So you have completed your manuscript and you want to self-publish. There are many steps that now need to take place. A lot of the steps in order to successfully self-publish properly you are probably not even aware of. There is more to it that just getting an ISBN number, book cover and printer.
In this particular post, I am just going to go over the things necessary to get your book to the printer. In future posts, I will elaborate on each of these steps I am referencing, as well as additional helpful tips and information. I am going to share with you what has proven to work for us. This was definitely learned via lots of money, frustration and research along with trial and error.
Let me get started...
The first thing I suggest after completing the manuscript is to get your book cover if you haven't already done so. This is so that while you are completing the rest of the steps, you can begin advertising your book and getting people familiar with the title to your book as well as your name as an author. There are hundreds of terrific book cover designers out there. One of them is Vonda Howard with Cupcake Creative Studios www.cupcakecreativestudio.com/. She has done a phenomonal job on our book covers and we have been very happy with her work.
The next step is to have your manuscript edited. Of course, I suggest our editing service, 21st Street Urban Editing & Publishing www.21StreetUrbanEditing.com however even if you do not use us, USE A PROFESSIONAL! This is not a service you want to skip or try and find the cheap way out of. Make sure you get a sample edit from the editor, references that you ACTUALLY CHECK and a contract that has a confidentiality clause included. There is no committee that governs editors such as the American Medical Association for doctors or The Bar Association for attorneys. Anyone can throw a website together and start claiming they are an editor. There are no tests to take and nobody regulating their conduct. It is very important to check their references as well as view their published work. Friends and references are two different titles so make sure the person verifying is actually a reference and not just a friend. Also, it is imperative to hire more than one editor AND a proofreader if you want it done professionally and correctly.
Now that your book is off to the editor, the next steps are easy. It is at this time we apply for the Copyright, www.copyright.gov ISBN Number www.myidentifiers.com and LCCN Number http://pcn.loc.gov/. All of this can be accomplished in an hour or two via online and you will feel totally accomplished when it is done. The copyright certificate will arrive quite some time later. The ISBN Number you will be able to get immediately upon applying for it and the LCCN Number they say takes up to two weeks but usually is sent via email with in a week.
Upon your manuscript being completely edited, you should then have it typeset. By this time, you should have all of the required numbers and information for this process to be completed. (Remember, I will be posting individual blogs about each of these steps later on.) Once your manuscript is typeset, you are ready to find a printer.
These are just the steps we take to physically get the book printed. There are lots of other things we do that make for successfully publishing the book. Stay tuned to find out what those other things are.
