There are around 1,000,000 books being published in the United States alone per a year, about half of which are being self published*. That is a big number and every year there are more and more writers wanting to publish their books. Maybe you are one of those people; a writer who wants to publish a book, and maybe you are looking into self publishing. I myself have self published over 5 books, and would like to share with you some pointers (that I learned) for self publishing your book, along with a few places you can self publish your book.
There is a vast world of ways and places to self publish your book, but regardless of how and where you self publish your book there are a few pointers that will always help you out. As a self publisher there are things you will have to do that other writers normally don’t have to do or worry about. If your book was to be published by a real publishing company you would not have to edit your book, make a table of contents, worry about copyright information or anything. But as a self publisher you are in control of the whole book and you are the one responsible to make sure that everything gets done.
The first step to getting a book published is the writing step. I write my stuff out on paper first then onto then onto the computer, but writing it on paper is not that necessary. Before typewriters were invented in 1867 you could send your writing to the publisher in your best handwriting. But since the invention of computers it has become a to must write your manuscript on them, from there you can print it off if necessary or do just about anything with it.
Copyrighting your books is a pretty big must, but is a pretty easy thing to do.
“When you create an original piece of writing, you automatically get certain property rights in that work. These rights are called "copyright" and automatically attach to certain works. If your work is copyrightable, it will be copyrighted as soon as it is "fixed." Nothing more needs to be done to gain the protections of the law. However, there may be certain reasons you want to register your copyright and formally protect it well into the future.”- http://www.wikihow.com/Copyright-Your-Writing-for-Free
Editing is fairly important. Some would say it is the most important part of your manuscript, but I would say that the only thing that really matters is that you are glorifying God through your writing. Still you should your best to edit your book as good as you can, and do not worry about the mistakes you did not fix, at least you did your best. As a self publisher I think you have more editing options than other types of writers. You can edit the book yourself, with a group of friends, or you could hire and editor. There are also many online writing sites where you could write your manuscript out and have it edited for free, actually I only know of one site grammarly https://app.grammarly.com/ . They can help you catch most mistakes.
The table of contents is a pretty important part of your book, but is not something you should make to soon. When I made my first book I made it too soon, and wasted a lot of time having to change it as I edited the rest of the book. The table of contents is something you should do last.
An ISBN number is a pretty important part of you book. Note: Most self-publishing operations will provide you with a free ISBN for both your print book and e-book but whatever operation provides you with the ISBN will be listed as the publisher.
There are many, many place you can self publish your book. I publish mine with Blurb www.blurb.com or .ca . But I have heard of other places such a lulu https://www.lulu.com/ or tellwell http://tellwell.ca/. And there are many more besides. What you got to do is find the one that suits your tastes. One you find the place you want to self publish your book just read their instructions.
I hope that I have helped you, and pray that your book will help others. There are many more pointers that I could have given you, but the last thing I will share with you is that you always have to be open to learning. Then you can learn all the other things that I could have told you, besides I think experience is better than any other pointers I could have given you. And make sure you are using your experience and talents for the glory of God. ( N.C.R)
