In the past, if you wanted to publish a paperback book, you had to have an agent to get a conventional/traditional publisher to look at your manuscript. And to be serious here, many publishing companies in the past wouldn’t even want to know about your book if it doesn’t come through a specific agent.
Which made it pretty hard to publish a paperback book in those times. So if you also see it my way, don’t you think it is unnecessary to go through that work just because you want to publish a paperback book.
Well, in these present times, I can proudly say we are so lucky because many tools have been provided to take down this annoying barrier for authors who prefer to tread the path alone. And, I’m one of them; I’ve published several books on Amazon, which are making good profits.
Simple Steps to Publish a Paperback Book
Be specific
As authors, we all have the different ways we do want to publish a paperback book—there’s a plethora to choose from. There are no such things as the ‘right way to publish a given text. And before we move on, as I said from the opening of this discussion, you need to be specific and ask yourself these questions;
- Do you want to publish or be a sole publisher traditionally?
- And if it’s the former, do you wish to go via a more prominent publisher or small press?
All of these, as stated, should give you a good direction, and at the end of the day, only you would be able to determine which publishing route is wholly correct for you.
Write the book
Have you written the book? Well, if you’ve ever tried starting a book, you might have been the kind that had moments where you’ve stared at the blank page for hours with absolutely nothing to show for it. Feeling a bit frustrated, you, therefore, chose the path to procrastinate and get nothing done.
And this is normal. Don’t call yourself lazy or any derogatory words that come to mind. Writing a book can be hard work. Like, who desires to sit in front of the computer for minutes and hours doing nothing but typing from page to page.
For a fact, coming up with an excellent book idea can be somewhat tricky, but to write your book and publish your paperback book, you have to develop a writing process in some way.
Here are pleasant but effective ways to write a book worth self-publishing;
Create your outline
An outline is simply a map of your book which provides the needed direction to your story. It is known to keep you on track and does ensure your ideas are duly organized.
Have a calendar
If you want to have your paperback book complete, you need a calendar to schedule your goals daily and weekly.
Get an honest partner.
This is a lovely way to go through the process. Get a partner and hold each other accountable to write and finish your draft done date.
Read also, Self-Publishing a Book: 18 Powerful Steps to Becoming a Best Seller Author
Creating a writing habit
Make sure to condition yourself to write at the same time daily. With this practice, it would become a habit that will make writing a book much ease.
Make sure to choose a Book Title
Contrary to most beliefs, don’t ever decide on a book title until you are done writing your first draft. This is because choosing a book title at first often results in your writing yourself into a given corner because you’re trying hard to align your story to the title of the book instead of writing what needs to be written.
Edit
The greatest gift to give your paperback book is making a thorough edit. And this is through whether you’re self-publishing your paperback book or submitting your book to agents; either way, people will be reading it and making judgments with the decisions that may impact success.
To start with, here are the processes to edit your book;
Make sure to wait a week or a month in editing;
This is going to give you the comfort you need to consider writing the way an editor would.
Don’t forget to start with the characters and plot.
Read through the entire book and take the required notes with the prominent picture elements in mind. Then, ask yourself these fundamental questions, does your plot follow a sensible structure? Do you have a good number of plot points and not seem to rush it at the very end? Do your characters in any way majorly feel well-rounded with the compelling motivations which drive them and the dynamic interactions with the others?
If most of these are pretty intimidating, then skip lining edits
Maybe you’re not the kind that wraps your head around the plot or character changes presently, however, is the case, you can still work on the packing of the intimate scenes. Or you can hone your voice with better choices of words. Even in correcting basic errors, it is still better than nothing.
When in doubt, why not read it out loud
If you’re struggling to get via a chunk of the editing, why not try reading out pages loud. This is an excellent way to break down your mental blocks and hear what can be upgraded in your writing.
Why do you need to edit your book?
Well, the answer is no one wants to read a paperback book that is full of plot holes and typos, and no self-respecting author would ever publish an unedited draft anyway. That’s unless you’ve already signed a book deal, you’ll need to find out someone to iron out your manuscript.
Get the Feedback from Others
So, whether you hire an editor or not, thoughtful third-party feedback is quite invaluable to the success of your paperback book. So throughout the editing process—most authors go through various rounds of revisions and share their manuscripts with trusted collaborators to see what they think.
Now, to help the people you give your paperback book provide honest feedback, ask them to submit an anonymous form with their thoughts on specific elements, including the characters, plot, prose, and pacing. You might also want to include a rating system to make it easier for them.
Read also, Book Publishing Made Easy: Follow These Simple Steps to Publish a Book
And to make sure your feedback is constructive, do ask them to give a solution to each of the issues as stated, not just pointing out.
Now, what are the places to look for feedback?
You can ask your friends only if you feel comfortable, or ask family for their notes. Nonetheless, this can be a somewhat delicate process, and it may be pretty better not to involve anyone you know personally. Here are the three ways you can get reliable feedback on your book;
Beta readers;
This is the third way to get a bit detailed with your work. This is known as a candid feedback mechanism from people who are invested in your paperback book. For most contexts, authors apply beta readers after they’ve done some self-editing and before they pass their book off to a given editor. You can read through the post to learn more about it.
Writing communities;
This is pretty helpful because many of these communities are known to have built-in critique circles, and it’s worth checking their various individual forums to see if anyone’s looking for a critique partner if you’re lucky offering free critique.
Critique circles
These are fantastic places to get your feedback. Not only do they permit you to contact notes on your book, but they also help hone your skills. So do check out the post to learn more about critique circles.
Formatting for the Publishing site
If you don’t know how to format a document, you need not worry; many cheap freelancers do.
Personally, for me, I’d once hired someone through Upwork.com for 15 dollars, and he’d formatted my text that it looked pretty nice to e-readers in print and kindles.
The step is straightforward; all you have to do is hire someone to format the book for you. And trust me, you need formatting, yes, formatting the page count, font size, the bok, and a dozen other factors that need good arrangement—and you can do this for your paperback book for just 15 dollars!
To do this, go to Upwork, and type e-book formatting, and hire someone with great reviews.
Publish
If you’re using the Amazon KDP program, I’ll like to tell you it is the best tool for writers since the delete button. It is known to make self-publishing your book way easy. To begin with;
Step 1: Head to Amazon KDP, and this might be a different link based on your country.
Step 2: make your account—you’ll need your bank and tax information, as all sales are paid directly to your bank at the end of each month; this takes just a few minutes.
Step 3: click on the paperback, and you can also upload an e-book only version just by clicking the Kindle e-book
Step 4: Then fill out all the necessary details—description, keyword, author, and all other requirements for publishing.
Step 5: Fill out the paperback book content. This means your manuscript, book size, the color of the pages, and cover. I’d recommend that you get a free KDP ISBN, and that’s the official number of your book used to search for it. Kindle automatically makes one for you with no issues.
Step 6: Price tag; Basically, it would be fitting to price your book between 2 dollars—9 dollars. And Amazon would give you a 70 percent cut on all sales in this price range. But, of course, if it’s way cheaper or more expensive, then your stake is going to decrease.
And the bottom line when publishing your paperback book is to do your research and find out what publishing route works for you. I had to talk on Amazon because it’s easier for publishers and ideal for profit accountability and accruement.
