It can be a potentially heartbreaking and nerve wracking experience to wait for a publisher to approve or reject your manuscript. Publishers don’t realize the sweat and blood that has to be shed for creating a book. With the rising popularity of on-demand printing processes and ebooks, self-publishing has become a more attractive and accessible option for aspiring writers. It may not be the magical solution they need for ensuring that their book is read, but it does allow writers to have all the power when it is concerned with marketing and distributing their book. It is considered as a smart choice because it is relatively fast, cost effective and can pay a lot more than the standard royalty contracts that are made.
However, those who are new to the concept may be bogged down by formatting options, page layout fees and printing costs. If authors are interested in having more control over their work and also benefit from greater profits, they need to understand the procedures involved when they decide to self-publish. In this case, there are some tips that can prove to be immensely helpful for them and they are discussed below:
Writing and Design
The primary reason why a bad name is given to most self-published books is because of poor design and bad writing. The best way to avoid this scenario is by doing your best writing and checking it over and over and also hiring an editor or two to do the same. Editing your own work isn’t enough so a fresh and objective pair of eyes will be helpful. Consider your budget and then hire the services of the best graphic designer and editor that you can afford. The self-publisher is similar to a contractor and should be chosen with care. A writer will want to ensure that their book is in the ideal condition when it goes for publishing.
Find a Press
The term self publishing doesn’t mean that individuals print companies and then spiral-bind them to make them books. It is best to go to a press that can offer some guidance regarding cover specification and formatting. A number of writers are now making their own publishing houses for branding their book and purchasing International Standard Book Numbers (ISBNs). All presses that are available should be researched and their prices and services should be compared before making a decision. Don’t just entrust some new and random press with your precious manuscript.
Marketing
In the case of traditional publishing, the publishing house also undertakes some of the marketing that’s needed for the book. But, when authors choose to self-publish, the entire marketing effort depends on them. There are new and easy ways of marketing that can be used by new authors for exposing their book to the world. Rather than going for the traditional book signing, an online buzz can be created about the upcoming book. This includes making a website and creating a presence on social media networks for ensuing that word is out and about amongst the masses.