make your edits, fix any mistakes, and switch things around. Your first draft will be far from perfect but that’s okay, it’s a process.
Hire an editor. You want to ensure your book is ready to be read without mistakes. You can hire an editor online at websites like Fiverr.
Choosing the Right Self-Publishing Platform
The next step in the process is to find a self-publishing platform. There are many out there but there are some things to consider when choosing. Some platforms are tailored towards Ebooks and some more for physical copies. Below are some options.
Amazon Kindle Direct Publishing
Sell Your Book
Once you have chosen your platform, you’ll need to have your manuscript and cover ready. You can design a cover using Canva or hire a designer (there are other options out there as well).
Ensure that your manuscript is properly formatted according to the platform’s specifications.
Have the details ready, details such as:
- Title of your book
- Author name | Decide if you’re using a pen name
- Book description
- price
- Understanding royalties and payment structures- Learn about the percentages you’ll be earning when someone buys your book. Ebooks typically earn more since there are no printing costs.
Marketing Your Self-Published Book
Now, your book is published and all of the hard work is over. WRONG. Things are just getting started and now you need to promote your book and you as an author! Here are some ways you can start marketing your book.
- Social media platforms like Instagram, TikTok, Twitter (X), Pinterest, and Facebook are all great platforms to get yourself out there.
- Author website. Create a website to promote your books and link your website on your socials.
- Targeted ads. Consider paying for ads to help sell your book online.
- Book clubs. Join local book clubs and bring some physical copies to share with the group.
- Make teasers for your book using visuals. Let’s say you wrote a fantasy book about a dragon hunter, well then you can use clips and audio reading snip bits from your book to create the scene.
- Share playlists from your book to showcase the mood and tone of your book.
- Read parts of your book to your audience to get them excited about it.
- etc.
Get creative and have fun with it!
You got this writers!
Self-publishing your book can be an incredibly rewarding endeavor! I hope you learned something new here.
Let’s get those books published guys!
Thank you for reading.
-A Writer’s Ritual