Diving Into Self-Publishing
Diving Into Self-Publishing: How It Works
Self-publishing has its own vocabulary and a lot of choices that are not obvious until you are in the middle of them. This guide explains how the process fits together, who does what, and the terms you will run into, so your first decisions are informed ones.
- Editing, design and publishing support in-house
- Plain answers to beginner questions
- Use us for one stage or the whole book
- Every book quoted with its own timeline
The basics
What self-publishing actually is
Self-publishing means you publish the book yourself instead of selling the rights to a publishing house. You arrange the editing, cover and interior design, upload the files to retail platforms, set the price and receive royalties directly from those platforms. You can do every task yourself or hire professionals for some or all of them; either way, the decisions and the rights stay with you.
It is not the same as printing a box of books at a local printer and selling them from your car boot, although that is still possible. Most self-published books today are sold as ebooks and as print-on-demand paperbacks, which means no stock sits in a warehouse and nothing is printed until a reader orders it.
How it fits together
The pieces of a self-published book
Every self-published book passes through the same set of pieces, whoever does the work.
The manuscript
Your finished, revised text. Editing turns it from a draft into something ready for readers.
The interior
The typeset pages of the print edition and the reflowable file for the ebook. These are two different files built from the same text.
The cover
A front cover image for the ebook, and a full wrap with spine and back cover for print, sized to the final page count.
The metadata
Title, description, categories, keywords, price and author details: the information retailers use to list and recommend the book.
The platforms
The services that print, list and sell your book, such as Amazon KDP for Amazon's stores and other distributors that supply further retailers and libraries.
The marketing
Everything that helps readers find the book once it is listed, from your author website to launch reviews.
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Print-on-demand
How print-on-demand works
With print-on-demand, you upload a print-ready interior PDF and a cover file to the platform. When a reader orders a copy, it is printed and shipped, and the platform pays you a royalty: a percentage of the list price after the cost of printing that copy is taken out. You pay nothing per copy and hold no stock.
The trade-off is that the printing cost per copy is higher than in a large offset print run, so print-on-demand paperbacks usually cost more to buy than mass-produced ones. Page count, trim size and colour printing all affect the cost, which is why a long full-colour book needs a higher list price than a short black-and-white novel.
Terms to know
A short glossary for new self-publishers
You will meet these terms in the first week. Each one is a decision or a specification.
- ISBN: the identifier for a specific edition and format; Kindle ebooks do not require one, print editions do
- Imprint: the publisher name printed on the book, which can be your own if you buy your own ISBNs
- Trim size: the finished page dimensions of a print book, usually chosen to match the genre
- Bleed: extra image area beyond the trim edge, needed when artwork runs to the edge of the page
- Front matter and back matter: the pages before and after the main text, such as the copyright page or an index
- Reflowable ebook: a file whose text adjusts to the reader's screen and font settings, unlike a fixed print layout
- BISAC codes: standard subject categories used across the book trade to classify titles
- KDP Select: an optional programme that makes a Kindle ebook exclusive to Amazon for 90-day periods
- ARC: an advance reader copy sent to reviewers before publication
Getting started
Your first decisions
Before any production starts, settle a few things: which formats you will publish, which name the book will carry, whether you will use a free platform ISBN or buy your own, and whether the ebook will be exclusive to Amazon or sold more widely. None of these are permanent, but changing them later costs time and sometimes money.
Then decide which tasks you will do yourself. Authors with design skills sometimes make their own covers; authors comfortable with layout software sometimes format their own interiors. Editing is the task authors should least often do alone, simply because nobody can see their own writing with fresh eyes.
Working with us
If you would rather not do it all yourself
Our in-house team handles each piece described on this page: editing, interior formatting for print and ebook, cover design, metadata and platform setup, and marketing. You can bring us a finished manuscript and hand over the rest, or ask for help with a single stage. We will explain each choice as we go, so you understand your own book's setup.
Free proposal
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Response within 24 hours
Usually much sooner during business hours.
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Talk to a strategist
Not a call centre — the person who scopes your work.
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Fixed pricing upfront
You approve the number before anything starts.
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[email protected]Questions
Questions about getting started with self-publishing
Still unsure about something? Talk to a specialist — no script, no sales pitch.
Finish and revise your manuscript, then have it edited. While that happens, decide on formats, your author name and your ISBN approach, and commission a cover. Once the text is final, format the interior, set up accounts on the platforms you will use, upload the files with your metadata, order a proof copy and approve it.
Uploading to major platforms such as Amazon KDP costs nothing, and print-on-demand means you do not pay for stock. Producing a book readers will buy usually costs money, though: editing, cover design and formatting are the main expenses, plus any ISBNs you buy and any marketing. How much depends on the book.
For a Kindle ebook, no. For print editions, yes, but KDP offers a free one that can only be used on KDP and lists the publisher as "Independently published." If you want your own imprint or plan to print elsewhere, you can buy your own; in the US they are sold by Bowker.
An ebook is a digital file read on an e-reader, tablet or phone, with text that reflows to fit the screen. A print-on-demand book is a physical paperback or hardcover printed each time someone orders it. They need separate files and, conventionally, separate ISBNs, but can be released together.
Yes. Cookbooks, children's books, photography and illustrated non-fiction are all self-published regularly. Colour printing costs more per copy, so the list price has to be higher, and the layout often needs a fixed format rather than a reflowable ebook. Plan the format before commissioning images.
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Process and Timeline
Every stage from draft to launch, with realistic durations.
Learn moreSelf-Publishing Answers
Short answers to the questions new authors ask most.
Learn moreBook Size and Finish
Trim sizes, paper and finish options for print editions.
Learn moreBook Publishing
Our self-publishing support from manuscript to release.
Learn moreReady when you are
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