Steps to self-publish a book

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The steps for self-publishing a book are as follows:

Step 1: Write a book plan

1. Write an outline of the book, its title and chapters.

2. Think about the intended audience.

3. If it is fiction, think of the plot-line.

4. If it is non-fiction, think of the argument build-up.

5. Plan it with timelines, like a project.

6. Write a little, every day

Step 2: Complete the book in iterations

1. After making the plan, start writing the book, one chapter at a time

2. Start with table of contents, then chapter 1 and so on, continue till you reach the conclusion chapter

3. You can give the book or chapters to friends for feedback and rewrite based on the feedback

4. Continue this process until the draft is ready

Step 3: Convert the book to different formats

1. Save or convert the book file in different formats such as PDF, EPUB, DJVU etc

2. Also test how it looks on different devices such as mobile phone, PC, tablets or e-readers like kindle

Step 4: Design the book cover

1. One can use any cover designing tool such as canva.com to design the book cover.

2. Many publishers like kindle KDP have their own book cover design tools

Step 5: Upload the book on kindle KDP

1. After designing the cover and finalizing the book content file, one can upload the book on Kindle KDP whose URL is https://kdp.amazon.com/

2. Since Amazon and Amazon Kindle are one of the biggest markets for books and ebooks, it makes sense to upload and sell the book on their system.

Step 6: Upload the book with other publishers

1. One can upload the book on the websites of multiple publishers, after setting an appropriate price for each.

2. Some of the publishers for self-published books include:

3. Google play books

4. Smashwords

5. Lulu

6. Apple books

7. Barnes and Noble

8. Kobo

9. IngramSpark

10. Draft2Digital

Step 7: Promote the book

For self-published books, the authors have to promote and market the books themselves.

1. Some of the techniques are as follows:

2. Promote the book on Social media: facebook, instagram, quora, and youtube

3. Create a dedicated book website with information about the book

4. Attend author events such as book signings, book readings and book fairs

5. Do giveaways and promotions for the book

6. Ask for reviews for the book from bloggers and book reviewers

7. Offer sample chapters of the book for download

To conclude, writing a self-published book is hard work, but it can pay off in the end.

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