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5 Tips for Self Publishing a Book

With advances in technology and social media, self publishing has become accessible to all aspiring authors. Many authors who have previously been published with conventional publishing houses are now choosing to become their own publishers. Self publishing is big business and we have 5 tips for self publishing for anyone considering giving it a go.

Collectively, independent authors make up a rather large publishing house. In fact the larger publishing houses are feeling the pinch and no longer offer large advances or extensive marketing. The good news is that when self publishing, authors keep creative control of their work and of course all of the royalties.

Authors considering this route are faced with a dizzying array of options. Do not let this put you off. Start writing your book, talk to other authors, join a local writing group, or join a facebook group. Start thinking of yourself as an author and somewhere along the way your options will become clearer.



Our 5 tips for self publishing your book



1. Stop thinking that you will write a book someday and set a real deadline for yourself

Far too many aspiring writers plan to write their novel at some point in the future when life settles down. Life never settles down. Just start writing. Even a page a day will produce 365 pages in a year … and that is a novel.

Point to consider: If you already write a blog – you will already have a great deal of content for a book, putting together your blog posts is a great way to become an author.



2 After writing the first draft, let it sit in a drawer for at least a few weeks

You need some distance from it before you start the first revision. When you come back to the first draft, read it out loud to see how the narrative flows, and remove sections where things get sticky.



3 Send your revised draft to a good freelance editor

You need an objective professional to tell you where the book needs work, as well as to catch simple grammar, spelling and punctuation errors you wouldn’t see yourself.

A word of warning about letting friends read it before it’s finished: they are rarely objective, and their feedback is typically well meaning but just as typically useless.

NB. Many self publishers do skip this step, if you choose to edit yourself there is software available to download on the internet that can help you.



4 Decide where you are going to publish

Amazon KDP should be your first option as you are able to produce, publish and sell your work, both as an ebook and as a paperback, all from one account.



5 Don’t be shy about self promotion

Even with a deal from a traditional publisher, you would have to do most of the marketing yourself.

Tell everyone you know about your book, and ask them to tell everyone they know. Post links to your book and website on social media, use Google Adwords, and make yourself known to book bloggers or online reviewers.



At the end of the day, writing, publishing and marketing a book is a daunting task, but the satisfaction you get from holding your book or selling your first ebook is well worth all the hard work

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