If you’ve written (or would like to write) a book and don’t know what to do next, here’s a flexible path most authors would follow if they’re hoping to sell their book to the public. However, you need to choose what works for you, depending on your aims for the book, your publishing needs and your budget.
If you would like personalised guidance, please get in touch via my Contact page and note my current hourly rate from my Services page. I will discuss your aims and needs and work with you through the publishing process, as and when required.
1. Write the book.
This is a must! 😀
If you’re struggling to write the book, you might benefit from engaging a writing coach. Or, start by reading my blog post here: https://jennifermosher.com.au/author-hack-write-book-eleven-easy-steps/
2. Have the manuscript read by someone you don’t know.
If you’ve not published a book before, it’s a good idea to get feedback on what you’re writing and how you’re writing it so that you can develop it to better appeal to the reader.
Asking family and friends can be handy – but it can also be fraught with danger. They may not know enough about what to look for or give feedback on, or they may be reticent or have trouble articulating themselves when it comes to negative feedback. Or, they might be hyper-critical and totally destroy your confidence – and your relationship!
Engaging trained beta readers or manuscript assessors is a better way to get honest feedback from someone who should be able to give you the right advice.
3. Engage a structural editor.
A structural editor will help you understand where you might need to write more, or where you might need to reduce some content, or how the manuscript might benefit from being shifted around a bit.
If you’re confident with the feedback from the appraisal or beta reader(s), then you might feel that you can skip the structural editing step. But this is your call – not mine!
4. Engage a copy editor.
While you might feel confident skipping the structural editing step, I’d strongly recommend engaging a copy editor.
Copy editing is similar to proofreading but it’s done before the book is laid out to print.
Copy editing checks spelling, punctuation, grammar, consistency in spelling, terminology and styles (e.g. styles for capitalising certain words, or the way to show weights and other measures), and will also involve a certain amount of fact-checking – depending on the manuscript and the contract.
Once the copy edit has been done, then the book can be laid out for printing, or for ebook creation if you’re not having a print edition.
Find out more about my copy editing service here: https://jennifermosher.com.au/copy-editing/
5. Decide how you’re going to get your book in the hands of readers.
There are different options available, but the most common these days – especially for print on demand and international distribution – is to use a service such as IngramSpark.
Alternatively, you may have decided to just have a small print run and sell your books face-to-face and/or via your website.
If you’re just having an ebook version, and no printed option, then you’ll need to decide which ebook distribution service will suit your needs.
Once you’ve worked out how your book will be distributed, then your cover designer will be able to find out what specs they need to adhere to.
6. Engage a cover designer.
Unless you’re a graphic designer, please don’t think you can create your own cover. I don’t wish to be rude – you might have great design ideas, but it’s the technical specifications that trip most people up.
If you’re publishing, say, a hardback version, plus a paperback version and an ebook version, you’re going to require three separate cover files. That’s right – three! A hardback cover has to wrap around the cover itself – or it may just be a dust jacket. Or both. A paperback cover is glued to the front, back and spine. And an ebook cover is only the front cover.
A trained graphic designer who specialises in books should be able to help you develop a cover design which will appeal to your audience, and then create the appropriate files once you have a page count, trim size and the specs required from the production company you’ll be using.
7. Format the book – for print and/or ebook.
There are many sites on the internet now where you can upload your manuscript and the software will lay it out for you. That’s all well and good, but if you don’t understand the basic requirements and options for laying out a book, if you don’t know what to check for once the layout’s done, then there’s no guarantee you’re going to end up with a professional-looking product.
My recommendation is to engage someone who can do the layout or create the ebook for you, unless you’re a repeat author who understands the different elements and choices for book layout.
Find out more about my manuscript layout service here: https://jennifermosher.com.au/manuscript-and-document-formatting-in-ms-word/ and my ebook creation service here: [link to come]
8. Have your book and cover proofread.
Before you spend money getting a printed proof, it’s always a good idea to have a third party – such as a trained proofreader – read over the formatted manuscript and the cover to double-check that everything’s where it should be and that all the bits match e.g. the text on the cover matches what’s on the imprint page and also relates correctly to what’s inside the book.
A good proofreader will also pick up any minor issues missed, or introduced, during the copy editing process. While the copy edit will fix most things, it’s easy to introduce a minor error here or there when making corrections, so this is where the proofreader comes in handy!
Find out more about my proofreading service here: https://jennifermosher.com.au/proofreading/
9. Organise a printed proof of your book.
Once the files have been proofread, the next step is to order a physical printed proof of your book!
Read it over, mark up any issues or errors and get them fixed before you release the book.
However, you also need to balance what really needs to be fixed with what most readers will live with. For instance, if you’ve missed an apostrophe on p. 17 and there’s a mis-spelled word on p. 142 – most readers will forgive those little issues if the bulk of the work has clearly been well-attended to. But if you’re finding errors here, there and everywhere, it might even be worth sending the printed proof to a proofreader just to make sure you’ve picked up everything before you spend more time and money getting the changes fixed.
Long story short – if you’d be embarrassed to promote your book to the public, then those errors need to be fixed. If there’s only a few and you think, ‘No one’s going to die’ (unless it’s a book about how to do an operation and you leave out the bit about the anaesthetic! 😉 ), then leave them. If you get feedback about other errors after you release it and you’ve used a print on demand service, you can always update the manuscript and upload a replacement file if need be.
10. Get your ebook created.
Once you’re happy with your printed proof, then it’s time to have your ebook created so that both versions can be released at the same time. If you don’t have someone who can help with ebook creation, I’m happy to lend a hand! Find out more about my ebook creation service here: [link to come]
11. Consider an audiobook.
Not all books are suitable for publication as an audiobook, but as more and more people like to listen, rather than read, an audiobook might be an additional channel to reach your readers. If you’re out in public and look around you, you’ll see people doing their morning walk and people on public transport with earphones in. Yes, they might be listening to a podcast or music, but they could just as easily be listening to an audiobook.
Just bear in mind that while creating a print book takes a lot of time (and therefore money), so does an audiobook. Many people are tempted to self-narrate to keep costs down, but that isn’t always a good choice (no offence!). However, it all truly depends on the book, the content, your voice and narration style, the equipment you use and your ability to edit the recordings etc.
12. Release your book!
Once all your files are ready, it’s time to press the ‘publish’ button and release your book to the world – however that ‘reelase’ may look.
It might be that if you’re using a service such as IngramSpark, you log in, set the release date and click the ‘release’ button. When the day comes, or possibly sooner, you’ll see your book online at major retailers. Or, it might be that you let your printer know that they can now print however many copies you’ve agreed to pay them for.
13. Market your book.
And this, my friends, is the hardest part of all for most authors. So, how do you market your book?
- Ensure you have links to where it can be bought online so that you can add those to your social media profiles, website etc.
- Announce it on social media, but don’t bore people to death by talking about it all the time! Intersperse your book posts with your ‘normal’ posts, and when talking about your book, talk about how you wrote it, what inspired certain sections of it, etc., so that people get a feel for what drove you to write the book. That way, they might be more likely to connect with your concept if they’re interested in that type of publication, and that might encourage them to buy a copy.
- If possible, do book signings in appropriate places, depending on the type of book you’ve released. E.g. if it’s a book about something historical in the local district, then the local library might be happy to host you, or a well-known historical business or building might be happy to host you – especially if they feature in the book.
- Consider engaging a book marketing specialist to help.
14. Links to other self-publishing resources.
The Institute of Professional Editors (for Australian and New Zealand editors) has a search function where you can look for an editor or proofreader who specialises in the task you need help with and/or the type of book you’ve written. So you can search for a structural editor who specialises in dystopian fiction, a proofreader who specials in technology and engineering – you name it! The choices are all yours. 😀
Search for the right person for you and your book here: https://www.iped-editors.org/find-an-editor/
Or, as a shortcut for specific services, perhaps try some of these people who I’ve worked with over the years:
- Lu Sexton Writing Coach and Editor: for coaching for fiction writers, support for business writers and other writing services.
- The Manuscript Appraisal Agency – Kit Carstairs: for manuscript appraisals and all forms of editing.
- AJC Publishing – AJ Collins: for beta reading services, all forms of editing, and audiobook production.
- Working Type Studio – Luke Harris: for cover design and file creation, and layout of illustrated books.
- AE Creative Communications – Aisling Brady: for publicity and marketing assistance.
15. Before you go!
Download my Quick checklist: 40 things to consider for your self-publishing journey from my Shop. Use code 40Things at the checkout to get it for free. And don’t worry – I won’t be adding you to a mailing list. I do it this way so that you don’t get added to yet another mailing list! 😉