What You Need to Self-Publish Your Book

One of my self-published books.

There are a ton of companies out there who will, for a hefty fee, do most everything that you can do on your own to self-publish a book. Avoid them and save yourself a lot of dough. Here are the simple steps to creating and selling a self-published book using Createspace.com, which is owned and operated by Amazon.

1. WRITE BOOK: Don't worry about anything else until you have completed writing a book.
2. EDIT BOOK: Go through your book several times and check for grammar and punctuation. By this time you should have worked out all continuity and plot problems. This is the one time you would want to hire an editor or proofreader, or give several copies of your manuscript to trusted friends who will actually look for mistakes for you.
3. DESIGN COVER: If you can't design your own cover, hire someone. There are specific technical requirements for a cover to look good when printed. If you want a generic cover, you can design one on Createspace with their cover designer and templates. If you are not artistic, this is really one time you should have someone else design your cover for you. Your cover is very important in helping you sell your book. Don't just slap something together. If your book has interior artwork requirements that you cannot do, you will want to hire an illustrator.
4. FORMAT INTERIOR: If you can't format text to fit the size book you want and make it look good, hire someone to do that. There are several technical requirements. Also, while you're writing, NEVER use the tab to indent paragraphs (use Paragraph formatting), and NEVER use returns to force the text to a new page. Instead, insert a manual page break or section break. 
5. BUY ISBNs:  If you want to own your ISBN (barcode numbers), go to myidentifiers.com and buy ten if you plan on writing more than one book. The total cost is about $275. If you only plan on selling through Amazon and Createspace, Createspace can issue you free ISBN numbers for your book. Regardless of whether you buy your own or use theirs, they will generate the barcode image for the lower right of the back cover. So there is no need to buy barcodes at myidentifiers.com.
6. SUBMIT FILES: Create an account on Createspace.com. Use their step-by-step process to enter book information (title, author, description, genre, etc.) Once you have your book cover designed and saved as a .pdf, and your interior file saved as a .pdf, load those two files and submit them for review. Createspace will let you know if they don't meet their printing requirements. Use their online digital proofer to review the files, then order a PROOF copy to physically see what your book will look like.
7. PROOF BOOK: Once you receive your proof copie(s), look it over. If you want, you can order up to five proof copies. This may be a good time to hand those proof copies to your proof readers to catch any final mistakes. If you have to correct them, you will need to recreate the interior and/or cover .pdf files and resubmit them.
8. DISTRIBUTION: Once proofed, go to Distribution on Createspace and set your book price. Then choose where you want the book to be available. Amazon, Amazon UK, and Createspace will be selected by default. Expanded Distribution will get it on the Barnes & Noble website and make it available through other channels.
9. APPROVE: Once you are satisfied with how your book looks, click APPROVE under File Review. Within hours (2-24) you will see a product page appear on Amazon for people to order your book online. So don't approve the book unless you have completely reviewed the proof copies and corrected all mistakes. Should you find mistakes after approval, make the corrections and resubmit the files again.
10. BUY BOOKS: You can also order copies of your book to sell on your own by clicking on Order Copies to the right of the book title on your Member Dashboard. Order 20 or more to have them shipped via UPS and not USPS.

I am able to offer my services for most of the above. Email me at vic@victorrook.com for book cover design, interior formatting, and Createspace submission if you need help with that. I will write a post later on publishing Kindle and Nook versions of your book.

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