Strategies for Successful Self-Publishing
If you are a new author, getting your book published can be as tedious as writing the manuscript, especially if you choose a traditional publisher. Until a few years ago, writers didn’t have an option apart from traditional publishing. But now self-publishing industry has expanded so big that it presents the customer with myriad options. What is self-publishing? How to be a successful author through self-publishing? Here are some tips.
What is self-publishing?
Self-publishing, as the name suggests, is the process of getting your work published without the help of a traditional publisher. The usual steps involved in publishing a book, like editing, formatting, cover design and marketing are done with the author’s resources. One of the most promising advantages of self-publishing over traditional publishing is retaining your creative freedom. From writing the manuscript to marketing, your discretion is final. But this can also be scary for some authors, especially beginners, because more freedom means more responsibilities.
Steps of self-publishing and how to do it effectively?
Self-publishing offers freedom and creative control over your work. This is possible because the author himself/herself takes care of each of the following 6 steps of publishing.
- Writing
Start writing by making an outline of that brilliant idea you have. Then elaborate by adding characters and subplots. If you are an author who wants to write what the audience wants, research thoroughly the current trends and the contents of recent bestsellers. Your book should be marketable, whatever the genre is. Surf through online forums and social media platforms, to know the general opinion and wants of the readers of the particular genre you write in. Completing your manuscript takes time, patience, hard work and a couple of revisions.
Getting feedback is also important to mold your manuscript into the desired shape. Don’t hesitate to ask for feedback from a person who is honest and thorough in the genre you write and to revise your work accordingly.
- Editing
Self-editing your book can be a little tricky because you wrote the entire work believing that it is right. Taking a break from your book for a couple of days and then editing it will help you to have a fresh perspective.
Investing in a professional editor after you are done with self-editing is never a waste of your money. If your resources allow it, it is always desirable to go through the proper process of editing, i.e., developmental editing (where the overall pace of the narrative, plot-holes, character development, etc. are analyzed), copy-editing (line-by-line editing which saves you from discrepancies of facts, like a character having blue eyes in the first chapter later appearing to be green-eyed) and proofreading (punctuation, grammar, syntax, etc. are taken care of).
Clever Fox Publishing, one of India’s leading self-publishing platforms, provides you with expert editorial services. Through Guided Self-Publishing, a publishing model at Clever Fox, you can avail services of several publishing packages from which you can choose one according to your book type, goals and budget. You can also customize the packages the way you want them to be. The editing services offered by Clever Fox (standard and advanced) are effective and at the same time, flexible. It is completely up to the author to accept or reject the changes. The experts at Clever Fox will happily share their professional advice with you (even suggesting book titles, if you are unsure about it), but your word is final.
- Formatting
Formatting is about the way the contents of your work look. It includes style elements like font and technical aspects like line spacing and font size. The way you format your book depends on many factors like the genre in which you write, your intended publishing format, etc. A thriller novel needs to be formatted differently from a children’s book with illustrations or pictures. Whether you want to publish your book as a paperback, hardcover or eBook, each platform has its own requirements for formatting. The expert team at Clever Fox will help you to format according to your requirements. They also provide an appropriate interior design for your book.
- Designing your cover
An author can never underestimate the importance of a good cover design. Readers do judge a book by its cover. Cover designs make the book stand out from the crowd. A cover is what tells the reader what to expect from the book.
If you are confident enough to design your own cover, go for it. Being the cover designer of your own book could be time-consuming, but it will save you a lot of money. If you are not, you should definitely make use of a professional designer’s help. There is no need to go for expensive, fancy covers. It is the subtlety and thematic significance of the objects on the cover that makes it attention-worthy. Whether you design the cover yourself or hire a designer, you should have a rough idea of what you want the cover to be. Think like a marketer to figure out what makes a reader pick your book, whether in an online store or a physical one. Keep in mind that you should also pay attention to the designs on the back cover and spine. The designing team at Clever Fox works in close association with the author so that the best of ideas can be used to make the perfect cover design.
- Publishing
Now that your book is almost ready to hit the stores you need to decide which publishing platform you need to go with. You can hire the services of a self-publishing company in assisting you with the process. India’s self-publishing industry is growing at a fast pace and there are many self-publishing companies in the industry. But it is important to choose the right one since you are hiring them with your hard-earned money.
Clever Fox Publishing offers different publishing models like Guided Self-Publishing (apt for debut authors who will be walked through each step of the publishing process) and Partnered Publishing (popular among experienced authors). The packages available in these publishing models make Clever Fox a one-stop shop for all your publishing requirements.
- Marketing: One of the factors about self-publishing that make the authors reconsider traditional publishing is the huge responsibility of marketing. If you are not availing the services of a self-publishing company, you will end up managing the entire marketing phase alone. In Clever Fox’s Guided Self-Publishing, you can have a customized distribution and marketing mix with the packages. You can sit back and relax while the experts at Clever Fox take care of distribution through platforms like Amazon, Shopsy, Flipkart, Clever Store, Kindle, FB, Kobo, Google Play Store, Google Books, OverDrive, Ingram Distribution, Physical Distribution in major metro cities, Books Mantra, etc. The marketing strategies offered include press release, physical marketing support, SEO optimization, author website & Clever Author Page, book launch, posters, video trailers/short films, author interviews, Facebook & Goodreads page setup, audiobook, etc.
