Are you thinking about self-publishing your work? If yes, then the very first thing you need to know is that the term “self-publishing” is not actually what people do. No one can do everything necessary to publish a book. It takes a team to “self-publish.”
Here are all the people you will need on your team:
A Developmental Editor/Coach: Especially if you’re new to writing, a book coach or developmental editor will read what you’ve written and show where you need to strengthen your writing, fix your story structure or pacing, and teach you whatever writing craft you need to know.
A Copy Editor: There is nothing more satisfying than writing those magical words: “the end”. But once you do, and have read through your work and fixed all that you can. The very next thing you need to do is to get your work edited by a professional editor—and no, Grammarly or ProWritingAid do not count. Yes, they will tell you where to put that comma and they’ll make all sorts of crazy suggestions about your wording (most of which are wrong), but that is not editing. You need a human being to read through your work and tell you whether it is comprehensible. Whether your hero was six-foot-three on page three and six-foot-even on page 243. You need someone who knows your genre and the expectations readers will have when they pick up your book.
A Proofreader: Many people skip this step, but quite often it is to their detriment. Copy Editors may or may not correct your grammar. They might notice if you miss a word accidentally. But it is a proofreader who will comb through your work and fix every single misplaced modifier and unnecessary semi-colon. A proofreader will save you from those horrid reviews that say “this work really needed to be edited”. You don’t want that.
A Formatter: It used to be that you would need a live person to convert your word document into an ebook and a PDF for print-on-demand. Now-a-days there are so many automated options you may not need to hire a formatter. Atticus and Vellum are the best pieces of software that will format your work for you: Vellum is only available on Mac, Atticus is online and open to everyone. With either of these programs you can determine how your book will look. A real formatter will be able to go even further and take a designer’s eye to your work and ensure that it looks professional.
Cover Designer: Your cover is your first and best marketing tool so it had best be done right. Unless you are a graphic designer or artist, you will need a professional cover designer. As a bonus, find someone who had designed covers for books in your genre. They’ll know what is expected by readers.
You might want a PA or VA (Personal Assistant or Virtual Assistant). This person will be able to create graphics for you and post them to social media so you can get a good start on your marketing. PAs may also be able to put together your newsletter for you. Many PAs are marketing specialists who will be able to guide you and suggest ways to sell your book.
So, now you know what sort of people you should be looking for, where do you find them?
The number one place is by speaking with other authors. Getting personal recommendations is the best way to find your team. Other places to look include the copyright page of other books in your genre (authors will frequently name who edited, formatted, and created the cover), and Facebook (where there are lots of author groups where you can ask for recommendations, as well as groups for editors, PAs, and cover designers). As a last resort, there is Fivrr where a lot of freelancers advertise (but beware, you frequently get what you pay for—if it’s super cheap, there’s a reason) and Reedsy (which is the opposite problem—you’ll find freelancers who charge more than average because they’ve got to pay to be listed on the site).
So, there you have it. The best thing about finding a great team to help you publish your book is that you only need to do so once, and then they’ll (most likely) be there for your next book, and the next.