Being a writer is a rewarding experience for creatives worldwide. The process of writing and seeing your masterpiece published is something that every writer dreams of.
Getting your masterpiece published has become simpler thanks to many platforms that have emerged in recent years. Navigating this maze can be a struggle for some, which is where this guide comes into play.
In today’s list, you’ll find all the steps to publishing a book, ones that are crucial to ensuring your book goes live and attracts interest.
Complete the Manuscript
Before you start thinking about the publishing process, it’s essential to have the manuscript finished. It’s fine if you go for a story without ending, letting the reader’s imagination complete it as long as your job is done. Go through it and make sure it’s written in a way that your potential readers would like to see the story unfold.
You’ve probably put countless hours into writing it, so it’s a good idea to let it rest for a while before you give it one last go. Put the manuscript aside for a few days and focus on other things. This will allow you to return with a fresh set of eyes and find any potential flaws.
Another good approach to getting preliminary feedback is having a few beta readers. These people get early access to the manuscript and give you their opinion on it. Constructive criticism can often help you make final adjustments to improve the final version.
Work With an Editor
Regardless of how good you think you are at editing, you should consider hiring a professional editor. Working on your piece means you may miss some basic improvement areas. Working with an editor will help you eliminate these kinds of situations, resulting in a better final product.
Hiring any editor may not be the best course of action here. Aim for those who specialize in your genre because those experts will point out some potential improvements you may have missed. Changing the structure, grammar, and flow will ensure that readers are happy with your piece and will likely recommend it to others.
Hire a Designer
You may think your potential readers would be primarily interested in the content. While that’s true, something about the cover design may attract more people to buy your book. We’re taught not to judge a book by its cover, but sometimes, it’s the cover that attracts us as readers.
Even though you’ll be hiring a designer for this, you should pay attention to the draft designs. The cover should be something the same niche, meaning you’ll need to give the designer some information on this. Ideally, the cover should be genre-specific and one that will match the story of the book.
Choose the Right Publishing Platform
Getting on the internet and choosing the first publishing platform you’ll find isn’t always recommended. Each one has a different set of features and pricing, so you shouldn’t expect them all to be the same. This is why doing proper research before you start the process is crucial.
Compare the prices, features, and overall usability of each one. This will give you an idea of how difficult or easy it would be for you to go through the process. To be fair, most of these operate automatically, so you won’t have to worry about finding a real person who’ll explain the process.
Keep in mind that you’re not limited to choosing only one platform. You can go on as many as you want if you feel it’s financially acceptable. Don’t forget, each one will cost money, so you’ll need to have the budget for this. Once you choose which one you’ll be using, create the accounts, fill in the information, pay, and proceed with publishing. Once it’s live, you can follow the metrics and see how popular it is.
Develop a Marketing Plan
With the book live, it’s time to think about promoting it, so you’ll need a good marketing plan. You can approach this in several ways, depending on how much involvement and money you’re willing to invest.
Considering how many people are on social media, this is the first step for many authors. Utilizing your personal social media accounts can be beneficial because some people already follow you. In addition to that, you can also invest in some ads, ones which should help tell the world about your new book.
Apart from social media, you should consider email marketing or setting up an author’s website. Expanding more and using multiple mediums should help you spread the word.
Being a self-publisher for the first time may be intimidating, but it doesn’t have to be. Following the several steps outlined in this guide should help you get started with publishing and promoting your book.
