What we need when we publish our own books
What follows is a brief summary of points to be remembered when we are publishing our own books. And I suppose the most obvious question to start with is, are we going to publish with only one platform – we all know, I think, which platform I am alluding to here – or are we going to go with multiple platforms?
The basic requirements for an indie publisher are:-
~ A decent enough book which we want to publish. By which I mean, a book that we are prepared to write, publish and let go into the public domain. If we can’t handle the thought that, once published, our book ceases to be our private concern, the chances are, it is not ready to publish yet.
~ A good, empathic editor who can find the flaws in your manuscript – it’s safe to assume that an independent editor will find some room for improvements which we will then be pleased to work on.
~ A wonderful typesetter and formatter to take our manuscript and turn it into something resembling a wonderful book.
~ A wonderful book cover designer. Unless we would like to do this for ourselves. There are some good programmes available that make this possible.
~ A look, design or set of ideas that we can give to our book, so that it stands out from the crowd. Photos, images, such as those available from Shutterstock, are a useful archive of ideas to look through. Consider landscape, portrait, thumbnail images…
~ ISBN numbers to give our books a unique ID number. ISBN stands for International Standard Book Number. A book does not need an ISBN to be published, but if it has one, it will always be easier to find, than if it is published on multiple platforms, each allocating the book an e-ID number or the publishers own ISBN.
~ A little cash to make the dream a reality, and to help us decide which of the tasks of publishing we will do for ourselves and which we are happy to delegate. No point feeling overwhelmed before we even begin.
~ A love of passwords and on-line accounts, because there will be a few to set up.
Please share:
June 20, 2018 @ 8:51 am
I find as well that it’s a good idea to look at the cover design in black and white mode because that’s how it will show on an ordinary e-reader. I think I’m right in saying that without an ISBN the book won’t be ordered by big book shops and can’t be carried by libraries – but perhaps you could confirm that Fran.
June 20, 2018 @ 11:23 am
Hi Diane! What an interesting point about book covers! I’ll remember it, thanks! And I’m sure you are right about ISBNs being required for books in mainstream shops and libraries, otherwise how would they locate books and stockists…? So, for all practical purposes they are indeed essential. I would take that view.
June 24, 2018 @ 5:22 am
Hi Fran,
Thank you for sharing and agree with everything you said especially about having a bit of cash. You can’t do it all and need people to help especially with editing, formatting etc. I got my own ISBN number rather than using one from Amazon as you need one for putting on other selling sites and good to have one of your own. Well, that’s what I have found.
June 24, 2018 @ 9:33 am
Yes indeed! The expertise that others can give us is valuable, isn’t it? Especially when we are trying to do several things at once.
ISBNs are a distribution tool so it’s good to have our own, since we can then be clearer – especially with third party sellers, book shops and the like – that our book is readily available.