The Self-Publishing Checklist

[Sarashay]

I thought it might be useful to supply a list of Things To Do To Self-Publish A Book. I have some experience on the ins and outs through the book I put out with my father's micropress (details in my signature!), and I know there's loads of experience to be found here. So what I'd like to do is make a list of steps, roughly in order, though I know some things don't have a particular order. Things to make sure to do.

If you have a suggestion, post a reply with it, preferably with a few words about what the step entails, about where it would fall on the list (beginning, middle or end), and why it's important. I'll update this post with the list as things get added to it.

I'll start with the most important step of all, and the first thing you should do:

Write the book

Edit the book (either by yourself or with help)
+Developmental edits
+ Line edits
+ Proofreading

Send to beta readers
+ Take (or leave) advice
+Make necessary changes

Prep book for publication
+ Cover art
+ Short summary for ebook listing/back cover
+ Formatting (for ebook at least, print if you're up to it)
+ ISBN
+ Compile!
+ Send to printer, if it's a print title

Decide where/how to sell it
+ Amazon (note: if you go with Kindle Unlimited, all the other options are off the table)
+ iBooks (Apple)
+ Nook (Barnes and Noble)
+ BookFunnel (for selling directly)

Promote it
+ Social media
+ Paid advertising
+ Newsletters
+ Membership sites (e.g., Patreon)

Write another book and do it all again!

 

[lizmonster]

Acquire a cover
Format book for publication
Compose a blurb
Choose distribution method (e.g. Smashwords, KDP, etc.)
Decide on a release marketing strategy

 

[Unimportant]

Determine why you have chosen SP (if the answer is "To make millions! Millions, I say!" you need to do more research).

Sometimes, hiring an external developmental editor, copy-editor, proofreader....

Are ISBNs still a thing?

 

[lizmonster]

Determine why you have chosen SP (if the answer is "To make millions! Millions, I say!" you need to do more research).

Oh, this is definitely Step 0.

Sometimes, hiring an external developmental editor, copy-editor, proofreader....

I bundled this under "write the book," but perhaps "finish the book" needs its own line.

Are ISBNs still a thing?

Yes! Most countries provide them for free. In the US you have to pay for them (it's cheapest to buy them in packs of 10). If you're Amazon-exclusive, you don't need an ISBN, but you can't sell elsewhere without one. (Barnes and Noble also has an alternative numbering system, but I don't remember if they require an ISBN as well.)

 

[Jazz Club]

ISBNs aren't free here either (UK). I think they're free in Canada, lucky guys!

To answer OP's original post. Here are some more steps, off the top of my head:

Decide on your goals. Do you want to make a career out of this/sell a modest amount of copies/don't care how many you sell as long as you tell the story of your heart? None of these is wrong, but there are different strategies for all of these aims.

If you want to sell well, first check there actually is a viable market for what you want to write. If you don't care how much you sell you can be as off-the-wall as you want, but if you want to make money/have lots of people read your stories, fitting into an established subgenre makes more sense.

Then, research your niche thoroughly. Find out where your readers will be. Is your subgenre mostly located within Kindle Unlimited or wide (i.e. the books can be sold at other retailers outside Amazon)? Will you be competing with trade-published books, e.g. if you write MF romantasy, or not so much, e.g. if you write Lit RPG or MM romance? Check out the covers, blurbs and writing style of your competitors. Read a bunch of books within your niche and see how you fit in, see if you're offering the readership the kind of experience they want.

Then, once you've got going, start a newsletter, if that's part of your marketing stategy (doesn't necessarily have to be). It's very useful for me but everyone's path is different.

Also plan to write more than 1 book before you expect much visibility/success. Obviously exceptions apply and a few people make it big with one book, but in general more books make it easier and make marketing more economically viable as your ads will hopefully push readers into your entire series pipeline, not just to one book.

 

[Sarashay]

I'm not sure if I want to commit to "hire a..." for things that one can potentially do themselves. Maybe instead of "hire a developmental editor" just have "developmental editing."

 

[Unimportant]

I'm not sure if I want to commit to "hire a..." for things that one can potentially do themselves. Maybe instead of "hire a developmental editor" just have "developmental editing."

Makes sense. "Complete manuscript: finished draft +/- beta reader input; developmental edit(s); line edit(s); copyedit(s); format/layout.

 

[Unimportant]

Probably somewhere is "determine genre/subgenre; choose SEO keywords"

 

[owlion]

ISBNs aren't free here either (UK). I think they're free in Canada, lucky guys!

To answer OP's original post. Here are some more steps, off the top of my head:

Decide on your goals. Do you want to make a career out of this/sell a modest amount of copies/don't care how many you sell as long as you tell the story of your heart? None of these is wrong, but there are different strategies for all of these aims.

If you want to sell well, first check there actually is a viable market for what you want to write. If you don't care how much you sell you can be as off-the-wall as you want, but if you want to make money/have lots of people read your stories, fitting into an established subgenre makes more sense.

Then, research your niche thoroughly. Find out where your readers will be. Is your subgenre mostly located within Kindle Unlimited or wide (i.e. the books can be sold at other retailers outside Amazon)? Will you be competing with trade-published books, e.g. if you write MF romantasy, or not so much, e.g. if you write Lit RPG or MM romance? Check out the covers, blurbs and writing style of your competitors. Read a bunch of books within your niche and see how you fit in, see if you're offering the readership the kind of experience they want.

Then, once you've got going, start a newsletter, if that's part of your marketing stategy (doesn't necessarily have to be). It's very useful for me but everyone's path is different.

Also plan to write more than 1 book before you expect much visibility/success. Obviously exceptions apply and a few people make it big with one book, but in general more books make it easier and make marketing more economically viable as your ads will hopefully push readers into your entire series pipeline, not just to one book.

Wow, this is a really in-depth insight into the process! It shows just how much there is to think about when it comes to self-pub

 

[lizmonster]

Also plan to write more than 1 book before you expect much visibility/success. Obviously exceptions apply and a few people make it big with one book, but in general more books make it easier and make marketing more economically viable as your ads will hopefully push readers into your entire series pipeline, not just to one book.

Yeah, this is a big deal. If you've got a series, plan how frequently you want to release them. (I've heard 3-4 a year recommended.) If you don't have a series, plan your marketing budget accordingly.

 

[Brigid Barry]

Wow, this is a really in-depth insight into the process! It shows just how much there is to think about when it comes to self-pub

(it's why I know that I could never do it)

 

[Mevrouw Bee]

(it's why I know that I could never do it)

Ditto.

 

[lizmonster]

It’s fine to decide not to self-publish because of the wide variety of skills you’d have to pick up.

But I want to say I thought the same - I even had a concerned friend recommend strongly that I not do it - and I surprised myself by not just being able to learn what I needed to do, but by actually liking some of it.

If you decide, for any reason, you’d like to self-publish, don’t let the task list deter you. If I can figure it out, anybody can.

 

[Mevrouw Bee]

It’s fine to decide not to self-publish because of the wide variety of skills you’d have to pick up.

But I want to say I thought the same - I even had a concerned friend recommend strongly that I not do it - and I surprised myself by not just being able to learn what I needed to do, but by actually liking some of it.

If you decide, for any reason, you’d like to self-publish, don’t let the task list deter you. If I can figure it out, anybody can.

Oh, I could figure it out. I just have fewer options to make back what I invest in money and effort because of geography and language.

 

[lizmonster]

Oh, I could figure it out. I just have fewer options to make back what I invest in money and effort because of geography and language.

This is another consdieration, and maybe makes sense to include on the checklist:

- Set a budget for production and advertising.

FWIW, I'm in the US, and I am still in the red on my self-published book. I suspect I always will be.

 

[alexp336]

Then, once you've got going, start a newsletter, if that's part of your marketing stategy (doesn't necessarily have to be). It's very useful for me but everyone's path is different.

+1 to this. In fact, I'd go so far as to say that everyone should have a newsletter, regardless of what other marketing they do. I didn't start mine until late 2022, and it was only last year that I really a) came to appreciate its value, and b) started to put effort into promoting it. Honestly, I'm kicking myself for not setting it up a decade ago.

Yes, it's a list of some of your most enthusiastic and engaged readers, but it's also a great way - with polls and surveys - to see what people want more/less of. One of the side-effects of self publishing involving so many hats is that there's never enough time to do as much as you wish you could (or, at least, it feels that way to me). Being able to ask your audience whether they'd like to see a new story or a sequel, or which sequel first, or more blog posts, or behind-the-scenes content, or anything else, is a great input into deciding what's the best use of whatever time you have. Not the only input, sure, but a valuable insight all the same.

 

[frimble3]

+1 to this. In fact, I'd go so far as to say that everyone should have a newsletter, regardless of what other marketing they do. I didn't start mine until late 2022, and it was only last year that I really a) came to appreciate its value, and b) started to put effort into promoting it. Honestly, I'm kicking myself for not setting it up a decade ago.

Yes, it's a list of some of your most enthusiastic and engaged readers, but it's also a great way - with polls and surveys - to see what people want more/less of. One of the side-effects of self publishing involving so many hats is that there's never enough time to do as much as you wish you could (or, at least, it feels that way to me). Being able to ask your audience whether they'd like to see a new story or a sequel, or which sequel first, or more blog posts, or behind-the-scenes content, or anything else, is a great input into deciding what's the best use of whatever time you have. Not the only input, sure, but a valuable insight all the same.

I do not 'follow' people, on-line or in real life, but interactivity is a good thing. It makes people think, rather than just running their eyes down a page and hitting delete.
Also, it may suggest directions in your writing that either confirms your thoughts, or sends them off in a new and useful direction.

 

[Jazz Club]

(it's why I know that I could never do it)

I thought it would be too much for me too, but I took it really gradually, one thing at a time. If you're planning to grow a decent backlist you don't have to do everything with the first book. For example, I have a newsletter but I still haven't attempted Facebook or Amazon ads, only a few Bookbub ones. I'm only on one social media platform, and not a big poster even there. Also, I'm probably ones of the the most tech illiterate people here. A lot of it is kinda common sense/intuition rather than highly technical stuff

 

[Jazz Club]

+1 to this. In fact, I'd go so far as to say that everyone should have a newsletter, regardless of what other marketing they do. I didn't start mine until late 2022, and it was only last year that I really a) came to appreciate its value, and b) started to put effort into promoting it. Honestly, I'm kicking myself for not setting it up a decade ago.

Yes, it's a list of some of your most enthusiastic and engaged readers, but it's also a great way - with polls and surveys - to see what people want more/less of. One of the side-effects of self publishing involving so many hats is that there's never enough time to do as much as you wish you could (or, at least, it feels that way to me). Being able to ask your audience whether they'd like to see a new story or a sequel, or which sequel first, or more blog posts, or behind-the-scenes content, or anything else, is a great input into deciding what's the best use of whatever time you have. Not the only input, sure, but a valuable insight all the same.

Definitely. It's also good to have a list of your readers/fans which you keep and which nobody can take away. You can always connect with them even if you randomly get banned from a social media platform. Whereas if you rely on reaching readers through Instagram or wherever you're dependent on that. (Also good to save the mailing list somewhere offline just in case the mailing list service goes down or bans... yes I'm super paranoid hehe)

 

[Sarashay]

Okay, I finally updated the list based on the feedback thus far. Did I miss anything?

 

[Lunarpsycho7]

The list seems to be grouped more by skill set (marketing, editing, etc.) than by chronological order, which is fine if that's the intent. But chronologically, for example, you'd want to have your promotions and marketing planned (and paid for) well before launch day, maybe even before you're done editing. Some of those things have a long queue.