How to self-publish a Book?
Step by step guide for self-publishing authors
- Book genre – decide your book genre based on fundamentals of your book
- Finalise Book Title – decide your book title, keep it concise, easy to remember, consider frequently search keywords (ask yourself few questions, why should I write this book?, what problem will my book solve? how reader get benefitted from it? know your target audience or readers)
- Book writing – start writing your book (list out all your ideas)
- Formatting & edit of manuscript (Book Interior) – format your manuscript according to the requirements of your chosen publishing platform or printer. This includes setting margins, choosing fonts, and ensuring proper spacing, minimum page requirements, normally pages are to be kept in multiple of 8.
- Book Cover Page Designing – Create a professional-looking cover page that accurately represents your book’s content and attracts readers. You can use Canva app to design cover page.
- Publishing Platform -Select best self-publishing platform for your book
- Create Account on Platform -Sign Up to create account on selected platform, furnish all the necessary details required, such as PAN details for tax purpose, bank details, in which you will receive royalty amount
- Apply for ISBN – get ISBN for your book or request publishers to provide ISBN, applicable charges may be applicable, it may required your personal details like, id proof, PAN details etc. read terms & conditions carefully.
- Upload Book Interior & Cover Page – follow the platform’s guidelines to upload your formatted manuscript (book interior) and cover page.
- Enter Book Meta Details – enter meta data such as title, author name, and book description and ISBN.
- Choose distribution plan – select book distribution options (local or global distribution to make wider reach of your target audience) depending on global distribution of your audience
- Optimum Book Pricing – Select best price for your book (not below the minimum suggested price by publishing platform) and also it should not be very high, research similar online price of similar kind of books in the same genre, and decide your best reasonable price
- Submit Book for Publishing – submitted book will reviewed by publishing platform, if everything ok then, book is approved, and it will be published automatically within a specified period. You will be informed by email. However, it takes time to be available for purchase at online stores
- Promote Your Book – Once your book is available at online stores, develop a marketing plan to promote your book. Which include creating an appealing author website, utilising social media, reaching out to book bloggers, or creating virtual events.
- Start Earning from Book Sells – when your book is sold royalty will be display on your account, the earnings will be paid automatically to your bank account at certain interval depending on platform terms & conditions
- Monitor Sales and Feedback -Keep track of your book sales and monitor reader feedback. You can adjust your marketing strategies accordingly to improve your upcoming publications.
- Get Reviews – encourage readers to write reviews after reading of your book on purchasing platforms like Amazon, Flipkart and Goodreads etc. It will helps to attract more readers.
- Consider Additional Formats -explore the possibility of releasing your book in additional formats, such as audiobook or paperback, to reach a wider audience.
- Continue Marketing Efforts -maintain ongoing marketing efforts to keep your book visible and attract new readers over time.
Remember, self-publishing requires dedication and perseverance, but it also offers creative control and the potential for greater royalties. Good luck with your publishing journey!
How to Select a Best Publishing Platform
Research and select your self-publishing platform that fulfil your needs. Consider the following points to make better decision:
- Cost to publish (MSP + Platform service charges)
- Minimum selling price (MSP) = (print cost + distribution cost)
- Royalty (MSP – platform service charges)
- Cover & binding quality
- Print & paper quality
- World-wide distribution
- Book listing platforms (Amazon, Kindle, Flipkart, Apple etc.)
- Weather POD & online delivery options available in your country, Print-on-demand (POD) is a method of producing books
- Customer Support
What is 13-Digit Number Printed on Cover Page with Bar Code (ISBN)?
ISBN stands for International Standard Book Number. It’s a unique numerical identifier assigned to each edition and variation of a book. This helps identify books quickly and accurately, especially for libraries, publishers, and bookstores. It typically consists of 13 digits, although some older editions might have 10 digits, which replaces the handling of long bibliographic descriptive records. ISBN is a machine-readable number used to identify books.
How to get ISBN?
International
To obtain an ISBN for a book, you need to contact the official ISBN agency in your country, where you are going to publish your work. They will provide you with the necessary information on how to register and assign an ISBN to your book. In many countries, the agency responsible for assigning ISBNs is affiliated with the International ISBN Agency. You’ll likely need to provide details about your book, such as title, author, publisher, edition, and format. Once registered, you’ll receive the unique ISBN for your book.
ISBN Registration Process in India
In India process getting ISBN is very easy. Register to the official website of Raja Rammohun Roy National Agency for ISBN, operates under “Department of Higher Education, Ministry of Education”, govt. of India. https://isbn.gov.in
Once your registration is done, wait for approval by agency. You will be informed by mail along with login details.
Apply for ISBN
Login to your account, provided by the ISBN agency, apply for ISBN fill-up the form, provide necessary metadata of your book, such as title, series, author name, publisher name, edition, format (paperback, hardcover, or e-book), date of publishing and other relevant information asked, save and submit the details.
Wait for Approval
Once your application is submitted successful, ISBN-India will process it. This may take 7-9 working day or more, depends case to case, so be patient.
Receive ISBN
Once your application is approved you will be assign a unique ISBN to your book and you will receive a mail, through registered e-mail along with 13-digit ISBN.
Use of ISBN
You can now use the assigned ISBN on your book’s cover, copyright page, and in bibliographic database for unique identifications of your publication.
Remember to follow any specific guidelines provided by ISBN agency throughout the process to ensure a smooth process and avoid rejection.
The popular choices of self-publishing authors
Five self-publishing platforms, where you can publish your work easily with minimal spending, with world-wide distribution services.
1) Draft2Digital
2) Kindle Direct Publishing (KDP)
3) Google Play Books
https://play.google.com/books/publish/
4) Ingram Spark
5) Lulu
Note: Publishing a book for Indian Market on platform like Amazon.in & Flipkart.com in paperback format. You can try pothi.com.
1) Pothi.com
It is always advise to verify all your needs and services provided by the platform, and then finalise the best platform.