Scribbles Step-By-Step Guide To Self-Publishing
Here at Scribbles we pride ourselves on helping both first time and experienced authors release their ideas into the world, with services including manuscript assessment, proofreading, editing, online book tours, reviews and social media promotions.
Thankfully, self-publishing and getting your book out into the world has never been easier and we’re committed to helping our authors publish in style, so we’ve put together our own step-by-step guide to self-publishing.
We’ve also included some ideas to access professional services without spending a fortune.
The Advantages of Self-publishing
By self-publishing, we mean creating and selling a book title online, outside of the traditional publishing industry (with agents and publishing houses). Today, anybody with an internet connection can write a book and make it available to hundreds of millions of readers though platforms such as Amazon — pretty much for free.
The new challenge is to make these books successful (in terms of reach as well as monetarily) without the marketing might of a huge publishing house behind them. Some authors have managed to rise to this challenge, often with the help of digital marketing methods and social media.
There are two main routes to self-publishing:
DIY: This is where the author undertakes the publishing process entirely by themselves, including the editing, designing, and marketing of their books.
There are few (if any) people who can do all of this well, as many parts of the publishing process are usually overseen by professionals with years of experience in the field – plus, it is a rare gift to be equally as good at multiple disciplines. Doing everything to a professional standard by one’s self is near impossible – unfortunately this often shows in the resulting product.
ASSISTED: Those who self-publish may choose the assisted route and work with freelance editors, publishing experts, cover designers, and digital marketers on their book.
By using the assisted route, authors can achieve a professionally produced product which can be indistinguishable from a traditionally published book…but with a greater share of royalties and complete creative control. Because they tend to work with limited budgets, savvy independent authors will often do as much as they can by themselves before bringing in professionals to take care of everything outside their expertise.
Whichever route you decide to take on your self-publishing journey, the following guide will show you the simplest way to self-publishing success.
1. Writing the Book
Painfully obvious, but certainly the most important aspect of being a successful author is completing your manuscript. Unlike a traditionally retained author with an advance, editor and agent to keep them on track – the life of a self-publishing writer can be a lonesome endeavour. You succeed or fail on your own merit.
We do however, live in the golden age of the internet and there are a multitude of resources, supportive fellow writers and opportunities to develop your writing skills available at your fingertips.
Whether you’re starting with a blank page, or rehashing a collection of chapters, these resources can help:
Writing Down the Bones: Freeing the Writer Within – This was a gift from a university friend as we finished our English degrees, we both wanted to become writers…and we both succeeded, in no small part, because of this book. Natalie Goldberg’s ground-breaking book on creating a writing practice, is as relevant today as it was when it was first published over twenty years ago
Masterclass – Offering a range of classes with incredible writers such as Margaret Atwood, Dan Brown and James Patterson, Masterclass offers a unique portal to view as many courses as desired for a one off cost (currently £170/$180 for two passes so you can share the gift or split the cost). Although not considered inexpensive, the cost per view of these courses is excellent and the quality is simply the best in the industry – we can learn the creative processes and tricks of the trade from some of our favourite writers.
Social Media – The internet is often at its very best when it is used for its original purpose…connecting people with common interests and imparting knowledge. There is a strong #writingcommunity on Twitter, bridging the gap between the outside world and the lonesome reality of the writer with encouragement, advice and endless knowledge.
Scribbles – At Scribbles we work with writers throughout their journey. With our popular manuscript assessment service we can review a completed manuscript as well as helping a writer to build on a first draft/outline, offering recommendations on characterisation, plot, structure and style. As writers ourselves we understand the difficulties in getting words onto a page, and we are here to help.
2. Editing your Book
Editing can mean lots of things – from piecing together your initial plotline notes, to rewriting/cutting chapters and onto the final proofread before publishing. Here we’re going to discuss how the editing process works in terms of self-publishing.
A professional can offer unbiased and professional guidance to make your manuscript the very best it can be – however, this comes at a price. A professional’s time is obviously worth paying for, but it is possible to access their expertise whilst also keeping costs down.
Self-edit as much as possible – As a fiction writer this may mean working through more than one draft or rewriting sections until you’ve ironed out the issues as much as possible. Perhaps stepping away from your draft, to return to it with fresh eyes and a more critical glance. For non-fiction writers you could share the manuscript with industry colleagues, or a focus group of friends and family, in order to receive critical feedback.
Let the professional help you over the finishing line – Once you are certain that you have taken your manuscript as far as you can, and you can find no faults or missteps yourself, then it is time to work with a professional editor who can bring a fresh pair of eyes to your project.
It is often tempting for authors to consider skipping this important stage, believing that they have self-edited to a high enough level.
However, the impact of having your manuscript professionally edited cannot be overstated and creates a clear distinction between work that has been professionally published (traditionally or self-published) and less professional products.
Here at Scribbles we offer a variety of editing services so you can tailor your approach to your exact needs:
· Manuscript Assessment – We take a big picture look at your manuscript and provide feedback on the strengths and weaknesses of your plot, characters and pacing; offering suggestions on how to resolve any arising issues.
· Full Edit – A full edit includes all services within the manuscript assessment along with an annotated review of your manuscript and the correction of grammatical, punctuation, sentence structure and suggestions of how any significant issues identified within the draft may be resolved.
3. Designing the Cover and Formatting
The old adage of not judging a book by its cover unfortunately rarely rings true in the publishing world – a books cover is your shop window to the world, and self-published authors rely heavily on an appealing cover to attract readers on platforms such as the Kindle Store.
It’s also extremely important not to forget about the inheritor design of your book – formatting ensures that the pages make sense, are numbered and marginalised correctly, with attractive spacing.
Here are some key points regarding cover design and formatting to bear in mind.
· Research your ideal cover. Skim the relevant category pages on the Kindle store and identify similar books that have attractive or striking covers, see which are attracting a high number of reviews or are ranking highly. Make a list of which layouts, pictures, fonts and styles you prefer.
· We recommend Upwork.com (and similar sites) to find both cover designers and professionals who can format your manuscript. Designers should be willing to show you examples of their work.
· You can save time and money by telling a designer exactly what you want for your book cover as you have already done all the research (see above). By providing examples and clear instructions from the outset the process should be relatively simple with few amendments.
4. Publishing your Book!
Back in the day, the only way to get your hands on your own physically printed novel was to be traditionally published or to privately commission your own print run, at great personal expense. Today, the self-published author has far more options – and by far the simplest of these is KDP Amazon’s Kindle Direct Publishing platform where an author can upload their book and publish it for free.
Readers can purchase kindle ebooks of the book or a physical copy, just as they would for any of the traditionally published titles available. It is this, the coexistence of both traditionally and self-published titles, available side by side, indistinguishable, on the same platform that presents the most exciting opportunity for writers today.
There are of course other platforms such as IngramSpark that offer print on demand services, but if you’re looking for the simplest all-rounder with an easy to use platform, far reach and respectable royalties then KDP is an excellent place to start.
5. Marketing your Book
Writing a captivating piece of work and bringing it to life through publishing is a great achievement – however, when it comes to self-publishing, this is only half the battle. Over 1.6 million titles were published in 2019 – that is quite the crowd – the ones that do well have one thing in common.
Marketing.
Readers need to know your book exists and the best way to do this is by deploying some tried and tested self-publishing tricks of the trade:
Author Website (this also applies to your author platform on sites such as Amazon KDP and Goodreads) – An author website is an excellent way to build a presence for yourself and your books in a crowded market, this is particularly important if you plan to utilise any paid marketing.
Branding your online content in a similar fashion, presenting a consistent image that fits your personality is vital to showcasing exactly who you are and what your writing has to offer.
A website does not have to be a complicated affair – keep things simple with information on your latest work, links to purchase, an informative ‘About Me’ section and contact sections will suffice.
A savvy author can use their website to build a strong relationship with both potential and long term readers by offering additional value through blog posts, artwork, podcasts, contests, newsletters, giveaways and links to further information. You don’t have to do all of these things – you should find what works for you and make it consistent.
Book Reviews – At Scribbles we work with thousands of book bloggers and book enthusiasts across all genres to deliver your book into the hands of readers who will not only review your book, but also post it to Goodreads (and Amazon where possible), their own social media and book blogs.
Marketing Options – Social media stands front and centre in any modern marketing plan (which is why we work with book bloggers, social media shout outs and online book tours).
Twitter is a goldmine for writers and we recommend devising a strategy of following/engaging long before your book is ready to launch – check out hashtags such as #amwriting, #writingcommunity, #amediting, #writingfamily.
Amazon KDP offers a range of paid advertising options which can be found through your author dashboard – pay per click (PPC) means that whatever your budget, you can get exposure for your book. We recommend researching your keywords very carefully for maximum effect. KDP also offers price promotions, meaning you can offer your book at a limited price (or free) as part of a launch promotion.
6. Rinse and Repeat
Marketing your book is an ongoing process. We recommend creating a simple calendar of marketing strategies to keep your book fresh in the minds of potential readers – up to date social media campaigns, reviews and promotions are vital.
Time for your next book? Launching another title is a fantastic way of building on your success, creating more drive and momentum around your marketing plan.
At Scribbles, we are passionate about helping writers not only create their best work, but also get it into the hands of readers everywhere – we can help you with a full range of services including manuscript assessment, editing, proofreading and marketing, including one off book tours or social media boosts, to ongoing social media campaigns.
Scribbles is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to amazon.com. Scribbles is also a participant in the Masterclass.com affiliate program - Scribbles will only recommend products or services that we truly think are of value!