Self Publishing Process

Bowker

Buy your ISBN directly from Bowker – every ISBN in the world comes from them. An ISBN is a number that uniquely identifies a book. You will need one ISBN for your paperback and another for your eBook (no matter the file type – Kindle, Nook, iBook, etc.).

CreateSpace

CreateSpace was merged with Kindle Direct Publishing the end of 2018.

Kindle Direct Publishing (KDP)

This is where you setup your paperback and eBook to be on Amazon. It has a wonderful online interface that allows you to see what your printed book will look like. You will also be able to order paperback books for proofing and later for shipping to friends/family at the best price. No up front costs – they only collect royalties.

This requires you to upload your manuscript .pdf file for the paperback (created in MS Word). For your eBook you have two options – you can either have KDP  create your eBook for you or you can create your own using Jutoh. In the latter instance you will need to upload your .mobi file (created in Jutoh) to KDP.

Advanced marketing …

Apple iBook

This is tricky. You will either need to know someone who has a mac computer, or use a cloud service to upload your book to iTunes. I use MacInCloud.

Barnes & Noble Nook

Nook is B&N’s equivalent to Kindle which has no up front costs. B&N also offers paperback and hard cover services, but there is a hefty up-front fee for these.

Nielsen BookData

Based in the UK – the world’s leading book marketing agency.  They sell to book buyers and libraries.

IngramSparks

EVERYTHING in the United States gets printed here, no matter where it’s ordered from (Amazon, B&N, etc.). I recommend doing this after you’ve had your book out a while. Ingram will expand your book availability to around the globe which will include libraries and schools. They also offer hard cover options.

Self Publish?

There’s a gazillion blog posts and articles online about this, but in a nutshell, self publishing means the following:

  • a bit more work
  • more money in your pocket
  • maintain complete control of your book
  • buying your own ISBN
  • you deal directly with Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Kobo,  or iBooks

No matter who the publisher is (including yourself), marketing is up to you.

If you decide to self publish here’s a list of things to do…

  • Come up with a name of your publishing company.
  • Create a logo. There are a number of ways to do this. I created mine in MS Word and using the Windows Snipping Tool to create a jpg.  Canva.com is good for this too. Just make sure that any graphics you use are not copyrighted. This will end up on the spine and title page of your book.
  • Try not to associate with your publishing name. Your publishing name must be a separate entity.
  • Get a state tax ID number with your publishing name.
  • You can also get an LLC with your state and an IRS Employee Identification Number (IEN)