It’s the Holiday season. No I am not talking about the 4th of July or Labor day. I am talking about the holiday of all Holidays – Christmas.
So why am I discussing Christmas in June? Planning.
You may be still writing your novel and have not given a lot of thought to ebook formatting, POD or even book cover design. In fact, you figure you have a lot of time to do so. After all, your book isn’t even completed yet.
Well, Time has a way of slipping by very quickly.
If you are writing in hopes for a Christmas release, then you need to make a checklist of elements you absolutely need to accomplish to meet your goal.
PUBLISHING
1. A polished and EDITED manuscript (MS). Nothing will kill your writing creer faster than a book riddles with typos! Editors are busy people so find one you like now and give them an approximate date of your MS arrival. Allow 4-6 weeks for editing a book.
2. Professional book cover. Most professional graphic designers require at least a week to conceptualize and design a cover. There are less expensive alternatives that offer a one-day turn around – some with not the best results. 99designs.com is a good option to get several design ideas for a base cost (average $250). If your budget does not allow for this, then you may choose a less expensive alternative. Just remember – you get what you pay for. Allow 3-4 weeks for completion.
3. eBook Formatting. There are literally thousands of services (now) that offer formatting and even more books on the subject. You could also consider doing-it-yourself (DIY). Allow 1-3 weeks for turnaround.
WAIT…there’s more…
While you are waiting for your final polished POD or ebook, there are things you can do months before publishing.
1. Pre-register your ebook publishing accounts. While some are instantaneous, such as Amazon KDP, others take time for approval. Get these simple elements out of the way now. If you have an Amazon account (have purchased anything) then you can use that log in and password for publishing through
- Kindle Direct Publishing.Kindle Digital Publishing http://kdp.amazon.com/
- B&N Nook Press https://www.nookpress.com/
- Apple iPublish https://itunesconnect.apple.com/WebObjects/iTunesConnect.woa/wa/apply
Whether you plan to publish to any or all, I would recommend you register now, that way the process is complete should you decide to use them. As we discussed, Amazon Kindle is the first source you want to publish to. They have apps where anyone with a device can read the books (iPad, iPhone, etc).
2. Get your domain name. This is optional but highly recommended. You need a way to market your books. The first step is an easy to remember domain name pertaining to you – the author. YourName.com is the preferred name you should purchase. If you already have a domain registrar, use them so all your domains are in the same location to maintain. Otherwise, you can use a source like GoDaddy.com (cost is $12.99/year/domain) (6/2013). Once you have a domain name, you will use that for all marketing — like on the back of your print on demand book cover. The Domain name is better as it is easier to remember for marketing purposes than yourname.YOURDOMAIN.com.
3. A website presence. This is something that is of a personal choice. You can get a free blog form several online sources (WordPress.com, Blogger.com) If you already are paying for hosting of a site, and you do not want the additional cost of hosting another site, then I recommend your hosting company make a “subdomain” for you. You can name it yourname.YOURDOMAIN.com (YOURDOMAIN being your current website name)Once you have that set up, you can incorporate the blog software from WordPress.org or set up a separate HTML design. The final step is to “point” your domain name to that location.
4. A synopsis (long) of what your book is about. This will be used for the description on your product selling page. Make it enticing, exciting – to grab the readers attention.
5. A list of keywords that describe your book genre and theme (this will be for your Amazon tags as well as other marketing strategies.)
6. Categories to list your book. Amazon allows you to choose two categories, other stores may allow more. To get a jump on your publishing, peruse the Amazon store and find out “exactly” the best location for your book.
7. Copyright your MS. While this is not a necessity, I highly recommend it. In the US, the cost is only $35 (6/2013) and well worth having to protect your work. Copyright.gov (US) (look for the blue “electronic copyright) eCO button.
8. ISBN Number. Again, you do not need an ISBN number unless you are printing a POD book, and even then, most sources provide a free ISBN number (Create Space.) However, if you plan to purchase your own, then do it now. Cost is $125 (US 6/2013) for on number of you can purchase in blocks of 10, 100, or 1000 for a massive cost savings. Bowker.com
#ebookformatting #publishingchecklist
