Self-Publishing Simplified: Key Steps to Launching Your Book With Confidence

Running from Yesterday, A True Story of Hope, Courage and Love by Margarette Allyn

Are a coach, consultant or an aspiring author working on your very first book? Do you plan on taking the self-publishing route? 

If you are in the process of writing your book or maybe your finished manuscript is sitting on your desk while you are googling “how do I self-publish my book?”, read on to know the complete list of everything you need to know before you start on your self-publishing journey.

To be noted: For the purpose of this blog I’ve kept the explanation of the steps below as concise as possible. Each step does require meticulous attention to detail and a fair amount of tech knowledge.

1. Professional Editing:

The first step is to work with a professional editor to ensure your book is polished and error-free.

2. Cover Design:

Next, you need to work with a designer (not just any designer, but someone who has experience designing book covers) to create an attention-grabbing cover that reflects your book's essence.

3. ISBN & Copyright Protection:

An ISBN (International Standard Book Number) is a 13-digit code used as a unique identifier for books. An ISBN is assigned to each edition of a book, helping publishers, bookstores, and libraries keep track of their stock and sales. Readers can also use them to look up specific editions online. You will need to buy an ISBN for each edition of your book. For example, if your book will be published as a hardcover, paperback and an ebook, you will need a separate ISBN for each. To copyright protect your book, you will need to register it with the Copyright Office. For example, if you are in USA, you will need to register it with the U.S. Copyright office.

4. Formatting and Layout:

Once again, you will need to work with a book designer to format your book for digital and print (also know as typesetting) formats, ensuring it looks great on all devices. At this stage your book is ready to be published on the major publishing platforms such as Amazon KDP, IngramSpark etc. as an ebook and a print-on-demand book.

5. Choose your publishing platform:

With your files prepared, it's time to choose your publishing platforms. Create accounts on platforms like Amazon KDP and IngramSpark, upload your files, set your price, and mark your launch date.

Congratulations! You’ve just published your book! 

But the truth is that, even after all these steps, you’ve just completed step 1, which is getting your book ready to be in the hands of your hungry readers on launch day.

You now need to develop a marketing plan to reach those readers and it starts with your brand and website.

As an author (or a coach/consultant/speaker who is also an author) you need a central hub, a home base to direct your readers to, to learn more about you and your work. It could be as simple as a one page website with info about you, your book and links to the major retailers where the book is available for purchase—for a first time author—or a more complex and customized website based on who you are and what services you offer along with a separate sales page for your book (or books).

After working with several accomplished authors who have written and published books in both the fiction and non-fiction genres since 2017, I am excited to announce that I now offer self-publishing services along with my complete branding and web design package. 

Yes, this is a one-stop service. You walk in with your finished manuscript and you walk out with a published book and a brand + website to market it to the world at large. 

If you are a first time author, you are likely looking to publish your book and create your website from scratch or if you’re coach/consultant/speaker who has been in business for several years but your visual branding and online presence doesn’t reflect your years of expertise and experience and you are also getting ready to publish your first book, you are looking at a complete brand + website overhaul, this could potentially be the perfect service for you.

Does this sound like you?

Then, let’s start the conversation. Reach out via my contact page with more details about your project.

I look forward to connecting with you!