Self-Publishing: How Do You Know When You're Ready?

Maybe it is because this is my fourth career, and my third start-up, but I’m finding that the business aspects of self-publishing a book aren’t nearly as challenging as what I’ve read. Maybe it’s because I’m a lawyer and used to extreme tedium. Some decisions that might cause problems down the road need to be made initially, but for now, I felt I was ready to proceed.

So what have I done up to this point?

First, the book had to be finished. What does “finished” mean? Your book should be proofed within an inch of its life. Not just reading the book over and over. Use Vellum or any other format system and read it in a different font. Read it on a tablet or a Kindle. But the most important thing is to read it aloud.

I intended to create my audiobook by reading the proof, as suggested, but after an entire day of hearing my voice on the recording, I stopped the recording process and continued with the proof. My voice is very Southern, and readers may find it irritating to listen to me for 350 pages. It took me three full days to carefully read that many pages. This was after I paid TWO editors to read, edit, and proofread the manuscript. I found multiple issues in every chapter.

Typos are Like Rabbits — They Breed in the Dark

When you read aloud, you find words that are uncomfortable to hear when you read them together. I also found typos and several sentences that I thought could have been written better. I made all those changes. Maybe my expectations are high, but when I hire an experienced editor1, I expect them to catch these things. Yes — all of them.

For the next book, I will regroup. I still want to use people rather than an app or a system. However, because I got a much better product using ProWritingAid than I did with the live editors, I’m not sure whether I will hire editors to proof. Yet, I can bet that when the ARC readers get the book, they will find errors or something else I did not see. (Thank you, Connie!!)

Make all your changes inside your formatting site. Mine is Vellum. There are others you should explore before reaching this stage. When the book is uploaded into Vellum, it is officially finished for me, and that is the final copy I use. It gets printed in a separate folder and placed in a different location on my computer, so I don’t pull the wrong file later when I upload.

And even with all the care and time, you will still make mistakes. It just happens.

Decide Where You Want Your Book Read

It’s a strategy thing. I aimed to learn every possible way to expose my book to the world, whether in ebook, paperback, or audiobook format. This is the stage of the game where I want to learn everything, explore things that may not work now but might in the future, and see how it all works. I won’t think about hardback books until I firmly have the other books in place. I’m not sure a hardback book is necessary for this domestic suspense series. However, we'll see if my marketing genie decides it's a good idea.

If you are self-publishing, don’t forget to set up your limited liability company (LLC). You’ll need a name, a headshot for yourself, a logo is nice, and a website. Get your Employer Identification Number (an EIN) from the IRS. Open your checking account where you want your royalties deposited, and set aside a credit card to be used ONLY for your book expenses.2

I’m a lawyer and have always maintained an LLC for each of my businesses. You can set up your business in your name, but it's advisable to consult with a business lawyer and a CPA first. Just do it. You’ll be glad you did. It’s a short conversation that won’t cost too much. They will also be happy you talked with them.

Setting up All the Places

I dove in. Given the current political environment, I decided (against the recommendation of my marketing genie) to “go wide” immediately and make the book available everywhere books are sold. It took me days to open the sites, have my tax ID number approved, and get all the details in the right places.

So what are the details? The following information must be ready for each site, even during the setup phase.

• Your business name that will end up being your “publisher” if you want

• Any d/b/a name that you use to sell books that is different from your LLC used as your imprint name

• Your Tax ID / EIN

• Checking account number and routing number for your royalty bank account

• Your cover art

• ISBNs for each type of book from Bowker3

• Your keywords Amazon and the BISAC key words4

• The final copy of your book in the correct format for the site you are setting up (whether epub or print)

I’m not against Amazon, but I’ve decided that immediately going to Kindle Unlimited is not how I want to start. I’m in this for the long haul, not as a flash-in-the-pan one-book author. I am against giving one site the exclusive sales rights to my book, even for 90 days. Yes, it is a future sales tactic, but for this setup and exploration period, and with this particular book, being on Kindle Unlimited is not what I want to do. I prefer Kobo Plus for my subscriptions as they are worldwide, and less expensive.5

Set up and upload your book to the KDP site first. This is the only site that performed a spellcheck on my manuscript. Even with all my proofing (and the editors, etc. above), it still found two typos. (Rabbits, remember? I promise you they breed every night.)

Decisions, Decisions, Decisions

You’ll need to determine which company you want to have print your physical books. There are six or so that you should investigate. I took a month to read everything I could find about printing, and finally decided the only way for me to pick one was to test at least half of them. On the forums and in the reviews, every person using a Print-On-Demand service has had a different experience from everyone else.

I’ve set up my accounts and have ordered a proof copy. This allows me to see the quality firsthand before my readers receive the book, see how long the delivery takes, and identify any printing errors. Once I’m through the process, I’ll let you know how it went.

What About the Audiobook?

Increasingly, I find myself listening to podcasts and audiobooks. All my writing business education is now done through podcasts. Given this, and the requests by some of my ARC readers to “please have an audiobook,” I’m currently searching for a narrator. For this novel, and most likely this series, I am using the ACX group. The next time, I might use Findaway Voices (now in Spotify, and in the process of shifting to yet another name.)

My goal was to use my voice, upload my audio to ElevenLabs, and convert it to a more pleasant tone than my own, using that for the audiobooks. Guess what? Amazon’s Audible site doesn’t allow this. Are they anti-technology? No. I learned yesterday that they are creating their own technology and do not want competitors’ voiceovers in their system. Can you see my eyes rolling? Here we go again with the exclusivity.

So What’s the Plan?

Ultimately, I’d prefer to have direct sales. I can lower the price significantly at any time and offer incentives to repeat readers. We are at a point where technology will allow this to happen, and I have no problems being a beta tester for this type of system. But we’ll see.

The first one’s loaded and ready to go. Well, almost. A few tedious things have to be checked on some of the sites, and the pricing needs to be corrected. But otherwise, I believe I’m ready.

Now, for the marketing phase. Thank heavens I have a genie.