How to Publish a Book Inexpensively
Perhaps the hardest part about writing a book is publishing it without breaking the bank. Self-publishing is the easiest way to print a book, though your fame may not reach outside your social circle. Getting a big-name publishing house to publish your book takes extra effort and time, but doing so may get your book featured in book stores across the nation.
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Things You'll Need
- Your manuscript
- Printer and paper
- Hole punch
- Brass fasteners
- Old book cover and binding
- Yarn
- Glue
- New binding
- Phone
Instructions
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The Easy Way - A Paper Copy
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1
Print your manuscript.
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2
Create a cover featuring the book's title, your name and any relevant graphics or designs. This may be created using construction paper or design software.
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3
Punch holes into the manuscript and cover.
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4
Using brass fasteners, put your book together.
The Crafty Way - A Bound Copy
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5
Tear the binding from an old book.
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Using your word processor's margin feature, adjust the format of your manuscript to the size of your binding.
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7
Print manuscript.
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8
Punch holes into the manuscript.
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Thread the yarn through the holes and fasten to the cover's old binding or a new binding, found at craft stores.
Stepping It Up - Self-Publishing
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Using an online self-publisher (like iUniverse or Blurb), format your manuscript to a software template.
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Choose a typeface, and determine whether you want a hard or soft cover and what that cover will look like.
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Wait for the publisher to complete your book. Some will even add your book to a seller's inventory, like Amazon.
The Professional Way - Getting a Publisher
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For a nonfiction book, submit a query with sample chapters and a synopsis to publishers. For fiction, complete and send the entire manuscript.
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Keep submitting your manuscript to publishing houses. More submissions increase your chance of selection.
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If your work is picked up, work with an editor or other representative at the publishing house.
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Tips & Warnings
The author should never pay for advertising, printing fees or cover art in the publishing world. However, in the print-on-demand (self-publishing) sector, you pay per copy of the completed book upfront.
