How to Self-publish a Book

Writer’s scour around for the perfect ending to their story and sometimes beat around the bush because they are in dire need of a bottom line. The truth is writers are just waiting for the best solution to their finished project – which is of course, to publish what they have slaved over for years.

Writing a book is the easiest part of the process and getting them published may impugn one’s patience and bank account. When authors give up hopes of ever being picked by a traditional publisher, they turn to self-publishing.

Authors who have made it big in the industry have chosen to self-publish at some point in their careers: Rudyard Kipling, Ernest Hemmingway, Margaret Atwood, Stephen King, Carl Sandburg, and James Redfield just to name a few, and one can see how they all fared in the industry.

If a writer is looking for self-publishing companies to publish a book, there are a few companies that practically hold court to everything a book needs from book cover design customization, layout consultation, copyediting and even marketing. This brings the writer then to the process of going through production and seeing the actual product in book form already.

Difficulty: Moderately Challenging

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• A publishing guide for reference:
• Your manuscript
• your budget

1. Primarily, as the writer, you would need to assess your book’s publishing plan. Ask yourself if you need editing, marketing, book cover layout consultation, interior design customization and all that jazz. After mapping out your book’s requirement, find a self-publishing company that will cater to all of your needs. Xlibris is one self-publishing company who practically has everything an author requires. The company has been in business for over a decade and they already to know what they are doing. They have programs that have all the inclusions that will turn your manuscript into a book.

2. Second, is to edit and polish your book before submitting them to the publisher. The editing part is crucial considering that you might need to go back to your book a couple of times to reassure yourself that you did not miss anything.

3. Third, is to come up with a final book cover. If editing is crucial, your book cover is pivotal to your book’s success. Book cover sets the tone, the impact and the force that will make a librarian, reviewer, bookseller, distributor, and customer to pick up the book long enough to read a few sentences in it. It takes about two seconds for a customer to glance at your book’s cover. Make certain that those two seconds is all worth it.

4. Fourth, is to check for quality control. Self-publishing companies print on demand and seeing that your book is going to be priced by the publisher’s own printers, you might need to request for a sample copy of how they print their books. Binding, text, and paper quality is key and if it misses out on of any of those, then it is not qualified at all to produce the kind of book you have in mind.

Tips & Warnings

• Average publishing timeline is within two to three months and by that time, your book will already be available in market for sale. Self-publishing gives you full control of the publishing process and no one will tell you what to do. Now, publishing is one thing – selling a book is another. The main crux is to publish the book and translate it into book format.
• Perhaps any writer needs to ask himself: have I investigated the industry thoroughly before launching? Producing and marketing may instill unforeseen investments that he might not be able to handle. If all authors believe that the book will succeed by adding their own effort, then self-publish. They’ll even have fun. Now let’s get that book published first, shall we?

Resources

• Free Publishing Guide
• Xlibris
• FAQs on XLIBRIS

[editorinchic]

on 11/23/2008 Very informative.