Yes, you have an idea, then what? Your manuscript is done, then what? How do you make that idea on paper, publish it, and show it to the world—that’s what every author desires. Recognition in a particular niche.

Everyone wants to realize their dream of making their book public to the world, executing that given idea that we’ve long procrastinated.

But let me give you a little note here, did you know that it was pretty hard to publish a book in the past? Historically, if you desired to publish a book, you had to have an agent to put you through the process of book publishing. The agent had to find a traditional publisher to examine the given manuscript.

And for a fact, many of the publishing houses wouldn’t even want to know the idea you’re trying to pass across if it didn’t go through an agent—it was that archaic.

That era made learning how to publish a book pretty difficult for new writers or authors in a given niche. Not to leave out the fact in considering all the hassle someone goes through to publish a given book—like you don’t want me to spell it out here.

And do you want to know what’s worse? The publishers opening your book, and then you still have little chance that your book would ever be sold in bookstores! That’s tiring if you tell me.

What is Book Publishing?

According to Wikipedia, Book publishing makes information, literature, and all other content available to the public for sale or free. Traditionally, the term refers to the distribution of books, newspapers, magazines, and printed works.

Types of  Publishing

There are various kinds of publishing, which tend to depend on the book’s market. I will be writing separate posts on each of them soon. But we will talk about the basis today. They are;

1. Traditional Publishing
2. Hybrid Publishing
3. Self-publishing

Traditional book publishing

Traditional publishing is when a given publisher provides the author a contract and, in turn, is said to publish and sell a given book through retailers and booksellers. The Publisher is said to have the right to publish your book in their name and pays you stipulated royalties from the sale of your book.

As was said from the introduction of this post, if you wish to publish your book traditionally, you’ll need to find an agent. And in other to get one, you must have an idea of the right category of your writing or what niche your ideas fall under.

If you desire to be a fictional writer, you’ll need to submit your full manuscript. Suppose you desire to be a nonfiction writer. In that case, you’ll need to submit a book proposal with at least three given sample chapters and a synopsis of each chapter.

Once all of these are done, you proceed in writing your query letter. This letter is what you’ll have to send to potential agents, and it’s important to mention all of the parts that make up your query letter.

Do not forget to mention every detail of your book that is the chapter summary, who the book is meant for, description of yourself, and synopsis of the book.

Self-Publishing

This needs the author to invest their finances to produce, make and warehouse the book. In this case, it seems more like a huge commitment for the author; this is to say, you’re the one that has to pay for all the expenses of your book.

One of the main advantages of self-publishing a given book is that you control the book publishing process, have all book rights, and have all the profits.

Hybrid Publishing

According to Wikipedia, this is a publishing house that functions with a different revenue model than traditional publishing while keeping the rest of book publishing practices in place.

The revenue source of a hybrid publisher comes from both the sale of books and all charges for the execution of their book publishing services. And to be a hybrid publisher, a given company must set a standard of best practices as a publishing house.

Why do you want to publish a book?

Why do we write in the first place? Some do say is to earn some side cash, but don’t you think that for you to earn that cash, the book has to have an audience, or those willing to read what you wrote? The simple fact is; we want to publish books because we desire to share information. This is one of the common reasons for writing a book; we desire to share information on a specialty or topic that we know, like the back of our hands.

There are various topics, which are somewhat beyond the reach of common people. And if you possess such advanced skills and knowledge, you can certainly share them by writing and publishing a given book.

Simple Steps towards Publishing a Book

Think about what to write

You need to brainstorm for a start; why do you write a book? This is to ensure that you’re hundred percent sure in writing your book and publishing it.

And this is also a major step that’s largely responsible for all the people who have become bestsellers. They had an idea, brainstormed the moment, and that magical moment came for them to start writing, and that was it!

Choose a title

Do not decide on the book title, only after you’ve written your first draft. First of all, brainstorm on a title before writing your book outline. And the key to choosing a title is this, making it simple is the best. If you don’t have an idea on how to choose the best book title, check my post on  6 Awesome Title Generator Websites for Authors

Write your book

Have you had this moment when you decided to write, and all you did is stare at the blank page, thinking deeply about what to write on? In such situations, when we are staring at the blank page for too long, we feel frustrated, and in feeling frustrated, we procrastinate. When we procrastinate, we tend to get nothing done.

And you don’t need to beat yourself when it comes to this. Writing a book can be pretty hard. Coming up with an idea on its own can be a bit tricky. But one thing for sure here is that to start writing, you must develop a writing process.

Here are some tips to follow;

1. Buy a calendar
2. Create an outline
3. Create a writing habit
4. Get an accountability partner
5. And build your writing environment

For more tips, check my post on 18 Powerful Steps to Becoming a Best Seller Author

Hire Editor

For this stage, this is the difference between becoming a bestselling author or simply publishing an amateurish book. Therefore, it is advisable to take as much time during this process.

To find an editor, why not start with your close circle of friends or network. Or, if you know a professional editor, do start there. And not to forget, when hiring a professional editor, it depends on your budget. Do make sure they are interested in the subject matter. As for me, I do get my editor on Upwork. I have a post on 16 Genuine Websites to Hire a Book Editor

Design a Book Cover

When it comes to booking publishing, a good book cover is one of the significant elements that will surely get your book spiraling in the market when it comes to sales. The reason is that in the literary world, they ‘judge a book by its cover,’ and you can’t escape that.

Here is the stuff that makes a good book cover;

1. Professionally designed
2. Simplistic style
3. A design that puts the audience or readers in mind
4. A clear title or subtitle

Check my post on Simple Tricks to Creating a Bestseller Book Cover 

Another major challenge you might face when designing a book cover is getting royalty-free images. That is while I have written a detailed post on 10 Best Websites to Download Royalty-Free Images for Book Cover Creation

Format your book

For this part, you don’t need to fret. There are numerous posts online that teach you how to format your book without price. Why don’t you start by looking at the Amazon Kindle Direct Publishing Forums; it is a place where there are numerous discussions on book formatting.

You can also use the KDP resources to format your book too. But I’ll have to tell you the truth when you’re a newbie to this; formatting can be pretty hard. So, if you have some cash to spare, it would be advisable to hire someone. You can check my post on How to Format Amazon Ebook Using Microsoft Word

Choose a Publishing firm

Here’s the good news: you don’t need an agent or a publisher to accept your book when publishing. This can be done hassle-free in these times. Have you heard of Amazon? And when I mean Amazon, I don’t mean buying or selling stuff. Amazon has a self-publishing service called Kindle Direct Publishing (KDP); this is the spot in which you have the liberty to create and manage your Kindle e-book, audiobooks, and paperback.

Amazon is the best way and simplest way to publish a book and sell it quickly—try it out; you won’t regret it!

Here are the ways to register on KDP;

1. Visit the website https://kdp.amazon.com and make an account with either your email address or your existing Amazon account.
2. Next up, do complete your tax information if necessary. There’s no way you would be able to submit your manuscript if this isn’t done.
3. Once you’re done with the tax information, proceed and hit ‘Finished,’ and your account is fully done.

For more understanding of setting a KDP account, read my detailed post on Simple Guides on How to Set Up KDP Account.  However, there are still other book publishing companies like Draft2Digital, LuLu, etc. The process of registering an account with them is simple. If you are considering printing your book, I have a post on 5 Best Websites For Book Printing Services.

NOTE: Most book publishing firms might require you to verify your account before self-publishing your book on their platform.

Upload/submit your manuscript

When you’re done with the little details when registering for KDP, it is high time to submit your manuscript to KDP for publishing. After submission, your book would be examined for a few hours or days. This is done to identify plagiarized content, which you’ll be warned of found. I have a detailed post on step by step guide on how to upload a book on Amazon Kindle. However, you will need to include your book description, keywords, and book cover when uploading your book. The process is almost the same in many online book publishing houses.

Set your book Price

When it comes to KDP publishing and pricing, to answer this, the general rule to follow is to have your book priced from 2.99 dollars to 5.99 dollars. If you set it too low, you might be at a loss when it comes to your payments, and if you set it to high than the rate given, you still might be at a loss, for readers also follow their budget. So, always calculate the printing cost before setting your price.

Organize a book launch

What is a launch team? This is a group of people who are wholly dedicated to helping in your book publishing process or making your book successful in the market. It would be best to make them a passionate group of people who share the same ideologies as you or who are eager to make your book successful. You can set up a questionnaire to find quality candidates for this.

Celebrate

Yes, it’s time to relax and begin dreaming big. Use your imagination and begin to imagine your success. When that vision is in your head on where you want your book to take you, you’ll surely be there. Make sure you do get it clear, where do you want to be in some years’ time? How do you want your book to be received? Do you want to be invited for public speeches and the likes? These are all and more of the things that should be imagined. In essence, DREAM BIG!

More Tips

Promote your book

When it comes to promoting and marketing your book, this is of vital importance for the success of your book. After all, you can’t have a steady audience if they don’t know you exist. But the truth is, promotion can be expensive, and all that annoying costs come out of your pocket.

Here are the ten given ways to promote your book;

1. Make an author Blog
2. Make your podcasts
3. Create a YouTube Channel
4. Join reading Groups on Facebook
5. Promote posts on Facebook via an Ad campaign
6. Use Instafreebie
7. Group Promotions
8. Use your mailing list
9. Go on a local book tour
10. Make Guest blog posts

I also have a detailed post on 16 Different Ways to Promote Amazon Ebooks as a Beginner

FAQ

Can I Self-Publish my book in more than one company?

If it’s a traditional publisher, then it’s a no. They will want that exclusive right to publish. And if it’s a self-published print-on-demand service, then you should be able to use more than one, provided that each has a different ISBN.

How can I get an ISBN?

While ISBNs are assigned locally, you can use them internationally. Now, if you live in the United States. You can get an ISBN through myidentifiers, which is run by Bowker, the only company authorized to offer or administer ISBNs in the United States.

Or, if you’re self-publishing on KDP, you automatically get an ISBN for your book. You can read my detailed post on How to Get ISBN Number in 12 Steps

How do I receive my Book Royalties?

When it comes to Book royalty rates, they are typically calculated as a percentage of the gross revenue for each book sold. For instance, if the gross revenue of your book is 10 dollars and the author’s royalty rate is 15 percent, the author would receive 1 dollar of profit for each of the books sold.  For Amazon KDP, you can check my detailed post on Understanding Amazon KDP Sales Dashboard. It will help you to learn how to calculate your book royalty.

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