I self published a book. But instead of going to a publishing house we, my dad, sister and I, started one called Agape Christian Publishers. Here are a few things I learned.
My Experience
After checking with some publishers I decided to publish my own book. By going this way I cut the cost of publishing in half. Since I already had my manuscript ready my next step was designing a cover. That is a big job. You have to have a cover that grabs and yet still portrays the book.
Contrary to what most people believe printing and binding your own book isn’t that hard. I really enjoyed it. The biggest challenge is getting the settings on your binder right, but after that it’s a breeze.
After you have your book bound the real challenge comes: selling your book. It takes a lot of determination to even sell just one book. But don’t get discouraged and keep on trying and you will be surprised at how quickly they can add up.
Websites
There was one website that was really helpful to me, but alas it seems I did not save it. But here are two that are of a great help. Bowker, this is where you buy your ISBN number. You can also buy your barcode here. Or you can try this free barcode generator.
Tips and Warnings
There are a few things you must absolutely have, to self publish a book. Number one: a manuscript. Number two: an awesome cover, a cover is one of the leading factors to someone buying your book. Number three: a good back blurb. Number four: an ISBN number, this is an absolute must if you are planning on selling your books at stores. Number five: a barcode, most store will not accept a book without one. And lastly number six: get up and go. Sine you are a self publisher that means you have to promote your book and sell it.
If you decide to have a publisher publish your book make sure you own the ISBN number. Many times the publishers will just assign you one from a block of ISBN numbers they bought. This means that the ISBN number is theirs since they own them.
Just remember that self publishing a book is a lot of hard work. But it also can be very rewarding.