Welcome back to my series on how to self-publish your book! I hope you are getting on well so far and your book is nearly complete. To quickly review what we have already covered:
- Finalised the title and subtitle
- Started some marketing, which should now be well underway
- Invited feedback on your manuscript, from a beta reader or otherwise
- Had your book copy-edited and reviewed this
- Written a creative brief for the front cover
- Hired a designer for the front cover or have done it yourself
- Have done or hired out the interior design and reviewed this
- Added acknowledgements, a dedication page and author bio, if you chose to
- Have done or hired out the design for the back cover and spine (if needed for a print version)
- Have an index for your book (if necessary)
- Created the EPUB files
- Have had your book proofread, or possibly done it yourself
- Prepared your metadata, such as book description and author page
- Decided what genre and category your book will be
- Set the opening price for your book and considered changing this further down the line
As you can see, a lot of work has already gone into this process. If you are unsure about any of this, take a look back through my blogs. The list above is done in the same order, so finalising the title, starting marketing and inviting feedback were all covered in Stage 1. The full list of this series is:
- How to Self-Publish Your Book, Stage 1 – Preparation
- How to Self-Publish Your Book, Stage 2 – First Steps
- How to Self-Publish Your Book, Stage 3 – Resolving Issues and Interior Design
- How to Self-Publish Your Book, Stage 4 – Reviewing, Design and Indexing
- How to Self-Publish Your Book, Stage 5 – Preparing EPUB Files and Proofreading
- How to Self-Publish Your Book, Stage 6 – Preparing for Publication and Creating Metadata
All of these are links, so you can go back if you want to check anything. This stage will cover uploading your ebook files to your chosen platform(s) and some of the additional considerations to make for print books.
Uploading Your Ebook
By now you should have your ebook files prepared, probably in EPUB, but possibly MOBI, which is great for Amazon Kindle (EPUB files do still work with Amazon). At this point, you might want to have one last check through to ensure that nothing has gone wrong in the formatting process, especially if you used an automatic formatter or your book has a lot of design elements such as bullet lists, diagrams or tables. You want to make sure it is as perfect as possible before you release it.
To upload your ebook, you will obviously need to have your ebook file, preferably in EPUB. If you want to, you can simply upload the file in Word, but watch out for anything looking weird and try to adjust it accordingly.
You will also need to have the front cover image that you had designed earlier or designed yourself ready. This needs to be in a picture format such as JPG or PNG. Again, double check how this looks and that nothing has been lost in the process of uploading it.
Once you have uploaded your files, you will need to set the price you decided on in the last stage, make sure it is the right category and check that you have added the book description. Don’t forget to also check that the title and your name are correct – you really don’t want these to be wrong!
After you’ve uploaded all of the necessary files and metadata, your book will typically be held for review. How long this takes will depend on the platform but can often be as quick as 24 hours on Amazon. Bearing in mind that it should only take you around an hour to upload everything, you can see just how quick the actual publishing part of self-publishing can be.
Now your book is ready to be released! You may do this instantly if you wish, but you don’t have to. If you would prefer to get your book all ready to go, then prepare your launch day promotion marketing, there should be an option to put your book on pre-order. How long you can do this for depends on the platform; Amazon allows 90 days, others allow for up to a year.
Preparing for a Print Edition
If you will also be releasing a print version of your book, you first need to choose a printer, using the same evaluative processes you used to find a copy-editor and cover designer. You may go with one that you have used before, one that is recommended by a friend or one that has excellent reviews.
If you will be printing your book, you will need your book files available in the final, formatted version with the interior design and the images for both covers and the spine. Remember to double check that you are using the right measurements – this will depend on the printer.
You may also want an ISBN. Some printers will provide them for you, but this means that they will then be listed as the publisher, rather than you. In the UK, you can buy your own from Nielsen BookServices at https://www.nielsenisbnstore.com/. These are currently £89.00, including VAT.
The US ISBN agency is Bowker at https://www.isbn.org/ where ISBNs are currently $125.00. You do not need a new ISBN for a different country, they are international and simply assigned locally.
You do not have to have an ISBN at all, but it does mean that booksellers and libraries around the world will be able to find your book easily, which may improve sales.
You will also need to consider how to distribute your print book and where it will be stocked. Alternatively, you could individually dispatch copies to buyers, but this may be very time-consuming, depending on how many you expect to sell.
Wrapping Up
All of your preparations should now be complete, so the next stage will be focusing on the actual launch of your book! This will also be the final stage of this series so please do come back to read it. Good luck!
Want help proofreading your work? Contact Carmine Proofreading for a friendly, professional service from a qualified proofreader.
Email: CarmineProofreading@gmail.com
Twitter: https://twitter.com/CarmineProofed
Carmine Proofreading 
1 thought on “How to Self-Publish Your Book, Stage 7 – Uploading Your Ebook Files and Preparing for Print”