#1 Outsource your cover design; however, be mindful about how much you pay. The same person who designed the Kwoted cover also created The Unhappy Wife cover. This time around, she charged $265. This is not what I expected for a simple eBook jpeg. But instead of complaining, I paid her for it and then learned about a site called Fiverr. On Fiverr, you can find anyone to do anything digital for you. By the time I was ready for a cover for the paperback, I simply signed up, listed an ad with these words: I need a 6×9 paperback cover for Lulu specifications, and then narrowed my choices down from international graphic designers. Someone I didn’t know produced the paperback cover in less than 48 hours for $15.00!!!
#2 Outsource your editor. I started to ask an English major friend to proof and edit The Unhappy Wife, but everything I’d read stated that this should be completed by a paid professional. I used a book called 2015 Guide to Self-Publishing in order to find an editor. The book lists several different editors by state. I vetted a few Florida ones through email in order to determine cost and efficiency. Each one offered a free/sample editing of the first 500-1000 words. Once I emailed the story, I compared editing style, personality and expertise. For example, the editor who charged $700 had a lot of industry knowledge and mentioned book characteristics that I wasn’t familiar with. Another editor who charged significantly less didn’t notice things like number formatting. I decided to go with someone in the middle, Erin Foster Books. She had a great personality, didn’t charge an arm and a leg, and offered two passes (read and edited twice).
#3 Outsource the formatting because it has to be precise. You probably can figure out the formatting yourself, but by the time I’d written a book, revised a book, and edited a book, the last thing I wanted to do was format a book. eBook formatting is so very finicky. It has to do with styles, style changes, making the book reflowable, etc. (big yawn). Paperback versions have to be formatted totally different than eBooks because whatever you send to your distributor is what will be printed, exactly as is. Take it from me; just have someone else do it. In my case, I asked Erin. She was wonderful and both books were published with no issues.
#4 Choose your publisher/distributor wisely. I chose Amazon because it’s the largest retailer of eBooks and authors earn 70% profit, which is the highest in the industry. But because I’m also not a fan of having all of my eggs in one monopoly basket, I chose Lulu.com to publish/distribute the paperback. Again, Lulu is known for paying the largest profit (as long as you sell from their site). This site also offers mass distribution to places like Barnes & Noble. Finally, Lulu prints books that look and feel like traditional books. I’m sure you know what I mean.
If you’re planning to self-publish a book, then I hope this information helps you in some way. If you’ve already self-published a book, then what else would you add? You know I’m all about helping one another!
Thanks for sharing. Its a helpful post
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You’re welcome! Thanks so much for the comment.
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Great post! This was just the information I needed right now as I’m debating whether traditional or self-publishing is the right way to go for (even though I’m not at that point yet it’s still something to start looking into). Question about #4: so you can self-publish your book in a different format each on a different site? Like e-book on Amazon, paperback on lulu and hardcover on another?
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So glad to hear Christina! Love your site by the way. To answer your question, yes. You can self-publish in several different formats but you do have to be careful about HOW you do it when Amazon is involved. They have some kind of funky clause about theirs. But from what I understand, you can also publish an eBook on different platforms, like iBook, KOBO, and others.
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Thank you; you have a lovely blog as well! I appreciate the clarification on the topic of self-publishing.
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Wow! I’ve been considering self-publishing for a book I’m working on and this gives me a great way to start my research. Thanks so much for sharing this information and your experience!
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You’re welcome Kecia! Glad to help.
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Great information! Thanks for sharing
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Thanks Charlene!
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Thank you for the insight!
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You’re very welcome!
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On a quick break at work and I finally got a chance to catch up on reading my favorite blogs. You are a gem and this serves as confirmation of what every self publisher has shared. Praying you are BETTER than blessed..e
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Hmmm I see my comment came up anonymous from my work desktop! Odd! Blessings! e
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Yeah, it came up “someone” bu I know it’s you Ericka!
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Yay!!
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Thanks so much Ericka! I’m glad you were made it over here 😉 I appreciate the well-wishes my dear and I’ve so enjoyed following you on IG…always so positive!
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That’s really helpful and well done! I’ve published with small presses though never self-published – – – but am thinking I might one of these days, and will keep these good tips. I’m glad to find your good blog.
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Thanks so much Fran!
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Hi, this is my first novel,
https://www.amazon.com.mx/dp/B06XG9N9H3/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1488944195&sr=8-1&keywords=Virgilio+y+la+caida I would loved if you could review it. Even the cover would be fine, please
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Hi there! I don’t review novels. Best of luck to you 🙂
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Your advice is spot on! I did everything you said before releasing my book last fall and yesterday I felt it…”YES! It paid off!”
I was invited to do a book signing at a popular independent store when I overheard the very persnickety manager tell a customer “The book is very well written.”
That felt so good to hear from a seasoned professional. She had already told me the cover and layout were very well done when she accepted the book into her store.
Friends, take Ms. Garland’s advice!
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Yes! Glad I have someone who also has experience in this. Having a “well-written” book is such an important part. It sounds crazy to have to mention, but there are so many poorly written indie books, that now you kind of have to stand out with one that’s great.
Congrats on your signing too!
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Reblogged this on Peaceful Journey and commented:
Today’s featured blogger is Dr. K.E. Garland. This post provides personal insight on self-publishing from Garland’s perspective.
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Number 1 alone is worth its weight in gold! I’ve heard of Fiverr but haven’t talked with anyone who’s had first-hand experience. Thank you for sharing.
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Thanks Steph! I had a really good experience with it. Let me know if you try it for any reason.
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I certainly will because I have a few projects coming up that require design assistance.
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About all I can add is that you can do your own ebook formatting if you like (or need to save the money). Both Amazon and Smashwords accept Word docs, and they’ll put them in the correct format. Smashwords even has a great free ebook on how to format your own books, including things like the linked table of contents. 🙂
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Thanks Cathleen. I keep hearing about Smashwords. Formatting was frying my brain!
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Thanks for the helpful tips.
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You’re welcome! Thanks for stopping by!
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Wow, great advice Dr. Garland! Your page provides a reservoir of information for these processes that I will be pulling from when I decide to publish soon =D Thanks!
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You’re welcome! And let me know if you need an editor. I just added that to my skill set 😉
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Most certainly will! Thanks for offering your expertise =D
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You are an angel, dear Kathy, to share your wisdom. Hope to put it to use soon. I don’t have personal experience to offer for others yet. I know Amazon will print one copy before one is even selling their book. Am partial to your idea of going with middle ground in terms of spending in terms of just about anything. On the other hand, sometimes cheap is cheap enough to experiment with, ie Fiverr — little spent can mean little burn risked.
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Thanks da Al! (I just noticed your name is not all one). In terms of middle ground, I suppose it depends on what it is you’d rather spend more money on and how much impact that would have.
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Decisions decisions- confusing! – that’s why your sharing your experience is especially generous 😀
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Thanks for sharing. This is some valuable information.
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You’re welcome Pam! Looking forward to yours 😉
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😊
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This is great Kathy. I read your post today about ‘giving’ and the ways in which you can do so. I think this should go under that heading too. This is a gift and thank you for sharing. When you give so selflessly, you are rewarded in more ways than you can ever imagine. Not that you give to get, I hasten to add. But I personally have found this to be an unspoken ‘law’.
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Thanks Marie! I’m glad you think so and find it useful 😉 I agree and am learning that giving is (sometimes) better than receiving.
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Perfect timing. Thank you for being so caring and sharing!
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Thanks for reading my dear! Glad it helped 😉
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So many awesome ideas Dr. G. !! Thank you for sharing. I hope to one day self-publish a “365 day” book using my blog posts. (A departure from my published textbooks.) Your self-publishing suggestions will help take me there. Thank you!! 😊😊
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Thanks Dr. D! Glad I could help! Your 365 book sounds interesting. Will they be tips like you give on your blog?
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Great advice all around! I’ve ordered a few books that friends have published from lulu.com and have always liked their product. From a customer perspective, it is a very nice outlet and I trust their products.
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Totally agree!
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Kathy, thank you so much for sharing your advice and experience. This is written with great clarity and will be invaluable help to anyone publishing a book (hopefully myself included one day!). The hint about the Fiverr is fantastic and also your insight about choosing an editor is interesting and relevant us all. I’m book-marking this for future reference! How are you finding your experiences with Amazon and Lulu? Do you have a point of contact? Are you updated about sales on a regular basis? How does payment work? Hope your book is doing well – I keep seeing super reviews here on WP!
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You’re welcome Annika! I hope so. The way I see it, if I know something that may be helpful, then I’m willing to pass it on.
I was so happy to find Fiverr. At first I was a little leery, but once i saw how professional it was, I had zero fears. I like both Amazon and Lulu so far.
If I have a question, then Lulu offers assistance through email. I’m not that fond of it, but they respond between 24-48 hours. I can see my sales in (almost) real time, which has been great, but annoying sometimes because when someone says they bough my book, I can tell if they’re being truthful because the number went up that day lol
Payment for Amazon is after 60 days; you get paid on the 29th of each month. Lulu it’s after 30 days and you get paid on the last day of the month.
Book sales are up and down.
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Wow, I’ve learnt so much from your post and comment today, Kathy! Thank you so much. 😀
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I like! Number one is #1 to know! I have published a book and let me tell you! 😗 I learned a lot. Using someone different than the company publishing your book allows you to own the rights to the cover so you can reprint anytime, anywhere. Make sure it’s in your original contract with a graphic designer.
And speaking of print, YUUUUUUUUP. What you see is what you get! 😛 I learned that the hard way the first print. 😂 I actually suggest going to your local print shop for printing. They were able to print a sample before printing all books for my review. That I appreciated!
A friend of mine paid someone to edit her book and she had someone who bought and read it share with her the errors. Yikes. I had different people edit. All found different errors! What the?! Lol So, thanks for the info. I’m going to share and look into myself. It’s always good to lend a helping hand 😉 Thanks!
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Thanks for these additions Cherie! What’s the name/link for your book?
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Welcome! You can contact me by my name: mycherieamour.me
Or my website: allinthenameoflove.com
My book, entitled YOU HAVE GOT TO BE KIDDING ME?!, is about my dating experiences. In hindsight, FUNNY. 😂😂😂😂 In the moment, all I could think was YOU HAVE GOT TO BE KIDDING ME?! 😛 lol
I would love to hear your feedback!
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Too funny! I’ll be ordering the end of March 🙂
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Fantastic!
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Wonderful advice…thanks for sharing 🙂
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Thanks JL! You’re welcome.
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This is really helpful K E! I’m going to hold onto it as a resource. Have a blessed weekend, my friend ❤
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Thanks Debbie! Same to you. Hope the weather is fabulous out there 😉
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Great advice, but how else can I find a publisher?
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You’ll have to create a query letter and perhaps find an agent to represent you if you want “traditional” publishing.
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Where can I find an agent? I wrote a children’s book and it’s all finished, but I’m having trouble trying to find someone to publish it.
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I’m not sure my dear. You might want to check Writers Digest or Google for information. I didn’t go a “traditional” route.
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Oh okay. Lol. Thanks! U write some good stuff, by the way.
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You’re welcome. Thank you ❤
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Thanks for the tips, Kathy 🙂
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You’re most welcome Rosaliene!
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Thanks Kathy for this online info and offline sharing about this process. I’m looking forward to this challenge, hopefully this year!😉
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You’re so welcome Marquessa! I’m over here holding my breath waiting for the genius that I know is forthcoming…no pressure lol
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Lol! Don’t hold your breath for too long…my fiction mind is a strange place. I can’t write certain characters/dialogue while other ones are still talking to me! 🤔”Tainted Love” took over me and I’ll be posting part 6 this weekend (tell me if you like it). Then, I’m diving into “Living To Die” to prep for April (26 posts for A to Z Challenge) and then back to Alejandro, Tyler, etc. Phew!☺
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lol oh dear the A-Z challenge is about to start again…I’m glad you warned me! And okay I’ll check it out.
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You are doing it too?
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No ma’am I just know a lot of you do it and I like to be forewarned lol
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How generous of you to share your experience – especially for ways to keep costs down. Thank you.
I write non-fiction, brain-based self-help. I’m sure I’m not the only one who simply wants to share information, and don’t want to pay a fortune to get it out there – OR to push through the frustration of how very much there is to learn and do after the darned book is otherwise ready to move on to the next step in the process.
The more I read, however, the more I want to hang it all up and go be a Walmart greeter. 🙂 Nonetheless, I keep reading, hoping to learn and be inspired to keep pushing through. Thank you for sharing.
xx,
mgh
(Madelyn Griffith-Haynie – ADDandSoMuchMORE dot com)
ADD Coach Training Field founder; ADD Coaching co-founder
“It takes a village to educate a world!”
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That’s exactly my purpose for sharing Madelyn! Most people don’t have thousands of dollars sitting around to share information with the world lol so I’m glad this is helpful.
PLEASE do not go be a WalMart greeter lol, but I understand the sentiment. We need you out here with your positive platform!
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And I appreciate the share – but just from what I read here, you have more patience than I for the process. Tho’ I suppose my dreamed of Walmart greeting career would tax my patience just as much. 🙂
xx, mgh
xx, mgh
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L…O…L I’d bet money that it would.
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Anywhere one deals with the public in the wild, but certainly there! I have heard it’s fairly easy to get hired. Wonder if there’s any connection. 🙂
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Great information!
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Thanks luv! Hope you’re having a great weekend.
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Thank you for sharing Dr. Garland have a great weekend
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You’re welcome! Hope you do too Tareau!
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Excellent advice! Thank you for sharing. 🙂
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Thanks and you’re welcome girl!
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thanks. very helpful
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You’re welcome! Glad it helped.
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