The Indie Author Guide to Publishing like a Pro

When I first decided to be a writer, publishing wasn’t far from my mind. I dreamed of the day I’d see my books in print, stacked neatly on the bookshelves next to some of my favorite authors. By the time I had written and published three books, I learned things about publishing I wish I had known the first time around. Hey—better late than never, right?

The biggest takeaway that I try to impart to aspiring authors is that publishing, although it can be scary, does not have to be difficult. You can publish a high-quality book without a big-name publisher’s imprint attached to it and without a literary agent representing you. If you’re a writer looking to publish a book, grab a pen and get ready to take notes because I’m going to reveal the exact methods that companies like Simon and Schuster, Thomas Nelson, and Hay House use when publishing a book. (Note: This blog will only be discussing the process of taking a manuscript to a print book, not how to handle the marketing and sales of the book afterward. I’ll have to make another blog post for that topic specifically.)

Amazon KDP

Way back when I published my first book, I went through CreateSpace and then later transitioned over to Amazon KDP as most newer authors do. While KDP served me well enough the first few years of my writing career, I later made the switch to a different distribution platform entirely which I’ll explain more about below.

For any author looking to publish their first book, I would caution them against using Amazon KDP and instead insist on them making the commitment to using a different platform. Amazon KDP is not—technically—a publishing platform, but rather a marketing platform which is important to keep in mind because it changes the way a book is registered and presented to readers and interested parties.

Most, if not all, of the information listed above can be found on Amazon’s KDP website and is accessible to the public.

Copyright Registration

As soon as you finish the final draft of your book, copyright it. I cannot stress how important it is for authors to copyright their work. This protects authors against people who might try to steal their work and pass it off as their own. Even if you don’t think it could happen to you, it’s better to cover all your bases in the event some ruthless cur would try to steal your work. Intellectual property laws in the United States guarantee ownership to authors, artists, musicians, etc. of their work when it’s created, which makes the work itself copyrighted—just not registered. By registering your work, it offers an added layer of protection by the government in the event you find yourself in court fighting against copyright infringement. Some authors choose not to copyright their work, and while that is entirely their decision, I would recommend you do. With my clients, I have a clause in my contracts that state I am solely being hired for the editing services requested by the author, and that they retain full rights to the work itself and any changes I make to it, regardless how extensive my edits are. Bear in mind that if you apply for copyright registration prior to editing, and large portions of the book are changed (characters are removed, scenes are cut, new content is added), you will need to re-apply for copyright registration because the manuscript will be seen as a new piece of work. Smaller edits such as with grammar, spelling, punctuation, line edits and/or adding or changing parts of the front matter and back matter won’t affect the original copyright registration, which is why I encourage authors to wait to apply for copyright registration until after the most in-depth portion of editing is completed. If you’re in the United States, go to the United States Copyright Office’s website, set up an account, and follow the steps on their website to copyright your book. The cost usually runs between $50 to $60 USD as of 2022, and when it’s been approved, you will be mailed an official Certification of Registration letter for your copyrighted material. It can take up to three months for electronic claims to be processed, but that doesn’t hinder you from moving forward with other stages of publishing. Make sure you keep the Certification of Registration letter in a safe place.

Editing

Every writer needs an editor, regardless how experienced they are. We’re all human, and we all make mistakes. Some authors will take editing upon themselves in an effort to save money, while others will outsource the job to someone who specializes in the type of editing they need which is the best bet in guaranteeing your work isn’t clumsy and riddled with unforgiving errors.

A note to any author who finds themselves looking to hire an editor: no two editors are the same. Each editor specializes in specific genres and types of editing they feel most comfortable and experienced with. For me, I specialize in fictional pieces with sub-genres of romance, historical fiction, fantasy, and YA, but offer services for all types of editing. To understand your exact needs when it comes to hiring an editor, it’s best to start by understanding the six different types of editing prior to looking at who is available to hire. They are:

- Conceptual Editing

- Developmental Editing

- Copyediting

- Line editing

- Proofreading

- Fact-checking

I wrote another blog post that goes more in-depth about each type of editing that can be read here.

ISBN

ISBN stands for International Standard Book Number, and they are codes to identify the edition, publisher, and format (paperback, hardback, eBook, audiobook) of a book. Each book needs one, and each edition of the same book needs to have its own ISBN. It’s like a social security number but for books. As I mentioned before, Amazon KDP will assign you a free ISBN, but it locks you into selling and distributing your book only through their approved channels and puts a cap on which retailers can sell your book. Whoever owns the ISBN will own the sales and distribution rights of that book, which is why you shouldn’t opt for the freebie ISBNs from places like Amazon. By purchasing your own ISBN, you will retain full sales and distribution rights, meaning you can sell your book literally anywhere. In the United States, you can purchase ISBNs from Bowker, the same ISBN provider all major publishing companies use. Go to My Identifiers, create an account, and select which option you’d like to purchase. They offer ISBNs for $125 USD for one, $575 USD for one-hundred, and $1,500 USD for one thousand. If you’re looking to save money with your ISBN, I’ve collaborated with Ari from Ari’s Author Corner (@arisauthorcorner) who is a fellow indie author themselves to share this absolutely amazing offer.

In a video Ari posted on September 9, 2022, she said, “It's come to my attention that for some people, the only thing stopping them from producing print books is the fact that they cannot afford ISBNs because they're so expensive in the US. And ISBNs are not expensive in Australia, and I own an imprint in Australia. While one single ISBN alone in the US costs $125, a single ISBN in Australia is about $10. I own bulk ISBNs. [They’re] underneath an imprint, so if you’re an author and the only thing stopping you from doing print books, [and] if you do not mind having them underneath an imprint, I can get you an ISBN for $10. I don’t fuck with that capitalist thing. I swear that is just another way that the US is keeping a block on lower-level poverty line and preventing people from making money. So, if that’s the only thing stopping you, that is an offer that I am happy to share with people.”

And if you have any hesitations on getting an ISBN from an imprint, Ari says, “You will just show up as published under one of our imprints (the imprint depends on your genre) and retain your rights and indie publish per normal so you can go wide. The cost is $9 per ISBN, [and] this covers the ISBN and card processing fee.” To get an ISBN, Ari has set up a form for independent authors needing an ISBN to fill out which you can find here. While you’re at it, check out Ari’s author page and grab a copy of one of their books. During a conversation between us, she said,” I find a lot of people honestly don’t know much about ISBNs and what they’re actually for. I wish there was more easily accessible education out there which is why I do what I do.” Honestly—same. That’s why it was so important for me to write this blog to help guide indie authors with their publishing journey. Too much information is being held captive by publishing gatekeepers, and that isn’t something I will support, but I digress.

LCCN

Do you need a Library of Congress Control Number? Well, maybe. It depends on your overall goals for your book. Having an LCCN is not required for publishing or selling your book, but it is one way to potentially get your book included in the Library of Congress’s collection of works. If you’re hoping to have your book cataloged in the largest library in the world, then you will need an LCCN. The problem is, having an LCCN does not guarantee the Library of Congress will keep your title in their collection. It’s a gamble. When publishing my work, I don’t worry about getting an LCCN, nor do I tell my clients that they need one, which is why I’m opting not to include how to obtain one here.

Design and Typesetting

For cover design and typesetting your book, save yourself the headache and hire a professional graphic designer. You can typeset your work on Microsoft Word, but it’s not going to be anywhere near as consistent as professionally formatted books which are largely formatted in Adobe InDesign or similar software. Fiverr is a great place to find cheaper options for work, but TikTok and Instagram are also being used largely for marketing purposes to connect service providers with potential clients. Here is a list of my favorite graphic designers that I’ve found on both platforms:

Rachel McEwan Designs (@rachelmcewandesigns) Casey Moses (@_caseymoses) Emily Wittig (@emily.wittig.designs) Books and Moods (@booksnmoods) Carpe Librum Book Design (@carpelibrumbookdesign) Violet Book Design (@violet.book.design) Katia Balab (@katia.balab) Proofreading (Editing Round #2) Proofreading is done at the end of all editing when the story has taken shape and the major areas of editing have already been completed. Because this type of editing is completed at the end, this is the last review to catch errors before the manuscript is published. At this stage, manuscripts are usually already formatted, so the format will also be looked at during this round of edits. While spelling and grammatical errors, plot development, and characters are a focus during this type of editing, your editor will also address:

- Page number errors

- Headings

- Page brakes

- Review of table of contents

- Image placement if the manuscript has images

- Typography consistencies

- Layout

Printing and Distribution

When it comes to the printing and distribution of your book, I would recommend using the same distributor that virtually all publishing companies use, and that is IngramSpark. While I was working as a Marketing Consultant, I was shocked to learn that Ingram is the go-to for these massive publishers. Then I was utterly flabbergasted to learn new title uploads are FREE to print and distribute through their network as of the spring of 2023. For those of you who aren’t familiar with IngramSpark, Ingram is a global distribution provider that gives authors—indie and traditional—a higher chance of making sales and getting their work on the shelves of brick-and-mortar retailers. They distribute to more than forty-thousand retailers worldwide from chain bookstores to independent bookstores, and schools and libraries. Like most indie authors wanting to get as much exposure for their books as possible, this is the way to go.

Here is a full list of IngramSpark’s distribution partners for paperback and hardback books according to their website:

Ingram prints their books on demand, similarly to Amazon. This means when a book is ordered, the book is printed, packed up, and shipped to the buyer directly from Ingram themselves. That’s a major perk I love about Ingram because I don’t have to keep many copies of my books on hand, freeing up space in my office and garage. Book retailers also rarely ever buy books directly from an author, instead opting to buy books from the distributor because they receive a wholesale discount (usually of 55%) off the list price, and there’s less complication in the event the retailer would want to return any unsold books. (Plus, the quality of the books are so much better than that of Amazon KDP.)

Although Ingram offers both physical and eBook distribution, I’ve heard many authors say they’ve decided to print their paperbacks or hardbacks through Ingram but publish their eBook through Amazon KDP since Amazon doesn’t require an ISBN for eBooks.

As I mentioned above, Ingram’s pricing is free which is applicable to physical books and eBooks. Something else to keep in mind is if you need to make any revisions to your book after it’s been set up with Ingram, you won’t have to pay anything additional for up to 60 days after the initial set-up of the book. Anything after the 60 days, and you will have to pay an additional $25 USD for revisions.

The overall printing cost of books depends on several factors. Trim, page count, paper quality, size, binding, color options, and format to name a few. The print cost will be removed from the gross total of your compensation prior to being deposited into your bank account. Ingram’s printing calculator can help you best determine what you would likely be paid per book.

Congratulations! You’re a Published Author!

If you’ve managed to follow this guide, chances are you’re ready to publish your book and start selling it on your different platforms. If so, congratulations! Creating a book from idea to print is a lot of work, but you’re just getting started, and I’m 100% here to support this wild journey you’re embarking on.

The next steps you’ll soon be taking will be with marketing, but that’s a blog post for another time. 😉