Self-Publishing

Why Self-Publishing Doesn't Mean Doing It All Yourself

Many of us have a bucket list that we want to accomplish in our lives. And on many of our lists is to publish a book - be it a novel, a memoir, or a book about women's fashion in Edwardian England. It is a lofty goal and one that has gotten easier with the advent of self-publishing.

With online resources like Smashwords, Amazon's Kindle Direct Publishing, and Lulu, many would-be authors are seeing their dreams realized. That said, part of the dream of being published is also being read. In order to make your book stand out from the thousands of other available titles out there, it takes some extra attention to make your book as good as it could, and needs to, be. Often this means that you'll need professional help with your book. The following are some resources that you ought to consider hiring to make your book something you can be proud of - and something that people will want to buy.

Graphic Designer - I don't know about you, but I often judge a book by its cover. There's just something about a well-designed cover that screams, "I'm special! Read me!" Even if your book isn't intended for traditional printing, you still should seriously consider having a graphic designer create cover art for your book. It will help make your book seem all the more professional to your reading audience.

Proofreader - How many times have you read materials that were riddled with punctuation and spelling errors? After working on writing your book for months - or sometimes years - you often can't "see" the errors that a proofreader will find. If you do one thing to make your book better, hire a proofreader. I promise you, the funds you invest in removing spelling and punctuation errors from your book will reap rewards in sales.

Book Formatting - Online self-publishing tools like Smashwords and Kindle Direct Publishing have special formatting guidelines that you have to follow in order to publish your work. While this is something you can certainly do on your own, especially if you're tech savvy, you might want to have a professional do it for you. A professional already knows how books need to be formatted for these platforms and therefore can save you a lot of time - and headache - getting the job done.

The fact that you've put so much time into researching and writing your book means that you want it to do well on the market. In order to make your book truly competitive, it needs to be as professional a package as possible. Hiring outside help will ensure that you are putting forth your best work to attract buyers - and repeat customers.