Ebooks have made reading more accessible than ever. The popularity of e-books has hit new levels with social distancing requirements and lockdowns. Authors can rely on ebook conversion services to transform their work into digital format and choose from a multitude of eBook publishing platforms to reach a vast audience. Today, many authors are choosing to self-publish and get their eBook to the market quickly. If you are looking to go it on your own, you need to know the steps in the self-publishing process.
- Make Sure your Material is Error-free: Check your manuscript for grammatical and other errors, typos, and inconsistencies. This means reading it word for word and not just skimming through the text. There are many software tools to help authors organize and edit their work, such as Google Docs, Grammarly, Prowritingaid and Evernote. You can also hire professional copyediting services or reach out to friends, relatives, and social media contacts for feedback on your manuscript. Once your work is edited, make the necessary corrections and get it to an acceptable standard for publishing.
- Format the Book for Publishing: A well-formatted book that presents information in clear logical sections enhances the reader’s experience. Formatting refers to setting page size and specifications, font, margins, spacing, tables, figures, etc. Microsoft Word makes it easy for anyone to format a book for different mediums such as Kindle and paperback. You can easily format an e-book using a free formatting software like Kindle Create and sell it on Amazon Kindle with Amazon’s Kindle Direct Publishing Platform (KDP). You can also convert your Word file into other digital formats like epub, mobi and pdf with the help of professional eBook conversion services. Companies offering eBook conversion support a variety of input formats such as Word, Rich Text Format (.rtf), Text (.txt), PDF, ePub, mobi, scan of printed books, HTML, LIT, LRF, and more. The mobi file format, which is used by KDP, works best if you have images, charts and tables. The epub version of a book is compatible with almost all devices and readers. Finally, format the table of contents to meet the specifications of the e-publishing platform, with links to each chapter.
- Create an Eye-catching Cover: Your eBook’s cover plays an important role in attracting the reader’s attention. It’s about making your eBook attractive and exciting to create a great impression at first glance. There are fully featured apps that come with ready-to-use templates, simple interfaces, and a wide choice of design elements to create e-book covers. You can add your own photos to personalize the design. Relying on professional services is a good idea if you don’t want to take the DIY path.
- Upload the Book on the Self-publishing Platform: After your book has been edited and designed, the next step is to upload it on a self-publishing platform. Top self-publishing companies from include retailers and aggregators. Amazon KDP, Barnes and Noble Press, and Apple Books are retailers, while IngramSpark, Kobo, Smashwords, and Draft2Digital are aggregators. KDP’s Online Previewer tool shows you what your eBook appear on different devices tablets, phones, and Kindle e-Readers before it’s published on Amazon,. If you find any issues when you preview your book, you can correct them and re-upload it. Most of these platforms also provide daily sales reporting.
- Plan and Implement the Launch: Have a marketing and launch strategy ready. Consider how you will promote your eBook before launch, at launch, and post launch. There are many channels you can use to promote your work such your website, podcasts, blog posts, social media posts, and local newspapers. Use the medium that will work best to target your audience. Here are some tips to boost your promotional campaign:
- Build up the excitement before the launch
- Choose one or two social media platforms frequented by your audience
- Plan a year-long promotional campaign to maintain the buzz
- Make sure your audience can find your eBook easily
With the right tools, thoughtful pricing, and support, self-publishing eBooks is now easier than ever. Getting your work converted into digital format for publication on various devices is one of the most important steps in the e-book self-publishing process. There are many eBook conversion companies out there and choosing the right one is the key to obtaining high-quality electronic books. So when you make your choice, consider the company’s portfolio, pricing, and customer reviews.
