A Guide to Self-Publishing your Debut Novel

Hello and thanks for checking out my post. Before I go much further I probably need to explain why I think I might be qualified to blog a beginners guide to self-publishing.

Well as it happens I am both an author and a publisher and have been for nearly 8 years. I currently have over 200 titles on Amazon, mainly diaries, self-help journals, children's activity books etc. In the trade these would be called low or medium content books. Back in December 2023 I finally took the plunge and followed a long standing dream of becoming a full time novelist and it's that process and what I learned that I want to focus on in this post.

Write a Good Story

“Get it down. Take chances. It may be bad, but it’s the only way you can do anything really good.” — William Faulkner

Whether you are writing a diary or the next version of War and Peace, your publishing dream has to start with writing a good story. Now I am not going to tell you what genre you should write in, or what stories are the most commercial. Maybe after you have written multiple novels you may want to test yourself and 'write to order', however, I would highly recommend, particularly a debut author to write something for themselves. If you write a story that you yourself would want to read then chances are someone else will want to do that as well.

WIP (Work In Progress)

This is a term you'll hear an awful lot as an author. This is simply the very first attempt or draft of your manuscript. Now authors fall into 3 main groups;

1. PANTSER - this is someone who effectively 'makes it up' as they go along, meaning that they don’t plan out anything in their story, or plan very little. A sense of freedom is an important value for 'pantsers'. They don't need or want a detailed scene-by-scene outline. In fact, it's mainly about discovering the story as they write it. They like to get lost in their story. They like to let the MC (main character) and their imagination lead them to a surprising end.
2. PLOTTERS - these are writers who outline their stories before embarking on their 1st draft. Each chapter would be marked out with what's going to happen. They will have already defined and described their MC's. They will have detailed any sub-plots. Simply put, a plotter is someone who plans out their novel before they write it. Plotters value knowing what's going to happen in their story before writing it. They want clarity. A plan gives them energy and intention, and it saves them a lot of time when they do write their book (and also when they revise it but more on that later!).
3. PLANTSERS - some storytellers do a little of both. A 'plantser' could be someone who, before starting their manuscript, writes a synopsis and comes up with important details that drive their story ideas. Or they could be the kind of writer that enjoys planning out their subplots and character sketches, but during the writing of the novel, goes rogue for some chunks of the story. In reality most novelists are 'plantsers' but some do tend to lean more heavily towards one side than the other. So you need to work out what is best for you.

“The first draft of anything is shit.”  — Ernest Hemingway

When I began my debut novel The Dark Harvest I deliberately started with the basic premise - 'What would happen if a female scientist discovered an anti-ageing serum in a business world dominated by powerful, misogynistic men?' Now other than wanting my 'baddies' to get their comeuppance I had no plan.

Given that it dealt with an anti-ageing plot line I knew it had to be spread across at least one generation. But this was all I had to go on. I drew upon my experience of working within the pharmaceutical industry and of having been a board level leader and set it in a location I was reasonably familiar with. I then envisioned it as the kind of TV drama the BBC would put on on a Sunday evening after the watershed, or even a four part Netflix mini series. As I 'watched' this programme unfold I simply wrote what I saw.

I have subsequently written 3 more novels, all in different stages of development but not yet published. Each one has been written as a 90% 'pantser'. However, just because it works for me doesn't mean it will work for you. You have to find your own path but by far and away the most important thing to do at this stage is WRITE. Simply tell your story, don't worry about spelling or grammar or meaningful places or believable character names etc. All these things can be changed later in the editing process. What cannot be changed is the story!

Getting It Ready

“Sometimes in a nervous frenzy I just fling words as if I were flinging mud at a wall. Blurt out, heave out, babble out something — anything — as a first draft…Until it exists, writing has not really begun.” — John McPhee

So you've typed 'The End' on your manuscript - so what happens next? Well the first thing to do is to give yourself a huge round of applause. So few people ever get as far as you have got. You should celebrate, maybe have a cheeky little gin and tonic or a sneaky midweek takeaway, the world is your oyster!

And now for the not so great news - even the greatest novelists and storytellers that have ever existed cannot, and would not, publish the 1st draft of their WIP. It's called a Work In Progress for a good reason. As a self-publisher we need to ensure that your great story is 'fit for purpose' - ultimately someone else is going to read your work, so we need to make sure it's in the best possible shape it can be.

In the following section I have highlighted several key things that need to happen. Note I am not saying recommended, I am saying need to happen. Now please be aware that you can pay someone to do all these steps for you if you have the financial means and/or don't have the time. Alternatively you might decide to outsource some of the tasks or you do the lot yourself. whatever you decide is entirely up to you and your budget. Remember, good quality, professional services do not come cheap, nor should they either. Additionally, they do not guarantee success - I've yet to find a freelancer who will do the work based on a percentage of your sales! Talking of which, you should also be aware that when you self-publish you will only be paid a royalty based on selling price (obviously if you sell physical copies at a book fair your earnings will be the difference between your cost per item and the selling price). Let's do some maths. You decide to hire a structural editor and they charge you £500 for an 100k word novel. You decide to publish your story on Amazon KDP (more on that later) and you price the paperback for £12.00 because you want to make sure that you get paid £2.50 for every book you sell - yes that would be an expected amount of royalty payment - you therefore need to sell 200 copies just to break even. Back in 2022 Amazon statistics showed that 90% of self published novels sold less than 100 copies in that year. In fact in the same time period just over 20% of authors confirmed that they made no money from their self published titles. I only mention this because you need to be aware.

“Most times, I’ll just sit there, suffer, write shitty sentences, and hope I can make the next draft less putrid.” — Daniel Pink

Right back to it! Now I know that you have written the next bestseller so in order to ensure its success what are the next steps that you need to take.

• Rewriting and redrafting. Repeat until satisfied. For many writers, the first draft is just the bare bones and often no one will ever see that version of the manuscript. But once those words are down, you can improve on them. This might lead to the creation of new scenes or chapters that need writing, there could be continuity issues, problems with characters and much more. That first pass usually takes at least a week and is the most substantial edit. Most self-published author will do this step themselves.
• Structural edit / story edit / editorial review. This isn't a line by line analysis (and therefore cheaper), but more of an overview of what you can or need to do to improve your story. It will help you determine whether you need to do some significant rewrites or re-organization. It's usually presented as a report with sections for the various aspects of the book, for example, there could be problems with character representations or plot inconsistencies.
• Revisions. When you get a structural edit back, there are usually lots of revisions to do, possibly even the dreaded rewrite. This is particularly hard, after all this story is your baby and someone else has 'criticised' it. I would suggest leaving it to one side for a few days to try and take the 'emotion' out of it. It can also make you like you can't write - however you should remember that a good editor only has you and your books best interests at heart. One top tip would be to ensure that your chosen editor works in your genre, their experience would be invaluable.
• Line edits (also known as copy editing). This is your classic ‘red ink' edit. Your copy editor will have gone through your manuscript line by line. Any issues are highlighted whether that be spelling, grammar, word choice and anything else that they think is pertinent, for example, you might have used the same word too many times in a paragraph. Generally speaking this is returned to you with the 'Track Changes' on a Word document. You need to remember that this is not a structural edit and you will be paying by the word (or per 1000 words). This is an expensive edit and you should make sure the book hangs together well before handing it over. The last thing you want is to pay someone to line edit a 100k manuscript only to find that the story hangs better at 70k words.
• Revisions. Clearly, you’ll need to make more changes based on the feedback from the line editor. However I would strongly advise that you don't just simply accept all changes. Firstly, you've paid for it so use it as a learning exercise, something that will help you with your next novel. Secondly, they might not understand place names, or cultural references as well as you do. These are just a couple of examples I can think of but the truth is to not be afraid to evaluate each suggestion with your own critical eye. it will be your name on the book not your editors.
• Beta readers. Beta readers are a trusted group of people who will look at your book from the perspective of a reader. I would strongly recommend only giving them the book once you are happy with it - you really don't want to waste their time. Now some writers prefer to have their beta readers review their work earlier in the process to spot some glaring errors and to check 'readability' but ideally, you will want them to post a review when the book is published, so the closer it is to the finished product, the better in my opinion. I have 3 beta readers who I trust to give me honest feedback and to not blow smoke out of my backside (unless it's warranted of course!), some writers have more but I would advise keeping it to a small critique group of no more than 5 or 6. Again it's up to you in terms of numbers but having beta readers involved in your journey is an absolute must.
• Proofreading. At this stage in the process, you won't be able to see mistakes in your manuscript because you are so familiar with the words! I know I did. A friend bought a copy of my debut novel and highlighted the fact that on the second page I hadn't started one sentence with a capital letter. It's also inevitable that your line editor has exposed other issues, albeit minor ones. This is where proofreading comes in. It's a fresh pair of eyes giving you a final check on all those typo's etc. Proofreading is usually a reasonably priced read-through but again you could get a friend or family member to do it for you if costs need to be kept down. If you decide to do this yourself my top tip would be to read it out aloud, it's amazing the difference it makes.
• Post-publication updates. I have put this section here because if you self-publish on Amazon for example it is a digital file. If after release you find a typo you can update your files at a later date without penalty. The days of a book being finished on the day of publication are over.

So in this section we have covered a lot of processes to get your book in the best possible shape, if you are going to pay for these services I would expect to pay between £500 to £3000 depending on what bits you outsource.

Looking Good!

“The first draft is just you telling yourself the story.”  ―Terry Pratchett

OK, you have now got a story that it going to win you the Booker prize or even the Nobel Prize for Literature. But is anyone actually going to read it? Studies show that the design of a book's cover can have a massive influence on book sales. It is after all essential in catching a reader's attention and 'piqueing' their interest.

Once more this is a service that can be provided by a wide plethora of paid professionals (I think this is the collective noun!), be they artists, designers, graphic designers etc. It is also possible to do this your self for free or a small fee.

Professional Covers

There are many ways to hire someone to create your book cover for you. A simple search in Google (other search engines are available) will keep you occupied for hours looking at all the options available. Another way to do this is to use an app like Fiverr (and not I am not being paid by them or anyone else I mention) where prices are upfront. However you should be aware that the prices they quote tend not to include revisions. Also make sure that ALL the copyrights belong to you.

My top tip on selecting a pro would be to see other examples of their work, particularly in your books genre. Sadly the internet is awash with scammers and charlatans so please check and check again. Try and get references from previous clients if possible. At the end of the day this is your money, spend it wisely!

Here are the top 5 reasons why you should consider paying a professional to create your book cover design.

1. First Impressions Matter - for the reasons I have mentioned earlier in the post
2. Represent Your Genre - the image needs to meet your readers genre expectations - e.g. you wouldn't have a picture of a zombie apocalypse in a romance about childhood sweethearts.
3. Target Audience Appeal - e.g. an adult contemporary thriller is not going to have a picture of a squeaky clean kid playing ball with his pet dog.
4. Catch Your Story's Hook - it's a fine balance, your book cover design shouldn't reveal too much but at the same time it needs to create the 'sense' of the story, offering a glimpse of what your story deals with.
5. Image Quality Matters! - clarity of images, consistency of fonts and use of colours help make your cover 'zing'

There are a couple of other things to note when looking at professional cover designs, particularly if you have a limited budget.

Firstly, it is possible to get a pre-made professionally design cover for the fraction of the price of a unique design mentioned above. Here artists have created designs that they can readily edit on your behalf, adding title, author name etc. the downside is of course is that you design is not unique and you do not own the copyright, you will effectively be buying a commercial use license.

Secondly, you could look for someone who is building their commercial portfolio and would be willing to create a design that could be unique for you, but they would want to showcase to potential clients or they may even retain the right to offer an editable version to future clients as above. You could even get lucky and find someone who will offer a free cover for a shout out on your social media - if you have a decent following of course!

“To become a proper writer, you have to forgive yourself the catastrophe of the first draft.” —Alain de Botton

Do It Yourself

Yes! The design of a book's cover can significantly impact its popularity. Every author you speak to will tell you that it's much easier to write a book than to sell it. The other thing that they will agree on is that a well-designed cover can increase a book's visibility by 50% or more. But what is less known is that it is possible to create an eye-catching design for free (or very little).

The catch is that you have to become the designer. There are so many apps out there that provide you with free templates. Just sign up, pick a template and add your title, author name etc. Names that spring to mind include, Adobe Express, PosterMyWall, VisMe, DIYBookCovers. You do need some IT skills and you can create something really nice but you need to be aware that it is a template and therefore not unique. Also what you think is a good design for your target audience and genre may not be!

If you have slightly more advanced IT skills then you could use 'proper' designer software such as Adobe Illustrator/Photoshop, Affinity Designer/Photo, Procreate or Canva (there are others but I think these as the most popular). Personally I use the paid for version of Canva. It's not as technical as the others and is therefore more limited in the design options available but it is more affordable (less than £100 per year) and more intuitive for my tiny little brain to handle. The following is the cover for my debut novel which I created on Canva. You should note that the back cover is almost as important as the front cover. This is where you put your story 'blurb'. If your cover is the first element in the marketing process, then the story outline is most definitely, next on the list. Here you want to entice your reader with your story, a snippet here and snippet there, something that is going to make them say 'OK I want to find out more about this'.

Just to finish off the design element it is worth noting that there are lots of courses available online (free and paid) for your chosen software so you shouldn't feel daunted. Obviously the 'how to' use your chosen app is outside the scope of this blog, I just wanted to let you know that there are other options when it comes to doing it yourself.

Ready To Self-Publish

“The first draft reveals the art; revision reveals the artist.” — Michael Lee

Phew! You've now written a great story with an amazing cover that your readers are simply going to drool over but...how are they going to buy it? Clearly you have physical books, e-books and audio books. The simple truth is as a self publisher you need to look into getting your book out to as many potential readers as possible across these multiple formats. Similarly there are multiple distributors/hosts and it all gets very confusing very quickly.

In this blog I want to keep it as simple as possible. Once you have it available via one distributor you can expand the distribution range as much as you want, depending on desire and energy levels because every one has slightly different requirements and it is so annoying - trust me, I've been there and got the t-shirt!

Physical Books

So on the theme of keeping it straightforward - there are 2 main ways to print and therefore sell your book (I'll cover eBooks and audiobooks a bit later). Firstly, you can approach a printer and request that they print how many copies you want. If you search for 'Short Run Book Printing' it should keep the number of suppliers to a manageable amount. If they are any good at their job they will guide you through the process including book formatting requirements, image quality etc. they will also give you an estimate of how much they charge to print your book, generally there is a sliding scale for example, £1k for 100 books, £2k for 250 books, £5k for 1000 books. Once you pay they print and deliver, you then have to sell them for whatever price you want to charge. This can prove to be very costly - if you can't 'shift' them.

The second option is Print On Demand (POD). Here the supplier holds your book, both contents and cover, in a digital file. It is not pre-printed. Printing only takes place after your reader places their order. If you use Amazon KDP, Ingram Spark or Lulu (to name but 3 POD suppliers - there are more!) they take their print costs at source and pay you a royalty/commission. For example, I have a Hardback version of my novel on Amazon for £14.95 for which I receive approx. £2.50 for each sale - it does vary depending on exchange rates, print costs etc. Again whatever supplier you use will have slightly different formatting requirements. They will also have slightly differing options in terms of book size, type of cover etc. Again these are outside the scope of this blog.

Clearly there is a huge difference in earnings potential between physically printed books and POD books. This is proportionate to the financial risks involved. There are also a few other things to remember about POD suppliers.

1. Whoever you choose will only print what you give them - if your product is poor quality then that's what they will print. Yes they make more money the more books you sell but they have 'gazillions' of books available and yours is pretty low down in the pecking order - this is particularly true of Amazon KDP.
2. Each POD supplier has there own little 'quirks' when it comes to contracts and payments - please please please read the small print. I know plenty of writers who have fallen foul of Amazon's 'best' practice and their accounts have been closed immediately, books removed from sale and any outstanding commission payments retained by Amazon - it's in the contract that you sign. Do it right and all is good but it would be remiss of me to paint an unrealistic rosy picture of the POD world - if I haven't already made it obvious I use Amazon KDP to sell my books, they are simply the largest marketplace globally.
3. Again there are plenty of tutorials (the free ones are just as good and informative as any paid ones) depending on the POD supplier you choose. I would recommend Amazon KDP to begin with. If you can publish on this platform you can publish on any of the others and there are so many more tutorials available as its used by the most authors.
4. Always make sure to get an authors copy, it gives you one last chance to review and make changes before releasing your baby into the world.

“If you are willing to do something that might not work, you’re closer to being an artist.” — Seth Godin

eBooks

Although physical books still out sell eBooks it is still a huge market and one that you definitely need to add your novel too. Again there are multiple vendors with slightly different formatting requirements. I have listed the top 5 for you to consider. A quick word of warning, don't go crazy, particularly as a new author. The more platforms you have to deal with, the more of your time it will require. There's also no point in submitting your book to the same stores more than once.

1. Draft2Digital - Cost - Free Royalties - upto 60% - Draft2Digital is one of the best platforms to publish your eBook. It hits all the main stores like Amazon, Smashwords, Apple Books, Barnes & Noble, Kobo. The best thing about Draft2Digital is its automated formatting service. This turns your basic Word document into a smart, professional eBook for free.
2. Amazon Kindle Direct Publishing (KDP) - Cost - Free Royalties - upto 70% - Amazon sells a HUGE number of eBooks, so its publishing platform, Amazon KDP, is massively popular too. Through it, you're able to reach a vast audience. They accept a lot of differing file formats but it ends up being available on their Kindle platform only. They also offer a KDP Select program which gives you higher royalties but they demand exclusivity for this.
3. Lulu - Cost - £4.99 per book Royalties - upto 80% - this is an up-and-coming eBook aggregator site. It will distribute your eBook to all the major retailers (including Amazon). Please note that their assistant tool is more complicated than the others, not a big issue but something to be aware off.
4. Kobo Writing Life - Cost - Free Royalties - upto 70% - Kobo is a pretty big eBook retailer. Although it's not on the same level as Amazon or Apple, Kobo is available in over 190 countries. They'll convert your manuscript into EPUB format. And as long as your book is priced at £1.99 or more (or equivalent), you'll receive 70% of your book's listed price. Any books cheaper than that will earn you 45%. Plus, you're still free to publish your books elsewhere if you like.
5. Barnes & Noble Press - Cost - Free Royalties - upto 70% - They're a huge retailer in the US and have a big audience here in the UK too. You'll make 70% off any eBook priced between $0.99 – $199.99. This means that you'll earn more distributing directly through B&N rather than via an aggregator site. That said, uploading your books to individual retailers is more hassle.

Audio Books

“It doesn’t matter if it’s good right now, it just needs to exist.” — Austin Kleon

It is fair to say that this is probably not the top priority for a debut author but it is another distribution channel. Again you can hire companies or individuals to produce your audio book. Dependent on budget you can even hire known actors to do your voice overs. But you should also be aware that, as with other book formats you can do this yourself, although you do need certain minimum requirements when it comes to recording and editing software - again outside the scope of this blog but a quick search for audiobook creators will yield plenty of results for your consideration.

To self-publish your audio title, you’ll need to upload the right files to your chosen publishing platform. These files include your 1) narrated content in mp3 files and 2) cover design (obviously if you are employing someone to do this for you they would be doing this). Top 4 publishing platforms include:

1. Amazon’s Audiobook Creation Exchange (ACX) - this is the largest publishing platform, distributing audio content to Audible.com, Amazon.com, and iTunes. Audible is the largest audiobook store, providing over 200,000 audio titles for listeners worldwide. On the ACX platform, you can create an account for free and go through its audio process to produce and distribute your audio title. You have the option to produce your own audiobook on ACX or to upload your own files. Royalties - 40% if exclusive / 25% non-exclusive / 20% royalty share
2. Kobo - Kobo distribution gets your book listed in Kobo.com, Walmart, Indigo (Canada’s #1 bookstore), Bol (e-commerce shop in the Netherlands), and other stores. There are no exclusivity clauses or fees to publish with Kobo. Kobo is a growing channel to tap into. In 2023, Kobo Plus (the reading subscription service from Kobo) was the 2nd highest-growing store for PublishDrive indies, generating 154% more book sales than the previous year. Royalties - 35% for books priced at $2.99 or lower / 45% for books priced at $3.00 or over/ 32% for subscription customers.
3. Audiobooks.com - Audiobooks.com is right behind Audible among the top audio subscription services in the U.S. Along with an extensive library, listeners have access to a podcast section that features more than 70,000 podcasts. Subscribers get a free title to start and one free title curated from the VIP section every month. To distribute to Audiobooks.com, you’d need to contact them directly and discuss royalty rates. Or, you can go through one of its third-party distribution partners such as PublishDrive.
4. Google Play Books - Indies made 68% more book sales on Google Play Books in 2023. As a giant digital store reaching over 40 countries, and with its app pre-installed on every Android device, Google Play Books is a good channel to distribute your audiobook. Royalties vary, you would need to contact them directly for more information but it can be upto 50%.

There is another couple of options available within the audiobook market. One is to release it as a subscription for example, release one chapter a week for a fee. In essence you are creating a podcast. There are some free but they are poorly distributed and you are still required to produce the audio files. There is also a little known distribution strategy called OverDrive which distributes to libraries all over the world. You can submit an inquiry form to work directly with OverDrive. However, it can be quicker to work with one of OverDrive’s distribution partners, such as PublishDrive.

Anything Else?

“Writing the last page of the first draft is the most enjoyable moment in writing. It’s one of the most enjoyable moments in life, period.” — Nicholas Sparks

Before I leave you in peace I did want to mention a couple of other things that are not essential to getting your book published but are things I would recommend you consider.

1. Register with an ISBN agency - Any print book that you want to sell through traditional retail channels (eg. Amazon) must have an ISBN number. While eBooks do not have the same requirements I would highly recommend that you apply one anyway as it gives your book wider availability within the book trade. The number needs to be added to your copyright page (legal requirement), along with a generated and scannable barcode which is to be applied to your back cover artwork. Now if you use Amazon as a POD supplier they will offer you a free ISBN number, however this is conditional in that you cannot sell that book on any other platform. Not a big issue if you are happy to use Amazon only.

Here is a list of the main ISBN agencies for major territories:

1. UK & Ireland: Neilsen Books www.isbn.nielsenbookdata.co.uk
2. USA: R.R.Bowker, LLC www.isbn.org
3. Canada: Canadian ISBN Agency, Library and Archives Canada www.bac-lac.gc.ca/eng/services/isbn-canada
4. France: AFNIL www.afnil.org
5. Australia: Thorpe Bowker www.myidentifiers.com.au
6. Spain: Agencia Del ISBN http://agenciaisbn.es

2. Legal Deposit - It is a legal requirement in the UK for all printed books to have a copy sent to the British Library, this acts as a public record. All major publishing territories have a similar requirement. If they are required then your relevant ISBN agency will notify you when you purchase your ISBN numbers.

“Good stories are not written. They are rewritten.” — Phyllis Whitney

Conclusion

This blog has focused on providing a guide to self publishing your novel and if you have got this far then I take my hat of to you. I hope you have found this useful but if you do have any questions please let me know. Oh...one last thing before I go...millions of people throughout the world claim to want to actually write a book and you are one of the very few that have actually achieved that feat. You should be proud of yourself and as a fellow author I applaud your efforts, I know what it takes to get here so well done!