When self-publishing, you take it upon yourself to do as much of the process as possible, and to research, find, and pay for the right people to get each of the tasks done that you can’t do yourself, or would prefer done for you. If you are new to the game, you will need to be patient, willing to deal with a steep learning curve, and willing to take the time to learn everything you need to know, and find the people you need to get it done.

Pros

• The author has complete creative control of your work.
• The author claims all the royalties apart from the distributors’ fees (there are some differences depending on what print-on-demand (POD) service you use, the price of your book, country of sale, and so on, so for the most accurate information on royalties, check with whichever POD service (or services) you have chosen to work with.
• The author retains the copyright for the work.
• You can learn a lot from the process.
• POD companies, such as IngramSpark and Amazon, provide tutorials on their websites to help self-published authors learn the process in more detail.
  
  

CONS

• The author has to fund the publishing of the book out-of-pocket.
• The author takes on the financial risk.
• The author has to find, research, and hire all the people necessary for bringing the book to completion. For example, editors, book cover artists and designers, illustrators, etc.
  

Steps for Self-Publishing Your Book:

1. Finish your manuscript. Just write at this point. Do not edit while you write.
2. Put the manuscript aside for a while. Some people suggest a couple of weeks, even months. You can use this time to work on other steps in the process.
3. Self-edit your manuscript.
4. Get beta readers to read your book. Be specific in what you expect from them.
5. Edit your manuscript again based on the feedback from the beta readers.
6. Repeat steps 3-5 if necessary.
7. Find and hire people to do the cover and interior design. This process should actually be started somewhere between steps 1 and 6, as it could take a while.
8. Hire a professional editor to edit your book. Keep in mind that many professional editors schedule in advance, so build this into your timeline. If you aren’t sure which editing services you need, please visit my editing services page on this website to see what each includes.
9. Revise your book based on your editor’s feedback. You don’t have to make every suggested change, since you are the artist and the decisions are ultimately your own. However, I strongly advise to consider their suggestions and why they’ve made them.
10. Have your book proofread to check fo any mistakes overlooked in the editing process.
11. Buy ISBNs for each format of your book (in Canada, we get those for free).
12. Create, or hire someone to create, the cover file(s) and interior file(s) needed to upload to the distributor (often, this is the cover designer, at least for the cover files).
13. Create an account with your distributor(s) of choice and set it up.
14. Go over your distributor’s style guide to make sure your book and cover files conform to their expectations.
15. Upload your book files to the distributor(s).
    *There is usually some turn-around time needed for the distributor to review and approve your file.
16. If the files are not approved, fix them and re-submit.
17. If you are selling print copies, have one printed and sent to you so you can make sure there are no problems before releasing it for sale. This is called a proof copy. Do this at least 3 weeks before your scheduled released date so there is time to make any necessary changes.
18. Marketing, which can actually start when you are in the process of writing, but should take place during and/or between all the other steps.

DON’T PANIC if this seems like a lot.

It’s because there are so many things to do, and so much I didn’t know when I started, that I used assisted self-publishing for my first book. But if you have a limited budget, patience, and the time to put into it, there are many options and resources available that can make the process easier, and less expensive, for you. I will tell you about some of these in future posts.