How to Publish an eBook!

 

Salve!

Here’s a quick and dirty set of directions explaining how to Publish an ebook! Had to write this up for a fellow author interested in self-publishing, so here goes for you, hope you enjoy. Let me know if I left anything out!

1.) Write it (Duh, but still, very important)

2.) Edit: Have it edited by a professional (or several people who aren’t as skilled at editing but are very knowledgeable, think English teachers or other professionals in that area.) But a professional will do the best job. You can shop around for this to try and save some money.

3.) Format: You can either attempt to format it for online and/or print book structure by yourself, which takes some time and can be difficult. But there are many tutorials online. Search ‘formatting a word document for Kindle” or ‘formatting a word document for ebook’ and it should come up with more steps.

4.) Cover Art – I hire out for this because I don’t have that artistic skill. Cover art (Even if simplistic) will make your book much more inviting to a prospective reader.

5.) Print Publish: Using Amazon Createspace for Print Books will allow you to create it for free. You’ll have to buy a proof copy (essentially a test book) of your book to make sure you’ve formatted it correctly).

6.) eBook Publish: Amazon KDP and Nook Press both have very guided steps to setting up your book. Set prices, distribution, etc. Make sure you explore your chosen genre to see what other people are doing, and price accordingly. That doesn’t mean make it free necessarily. It means don’t over charge, but don’t undercharge as well.

7.) Book-keeping: Keep track of all your receipts, as you can use them during taxes since creating a book counts a small business activity. This includes things like the proof copy, copyright fee, etc.

8.) Copyright: I’m a big fan of actually applying for it and not just trusting to the system. Regardless, it never hurts to copyright your work.

In honesty, I use Streetlight Graphics http://www.streetlightgraphics.com/ for my formatting and cover art skills. They’re great people, and they give you step by step directions on how to upload everything.

Hope that helps. Let me know if you need more specific knowledge.

Ciao!