- Tune in your contentConsider whether this story could be published as an e-book series or with a single-chapter promotional release.
- choose a cover that stands outopt for a unique and eye-catching design that suits your genre.
- choose the right ebook formatexplore the features of reflowable ebooks, fixed layout ebooks and pdf files to find the best format for your project.
- use metadata to increase visibilityinclude relevant keywords in your book’s metadata so more customers can find it with an internet search.
- price your ebookcompare the prices of similar ebooks and consider royalties, page length and genre to match help you calculate the price.
- promote your ebookmake an author website, build a mailing list and use social media to create eat buzz and get ready for your book release.
- create a kdp accountuse an online store like amazon kindle direct publishing to manage the sales and marketing of your ebook.
- assemble a marketing teamask a select group of friends, fans, family and colleagues to help spread the word.
- publish your e-bookorganize special launch activities to celebrate your book launch.
how to self-publish an ebook in 9 steps
step 1: refine your content
First, consider if all the content you have should be included in this ebook. Are there natural breaks in the narrative that lend themselves to serialization? this is a great way to maximize the money-making potential of your content and opens up new promotional opportunities. Giving away a free first installment is a great way to build an audience willing to pay to know what happens next.
Second, it sounds obvious, but it’s always worth re-emphasizing the need to carefully proofread and edit your e-book. check, double check and then check your pages again. The benefit of desktop publishing books in most eBook formats is the ability to reopen the file at a later date and make edits if you spot a typo, but the ideal scenario is to get it right the first time. If a reader comes across your work for the first time and finds multiple errors, it can be a huge turnoff and easily discourage them from reading further. enlist the help of a professional editor, fellow writers, friends, family, or colleagues to help you check for consistency and flow, as well as regular spelling and grammar checks.
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step 2: choose a cover that stands out
Getting the right cover for your self-published e-book is vital. Keep in mind that potential readers may be scrolling through multiple rows of e-books on their screen, so your cover needs to be eye-catching and genre-appropriate. the added challenge is that it needs to stand out even as a thumbnail image. If your budget allows, it’s definitely worth considering working with a professional designer to make this element of your eBook perfect. reedsy offers access to a network of experienced designers who could help.
Step 3: Pick the Right Format
There are 3 formats you could consider for your e-book. Your final choice will largely depend on the type of content you’re using and where you want to sell your book when it’s finished.
resizable ebooks: perfect for novels and other textbooks. allows you to resize and scale your text for readability purposes and to flow from page to page. reflowable ebooks can be set up for sale on the amazon kindle store and apple ibooks store through blurb.
fixed-layout ebooks: perfect for enhanced ebooks (with multimedia content) or heavily illustrated content. With a fixed layout, your content is locked into your page layout, preserving your deliberate layout decisions. In this format, your eBook can be set up for sale at the Blurb Bookstore, Amazon, and the Apple iBooks Store.
pdf: Perfect for sharing and sending, pdf files can be viewed on any device and can be set up for sale in the ad bookstore. the disadvantage of this format is that it does not have multimedia capabilities. they also tend to be fairly large files and are not optimized for mobile or tablet devices.
Step 4: Use Metadata to Boost Visibility
The term “book metadata” refers to the words and phrases you use to describe your book, including the title, author name and biography, and description or blurb of your book. it is this information that will help potential readers find your book.
Internet search engines and online retailers, such as Amazon, use keywords to connect customers with relevant products or content. therefore, your book metadata should contain these relevant keywords.
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Start by doing some basic brainstorming. what words would you search to find your self-published ebook? Once you’ve done this, narrow your list down to 10-20 specific words or phrases. test the relevance of each by conducting a search on amazon. Does the search return links to books similar to yours?
Once you have your list of keywords, you can include them in your author bio and book description, and possibly even in your title or subtitle.
Find more tips on how to write an effective blurb for your novel or non-fiction book.
step 5: set your price
One of the key benefits of self-publishing an e-book is that reduced production and distribution costs allow for a higher profit margin. however, keep in mind that low overhead costs are also reflected in the price a customer will expect to pay for an e-book compared to a print book.
The best place to start in deciding the price of your book is to see what similar books are selling for with the retailers you want to use. this will give you a good idea of where to aim, but there are a few other things to consider.
first, where are you selling your e-book. For example, the royalties you receive for selling your book on Amazon vary based on the price of your book. between $2.99 and $9.99 you will keep 70%. above or below this bracket, your royalties are reduced to 35%. that gives you a rough starting point. But what if you sell through advertising, where you keep 100% of your royalties? so how do you decide?
The length of your eBook is the first thing to consider. for short stories, say between 1,000 and 5,000 words, readers won’t expect to pay much more than $0.99. longer novels tend to sell for between $2.99 and $5.99. and for a novel, between $2.99 and $7.99 would be fine.
The genre of your ebook also influences the price. In general, romance, science fiction, and fantasy books tend to sell for less than literary fiction or nonfiction books.
Remember that nothing is set in stone and your pricing strategy is flexible. You can adjust your reference price at any time in response to the level of demand for your book or changes in the market in general.
Step 6: Promote Your eBook
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Just like with a print book, if you want to sell your self-published e-book, you need to put some time and effort into marketing. creating an author website is invaluable. Your website can serve as the center of your marketing strategy. allows you to build a mailing list of fans and followers, develop an author brand, and most importantly, provide direct links to retailers that sell your book.
You’ll also want to leverage your social media presence to generate buzz about your eBook, even before it’s released. Starting your promotional activities in advance will help your launch day run smoothly. write a series of blog posts related to your book’s topic or share trailers with excerpts or images from your book to generate excitement and curiosity. plan your special launch day activities and market them in advance so fans and supporters can save the date.
There are hundreds of blog posts about marketing your book alone. here’s one to get you started.
step 7: create a kdp account
To increase the distribution and visibility of your self-published eBook, use an online store like Amazon Kindle Direct Publishing. It’s free to publish your eBook, and the platform makes it easy to manage sales and market your book worldwide, potentially reaching millions of readers on Amazon. you can stay in control of your rights and make changes to your ebook list at any time.
Step 8: Assemble a Marketing Team
Successful launching of an e-book requires advance planning and people power, so don’t think you have to do it all alone. Recruit a group of supporters and use word of mouth to spread the word.
Think about people in your personal and professional network who could be valuable team members: are they dedicated fans, want to support you, have a large following online, or have specific skills. When you ask each person for help with a specific task, make the request personal (no blast emails, please!) and let them know how important the release of this eBook is to you. even if you get an enthusiastic “yes!” immediately, contact them closer to launch day to make sure everyone remembers what they signed up for.
step 9: publish your ebook
When the big day arrives, you can rest assured that you’ve done all the legwork in preparation for a successful e-book launch. It’s time to upload your formatted ebook to the blurb library and your kdp account. Hurrah! then send a special email announcement to your mailing list with exciting news, host a lecture or webinar, or have a social media Q&A. Have fun celebrating the arrival of your ebook to the world!
let’s get to it
so there you have it. a step-by-step guide to self-publishing your ebook. Whether you’re creating one to supplement a print version or as a first foray into desktop publishing, follow these tips to ensure your plan runs smoothly.
good luck!
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