Self-publish your book yourself

Self-publish your book yourself with this simple guide.

Self-publish your book, but always print with Star Print Brokers for the highest quality books. Sell on Amazon because they have the most traffic. Work directly with brick and mortar retailers. Keep more profit.

Concept development and preliminary writing.

When deciding to self-publish your book, you may find that there are quite a few writer’s groups that charge very little for their services. You may also join group, you can develop your manuscript with input from other writers. Check your local area for writers group, or join online.

Get an author website before you self-publish your book.

If you just want a website to sell your book, you can get a free website offered by a number of providers. These are particularly good if you have no experience building a website. If you need traffic or to create a following, start out with a rock-solid site that can get higher page ranking on Google.

Our personal favorite, especially for blogging, is a WordPress site. We like Kadence as well as Genesis Framework. On top of the framework, add a StudioPress or another “child” theme that is compatible with the framework that you choose. Some of our most successful authors created a WordPress site and a blog following, before writing their book.

We recently switched to Kadence framework for WordPress, but are able to keep our same child theme from Restored316designs. Kadence has a learning curve, but we like it even better than Genesis.

If using WordPress, you will need the Yoast SEO Premium plugin. We have found it invaluable for SEO, that is Search Engine Optimization.

Kickstarter crowd funding for books.

Raise money to self-publish your book! Tim Buckley of Ctrl+Alt+Del raised an amazing $665,000. He initially asked for $150,000 and hit the goal in one day. We printed the books! They are gorgeous, high-quality books with many custom embellishments. See more crowd funding stories.

Writing & proofreading …

Visit Grammarly to help you with proofreading your book. Eliminate grammar mistakes and improve word choice and style. You can proofread your book yourself. Also, consider the investment in a professional proofreader can prove valuable.

Book formatting and layout.

GraphicRiver templates are another great source. Use Word templates for novels. To print on press, use the InDesign templates. Before you get wrapped up in writing, get a quote from us or your service provider to verify dimensions, cost based on quantity and page count, etc.

Always use high-quality typefaces. Open type is our favorite and can be used either on Mac or Windows. You can use MyFonts or simple sync Adobe fonts if you are working in InDesign. Try not to use type that comes pre-loaded on every computer. Because they are used so often, they are not as special as some of the really great standard typefaces. When writing long blocks of text, always use a typeface that is meant for text and paragraphs.

Need a few photos to self-publish your book? Use Unsplash. Just remember to make use you are using the right size, and that they are CMYK.

If you don’t have the skills, or don’t want to layout your book yourself, hire a graphic designer. But, make sure they have experience designing books. We also design books.

Cover design …

When you self publish your book, watch out for one of the biggest mistakes you can make. That is not have a professionally design cover. Your book is competing again so many other titles, so make sure is looks it’s best. We design covers as well as books, in InDesign. There are many providers. Interview them first!

ISBN and bar code …

When you decided to self publish your book, you will need your own ISBN and bar code. We are authorized agents of ISBN.org, or go to them directly. But, don’t accept an ISBN from anyone. Period. Buy your own. Because whoever buys the bar code is the publisher of the book. Don’t settle for only royalties. Be the publisher of your book. You will keep your profit and control your revenue.

Distribution …

When you self-publish your book, print it with Star Print Brokers because we print on press, and provide custom options not found in on-demand services. We only print high-quality books. But, take advantage of the traffic that Amazon can provide. Open an author account. Make sure you select keywords that tie into your website keywords-

Many authors think they must work with a company that offers distribution. Not only is this not true, but it also costs you money. You may have to pay upfront for distribution, and you only get royalties, not the full profit.

Distribution – You can go directly to each brick and mortar retailer and follow their instructions.

If you use an on-demand service, do you actually get your book into brick-and-mortar bookstores, or just have access to those bookstores? We have a secret for you. If you have your own ISBN and bar code, you already have access to brick-and-mortar bookstores. You are in the database already.

Reviews and cover quotes help you to self-publish your book.

Ask your friends, website and social media followers to read your book and write a review on Amazon. Search for bloggers or reviewers on Amazon or social media. If you just have an ebook and have not printed your book yet, be sure to ask if you can pick up reviews quotes on the back cover. List 3 to 4 good quotes and name credit. Just use a sentence or two for each cover quote.

Marketing and promotion.

If you were to be accepted by a publisher, not only do they only pay you royalties, but they also have a limit to what they will spend on new authors. They expect they author to market their book aw well. The solution is to self publish your book yourself. Since you already have to participate in marketing efforts, the benefits of having your book published by a publisher or on-demand services is diminished.

File transfer and storage.

Ready to transfer files to us? Use DropBox! Open an account, and send a ‘Share’ our ‘sales’ email address. See the full address on our contact page.

Call (844) 603-1777 toll-free, or (425) 603-1777 in the Seattle area. Request a book printing quote!