WHAT IS SELF-PUBLISHING?

Self-publishing is the process of getting your finished manuscript out there in a form that readers can actually buy. These services are for writers who have finished, edited manuscripts and who need help with any of these things:

• Finding someone to provide additional services for your book, such as an illustrator, cover and/or interior designer, book-marketing specialist, or indexer

• Writing your blurb (a.k.a. back-cover copy)

• Choosing the best self-publishing service for your book (such as Smashwords, Amazon KDP, IngramSpark, Lulu, etc.)

• Formatting your manuscript for self-publication

HOW DOES IT WORK?

Of course, each writer and each manuscript is different. But in general, here’s how each service works. 

FINDING A SERVICE PROVIDER

Price: Starts at $60 USD

• You and I hammer out what kind of provider you’re looking for, what you need from that person, your budget, and issues such as the following:

  • • • • Illustrator: Style, medium, number of illustrations, etc.

        • Cover and/or interior designer: Style, type of book, any special formatting considerations, etc.

        • Book-marketing specialist: Your intended audience, pricing, genre(s), how this book is different from others in the same genre(s), what marketing you’ve already done, etc.

        • Indexer: Extent of the index, turnaround time, etc.

• I help you find the type of provider you need. If we can’t find the right person/people for you among my contacts, I’ll help you find someone else.

WRITING YOUR BLURB (A.K.A. BACK-COVER COPY)

Price: Starts at $100 USD

• You send me an electronic copy of your book to read.

• I read the book so I can understand the story/argument and the main points the audience needs to know to pique their interest.

• I write the blurb and send it to you.

DONE-FOR-YOU SELF-PUBLISHING

Price: Starts at $250 USD

• You and I discuss what results you’re hoping to get from self-publishing: number of copies, format (ebook, print, or both), whether you need to include photos/illustrations, etc.

• I help you choose which self-publishing service(s) to use, such as Smashwords, Amazon, IngramSpark, etc.

• I either format the manuscript for upload myself (if I’m familiar with the platform) or have the designer do it.