How to Start Self Publishing a Book in the UK Today
Creative control, full rights, and more profits. If you have decided to self-publish a book, this is what awaits you!
And most importantly, it frees you from the exhaustion that comes from multiple rejections.
Unlike traditional publishing, where authors had to pass strict barriers to share their voices, self publishing a book UK offers a great alternative. But navigating the publishing pathway alone can feel confusing.
Your end goal shouldn’t be just publishing; instead, you need to ensure that your book reaches its target readers.
And for that to happen, you need to be aware of the right strategy to self-publish. So keep reading to know how to self publish a book in the UK successfully!
Self Publishing – Why Is It Needed?
As an author, nothing feels greater than completing your book. You know that you are just one step away from letting your story reach people. Or maybe, witnessing your book becoming a bestseller!
Traditional publishing techniques had made it extremely challenging for authors to publish their books. From a strict criterion for publishing to months of waiting, traditional publishing has always been a hassle for authors.
However, self publishing companies allow one to skip these gatekeepers and enter the book market without any lengthy delays.
Today, authors are generating a high revenue by smoothly publishing on the following platforms,
Benefits of Self-Publishing a Book
Self-publishing a book has turned out to be a game-changing approach for authors. While going for traditional approaches brought nothing but years of waiting, self-publishing offers something more.
It gives the chance to UK authors to be their selves. To write, design, publish, and basically decide everything for their book the way they want!
The table below will discuss some of the key reasons why UK authors have chosen to go for Amazon self publishing.
| Greater control | Offers full ownership from designing to marketing the books. |
| Connections | Authors can directly engage and build connections with their target audience. |
| Royalties | Self-publishing a book allows authors to earn high royalties e.g) up to 70% |
| Fast Payments | Self-publishing comes with quicker payment methods instead of long waiting times. |
| Faster publishing | Authors can release their book whenever they want to, without the need for approvals. |
| Unlimited distribution | Authors can distribute their books globally, through multiple platforms. |
| Content | Authors don’t need to worry about their book’s content getting changed. |
How To Begin With Self-Publishing?
Self-publishing looks easier, but it requires a thoughtful approach. This is the reason many UK authors choose to work with a professional publisher for platforms such as Kindle self publishing.
Let’s take a look at the answer to how to self publish a book UK.
Select Your Book’s Genre
Before you begin the writing process, you should be well aware of your audience. You need to understand who is likely to buy your book. Consider the genres and think where your book is going to fit the best.
Most common genres are,
- Fantasy
- Science fiction
- Mystery
- Thriller
- Romance
- Horror
- Biography
- Cook books
- Children books
After choosing the book’s genre, you can perform detailed research on books published by similar authors. Based on this research, you can create an outline for your book. Think about how you want to present the chapters, topics, and the main ideas of your story.
Write Your Manuscript
By now, you might be done with the writing process or be close to finishing your story. Either way, you need to ensure that your story has the potential to win the hearts of readers.
Make sure to write something that is according to the latest preferences and trends in your genre. And if you are not done yet, no worries! It is never too late to begin.
Here is how you can start if you are wondering how to self publish a book UK,
- Create a writing plan and set clear goals
- Find a productive, distraction-free environment for writing
- Set a goal of writing a specific number of words daily
- Decide on the revision plan for your book after you finish the first draft
Once you organise every step this way, the writing journey will get much easier.
Work With Professional Editors
No matter how many times you choose to edit your book, some mistakes will always be overlooked. And when your book is available in the market beside a professionally edited book, you know the competition would be high.
An expert who wrote 14 steps to self publishing a book says, people often choose to prefer books that reflect professionalism!
So, for that, you need to begin with the editing process by yourself and work on removing the obvious grammatical errors.
Then, you can choose to work with a self-publishing company. A self-publishing company will provide you with,
- Fact checking
- Manuscript analysis
- Content editing
- Copy editing
- Proof reading
Moreover, you can also choose to work with beta readers. They can provide a fresh perspective for your story, and may suggest an exciting plot that you didn’t think of!
Design An Eye-Catching Cover
Your book cover sets the first impression for your book. You should design something that catches the attention instantly. The design you choose should be unique and should instantly engage the readers with your book.
For this, you can choose to
- Visit your nearest bookstore and analyse the books in your genre
- Notice which book spine and the design that continues to stand out on the bookshelf
- For e-books, observe the images used, fonts, and the colours of the front cover
If you are planning to self-design, templates from Canva and Adobe Photoshop can be your best choice. However, if designing is not your cup of tea, no worries!
You can choose to work with a professional designer or pick a company for self publishing a book UK that will bring your vision to life. They will focus on small details, from visual hierarchy to managing the white space.
Format Your Book
While a professionally designed book cover plays a key role in generating revenue, the interior of your book shouldn’t be forgotten!
Formatting your book ensures that your words are presented the right way. It adds readability to your book and makes it easier for readers to understand the story.
To get the most advantages of self publishing a book, you need to focus on formatting. Formatting a book involves focusing on many small details.
These include,
- Choosing the file format based on the publishing method
- Setting the margins of your pages
- Setting the half-title page
- Adjusting all the elements on your title page
- Table of contents
- Chapter title pages
- Adding an author bio
- Audiobooks or adjustable font sizes for readers with special needs
If you plan on working with a professional team for self publishing a book in the UK, you will need to submit your manuscript and the front cover for formatting.
Choose A Publishing Platform
Now comes the main part: publishing your book. Unlike traditional methods, there are numerous pathways for an author today to publish their book.
At first, you need to decide the type of your book. Are you planning on publishing an e-book? Or is it a paperback or a hardcover?
Deciding the type of your book will make it easy to set the direction of your book. Next, you can choose from the following best options for self publishing a book based on your preferences.
- For self-publishing an e-book, Amazon Kindle and Kobo Writing Life are the easiest choices.
- For paperbacks, you can choose from distributors such as PublishDrive or Ingram Spark.
- For hardcovers, you can choose to go for print-on-demand services offered by Amazon KDP and others, such as Blurb.
Work On Your Book Metadata
As an author, this terminology might be confusing for you at first. You might be thinking that you have to dive into some complex details regarding the book. However, this is not the case.
Metadata is just the essential information associated with your book. It helps in the accurate categorization of your book and helps in getting it discovered easily.
These are the things that you need to remember
- Choosing an attractive book title that is unique and original
- A good book description that convinces the reader to know more about your book
- An International Standard Book Number (ISBN) that proves the ownership of your content
- A BISAC code that identifies the genre and theme of your book
Working on this essential information ensures that readers and retailers can find and categorise your book. This ultimately increases the chances of sales for your books.
Setting A Price For Your Book
Market research is extremely important when deciding the price for your book. You need to choose a balanced price range. Your target readers should be willing to pay the price you have set for your book.
Here is what you need to remember,
- Don’t follow traditional publishers; they also have unnecessarily high prices.
- Start with a low price to encourage people to give a chance to reading your book.
- Build your reading fan base first, and then increase the prices gradually for the next launches.
Market Your Book
Now that you have planned everything for your book, you need to focus on the marketing efforts. Even if you have chosen the best options for self publishing a book, they still depend on the right marketing techniques.
Marketing is essential for increasing the awareness of your book.
Just think about it, unless people know that a book is coming to the market, how will you get your desired response?
This is the key reason you need to invest in some promotional efforts.
These include,
- Creating a professional author website where you can share details about the book
- Building a strong social media presence by sharing posts on various platforms
- Creating accounts on Amazon and Goodreads to connect with readers directly
- Investing in advertising campaigns to create hype for your book
- Working with book influencers to build recognition for your book across a wide audience
- Giving author interviews to get the advantages of self publishing a book
- Collecting and posting genuine reviews for your book works remarkably for building credibility!
Participate In The Indie Community
And at last! Don’t forget that self-publishing is a journey that never ends. Even if you are done publishing, you need to continue putting in the effort for your book.
With so much competition in the book industry in the UK, you need to set your place in the author community.
Begin by interacting with authors on social media platforms and actively participating in the indie author communities.
This will help with,
- Getting valuable insights regarding the industry
- Guidance from successful authors regarding publishing
- Getting ideas regarding your next story
Tips You Need To Remember For an Affordable Self-Publishing
Many authors fall into the trap of investing money in witnessing results. While real results do require some investments, you need to spend wisely.
The table below will discuss some essential tips to manage your costs without compromising the quality of your book.
| Budget | Create a budget for all the expenses and spend according to it for self publishing a book UK |
| Do it yourself | If you know some basics of designing or editing, why not try doing it yourself? |
| Marketing | Social media is powerful. Instead of paid ads, build the hype by creating content. |
| Company choice | Work with a self-publishing company with a strong portfolio and positive reviews. |
| Be realistic | Your investment will take time, don’t get disappointed quickly, be patient with the results. |
Wrapping Up
Self-publishing a book has offered a great opportunity for authors to enter the book market. But remember, the success of your book totally depends on you in this case! The more control you have, the greater responsibility comes with it. So, make sure to follow the guide above and increase your chances of a successful book launch.
If things feel difficult and you don’t want to get stuck in the complexities of working with a traditional publisher, relax! You can hire experts for self publishing a book UK to get everything the way you want, that too, professionally!