How to Self-Publish Your First Book

There once was a time when publishing a book seemed an unattainable feat, reserved only for the most brilliant writers and unique storytellers.

However, today, publishing your book is easier than ever before. Platforms such as Kindle Desktop Publishing, Smashwords, and Reedsy offer free services for showcasing your work. And there are options that give you full control over every aspect of your work and its distribution.

Getting published is no longer an exclusive domain for creative writers, academics, public figures, or celebrities. It's a valid avenue for any individual wanting to express themselves and share their knowledge and insights.

In essence, you can entirely bypass the traditional publishing industry when creating and distributing your first book.

Simply write and upload your content to the platform of your choice (easier said than done, right?).

In this post, I'm going to share why you should consider self-publishing and offer practical steps to get you started. You'll discover many benefits that can positively impact different areas of your life. So, let's get started!

Why You Should Self-Publish (Benefits)

Let's look at several reasons why you should self-publish, even if you don't have a story in mind or if you aren't a leading figure in your work or industry.

• Build your personal profile. The truth is that many people who are famous as writers today became so because they wrote a book and not the other way around. Writing about and publishing it is an act that draws attention to you and makes you notable in your field. You will become more recognizable and get more engagement and traffic online by writing a book. So, self-publishing is a powerful way to build your profile.
• Share your knowledge with others. One powerful way to leave behind a legacy is to write down your insights, experiences, and knowledge for others to benefit from. This can feel very empowering and also support people who can benefit from your advice.
• Develop your writing skills. Writing a book is a significant undertaking that requires a lot of time, dedication, and discipline. Through the process of self-publishing, you will hone your writing skills. You'll learn to express your thoughts more coherently and improve your storytelling abilities. This skill can transfer to other areas of your life and career, and you may find it easier to communicate complex thoughts and ideas after having published a book.
• Financial rewards. While there's no guarantee of financial success, self-publishing offers you the opportunity to reap the financial benefits of your work directly. Traditional publishing houses often take a large percentage of the profits, but with self-publishing, you're in control of your pricing and profits. Even if your book doesn't become a bestseller, it can still provide a passive income stream by leading readers to hire you or visit your website or social media profiles.

I'm sure you can think of many other benefits that can come from writing and publishing your first book. What matters is that it is a worthy endeavor and one that offers more rewards than you realize. If you do choose to publish your first book, keep reading to get the best tips on how to do so.

5 Steps to Easily Publish Your First Book

This post is not about writing your first book but rather publishing it.

Writing a book is a long process and should be an effort of passion and determination. The best way to write a book is to... write it. Commit to writing daily for half an hour or even use AI to support your writing.

You could join a writing community (free or paid) to motivate you to write and succeed. Once you're done writing, consider the following steps to self-publish.

1. Choose the Right Marketplace

There are many places where you can launch your book, and there's no one right answer for which is the best.

Let's look at a few self-publishing platforms and their offerings:

• KDP or Kindle Desktop Publishing is ideal if you want to reach a large audience in multiple markets. You can also publish here for free, and there are several opportunities to take part in marketing campaigns. The downside is that there will be a lot of competition.
• Gumroad is a platform that lets you sell any kind of digital product online, including ebooks, PDFs, checklists, and so on. They charge a hefty price as part of their platform fees. Nevertheless, it is a great place for any beginner to publish.
• Smashwords publishes your work to multiple marketplaces, including KDP, Kobo, Apple Books, and Smashwords itself.
• Your own website. This is my favorite option because it allows you to own your selling platform and your brand and distribute your book on your own terms. This means you'll have to learn how to build a site, but this is easily done if you use WordPress. You can also add powerful marketing methods to build an email list and develop a relationship with your readers.

Once you choose the right marketplace, follow the next steps.

2. Create a Book Cover

Don't overcomplicate this step. Go to Canva and use a book cover template for free. All you have to do is sign up, and you can make an awesome book cover.

Or, hire someone from a freelancing platform like Fiverr or Upwork. You're certain to get talented book cover creators at an affordable rate.

And, of course, if you have image editing skills yourself, you can and should make the cover using Photoshop or Affinity.

3. Upload Your Book

When you upload your book to the relevant platform, whether it's KDP or your own site, follow the instructions available carefully.

With KDP, you have to add additional details about the book, category, and price point. You can even use a pseudonym.

If you're creating your own site, you need to make it informative and add details about yourself to show that your site is trustworthy and people can make payments risk-free.

KDP and Smashwords will review your content before taking it live. And your content on your author site will go live instantly. And you're done with one major step - the actual publishing of your book.

4. Promote Your Book

Books seldom sell on their own merit. The reality is that you need to market your book, whether it's traditionally published or self-published. Some ideas to market your book include:

• Develop a social media presence and share information about your book. If you're a professional writing about key tips in your career, you should definitely promote yourself on LinkedIn and other sites.
• Build a marketing funnel and offer your book (or a few chapters) as a lead magnet. This isn't as complicated as you might think. A simple funnel plugin or platform will help you draw customers in step-by-step. All you have to do is get access to the funnel software and then add the details about your book and offer.
• Use paid advertising on Facebook, Instagram, or Google AdWords for a while. This can get expensive, so set a clear budget.
• Reach out to influencers in your industry and offer them a free copy of your book. Ask them to write an honest review on their platform.
• Host a book launch event and invite people to join - this could be online or offline, depending on your preference, budget, and the reach of your marketing activities.

These and other methods will help you market your book and reach a larger audience. Remember, promotion is key to getting your book in front of potential readers.

5. Monitor Your Sales

This is the fun part. If you've written something and promoted it well, you should get sales and engagement soon.

It's important to track your sales and monitor which marketing methods are most effective for you. So, you can shift from one that isn't effective to one that is. Or to spare your budget by focusing on something less expensive.

KDP has a robust dashboard that shows you real-time sales data. You can also enlist the help of a virtual assistant or use software to track and analyze your sales data.

If you're distributing on your own site, then using the right plugin to sell ebooks will automatically tell you how many people clicked on your book, paid for it, and downloaded it.

Like this, you get a good idea of how your book is performing and if you should promote it further.

Keep Writing!

Chances are that even if your book is not a wild success, you'll still benefit in other ways.

A book could bring you up on Google for a specific topic, leading to people hiring you as a consultant or employee.

It could make you an authority or a thought leader. You can leverage your book to launch your blog, start a business, do coaching, run webinars, and much more.

It's a one-time effort with recurring benefits and is something you should seriously consider to take another path in life.