I am a self-publisher. I’ve published three books—two narrative non-fiction and one general nonfiction. The two former are in a series entitled Palmetto Pioneers, about the Walker family, who settled in territorial Florida, almost two hundred years ago in the late 1820s. Their story began in 1829 and ended in 1871.

These two books are published on Amazon, and it was easier to publish than I imagined. They are available on Amazon as e-books, paperbacks, hardbacks, and audibles. 

Below is a link to the first book.

Several people asked me to explain the publishing process. So here we go.

Book Speak

First, let’s discuss the semantics used in writing and publishing. The production process begins with prewriting (the thinking and planning), writing (first draft), revising (rewriting, changing, and improving your first draft), editing (checking, rechecking, and proofreading your revisions ad nauseam), and developing your final copy into a document, like Word. As the author, you manage the production process and can hire the right people or services to do the other parts, such as final editing, designing your cover, and distributing your book.  

Prewriting, Writing, & Revising

For my prewriting, I use Scrivener, an app for writers of all kinds. It allows you to plan, outline your book, and compose your text in any order, in sections as large or small as you like. I actually do all my writing within Scrivener. I can set up chapters and add material as I work through the book. I rewrite, change, and improve my first draft within Scrivener. In the end, I can ask Scrivener to compile the entire manuscript. Afterward, I copy it and place it in a Word document.

Editing

I use Word for the final edits. I check and recheck my revisions and send the Word document to my content editors. For me, these are usually people who are experts in their field and are friends. They fact-check my work. For example, I had a civil war expert examine my latest work to see if I had any inaccuracies. He found several, including a song used two years before it was available commercially.

Formatting

Next is formatting. This is all about presenting my book in an attractive, easy-to-read, and professional way. This is where I prepare it for publication, ensuring consistent font styles and sizes, appropriate headers and sub-headers, and using consistent indentations and spacing.

For example, I like the serif Palatino Linotype font at 12 point. If I were working with a traditional publisher, their team would do this for me; but I self-publish, so the work falls to me.

I set my margins, commonly at 1 inch. I decide on bleeds (do I want it to extend beyond the document’s edge.) Headers are where my book title and author information appear. Footers are where my page numbers sit. Footnotes can also be in the footers, but I do not use them, especially in narrative nonfiction writing. I also do not use a header or footer on the first page of each chapter.

My paragraphs are usually indented (not tabbed) and are justified with the outside of my lines completely straight. Line spacing is usually 1.3 – 1.5 line height. The first paragraph, though, at the start of a new chapter is not indented. I consistently change the font size for chapter titles and secondary or tertiary chapters.

Once all my basic formatting is done, I add my images. It is important to do this before adding your page breaks because image placement can be affected by where on a page a new chapter might begin. Make sure your images have enough space on the edges for binding and bleeds. I personally like for them to stay within the text margins.

Now it is time to work with page breaks. Each new chapter should start on a new page. Add a “next page section break” at the end of each chapter for this to occur.  Also, go through your manuscript to see if your images haven’t created blank pages accidentally.

Finally, check for widows and orphans. That is publishing speak for the first line of a paragraph by itself or the last line of a page separated from the rest of the text. To fix them you can slightly adjust line spacing or use other tricks. Widows and orphans, though, are only a problem for print versions. One cannot control them in an ebook.

In this Word document, I’ll need front matter, which is the title page, possibly a half-title page, copyright page, optional dedication, table of contents, preface, and optional forward.

Next is the content, the full text of my manuscript. I can also add an epilogue or conclusion here.

In the back matter, one can have the acknowledgments (though these can be in the front matter if needed.) One can also add a section about the author, an afterword, a glossary, discussion questions, an index, appendices, a bibliography, sneak peeks, and additional works.

At the end of this process, I can easily convert my final word document to an EPub or PDF document. Or I can download the Word document itself if requested by the publisher. 

Publishing

The publishing process does not begin until you have submitted a final manuscript in these printer-ready files. Publishing is the preparation of your final copy to share with an audience. Publishing comes in many forms and depends on the purpose and audience.  

Today anyone can get published. One can get the same level of online retail publishing and distribution as those who go through traditional publishers. 

All kinds of companies offer these services, such as Amazon KDP, IngramSpark, Lulu, Draft2Digital, etc. The process works well for print, e-book, and audible versions. I personally found Amazon KDP super easy. Ingramspark was very difficult. Lulu was the first company I used for my first book, and it was easy to use, too.

Distribution

For some companies, no money changes hands until the book begins to sell. That is when a company like Amazon gets its cut. 

You have total control over the artistic decisions and can keep all the profits and rights. 

However, self-publishing comes with a lot of work. You decide on your book’s production (the process required to turn your raw manuscript into a final printed product or ebook, design, and editorial content.  But there are all kinds of online help.

Some companies will offer fee-based services for editing, marketing, and design. And they’re also freelancers that do it. For example, I use a local freelancer for my final editing. 

Different Versions of Publishing

E-book Publishing

E-books are the best-selling formats for self-publishing authors especially for fiction.  However, some formats do not work as well, such as highly illustrated books and children’s books. 

E-book retailers are not publishers, and they take no responsibility for the quality of your work. However, you also do not forfeit any rights to your work. 

There are e-book retailers such as Amazon Kindle Direct Publishing (KDP) and e-book distributors, such as Draft2Digital. Amazon KDP is a retailer that distributes and sells self-published books through its storefront. It takes a cut of the sales. Some like to use Amazon KDP to sell and distribute directly. then use a distributor like Draft2Digital to reach everyone else. Neither of these services demands exclusivity.

Most e-book retailers do not require an ISBN number or a numeric commercial book identifier, but some do.  Kindle will provide a number, but you cannot use it with anyone else that requires it. To obtain an overall number, I use Bowker, an online service. 

Your book’s pricing is according to the company you use. Amazon penalizes for pricing outside of a window, $2.99 to $9.99. Barnes & Noble’s Nook and Apple pay 70% across the board. Kobo has the most favorable cut for the under-$2.99 price.

Some e-book publishers will accept a Word document.  Others require an EPub version. The latter is considered a global standard format for e-books. It works seamlessly on most devices and works everywhere. 

Mobi is no longer used, though it was once required by Kindle. A PDF version can be difficult to convert, and it’s not a good starting point for e-book conversion. 

To convert my work from one format to another, I have used Calibre, a free software that converts and helps you format e-book files. For example, I used it to convert my file from Word to EPUB. For Mac users, Vellum is popular.  

For those uncomfortable with doing this themselves, you can use a company such as Draft2Digital.   

However, if I can do it, you can too. I just start with the Word document. 

Print Versions

These are done in two primary ways: print-on-demand (POD) and traditional, offset printing.  POD is the most popular way to produce print copies because it reduces financial risk. There are also few upfront costs. 

Off-set Printing usually requires a minimum of 1,000 copies. Therefore, you have more upfront costs, though this is the better option for illustrated or photography books.

When I first launch a book, I try to keep on hand about 35 copies. I use these copies to sell at book signing events, Club programs, local store inventories, etc. One of my most successful book signing events was a private affair in someone’s home. She invited a crowd, and I sold over 50 books that night. The event was about five weeks before Christmas. Thankfully, I had that many on hand.

I worked hard to distribute to small, locally-owned bookstores, and I have had some success. However, most of my success has been from local gift and antique shops. You cannot expect success, though, without some sort of mutual marketing. Most bookstores will do a book signing or reading, and I use my social media to get people there. I do not leave it up to the bookstore.  

I have never expected national bookstores to carry my books.

When I receive a shipment of books, I sign each on its title page and place a gold sticker on the front that shows the buyer that this is an autographed copy. Lately, for the first book in the Palmetto Pioneers series, I have only been keeping 20 copies on hand. Amazon is fairly quick at getting the extra copies.

For print editions, your success will usually be your cover design, the quality of your book, your reach, and your visibility. My covers have been a duo effort using watercolor artwork of a local building. My work is nonfiction and some of the settings, buildings, are still standing. The art design is by a local graphic designer, who is just starting out.

Contracting

I handle my own formatting and page layout. I farm out my final editing.

My reach is through Amazon, social media, and word of mouth, as is my visibility. I am experimenting with Bookbub using their paid advertising and their readers. I am testing different ads and messages for various categories of readers. 

Marketing

In ebook marketing, other factors are in play. In fiction, the price point is lower. Most novels sell at $2.99 or less. The price point for nonfiction, though, is much higher. Also, your book description, author page, and reviews are critical in driving ebook sales. 

One marketing strategy is to use freebies. KDP Select allows you to use this marketing strategy every few months. Authors use freebies, Ebook freebies, to make people aware of their book. 

I did this just before my second book in the Palmetto Pioneers series was released. Over three days, I offered a free copy of the first book’s ebook version. Amazon allowed it, and the campaign created awareness or attention amongst new readers. Once a reader is aware, hopefully, it manifests in their interest and desire to read more books in the series. In turn, the interested reader will yearn for it enough to take action and buy the next book in the series. Voila, I have a new reader!

Some authors do perma-free and offer their books free permanently. They keep the first book free indefinitely. I decided against this strategy for Palmetto Pioneers.