5 Tips for Self Publishing Your Own Book

You might think that the hard part is over once you have finished your book. 

​While you should rightfully celebrate this amazing accomplishment, it is also a good time to mentally prepare for the final leg of the race here. You should now focus on self publishing your book to get it out to the masses. 

​Self publishing entails doing all the work that a regular publishing house does. In short, you have to edit and format the content, design the cover as well as the marketing and pricing of the book. Self publishing can be challenging, particularly for newbies but with the help of the following tips, you can make things easier for yourself.

1.     Designing the Cover 

This might be the second step but it is extremely important. A good cover can entice readers as well as reflect the message of the story without giving away spoilers. Having a cover that does all that is necessary. Remember, we all judge a book by its cover, so make sure you have a great one!

2.   Know Your Format

​Self publishing can be done through traditional print or in a digital format. Either format comes with a number of different challenges that need to be considered. Traditional print also tends to be more expensive to self publish and sell so it is a good idea to think about your available budget. 

3.     Picking the Market

​Once you have decided the format, you need to pick the marketplace you are going to release your book on. Amazon, Apple and even Google offer online libraries but you can also monitor the reading habits of your target market. Younger readers are more comfortable with eBooks they can read on their Kindle or tablets. Older readers still tend to prefer traditional print books.

4​.     Focusing on the Fine Details

​Always focus on the fine details when you are self publishing. Often these are the very same details that a publishing house would be managing. However, since you are self publishing, you are responsible for them. These include the layout of the page, knowing fictional and non-fictional book formats, adding images, picking the type of paper to print on, getting an ISBN number and more.

5.     Don’t Forget Your Rights 

​Make sure that you are 100% certain that you hold the rights to your book. Always ensure that you have full ownership of your ISBN number, your book as well as the cover unless otherwise specified. This ensures that should your book become a best-seller, you won’t suddenly be inundated with lawsuits or pending payments from its shares. 

You may also want to check out a great article from The Self-Publishing School, which gives you some valuable tips on social media for indie authors, you can see the full article here on social media for writers and authors.