How To Self-Publish A Book
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I just self-published my first book! I am not a “guru” as yet, since this is my first book. However, I had to write this blog post to encourage you as moms, wives, daughters, and sisters, to not hide your need to write your story or something that you want to share with the world.
Writing I agree may look intimidating at first, but to be honest with you, it’s the fear that keeps most of us hidden behind our gifts and talents.
I am here to encourage you to write and truly express yourself; if that is your talent.
Have you always wanted to write your own book? Let me know. Please feel free to ask your questions or concerns below. I will be happy to help you!
“Writing is a gift that is meant to be shared with the world. It cannot be hidden.”
Write your story
The first step is to write your story. There is no book without a written story. Get the story accomplished first. That means having a rough draft of your story ready to be published.
Once that part is complete, the next thing to do is to edit and proofread your manuscript, several times. You can also either use an editor ( use Fiverr or other freelance outsourcing websites to find help) or have a friend or family member help you to identify any errors that they may see.
Once your manuscript is finished and all errors have been corrected, it’s now time to publish your book.
Find a publisher
There are so many publishers available to use when getting ready to self-publish your book. I recommend selecting a publisher based on the type of book that you are publishing and the audience you want to publish your book to. Once that is identified, then you can start from there.
Based on the research that I have done, here is a list of the top 5 book publishers to work with:
There are also book publishers that can publish to every online book retailer such as:
FYI: Some are paid and some are free to use.
The publisher that I went with was Draft2Digital. They were free to use, and they posted my book on the following book retailers:
They also provide one unique URL that you can use to promote your book, one time to social media and other websites.
Upload manuscript on publishers site
This step is actually not as complicated as I thought when I self-published my first book.
The steps are straightforward with Amazon KDP and Draft2Digital. You can upload your Word document directly to both sites.
With Amazon KDP, you can use their Kindle Create program to write and self-publish your book directly to their site. I used Kindle Create to publish my book on Amazon, in both e-book and paperback, which I found to be easy to use and straightforward. However, it can only be used to upload your book exclusively to Amazon. Therefore you will still need a copy of your book in Word document, in order to publish your book on other book publishing websites.
FYI: Amazon KDP provides a free ISBN (The International Standard Book Number is a numeric commercial book identifier that is assigned to a book when published) for their paperback or hardcopy books. Their e-books however do not require one. Therefore you do not need to apply for or purchase an ISBN in order to publish your book. Draft2Digital also provides you with a free ISBN to publish books from their platform.
Design a book cover
I used Canva to design my book cover. If you are not tech-savvy or good with designing, then I would suggest finding a freelancer on Fiverr or other freelance websites to design a cover for you.
If using Amazon KDP, you can also design your book cover directly on their website with the options they provide. It is however limited, so I strongly suggest either using Canva or outsourcing on Fiverr or other freelance websites.
Hit the publish button
It’s not a complicated process to self-publish a book that I need to write a long blog post for. It’s actually easy to do, and if I got stuck at any point, I referred to a youtube video or online blog post to help me with that particular question.
The goal of this post is to let you know that you can self-publish your own book without a publishing firm that may or may not accept your book proposal.
You will also be in control of your own vision and destiny for your books.
For more book publishing-related content, visit:
Did you find the strategies listed in this article helpful? What were some of your favorite tips? How have they worked for you? Leave a comment below, I’d love to know what you think.
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Donae
I am Donae! A wife and a mom of 2 kids, ALL boys! I would love to share with you my experience with motherhood. Let my life Inspire, Encourage and Motivate you on your journey through motherhood.
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