16 How Do I Self-Publish My Book?
Not getting a publication offer had disappointed Ron, but then again, he hadn’t really expected to do so. Ron needed the text that he’d written. It was going to prove very useful in his instruction and practice. But Ron could also see that it was a niche book, not something for which publishers would see much, if any, of a market. So Ron was fine with self-publishing his book. That way, he knew he could get copies of the book at the lowest cost, either to sell, use, or give away. And to Ron, that was all that really mattered, that his book was going to be a decent-looking product and readily available to him. In the end, Ron was glad that he went through the self-publishing process because he felt more accomplished, knowledgeable, and in control.
Commercial
Authors have two ways to look at self-publishing their book or multiple books. Many authors assume that getting a commercial publisher to accept their manuscript for publication is the preferred route to get their book in print. Self-publishing may simply be a back-up plan when an author is unable to get a commercial publisher to accept the book’s manuscript for publication. Commercial publishers generally handle all the book production, distribution, and marketing, adding substantial value to the publication process. Thus, some authors both prefer and manage to attract commercial publishers for all their books. Other authors have commercial publishers for some books but self-publish other books in which they were unable to interest their commercial publishers. Other authors are unable to find a commercial publisher to publish any of their works and so go the route of self-publishing to get their books in print. So, self-publishing is first of all a back-up plan to gaining commercial publication. John Milton published the all-time-great epic poem Paradise Lost on his own, just as Jane Austen published the groundbreaking novel Sense and Sensibility on her own, largely for lack of commercial publisher interest. Take no shame in self-publication.
Self
Self-publishing, though, doesn’t have to be a back-up plan. Some authors prefer to self-publish their books, even if they would have a commercial publisher available. Self-publishing gives the author full control over the editing, cover, format, and other publication details. As already indicated in the prior chapter, commercial publishers may make changes to a book’s title, manuscript, format, size, cover, market, and other features that the author wouldn’t appreciate. Apart from the control issue, self-publishing can also potentially provide a significantly better financial return on sales and lower costs for free or wholesale distribution. Indeed, some best-selling authors quickly learn that commercial publishers may keep for themselves a very large part of the revenue that a book produces, and so, with their reputation established, they self-publish their subsequent works. Whether you have a choice of commercial publication or not, self-publishing your book can make for a sound and sensible option, especially with the multiple services available today.
Business
If, in the self-publishing process, you find that someone, such as the printer or publishing service with which you contract, requires that you have a business name, then consider forming your own single-member limited liability company (LLC). See the guide Help with Your LLC: What You Need to Know. Forming your own LLC may take not much more than a little time and trouble getting the right state LLC articles of organization form, completing the form, and submitting it to the state along with a modest filing fee. You’ll also need an operating agreement, an example of which is in the above-referenced guide. You may alternatively work with a local lawyer or use an online LLC-formation service, although again, the process is not complex. Your state’s business corporations website may even lead you through the process. Initially, forming your own LLC may seem like a distraction from your writing work. But in time, you may be pleased that you have formalized your own writing and publishing business.
Services
Publishing services have reached a level of sophistication and accessibility today that make self-publishing relatively easy. For a time, authors seeking to self-publish books were largely at the mercy of so-called vanity presses. Authors paid those presses to publish their book, leaving most or all of the book production issues to the presses. Gradually, publishing services developed the technology and consumer interfaces to enable book authors to do little more than upload their manuscripts and cover art, to get their books in print. Those publishing services may offer very low or even no up-front publication costs, instead making their necessary financial return on on-demand printing and sales. Investigate those publishing services. Each has their own distribution networks, cost structure, format options, and other technical, financial, and production features. Find a publishing service that meets your abilities and interests. Change services if you later find a better one. The services are constantly developing to respond to better technologies and shifting publication markets.
Formats
Self-publishing does take some extra thought and work. Self-publishing your book immediately confronts you with some choices that a commercial publisher would have made for you, if you had gained your manuscript’s acceptance. One option has to do with whether to put your book only in print, in either hardcover or paperback formats, or to also or alternatively publish your book in digital format to read on a tablet or computer. You may also have the audiobook option. Different publishing services may offer only one format (whether print, digital, or audio), two formats (print and digital), or all three formats (print, digital, and audio). Determine the format or formats in which you wish to see your book. Then, shop around for the best publishing service. You may use more than one publishing service for different book formats, although doing so may somewhat complicate your publication work. Consider, though, the formats in which you truly want your book. You might believe that the more formats, the better, simply to reach more readers. But some books are simply better for one format over another.
Editing
When you self-publish your book, you rely on your own editing process. If you’re already a good editor, then the editing of your manuscript may be best left to you. But if you do your own editing, be sure to give your manuscript a good working through, along with a final proofread. Set aside your manuscript a time or two between edits to see if your reflection leads you to a better editing view. Also, seek other readers and reviewers. Family members may be willing to at least scan your book to give you some preliminary impressions. So may your closer friends. You might also find interested readers and potential editors among your larger circle of acquaintances. Post a request for readers and reviewers on your social-media accounts, or otherwise let your acquaintances know of your interest. Book clubs can be another good place to find readers willing to review your book. Then, take graciously any comments you receive from any volunteers. Reward them with a copy of the book when in print or another gratuity. You may have another book for them to review someday.
Formatting
You are also responsible for formatting your manuscript, when self-publishing your book. Book formats vary relatively widely, even over basic issues like whether to full-justify or only left-justify the lines of text. Font choice and size are other significant considerations. Choose a font not just that you like but that is also readable. And don’t make readers have to squint to read your font size. Chapter title and section heading font and size are other considerations. Headers, footers, and pagination are still other considerations. Left, right, top, and bottom margins are additional considerations. Print books also generally mirror their margins, meaning that the inside margins are narrower than the outside margins. Find a word-processing program that enables you to make these formatting adjustments, even if you write in your favorite word-processing program that does not and you need to convert the manuscript file to the more-sophisticated program for your best format. Print a few pages of whatever format you choose, and take a few days to examine and tweak it until you have your format just right. Examine published books for other format hints.
Covers
When self-publishing, the front and back cover of your book are also up to you. Publishing services will specify the file format in which you must upload your covers. You may, though, be able to use your favorite graphic-design program to design your cover, from which to convert the file to the required format. Cover design involves not just the title, subtitle, and author text but also the spine title and author, back-cover text, and international standard book number (ISBN) with bar code. ISBN services sell the book number you will need for broader distribution, along with the bar code generator. Assembling these components in an attractive cover meeting the publishing service’s template may take a small learning curve. Give it a try. The interfaces and technologies the services use are continuously improving. Book cover artists and AI generators are also available at reasonable cost if you have limited graphic-design skills. Test graphic designs to ensure their suitability. Books sell based largely on title, author, cover design, book descriptions, blurbs, and reviews. How you package your book may determine whether it sells.
Size
Publishing services also offer options regarding your print book’s size. Different markets and genres can have standard or preferred sizes. Romance and other pulp fiction, for instance, may be 4.25 x 6.87 pocketbook size or the slightly larger 5.5 x 8.5 inches digest size, while non-fiction or modern fiction may be the common 6 x 9 inches. Workbooks, texts, manuals, and illustrated books may be a full 8.5 x 11 inches. Find books in the same market, segment, and genre, similar to the one that you’re planning to publish, to help you choose the best size. Use advanced word-processing software to adjust the paper size and margins accordingly. Your publishing service will likely recommend that once you upload your book for publication, you order a test copy or two to ensure that you’ve found the right combination of size, layout, and formatting. Don’t be overly surprised and disappointed if, when you get your test copy in hand, you find that you want or need to make an adjustment or two. Take a little bit of extra time to do so, so that small errors or annoyances in your layout and format don’t spoil the finished product for you. You may only publish a single book, and any book you publish you should want to represent your work well.
Printing
The publishing service you use may have a few other printing issues and options for you to address. The choice between hardcover or paperback is one option. You generally need two ISBNs and two publishing files if you wish to offer both hardcover and paperback options. Hardcover may give you the option of a dust cover. Paperback may give you the option of gloss or matte finish on the cover. Both hardcover and paperback may also give you the option of paper color (white or groundwood off-white) and paper weight (thicker or thinner, with greater or lesser opacity and print see-through). Your interior file for your manuscript’s texts and any illustrations may be the standard black and white. If, instead, you wish to have color illustrations, photographs, or graphics on your book’s interior, you’ll likely find it available from your publishing service but at significantly higher print cost. Your publishing service’s user interface will lead you through these options, along with an opportunity to describe your book and perhaps to include author information and other promotional material like a table of contents and interior view.
Pricing
The publishing service you choose should also enable you to price your book for sale. The user interface may permit you not only to name the book retail price but also to choose a royalty rate and return policy. Bookstore or other distribution channels may require that you receive a lower royalty and that you permit returns. Online distribution through major book-sales platforms may permit you to choose a higher royalty rate for your own return and to decline returns. The system should calculate your royalty from the retail price you set, so that you can see your potential return for each book sale and adjust your price accordingly. Pricing can be important to a book’s sale. Market segments have standard price ranges. Don’t price your book out of the market, if you wish sales. On the other hand, a lower-than-usual price may indicate to a buyer that your book is an inferior product. If sales and financial returns are important to you, then research pricing theory. You may also test-market your book and adjust the pricing.
Distribution
As mentioned briefly above, different publishing services offer different distribution networks. Some publishing services distribute only to their own retail sales platform. An audio-book publishing service, for instance, may only offer your audio book through its own streaming service. Likewise, a digital-book publishing service may only offer your digital book on its own reading device. Other publishing services offer broader distribution across more retail sales platforms. Publishing services may also distribute only within the U.S. or also distribute overseas. Compare publishing services. Generally, you’d prefer broader distribution. But if you prefer one publishing service over another based on other factors or features, then you might well accept a more-limited distribution in order to gain those other features. Navigate all of the above issues, and you’ll have self-published your book. Congratulations. The next chapter addresses marketing.
Reflection
How do you feel about self-publishing, having read the above description? Are you confident that you can make a wise selection of publishing services? Identify three major publishing services, and read their service pitches. Which of the three sounds best to you? Research online for author reviews of each publishing service. In what format or formats, print, digital, or audio, would you like to see your book published? How much trouble are you willing to go to see each format of your book published? Which of the three formats would you publish first? Which of the three formats would you publish last? Are you a skilled writer and insightful editor, especially of your own work? If not, do you have someone willing to edit your book for you? Are you reasonably skilled at formatting text? Did any of the above format issues, particularly page (paper) size, headers, footers, pagination, and mirrored margins, sound beyond your expertise? If so, do you have someone who could help you with that formatting? Do you have the graphic-design skills to produce your own quality book cover? What size do you believe is best for your book? Is that size consistent with other books in the same market segment? What is your preferred retail price and your pricing strategy? On what retail sales platforms would you like to see your book distributed?
Key Points
Self-publishing can be a sound back-up plan to commercial publication.
Self-publishing also gives you greater control and royalty options.
Consider forming your own LLC to help you manage your publishing.
Compare publishing services and read reviews to choose your service.
Publishing services offer different print, digital, or audio formats.
Edit your book tightly on your own, or get the help of a skilled editor.
Ensure that you have formatted your manuscript for readability.
Get graphic-design help with your book covers if you are not up to it.
Choose a book size consistent with the standard for your genre.
Follow your publishing service’s user interface for printing options.
Price your book within the market’s range and your price strategy.
Ensure your publishing service offers the retail distribution you wish.