We are surrounded by them all the time. Publications are everywhere! They come as books, newspapers, magazines, or even in a digital form on our phones. They play a fundamental role in every society because they are keeping everybody up to date, inform, and entertain.
Most people only see the book and the content. What we barely see is all the work that’s behind it. We don´t know how many times the script has been rewritten, changed, and proofread. We also don’t know much about how the whole publishing process works with the designs and marketing.
Since the beginning of books publishers were the main forces that published books. With the growing importance of the internet, self-publishing became a major way to bring books to the public.
What does “self-publishing” mean?
Self-publishing refers to the process of how a book, newspaper, or magazine is published. The common way is to take professional publishing agencies that take care of every step that is needed to bring the story to publicity. Nowadays a lot of people prefer to publish their books independently without relying on a company, their expectations, and costs.
The idea is that the author works on the designs, going from concept to manuscript and marketing strategies by themselves or hire professionals to help them with certain tasks. The main aspect is that the author is in control of the whole process while publishing companies take over and manage everything.
An example of a professional company that offers services to authors is MindStir Media. Various experts can help individuals with editing, mentoring, illustrating, designing, and with marketing strategies.
What is the work behind publishing a book?
A book is not only a book. It is months and years of work bringing amazing stories on paper, editing them, and changing them. Going from a raw draft to a manuscript … proofreading it over and over again before thinking of publishing. Designs and illustrations play an important role because they will attract, interest, and entertain people. Marketing might be the final key to self-publish a book. Various publishing platforms are used by self-publishing authors: Amazon, Kindle Direct Publishing, Apple, IngramSpark, and more. Most authors also offer the option to POD (Print on Demand) that allows them to work as economical as possible with mostly focusing on eBooks.
The path of self-publishing a book
Here are the 7 steps that you should take to publish a book independently:
-Have a story and title
-Create a catchy design and illustration
-Proofread
-Be sure to use the right platform for the publication
-Market and promote
– Put the right pricing
-Sell
The path surely starts with the story. If the author already brought the story into words and made a clear storyline with numerous edits and proofreads, processes of making a design, creating a book cover, and including illustrations can start.
There are some essential questions every author should ask themselves before they start the process of publishing a book. Check out more about it here: Don’t self-publish a book before answering these crucial questions
Authors should make sure what kind of medium they want to use. Is it an eBook, printed, or as a POD.
The next and most important step is promotion and marketing!
Companies like MindStir Media are a great opportunity for authors to work independently and professionally, publishing their books with the help of experienced experts.