Or your friend’s book. Your mother’s book. Whatever.
Anyway, this is by far the most complete guide to self-publishing we’ve ever seen, so all we can say is “Use this info wisely, grasshopper. It’s not pure gold but very, very close. Read on and you’ll see:
by Nicole Dieker
So you want to self-publish your book? You’re in good company. Plenty of authors have gone ahead of you, working to prove that high-quality books can hold their own in the marketplace without the support of a traditional publisher. Amazon, of course, has changed the entire publishing landscape, but authors have been taking control of the publication process as far back as Charles Dickens, or the Brontë sisters. Self-publishing works, if done well—and for the right reasons.
Even though you’re reading an article titled “How to Self-Publish a Book,” the first question to ask is should you self-publish your book? I’m going to assume, at this point, that you have a book; it might not be revised, it might not be edited, but it is drafted and you’re starting to think about the publication phase.
I’m also going to assume that you want to publish your book at the professional level. If you want to just put your book on Amazon and not worry about professional copy editing or a large-scale marketing campaign, that’s cool. Plenty of people do that, and Amazon has excellent step-by-step instructions. You might even make a few bucks.
It’s also for people who want to self-publish because they’ve decided that’s the right choice for their book.
“Some people do come to self-publishing saying ‘I know this is right for me, I’m excited about it, I want to get my hands dirty and figure all this stuff out,’ and for some people it’s very much a backup,” Brooke Warner, co-founder of She Writes Press, explains. Although it’s perfectly fine to choose self-publishing after querying your book in the traditional publishing market, you shouldn’t go in thinking “well, I couldn’t get an agent, so it looks like self-publishing is my only option.” Self-publishing should always be something you actively decide to do.
So consider this post an aid in your making that decision. I want to reference (and recommend) two books that were invaluable during my own self-publishing process: Brooke Warner’s Green-light Your Book: How Authors Can Succeed in the New Era of Publishing and Beth Jusino’s The Author’s Guide to Marketing: Make a Plan to Attract More Readers and Sell More Books (You May Even Enjoy It). I reached out to both Warner and Jusino as I wrote this post, so you’ll see their advice interspersed with mine….