A Quick Step-by-Step Guide to the Self-Publishing Process

Here is a quick checklist of the steps you will need to take if you are going to self-publish your book.

1. Write your manuscript.

2. Have your manuscript proofread and then edited by a professional editor.

3. Buy an ISBN and request a Library of Congress Number.

4. Send your book interior designer your edited manuscript, ISBN #, and LOC #.

5. When your interior designer has laid out your book, they will provide you with total page count. Hire a book cover designer and provide them with your book specifications for them to create a full cover spread – front cover, spine, back cover. (Trim size – usually 6×9, page count, paper color – white/cream, cover material – matte/glossy.) You will also give them your barcode and any cover art concepts or images if you have any in mind.

6. Now that you have page count and a cover designed, assign your ISBN to your book at Bowker.com, and add your book to Bookwire.com.

7. Upload and setup your book title with your chosen printer and/or marketplace.

8. Order a proof before you order multiple copies. (YellowStudios provides clients with a proof copy before uploading any files to their client’s printers – free of charge.)

9. Send a copy of your book to the Library of Congress – if you requested an LOC #.

10. Now the fun begins – MARKET, MARKET, MARKET!