Friday, June 13, 2014

Tips On How To Self Publish Your Book

By Sally Delacruz


If you've always wanted to be an author, the best time to start is now. In the past, authors had a very slim chance of getting their work published unless they worked through large publishing companies. Today, things are much easier and the first step is to learn the basics on how to self publish.

Self publishing has become increasingly popular in recent years, especially since it's so easy to sell your work online. For many writers, this is the best route to go. Getting a contract with a publishing house is extremely difficult, especially if you're a new or relatively unknown writer. Publishers also take quite a large chunk of the royalties you'll make and may even retain many of the rights to your work.

Getting a book out is a long and difficult process but there are many professionals in the industry who will help you. One of the most important ones is an editor who will help you develop the manuscript and check the smaller details. A proofreader is important too because this is the person who'll make sure that your manuscript error-free.

Just like product packaging can entice potential buyers or put them off, a book's cover can make or break it. If you're not a trained and talented graphic designer yourself, get one to design a striking cover for you. It's also a good idea to hire a professional to do your lay-out, especially if you're going to use photographs or other illustrations. It creates a professional impression and makes the pages more reader friendly.

As the author, you need to keep copyright on your work. If you don't, anyone can copy pages from the book and pretend that they've written these. A copyright lawyer can help you with all the legal red tape. Also get an ISBN for each format that the book will appear in, such as hard cover, paperback or e-book. This number is your book's identity number.

There are different ways to publish the final book. One is to hire a printer to print and bind copies which you can then sell through book vendors. A more economical way is to publish it online as an e-book that your buyers can simply download.

The work doesn't stop once the book has been published, In fact, many say this this is when the real work begins. Your target audience needs to know about your book, so you need to spend as much time and money as possible on marketing it and getting publicity. This takes time and some expertise, so you might want to hire a professional marketing company for this aspect.

The secret to successful self publishing is not to try and do everything on your own. There are many people with excellent skills in the different aspects of publishing. However, remember that you get what you pay for, so have a budget that is sufficient to pay these people market-related fees for their work.




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