How to Self Publish for Next to Nothing

With Print on Demand (POD), the revolutionary new publishing technology, you can become a published author in a short time with little or no knowledge of the publishing industry. Print on Demand is just what it says. Instead of printing thousands of books in one print run from traditional publishers, you can print as few as one book paying only for each book printed. There are several POD publishers on the market which charge from $99 to several thousand dollars to publish your book, and it can be done from your computer.

Difficulty: Moderately Challenging

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Completed book-length manuscript
• Computer
• Internet connection

1. Search the Internet for POD publishers and research their offerings to determine which one is right for you. BookSurge, Lulu and iUniverse are the largest publishers and each offers various services. Lulu is a free service and you only pay for your ISBN number, promotional package and the printing price of each book ordered.

2. After you have chosen a POD publisher, edit your manuscript and make sure it is as good as you can get it. Hire a professional editor if you cannot edit the manuscript yourself or you feel you need professional help. Some POD publishers offer editing services for a fee or will steer you to independent editors.

3. Choose your layout and font type. Some sites offer templates you can download and easily import your manuscript into the template complete with a font of your choosing and layout.

4. When the layout is complete, look at every page to make sure the text is spaced properly and that a few words do not spill over onto one page. They call these words orphans and they should be eliminated.

5. Upload your book to the POD publisher. Follow their instructions exactly. Some publishers require the manuscript to be in Adobe PDF format, others require a simple word document. Some publishers offer you font and layout choices after you upload your manuscript rather than templates.

6. Review your manuscript on the publisher’s website to make sure your upload is correct.

7. Choose a cover from the publisher’s website if offered or design your own using one of the graphic layout programs such as Adobe Photoshop, Illustrator or InDesign. Some publishers offer a template you can use or will create the cover for you for a fee. Again, some will steer you to professional graphic artists.

8. Proof your book and have one copy printed and sent to you. Upon arrival, look it over and make sure all the elements are as you intended. Look at every page to make sure each page is printed correctly.

9. Purchase your ISBN number if it is not included in the overall price of the POD publisher’s package. The ISBN number is your book’s registration number similar to a car’s registration. It is used to track sales of your book by book marketing firms and it is used by bookstores to order your book. The ISBN number officially designates you as a published author in the publishing world.

10. Price your book according to similar books in your local bookstore. Some publishers will not allow you to set your price – they will determine it for you. Keep in mind that shipping and handling charges will be added to the price of your book so keep the price as low as possible to be competitive.

11. Purchase a promotional and distribution package from the publisher if offered or from any of the book marketing and distribution firms found on the Internet. A distribution package will get your books on Amazon.com and on book buyers lists for distribution to bookstores.

Tips & Warnings

• You are on your own with POD publishing. Make sure you completely understand the terms of the publisher so there are no surprises after you publish and start selling your book. Some publishers take a royalty in addition to the cost of printing each book.
• Never order a large number of books until you have printed the first copy and proofed it.
• Don’t expect your book to start selling as soon as it is published. The next aspect of POD publishing is promotion and this is more challenging than POD publishing.

Resources

• An Incomplete Guide to Print on Demand Publishers
• Breakneck Books.Com Publishing Company – a POD publisher who will do it all
• The Science Fiction Writers of America’s warnings about POD scams
• A Personal Experience with POD Publishing