At a point in some of our lives, we tend to have ideas, inspirations, or experiences which can lead us to take up a pen and paper — or, in this current day and age, a laptop — and start writing. Whether it may be a fantastic tale about a fictional character, a self-help guide in navigating life’s challenges, or even an autobiography, some of us would have this urge to write and share our written work to the world.

Nowadays, though there are already millions of books, most of which are published by big, corporate publishers and marketed by famous bookstores or sites in various media platforms. As someone who has only just begun, it may be easy to be discouraged. However, an upside on today’s technology is that it is now highly possible to have your work published independently and easily, either in print or digital. Also, because of new media, it is now easier to market your book to a wide scope of audience. Before you jump with glee, however, here are a few tips to keep in mind when self-publishing:

• Have Your Manuscript Edited

  Your idea may be wonderful and you may have tirelessly worked day and night to put everything in your mind to paper or screen, however, professional editing is still a must. There are edits you need to consider before putting your work out in the open, such as the story’s flow and consistency, language, word spelling, syntax, and grammar. It will prove to be very helpful to hire a professional editor to run your manuscript through.

• Create and Choose Your Book Cover Design Carefully

  Although the saying, “Do not judge a book by its cover” is often quoted by people, you can’t help but admit that a lot of people still choose to peruse something based mostly on the cover. Therefore, it’s important to create a cover that strikes intrigue and piques the interest of potential readers. You can hire a professional for this if the design is not really up to your alley.

• Seek for a Trustworthy Distributor

  Be wary of overly expensive self-publishing companies who promise to publish your book but wouldn’t even budge with it until you have followed up a couple hundred times. It may also be helpful, especially for first-timers, to employ print-on-demand services. This way, your book only gets printed during orders. Bookwhip, for example, is a great distributor that offers fair pricing and efficient printing and distribution services.

• Purchase an ISBN for Your Book

  An ISBN, or International Standard Book Number, is a very important element in publishing, as this provides important data about your book. It also allows booksellers to be aware that you are the publisher. Be careful of sites that offer “free” ISBN. It’s better to purchase your own.

• Market Your Book

  Marketing your book through the right channels is the last and important step in self-publishing. For this, you can trust your distributor to help market your book to brick-and-mortar bookstores, or online stores, however, you can also use good old word-of-mouth or social media to market.

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