What To Do Before You Self Publish Your Novel

Hello and thanks for dropping by! As I work towards self publishing my first fantasy novel I thought it might be useful to document the steps that I am taking to get the document ready for its launch. This will not be a long read, more of a template and checklist for my own personal approach - clearly this may not work for everyone so please view this as a guide only - each author will favour different things to suit their own circumstances.

"The free-lance writer is a man who is paid per piece or per word or perhaps." Robert Benchley

What am I publishing?

Just a quick comment here - the following prelaunch template assumes that you have an actual manuscript ready for publication. I have mentioned in previous blogs that I would recommend, if financially possible, to have your story professionally edited, the difference in my writing and the flow of the story is amazing compared to my initial draft.

I also took the decision to have the manuscript proofread as well as engage with professional book cover designers.

Tahira The Elemental

TAHIRA THE ELEMENTAL is a fantasy set in early European and North African prehistory. It's a tale of maternal love with strong female characters who have to fight to survive in a male dominated world where violence is common place.

"Orphaned on her sixteenth birthday, Tahira's life was about to take her in a different and at times violent direction. Unbeknown to her, there is a path she must follow, it is her destiny to become an Elemental but there is a price to pay."

A Pre-Launch Checklist For Self Published Authors

As mentioned previously this is my approach and may not be right for you, so please do your own research - the following is what I am doing personally because I think it will work best for me and is therefore not a recommendation.

"If writing and publishing a book is like giving birth to a child, then book marketing is like rearing it." Heather Hart

Buy ISBN's (International Standard Book Number)

Any print book that you want to sell through a retailer (such as Amazon) MUST have an ISBN number. Now I am aware that most online retailers/distributors will provide a number free for you, however this number is not transferable to other sites. This is not big deal you simply go onto each retailer with your account details and set the book up on the site using their template.

I intend to use an aggregator for my distribution. Again I have gone into detail in previous blogs but suffice it to say that I don't have time to open, set up and manage accounts for all the retailers I want my book to be available in. I will therefore distribute via Draft2Digital - and no I am not an affiliate and I will not receive a fee for promoting their services - I am prepared to lose a percentage of any royalties for the ease of having just one place to go.

Here in the UK the ISBN agency is Neilson and the cost is not cheap:

1 x £93 10 x £174 100 x £387 1000 x £994

Please check your own territory for costs - I will be buying 100 as I plan to sell this book in multiple formats eBook, Paperback, Hardback and Audio. I also have 2 more books coming out later this year.

Write Book Blurb

This is a critical part of selling and marketing your book. You need to be able to entice your reader to buy your buy so they will want a short description of the book's main character and what the story is about - its traditionally included on the inside cover or on the back of the book cover.

Create Own Publishing House

Again this is something you don't have to do. Here in the UK as an author I can operate as a 'Sole-Trader' for tax purposes just using my name. I do have other business ventures and I want to keep everything separate. It doesn't cost anything and the additional admin overhead is negligible. I also believe it will give my books a more professional look to see 'Quite Good Books' as the book imprint.

"Publishing a volume of verse is like dropping a rose petal down the Grand Canyon and waiting for the echo." Don Marquis

Finalise Cover Artwork

Add blurb and publishing house imprint details and finalise the art work for each of the book formats that you are using. Remember to also add a section 'About The Author', for paperbacks this is generally on the inside page but for hardbacks you would include it on the dustsheet. You should also include details about any other books you might have available. For reference I am using 100Covers - again I am not an affiliate.

Finalise Genre / Book Category / Keywords

I really need to research other books in my area to see where my book fits regarding book category and genre. I know that Tahira The Elemental is a Fantasy story loosely using tropes such as 'The Chosen One', 'Hero's Journey' and 'Fated Love'. I have also set it in Earth's prehistory during the time of the very first human civilisations but it's not a historical drama. The main character is a young woman aged 16 or so but it deals with adult themes.

From a marketing point of view I will also need to identify searchable keywords that readers will be using - I will be using Publisher Rocket for this - again I am not an affiliate.

Set Up Book Formats

So I am using Draft2Digital as my eBook and Paperback distributor so I will have to format my manuscript and cover following their guidelines.

I am using BookVault to produce the hardcopies so again I will have to setup the format adhering to their guidelines.

"There is no greater agony than bearing an untold story inside you." Maya Angelou

Set Up Pre-Orders

I need to set an actual launch date. Also I value my work so I will price my books in line with standard industry prices. I am not planning on running a promotional price I would rather offer discounts and promotions later in the marketing cycle.

Talking of marketing for the book - the above will also be used to set up the ability for readers to pre-order for your book.

ARC (Advanced Reader Copy) Requests

Any author knows that getting reviews is absolutely vital to getting traction for your book. I have begun the process to try and get ARC reviewers and this will be ongoing - I will offer free copy of the eBook and anyone who actually provides a review (good or bad) will be entered into a raffle for a swag bag of goodies.

Order Proof Copies

Before launching the book and will be ordering proof copies for each format just as a final check. I can always offer these for sale directly via my website.

Check Availability Across All Platforms

One the day of the book launch (if not before) ensure that your book is available across all platforms. I will also need to distribute the Draft2Digital Universal Link via social Media/Website etc. (this prevents the issue of sending a link to someone in another country which then opens the wrong territories website for example, if I send my amazon link to someone in the US it will open Amazon.co.uk and not the correct .com version).

“I love deadlines. I love the whooshing noise they make as they go by.” Douglas Adams

Promote, Promote, Promote

I need to grow my members list by updating my website signup to offer a free short story. I need to use substack and linktree along with creating multiple posts across Social Media platforms.

I need to set up Author accounts on Goodreads and Books2Read. there are other but I just don't have the energy.

I need to create an author video for my website.

And Now The End Is Near

I hope you found this useful. It is of course only the beginning when it comes to marketing my book. I am still finalising my approach for the next phase and will create another blog further down the line covering the details of my future marketing efforts.

As ever I am always happy to hear from any bookworms, so if you have any questions/comments/opinions please drop me a note, I would love to hear from you - my only request is to be civil - oh and to be a real human!

Til next time - please take care and stay safe!