self-publishing

Self-Publish Like a Pro: Manuscript Editing

/ Elena May / Leave a comment

If you decide to self-publish, editing your work is the single most crucial step you cannot skip. You can get away with a self-made cover, website, blurb, and interior design, but editing is one area you need help, no matter how good and experienced you are.

Every author benefits from a fresh pair of eyes, but many indie writers skip editing because of budget constraints. Others want to edit their books, but have no idea how. Traditionally, this has never been something authors had to worry about – agents and publishers were the ones to guide writers through the process. However, if you are self-publishing, you are in charge of the whole production process – from the rough draft, through all editing and formatting stages, and up to the final product.

In this post, I will cover the different kinds manuscript editing. Continue reading →

Traditional vs. Self-Publishing: Which one is right for you?

/ Elena May / 11 Comments

You’ve written a book, but don’t know how to go about publishing it? Let’s take a look at the options you have.

In this post I’ll examine the pros and cons of working with a traditional publisher vs. publishing your book yourself. Some authors strongly dislike one or the other, but I believe both have merits.

Traditional publishing

A traditional publisher will offer you lots of support in all necessary areas and will help you turn your rough draft into a polished final product. Some of the great services you will get for free include: Continue reading →

Self-Publish Like a Pro: How to get a quality book cover on a budget PART 3

/ Elena May / 1 Comment

So far I have covered the simpler, faster, and cheaper ways to get a beautiful ebook cover – a DIY or a premade cover. Unfortunately, for many authors these option’s don’t work. You may have something specific in mind for your cover, and no single stock image or a premade template captures it. In that case, you’ll need to work with a designer or an illustrator.

Designers

Designers work like this:

– You share your vision of what you’d like to see on the cover, including key elements and general mood

– The designer picks one or more stock photos, manipulates them to create the desired image, and adds a genre-appropriate font. Usually designers are subscribed to a stock image supplier and can download an unlimited number of photos at no additional cost for them

– There are several rounds of revisions, where you can give back your cover and request changes Continue reading →

Self-Publish Like a Pro: How to get a quality book cover on a budget PART 2

/ Elena May / 2 Comments

In the first part of this post, I covered the DIY methods of creating an ebook cover – using your own photo, creating a simple cover yourself, or buying a stock photo and adding text. If your are not confident in your designer skills, or you just want something more, you’ll need to hire extra help. The good news is, you can get a professionally designed ebook cover for as little as $30.

Photo vs. Illustration

One important decision you need to make is if you want a photo or an illustration on the cover. As I researched book covers, I saw many claims that photos sell better and that photos create more powerful images. Coincidentally, all of these claims were made by designers of photo-based covers.

Continue reading →

Self-Publish Like a Pro: How to get a quality book cover on a budget PART 1

/ Elena May / 8 Comments

I finished my book’s initial draft over a year ago, and since then, I’ve been preparing to self-publish. I’ve been commissioning editors and artists and reading a lot on ebook and paperback formatting. This is the first post in my Self-Publish Like a Pro series, in which I’m planning to share what I have learned along the way and hopefully help other indie authors.

Normally the publisher will take care of editors, formatting and book covers, and will cover all the expenses. Indie authors need to act as mini publishing houses. They need to assemble the best team of professionals, who would together deliver the highest-quality final product, all the while working on a (usually) very tight budget. Continue reading →