The Self Publishing Process

The journey to getting a manuscript published into a book is not a complicated one, but it does have a number of steps that need to be completed along the way. The more steps you can do, the more money you will save in getting your book published. Some of the steps you may not want to do, and that is where we can help the process along, it’s totally up to you.

At BookMark Self Publishing, we can help you in the process with our comprehensive instructions that are associated with the popular software products that you may be using as the author and manuscript creator.

Most authors want the flexibility of moulding their written text into a book, and controlling the process as it goes along. Others prefer to hand over their raw text and have a self publishing service perform the necessary steps and produce the final product in a stress-free manner.

Step 1 – Organise your manuscript and get your quote 

The first step in any publication is in getting all your content together into one file, which is called a manuscript. It does not need to be formatted into book layout yet. For example, a single MS Word file is fine.  Of course, if you have laid out your file into a print ready format, that’s great.

Once you have all your content together, take a estimate of what the final page count will be. For example, it your manuscript is at a standard 8.5x11 page size, you’ll want to add at least ¼ to the page count if your printing a 5.5”x8.5” book.

Then, when you have a estimate on your page count, you can use this to get a quote from the may self publishing and book printing companies out there. This will give you an idea of what your project is going to cost to print.

Step 2 – Get your book “print ready” and print it

Many authors also need help finishing their manuscript and making it into a print ready book.  When you’re getting your quotes for printing, you should also inquire about the following pre-production services, if you’re not willing to learn to-do them yourself.

• Editing and Proofreading  >>
• Cover Design >>
• Page Layout >>
• Turning your page layout  into a “print ready” PDF >>
• Getting ISBN and Barcode >>
• Scanning Images for your book pages and cover >>
• Drawings or other original graphics that need to be created >>

Once you have your book in “print ready” format, you should order a “proof” copy of your book. This is a single copy of your book that is made for your review. You should NEVER do a print run of books without seeing a proof copy first. Some mistakes just can’t be seen until you see the book in print.

When you are done reviewing your book, it’s time to start printing. In most cases you want to buy the largest amount of books you can afford on your budget, as the cost per unit will go down as quantity goes up.

Step3 – Promote and sell your book

Start Promoting:
The are many things you can do to market your book. Here’s a few that all authors wanting to seel their book should do”

• Press Releases >>
• Printed Marketing Material (Bookmarks, Business Cards, Posters) >>
• A Web Site to promote yourself and your book >>
• Google Book Search >>
  

Start Selling
In order to sell as many of your books as possible, you should try to get as many online and offline bookstores as possible to list your book. It’s usually easier to and less expensive to get your book listed with online bookstores, so try there first.

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