Technologi

Everyone has a story to tell. Some people are lucky enough to be able to tell their story in an engaging way that might inspire or move others. If you've always wanted to share your story with others, you may want to learn how to self publish your book.

One of the main reasons why many authors decide to self publish is that it's so hard to get a publishing contract with an established company. It's in fact almost impossible if you're an unknown writer and so, publishing your work yourself is a great way to make a name for yourself and build up a fan base. Moreover, you'll get to do things on your terms and retain your own publishing rights without having to pay large chunks of the profit to a multi-million dollar company.

If you decide on publishing your book independently, you obviously need to write it first. Ask several people to look at your writing and give you feedback. Then get a professional editor to help you refine the manuscript. Be open to their suggestions, though, and don't take their criticism as a personal attack. Also budget for a good proofreader to give your manuscript a final check. A book full of mistakes creates a bad impression of your abilities as a writer.

The lay-out is important and needs to be done in such a way that readers will want to keep turning the page. If the pages appeal to the eye, half the battle is won. You also need a cover that will make your book stand out among all the others on the shelf, so invest in the services of a professional, creative designer. It's best to find one with experience in cover design because he or she will know what readers normally look for.

As the author, you need to keep copyright on your work. If you don't, anyone can copy pages from the book and pretend that they've written these. A copyright lawyer can help you with all the legal red tape. Also get an ISBN for each format that the book will appear in, such as hard cover, paperback or e-book. This number is your book's identity number.

There are different ways to publish the final book. One is to hire a printer to print and bind copies which you can then sell through book vendors. A more economical way is to publish it online as an e-book that your buyers can simply download.

Many people make the mistake of thinking that once their book has been published, they can just sit back and wait for the money to start rolling in. However, you need to let people know about the book in the first place because they won't buy it if they don't know that it's available. A good marketing and publicity campaign is essential for getting the word out.

While self publishing can definitely save you money, you need to realize that to get it done right, you'll need to invest some money. Don't let price be your only motivation when choosing the professionals who'll help you make your dream become a reality. As with most things in life, the cheaper the product, the lower the quality; so offer to pay editors, proofreaders, translators, designers and other publishing professionals a market-related fee.