11 Practical Steps to Self-Publish Your First Book
Writing your first book can be such a fulfilling experience. Watching the ideas from a rough outline turn into an organized manuscript can be such a satisfactory process. While many writers take a sigh of relief after completing their manuscript, it is not the end of hardships for an author.
The next big step is to publish your book. Choosing to self-publish your book is a great idea for novice authors is a great idea. While it is considered a relatively easier approach, the process of self-publishing can have its own challenges.
Here are some important steps that must be taken to streamline the process of self-publishing your first book.
Organize Your Goals
One of the main reasons why novice authors learn how to self-publish a book is because it is considered a relatively less overwhelming approach. In fact, the more in control you are of your self-publishing process, the more organized you need to be.
To bring some order to your writing, what are your goals for your book and when do you want to achieve those goals?
Sticking to your timeline can help you achieve your goals more effortlessly.
Write an Amazing Book
Although you may be already done with this process, no opportunity to reflect on its importance should be missed. From a captivating opening statement to ensuring that your reader is engaged throughout the book, quality content must be your primary focus as an author.
It is always a good idea to see what makes the work of other writers with dedicated audiences so great. Your goal must not be to copy their work but instead, learn what makes a work great.
Revise and Edit
Once you have transferred your rough outline into a fine manuscript, it’s time to revise and edit your content. You must not only look for grammatical errors or spelling errors. It is also equally important to keep an eye on redundancy, factual mistakes, mistakes in flow and so much more. No opportunity to improve your work must be missed out on.
In addition to thoroughly revising and editing your work by yourself, you must also hire a professional editor to help you refine your work further. They can work side by side with you to ensure the success of your work.
Design a Catchy Cover
Self-publishing your first book does not happen with a great manuscript alone. You also need to design a catchy cover for your book. After all a book cover is the first thing that meets the eye of a reader. It can make a potential reader walk from one corner of the aisle to the other and read the book hook and the back cover.
This process can also benefit a lot with the help of professional designers. You can share your vision with them and ask them for samples to create an unforgettable book cover.
Format Properly
Formatting is yet another important aspect of self-publishing a book. Bad formatting on the interior or exterior of your book can make a reader prejudiced about your book. At the same time, you give the reader an opportunity to form their point of view after giving it a fair shot after you have formatted it properly.
Make sure your margins are roomy and you use readable fonts to ensure the comfort of your readers.
Choose the Right Platform
Finding the right place to independently circulate your book is one of the first series of steps any newbie writer has to navigate. Choosing the wrong platform could have you cursing your decision profusely a month, six months and a year down the line. So don’t hurry. Take your time. A lot can be lost if you’re a new writer.
A few big-picture items for you to consider when choosing a self-publishing platform: distribution, royalties and pricing. Being satisfied with these aspects is a good sign for you to continue.
Copyright Your Work
First-time authors are usually not aware of copyright laws and the related problems. You may think that something written by you can never be used without your consent but that is not true. Several opportunities out there are always seeking ways to make something off of others’ hard work.
You can obtain the necessary copyright registrations to protect your rights and tread the world filled with scammers carefully.
Develop a Marketing Strategy
Only writing a book and choosing a platform to self-publish it is not enough to make it succeed. You must come up with a foolproof marketing strategy for your book to promote your book.
Some common ways to promote your work are through social media, the author’s website and several other channels. It is always a good idea to promote your work actively on the platforms frequently used by your target audience.
Build Your Author Website
Your author’s website is your primary online presence. It is a platform where your readers can find all they want to know about you, your work and your plans. You cannot miss out on engaging with your audience through this medium.
You can strengthen your author’s website through a blog and leverage your presence by creating an email list to nurture your leads.
Seek Reviews
Never shy away from asking your readers for a review. Writing a review may not take a lot of time for the reader but it can help to establish your credibility and visibility. Both of these aspects are very important for a novice author.
The better reviews your work has more fans of the relevant genre will be attracted to it.
Price Strategically
As a self-publishing author and you get to set your price and keep a greater proportion of the royalties that are paid. So it can seem like a golden chance to charge high for your book. It is, in fact, a terrible idea.
As an author who is just entering a competitive field, you must set a competitive price for your book by researching similar books in your genre.
