There are not many first-time writers that have the slightest idea of what goes on behind the scenes with publishing a book. And it's not because it's top-secret information that no one wants you to know.
In fact, the opposite is true: Developing a basic understanding of the process with a realization of how you can impact your experience with becoming an author; it is crucial to your success.
The more knowledge you have about the marketplace and the publishing process, the better your chance of making your dreams come true. A process is a series of actions or steps taken in order to achieve a particular end. Our goal at Self Publish -N- 30 Days is to ensure that you enjoy your experience and are pleased with the final product.
The real work begins when you submit your manuscript, but as I've repeated time and time, you do not have to wait to complete a rough draft to get started. I will also add that before finalizing your rough draft, take some time away, go back, and read your manuscript. You want to read it.
*Do not make content changes at this time, but have a notebook with notes of what you may want to change once you have finished reading.
Every book is unique, so the process may slightly vary depending on where the author is. Let's get started with the steps we take to ensure you have an enjoyable experience. Knowing how everything comes together gives you a better chance of impacting the decisions that can make or break your book's success.
Here's how it works, why you need to know and how you can enter into a publishing agreement as an author with influence. The more you can separate yourself from all the other authors upfront, the better chance you have of making an impact on your book's publication. I will also preface this by saying, this is our company's process that has proven successful. Several steps take place simultaneously. But don't worry!
To become a successful independent author, you must treat your writing as a business. Your books are your products, and to sell well, they must rival books produced by traditional publishers. To do this, you must give ample thought to every element of your books' production, from editing and proofreading to cover design, back cover copy, formatting, and more.
Does that sound overwhelming? You're not wrong. Indeed, there are a plethora of book production tools, services, and resources available to writers who choose to self-publish. But not all of these options are created equal. Some are more trustworthy than others, while some are simply better suited to individual books or writers.
How do you decide which options are best for you? Rather than fall victim to analysis-paralysis.
WEEKLY CONSULTATIONS
The great thing about Self Publish -N- 30 Days is that we update you every step of the way. We provide weekly consultations, which means a personal book concierge will call and give you updates. They also include the opportunity to answer any questions that you may have.
Step 1: PROMOTE IN ADVANCE
Do not wait until you have finished your manuscript to get started promoting. After you have your title and the cover design, you will need to begin promoting.
Our team creates a LANDING PAGE — a one-page website that includes the 3D Cover Image, book synopsis, and author bio. It consists of a way to promote and for readers to pre-order the book in advance.
The book synopsis and author bio serve a dual purpose. It will also go on the back cover once the book is completed.
Step 2: EDITS
While I will not go into details with all of the edits because that's an entire blog, our team provides an initial assessment, several rounds of edits by the primary editor, and additional edits by a secondary editor. This will include professional proofreading and copy edits! The primary goal of the process is to ensure the book flows well and gives the reader clarity.
The biggest tip I want to share is to make sure that you do your due diligence as the author while the edits are taking place.
All of the edits aside from grammatical or spelling edits are suggestions. Our team wants to enhance your voice and make sure that your message is heard.
The editors cannot do their best work if the authors aren't committed to working with them. Once the edits are complete, it will prepare to go to interior design!
Step 3: ISBN #
The purpose of the ISBN # is to establish and identify one title or edition of a title from one specific publisher. It is unique to that edition, allowing for more efficient marketing of products by booksellers, libraries, universities, wholesalers and distributors.
Our team gives you instructions to set up an account to get the ISBN that is used for your copyright page. We like to say it's like your book's social security number. Printed books cannot be sold without this number.
Step 4: COPYRIGHT PAGE
The copyright page is of critical importance to librarians, publishers, bulk book buyers, bibliographers, and even writers who want to quote your book in their book. Open up any book you have on your shelf, and you'll see the page I'm talking about it.
A typical copyright page includes:
The copyright notice,
Publication information,
Printing history,
Legal notices,
ISBN or other identification numbers.
Some authors use the copyright page to credit book cover designers, editors, or illustrators, but this is not necessary.
Step 5: INTERIOR DESIGN
Interior design is the formatting of the book. When you get to this step, you will not be able to make any content changes. Our team uses software to convert your manuscript to look more like a book.
A well-formatted and designed book is critical as an author. Even though you worked hard on your manuscript, it may not get the attention it deserves without professional formatting. Self Publish -N- 30 Days will help you provide the best possible reading experience for your book's audience. Our staff of professional book designers will work with your input and create a custom layout to match the theme and message of your book.
Our book designers don't use templates to design your book. Each book is custom designed by a real-life professional book designer. And best of all, we send you proofs of your design to review and approve. We stand behind our work with the book publishing industry's only 100% quality guarantee!
You must have a layout that meets industry standards. If the size of the inside of the book does not align with the cover size, the book will not process when it's time for print. This is tedious, but it's essential!
Self Publish -N- 30 Days' designers create a unique book for each author. This includes pull quotes, chapter cover design and layout. There is a lot that goes into this process, but you don't want to skip it.
Step 6: INTERIOR DESIGN EDITS
When you have approved your prototype and the manuscript is complete, it's time to review it again. This is just to review overall formatting and a time to make grammatical, punctuation and spelling corrections.
Our team will provide instructions on how to do this to ensure this step is easy. We will have an editor from our team reviewing it as well. Once the author and editor have completed edits, we combine them and finalize the manuscript.
Step 7: FULL COVER
While the manuscript is being finalized, our team will work on the full cover. We have to wait until the manuscript is complete so our team can have a page count to ensure the size of the spine aligns with industry standards. The author will be asked if they want to use an image and review the book synopsis and author bio that was submitted for their landing page.
Our team will create one to three mock-ups. The author will select which one they would like to use. Then our team finalizes the files.
Step 8: AUTHOR APPROVAL
Your approval is imperative. Once everything has been completed, we will send everything to the author for their review and approval. Take your time.
Step 9: UPLOADING FILES
Once the author has approved everything, it's time to upload the manuscript! Once the files have been approved, it will be time to order proof copies — or just two author copies—one for the author and one for our team.
Step 10: FINAL PROOF COPY EDITS
You may be thinking, edits again?! Yes, one final edit — of the tangible book. Please ensure that you order the two copies and not a large number of copies that you haven't reviewed. We have seen plenty of authors bypass this step and end up having a book that didn't print correctly and it cost them in the end.
BONUS Step: TRUST THE PROCESS
If you have never written a book before, make sure you trust the process. There is a lot that goes into writing a book. It can be daunting and there are a lot of emotions involved during the process, but you have to trust your publisher, editors and team. You have to know that they have your best interest in mind. Our name is on the books we publish, which means our name is on the line, just like the author's name.
I could write a book about writing a book, but for now, this will suffice. While this may seem overwhelming, our team at Self Publish -N- 30 Days keeps you informed and updated. Our goal is to help you and see you win!