Want to Know What it’s Like to Self-Publish?
The Self-Publishing Journey
When you’ve finished writing your first book, you tend to sit glazed with achievement. Being artistic and not used to business means thinking about getting published can be just that. Reading about what to do next is daunting.
I first heard about Self- Publishing through a receptionist at The Moller Institute. He overheard me, saying I didn’t think I was good enough to get published, and told me about Amazon KDP. It brought me hope.
The traditional route is to get an agent and send letters of introduction with sample chapters, perfectly formatted to each publisher’s specifications. It being recommended you approach each publisher in turn, you become aware getting your book to print could take years. There will be a constant stream of rejections and suggestions for a rewrite of your baby.
Asking for advice on the internet can bring an avalanche of ‘interested’ Vanity Publishers, who charge printing fees and do little marketing. Should you choose this path, you could be left with boxes of books to sell under your own steam.
I have lost count of the amount of writers I have seen in internet chatrooms rejoicing because they have been approached by a Vanity Publisher. Their joy has cold water thrown on it when those in the know jump in to save them from an expensive disappointment.
(I cannot express how worthwhile it is to join writer’s groups on Facebook etc. If you make the effort, you will find support and advice. It will rid you of things which will haunt you and combat beginner’s misconceptions, such as, people wanting to steal your ideas. You will be quickly kicked into touch with nurturing words. The worst that will happen is a good chat with someone who understands, writing can be lonely.)
The answer is not the path of least resistance but the one of least expense. A good publisher will cover costs and it is in their best interest to make sales.
Individuals who have their own marketing strategy may take to Vanity Publishers but, if you want to get your book published quickly, with minimal outlay, platforms like Amazon run a Print on Demand service.
This means your manuscript is kept on file and only printed when a customer makes an order. Printing costs are covered by the price of the book and you get royalties for each sale.
Problem solved, I hear you say, but I can assure you every bit of the process will make you see more questions than answers.
If you do your own research, which I highly recommend, you will find there are a number reputable companies out there.
Publish Drive, Barnes & Noble Press, Apple Books, Google Play Books, Ingram Spark, Kobo Writing Life and Dreame, are all possibilities I would expect you to explore. There are many more. Choice is down to the individual.
I chose Kindle Direct Publishing and will share a rough outline of the process with you, in the hope it will help you decide whether it’s for you.
The first thing you will have to do is sign up with your platform (You need to sign up as an Amazon customer to use Kindle Direct Publishing – KDP.)
Before I dive into the basics, it’s important that you choose a genre, and sub-genre.
It doesn’t matter how unique you may think your work is, you will need to know what to class it as. Take a good look at books which are already out there and consider where you would place your work to hit your target market.
You will be asked to input phrases and words to help the right readers find your work.
Think deeply about this.
Go to online book stores and search, using words you have chosen, to see what they suggest you read. Keep the words which have produced the most apt results and dump anything obscure, always remembering you will have to have something a little different in there to have the search edge on similar items.
Cover
In the first instance you will be uploading a front cover only. This is known as a Thumbnail. I will cover the process for paperback later on.
You will need a cover, even for an eBook.
I should point out, if you make a different cover for the paperback version of your book, the original thumbnail image will be the one potential readers see when searching for a new read. Choose well!
There is a cover creator on Amazon but I didn’t take to it. There’s nothing wrong with it but I don’t think I studied the provided videos well enough, so looked for another way.
Shuffling through YouTube, I found Nuria Corbi, Homeboss, who calmly talked me through joining Canva and using it to create a hassle-free book covers. There is a free version of Canva available, though you have greater freedom and access to more varied images if you subscribe.
Nuria is very with it and has heaps of other skills you might find useful. Whenever I’m stuck, I look her up. She has saved me so much time.
If you have got a bit of cash put aside for your project, there are people out there who have a genius for creating covers. If you join a writer’s group, you can ask for suggestions.
I love the work of one designer who frequents The Writer’s Forum. David Gardias has his own Facebook page, Best Selling Covers by David Gardias. He has a flare which makes you realise the level you must work to, so much so that he has people trying to copy his work.
Please, be original. It’s better to think about which genre you may be working in and look at what kind of things sell, then make a cover relevant to your storyline.
If you look at the kind of work David Gardias usually does and his commissioned work, you’ll realise he has his own style but is not a one trick pony. He’s very capable of working to an author’s brief to create something unique.
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You won’t always hit the mark. I have one book published with a very average cover. This isn’t really a problem to fix at a later stage.
You’ll have to un-publish your book, which is simple enough, and create a second addition with the new cover, which will need a new ISBN Number if it is in hardcover/paperback (as you go through the process you will be offered one automatically)
Don’t panic, you can take down manuscripts and covers and repeat the first steps you took to publish.
I hope knowing this will make you feel more secure.
We’ve all made mistakes. They don’t have to be there forever. There is a Kindle Previewer, which you can download to your Desktop, to spot any mistakes before you put your manuscript into the system. It’s free!
(Upload, open the Previewer, click on Open Book. Your own files will open and you can, double click on your manuscript, choose the Open button, or drag and drop your file, it’s very versatile.)
The best advice I can give you is to take your time, get to know what you are doing rather than rushing in. I suffered greatly from my need to publish ASAP. I would wake up in the morning, determined to press the publish button. Most days, I did not reach for the button but ended up discovering layers of snags, or things I hadn’t thought through.
Almost all my ‘publishing days’ were spent watching videos and reading articles. This was so much the case, I was actually astonished the day I publish my first book.
Even then, reading through it on Kindle, I saw some outstanding mistakes. Lesson learned, get others to proof read and an editor, if you can afford one. Asking for help from writer’s groups is a good idea again. Some writers hand out just a few chapters to several willing internet friends to proof read.
Bear with me, this may seem long winded. In fact it is very condensed information compared to years of trial, error and endless research.
Images within Text Manuscript
I know I usually say don’t sweat the small stuff but there are some very important things to remember about images within text, which could save you hours of frustration.
If you are using downloaded photographs, which I did for my mother’s travel memoirs, you must get things right at the download/scanning stage, before you save them. When using photographs, you should adjust contrast, brightness, colours, tones etc. first.
Whether you are scanning or downloading images from a design platform, you should reduce the file size as far as you can without affecting quality.
I would recommend you save scanned photos and downloaded designs as jpg. This format seems to fit all. However, if you are putting artistic images into text e.g. Pretty images next to chapter headings, PDF is easier, as you can use Apps to make them compatible with Word.
I do this by making Logos of images on Canva, downloading them to my laptop, then open them in Wordshark (free, from I love PDF) and change their format to Word from PDF. They work very well and it only takes a few minutes. I love PDF has other Apps which will convert pretty much anything to anything. It’s free.
I know I have said this before but, never click on the blue anchor on the edge of your image. This will make your image immovable, permanently.
The only way you will be able to get rid of it, when it becomes a static hindrance, is to grab the top right hand corner with your mouse and make it so small it will not be visible. (Once it is invisible to you in Word, it shouldn’t show up in KDP. I’ve done it and know.)
Uploading your Manuscript
By the time you get to upload your manuscript you will feel naturally anxious. I worried a lot about questions which answered themselves as I dived into the process.
When you go to KDP, you will find you need to fill out details you may not have thought about before.
You will need to have the International Sort Code to the bank account you wish to have your royalties paid into and to sign a declaration saying you will pay your taxes, if you live outside the USA.
You will be given boxes to fill in your book title and author name, if different from your real name.
You will have the option to create your cover, using Amazon software. Otherwise choose, Browse, and your files will open on the Amazon page. Choose your file and open it. It will load into the system easily, unless you haven’t formatted it appropriately. Don’t forget I have already written about formatting an eBook on my site.
If you have an issue, you will be given prompts to follow, and suggestions as to what the problem may be, in the side bar in red.
There may be videos about issues, which you can watch without leaving the page.
Watch the video and have a break. Take notes. You will know what to do by the end of it. They really do hold your hand all the way through the process, though some writers believe you need a degree to get through it. Perhaps they haven’t found the tutorials.
If you Google KDP University, you will find all the help you need in their pre-recorded webinars.
The first option is to publish an eBook. This should be very straight forward. You don’t even need to have page numbers for this, but you should have a clickable Table of Contents, to help the reader navigate.
Checklist
Copyright Notice
Disclaimer
Forward
Dedications or quote (if you wish)
Have you checked the Chapter Numbers are in sequence?
YOU WILL NEED YOUR SALES BLURB AND BRIEF DISCRIPTION OF YOUR BOOK, SPELL CHECKED AND READY TO UPLOAD IN A SEPARATE FILE! You can try to do it on the day, if you like, but will find the writing small and hard to see, though there is a spellchecker within the box.
When you have uploaded your file, you will be told approximately how long it will take for your eBook to be published. If there are any issues, you’ll be alerted and sent messages about them. It usually says 72 hours but appears for sale within hours or the next day.
The option to turn your book into a printable version will be left open as a suggestion and you can go back and do this at any point after publishing a Kindle addition. If you proceed to Paperback, remember to put your ISBN Number in your Copyright Notice.
Paperback
Your paperback cover will have to be front, back and spine.
Your publisher should have a Cover Calculator, usually displayed on the panel to the left of your main screen, which will offer you a correctly sized cover template, so your spine will fit the number of pages correctly.
Open the Zip File and upload it to whichever system you have chosen to design your cover. If you want the front cover to be the same as your thumbnail, you can simply drag and drop it onto the cover template! Some people find this easier to do by having both windows open on the same page (Window button, left and right arrow, in case you didn’t know)
You will have to take into consideration the bleed zone in this file. Nothing significant should be anywhere near the bleed zone, shown by a red perforated line around the edge, but you must take the edge of your design right up to it.
When placing your cover image you must remember that Amazon allows a certain amount of movement, only within millimetres of the original measurement. Try to make sure there is nothing important outside this guide, it could be cut off.
You’ve got to get through some stringent quality control here.
I had little confidence at this point, so made and published a notebook, using a cute picture of my cat, to make sure I knew how things would pan out.
Title and author name on the spine must be central. Whoever checks the cover is duty bound to say no if it’s badly placed.
You’ll also have to really work out what you are doing with the back cover and leave adequate space in the bottom right hand corner for a bar code, which will be automatically placed there. You do have the option to put your own bar code. I have no advice on that, I’ve never had a reason to do it.
If you are working with Canva, have already designed your cover, you can resize the spine to fit the number of pages easily, according to the measurements of the book template. If you have added more pages, perhaps an About the Author section at the back of the book, KDP will tell you if it affects the spine size.
You can copy and adapt your original manuscript to a new document, to upload for your paperback version.
You can use the same Table of Contents, and update entire table, but you will need to use Headers and Footers to add Page Numbers. Page Numbers shouldn’t occur until the first page of Chapter 1.
You will need an inside Title Page, which should be on a RIGHT hand page.
At some point you may have to insert a blank page, because any first page of a chapter should be on a right hand page. That said, it’s not compulsory.
You can still use the Kindle Previewer to see how your layout will look for your paperback.
You will be given a set of options about the dimensions of your book. Know what size you would like. Look at appropriate books around the house.
If you are using Canva you can swap from inches to centimetres with one click but a tape measure is useful if you feel uncertain.
Once you’ve got your dimensions, there will be options about the kind of paper you would like.
Note, when you are looking at these options, some of them may not be available for all sizes. Look closely at footnotes next to the options. Make sure you have already thought about whether you want a glossy or mat finish for your cover, cream paper or white for your interior.
(I say this to save you from losing flow. The system won’t let you make a mistake, it will simply stop you until you’ve made a decision)
At the end of each form page, there is a button for saving, before continuing to the next page.
You can take as long as you like to complete the hardcover or paperback process – but you should always go to the bottom of the page and save before leaving the site or shutting down your computer.
The last process is the upload, which will be your opportunity to ask for an Author’s Copy.
I found, on Amazon, the most important thing to do, once you’ve pressed the button, is to look quickly for the Authors Copy request box, which will show itself for a short time.
This gives you a stay of execution for paperback and hardcovers. You wait for your Author’s Copy to arrive at your address and check everything thoroughly before you publish.
There will be other things you may discover along the way but I’ve covered the basics and hopefully saved you hours of nervously watching videos before you dare to begin.
Don’t let the videos on YouTube, which say it’s a quick and easy process, make you feel small and dim. You will need some staying power but it is very doable.
Top Tip: Find a young person if you are stuck. My daughter often makes useful suggestions.
If you are looking for my recipe of the month and cleaning tips please see below.
Happy writing,
Rachel.
Homemade Marmalade
I’ve chosen this month’s recipe because it fits in well with October’s cleaning tip. If you wish to try my homemade Citrus Cleaner you can take a potato peeler to five of the oranges used in the recipe before you begin and put the slithers of peel to one side.
The traditional method of preparing your jars for jams and preserves is to warm them through gently in the oven, to kill off any microbes. I have always timed the ending of my dishwasher programme with the completion of my jam making and have had no problems with mould etc.
The most important thing is to make sure that the jars are sterile and still warm when you pour your jam into them. Pouring hot liquids straight into cold glass can make it shatter.
Recipe
3 Kg Large Oranges (Seville are best but not essential)
1 Kg White Granulated Sugar
The juice of 1 Lemon and 2 Limes
1 Small drop of Vanilla Essence
3 Clean jars with airtight lids
1 Small pan
1 Large, thick bottomed pan
1 Medium sized pan of boiling water/ two electric kettles full
Method
1. Peel the Oranges and keep the rind of three of them to one side.
2. Chop the fruit of the Oranges and place them into the Large Pan, making sure that there is not too much of the bitter white pith attached to them.
3. Cut the peel of the 3 Oranges you put aside to the size you would like in your Marmalade and place it in the Small Pan. Cover the peel with boiling water and add the drop of Vanilla and 2 Tablespoons of the sugar. Bring the pan to the boil.
4. Put the remaining sugar in the Large Pan with the cut Orange Fruit. Add the Lemon and Lime Juice and cover to 2 inches above the top of the fruit and bring the pan to the boil.
5. Reduce down both pans until the liquid condensed to a thick syrup.
6. Turn the pan containing the Peel off when the liquid becomes syrupy.
7. Keep boiling the Large Pan until the syrup begins to thicken.
8. Before the syrup in the Large Pan becomes too thick, take it off the heat and pass it through a sieve.
9. Clean the Large Pan and quickly return the clear syrup to the heat.
10. Boil the syrup, testing small samples of the juice on the back of a Wooden Spoon, to see if you can draw a line through it with a Teaspoon. It will be reduced adequately when the line you draw wrinkles at the edges and does not attempt to flow back to fill the line.
11. Drain the peel in the Small Pan, with a spoon or sieve, and add it to the clear syrup in the Large Pan.
12. Put the mixture into your sterile, warm, jars and cover the top of the Marmalade with clean disks of greaseproof paper and screw the lids down firmly, making sure no air is able to get in.
How to Make Your Own Citrus Cleaner
I have chosen this tip because, if you wish, it may go hand in hand with my Marmalade recipe (It will take a little longer as Seville Oranges will need a bit of knife work to remove any flesh from the peal.)
I discovered it because, when I worked in Hotel Housekeeping, I was pretty miffed when a new manager took away our Citra Cleaner and exchanged it for several other cleaning products.
Citra is a universal cleaner. It cleans waxed and varnished wood, mirrors, laminates and tiled floors with ease and dissolves light limescale without the need of chemicals. It is an amazing de-greaser and will not harm stainless metal kitchen appliances. It makes chrome shine bright and is completely harmless if dropped on most coloured carpets. What’s more, if a child ingests a mouth full, it won’t taste pleasant but will not require a trip to A&E.
Faced with the prospect of accidentally using the wrong bottle of product on an unsuited surface, in an expensive setting, I took my revenge by buying a highly concentrated citrus cleaner from the local health food shop. At least my life would be easier at home.
Pleased with my purchase, of which one cap full made 10 litres of solution, I shared the information with friends.
The citric concentrate cost a lot but, once we tried it, we realised 1 drop with 600mls of tap water filled a spray bottle. We were saving money and a load of plastic bottles.
The crunch came when one of my friends broke the sad news to me. She had needed another bottle and found it was no longer available, not even online!
I went on the internet to try to find something to replace it. There was only the original product which we had been used at the hotel, also a concentrate, but it was astronomical because it only came in industrial quantities.
I decided to look into how the product was made and, a few short videos later, realised it was easy to make at home. It works just as well and is actually better on wood than the original.
You Will Need
A large jar, with a tightly fitting lid
A bag of Satsumers, or Manderine style, easy peal, oranges
White distilled vinegar (enough to fill the jar of your choice)
A clean spray bottle (second hand and well washed is fine)
Method
Peel the oranges, making sure that none of the fruit is attached to it.
Put the peel in your clean dry jar and cover to the top with the distilled white vinegar. Make sure it is covered completely. The vinegar should only cost about 29 pence a bottle at your local supermarket, so don’t skimp on it.
If you like, you can add a drop of your favourite essential oil at this stage.
Lavender is nice but I use Cedar or Cypress. I love the smell and the trees the oil comes from are brilliant at protecting themselves from fungus.
This is especially good for preventing mould on bathroom tiles and walls. Cedar and Cypress also do a good job keeping bugs away from wardrobes. This is why traditional linen boxes were made from them.
The light oils in the orange skin also have antibacterial qualities and are safe to use around children and pets but bear in mind, cats are not great lovers of citrus fruit – don’t use it to clean litter trays or feeding areas. A mild solution of dish washing solution is better for that.
You will need a bit of patience as the prepared jar must be tightly sealed and left in a dark, cool place or refrigerator for at least two weeks.
Once the vinegar has turned a lovely mellow orange, pass it through a sieve and decant it into your clean spray bottle. Shake the bottle well before us, to disperse the natural oils evenly throughout the mixture.
I recommend you spray it on your cloth rather than directly onto surfaces, at least until you know how your particular batch is working.
When your bottle is half empty, you will have to prepare another batch but I’m sure you will be pleased with this cheap and efficient homemade, environment friendly cleaner.
Disclaimer. I take no responsibility for any damage to your furniture/household equipment etc. though I know this cleaner is harmless compared to many shop brought products. I will also take the time to tell you, it’s obviously not recommended if you are allergic to any of the ingredients.