Where to Start : Self to Shelf Publishing Services

You have labored long and hard over the plot, character development and arc of your story. You did it! Now it is time to dream up the shape of your book as it takes flight into the world.

Choosing to self publish your book is an empowering endeavor in today’s publishing landscape. Every step of the process is in your hands, because essentially, your book is now your own little business. That could seem daunting to a writer who has been immersed in their own writing routine for months, maybe years. But I am here to show you that the process can be exciting as you direct your vision of your book.

I will be your guide, your cheerleader and your sounding board as you go through getting your book to market. But here are a few tips to assure you are well-informed of the self-publishing process….

Hire Professionals.

With almost 800,000 self-published titles released in 2016, it is important your book stands out among other books in your genre. Your book deserves to get the same expert treatment that it would at a traditional publishing house. Professional book designers specialize in font treatment, image scaling and cover composition, and a professional copy editor has experience honing in on the details you are sure to overlook. They are trained to correct inconsistencies in structure, consistency and overall flow. Skipping this step will put your book at the bottom of the heap.

Do your research.

Now that you are the manager of your book business, it is important to know your printing and distribution options. If it is more important to you that your book be directly available to readers on Amazon (the #1 online book retailer in the world), and if you'd like to have a bigger royalty, then CreateSpace might be your choice for Print on Demand. If you envision your book widely distributed to bookstores by the top book distributor in the country, then count on a bigger overhead (which also equals less royalty) with Ingram Spark, but you will be guaranteed trusted national book distribution. Research price point on your book and use the calculators on CreateSpace and Ingram Spark to learn upfront what your royalty will be.