Self Publishing - What You Need to Know

Self Publishing - What You Need to Know

By Claretta T Pam

You have done your research. You have written your book. Now, you want to take a leap with the self-publishing route. Are you overwhelmed about your decision? Are you aware where to start and how to find a company that will help you self publish your book? Well, you need to make yourself acquainted with the process. If you want your self publishing venture to go smoothly, you need to know few aspects. Let us explore more about publishing your book on your own.

Requesting a Quote-

This is the very first thing you need to do. It is essential to know whether you can afford to self publish your book or not and these quotes will help you in this regard. Further, this will also help get answers to basic questions including printing cost, duration of the process, etc. In this initial and essential step, you must get acquainted with the firm that will assist you.

Book Registration process-

Once you finally proceed with self publishing after getting quotes, you will need to provide basic information about your book including the title, International Standard Book Number, subtitle, number of pages, etc. This is the book registration process. To sell your books in stores or online, you must have an ISBN for your book. You can also get a barcode for your book. The publishing company you choose should be able to handle these processes for you.

Editing, proofreading and Design-

You need to decide whether to go for a computer or to use the typewriter. Grammatical errors can be detected easily through computers. Still there are some mistakes. In case of a typewriter, the publishing company needs to do the typing for transferring the manuscript to a computer. On the basis of the service you choose from your publishing company, the company will do some copyediting and grammar and punctuation corrections. The publishing company checks sentence construction and spelling.

Get your manuscript proofread by a professional having superior knowledge of the language. As they can simply discover errors that most authors would not see, you can minimize most of the errors. It is necessary in your venture as a writer to proofread. The cover is the very first thing that a reader usually sees. The cover determines whether a reader would open the book or not. So, you must design it keenly. Get feedback from your friends, relatives, neighbors, etc. Constructive criticism and honest suggestion will be your step to success. For cover design, you may have your own ideas. You can consult with your publishing company. The costs of these services may vary depending on the type of package you choose.

Review, Printing-

After completing all above mentioned processes it is time for the final review. You have to review your book and after you give the green signal they will proceed further. Be careful and review it from cover to cover. This is because when you give the go-ahead to print, it is very hard to stop the presses.

Promotion and Marketing

Marketing and promotion is a very important task in your self-publishing venture. There are different views for marketing strategy. Publishing companies also have different marketing plans. Sometimes, this may be a value added service or it may be inclusive in the package. It is also possible to create your own marketing strategy besides what your publishing company is offering you.

In today's competitive world, it is not simple to stand ahead in the crowd. Many writers try to find the simplest way to self-publish. However, most of the writers fail in this venture as it is not as easy as it seems to be.

If you want to self-publish your book, research should be your first step. Search for a self publishing company that you can work with. Self-publishing your book is a great way to educate yourself. It will give you a chance to learn marketing insight.

Claretta is the President of Innovative Publishers in Boston, Massachusetts and an author. Find out more about Innovative Publishers at http://innovative-publishers.com

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