This is one of the most asked questions all around the world. That how can I become an author? How can I publish my own book?
There are two ways you could publish your book:
- Traditional publishing
- Self-publishing
Look at the pros and cons of self-publishing vs. traditional publishing below.
Self Publishing
- Better control of the publishing process – complete creative freedom to choose what you want to include and how
- Better royalties – no cut for the publisher. You decide your pricing and royalties. eBook royalties can be as high as 70%.
- Faster to market – you can publish an eBook that you have ready in a matter of minutes and make it available worldwide
- No restrictions for newbie authors
Traditional Publishing
- Can take a significant amount of time (months) to get a book to the market
- New authors might find it difficult to get the backing of a good publisher – others might charge a one time publishing fee starting from INR 25,000.
- Lower royalties – 10 – 15% of selling price for print editions
However, you could consider self-publishing or Traditional depend on your choice.
Here are some platforms that you can try free of cost.
- Self-publish your book to Amazon’s Kindle Store – free to self-publish
- Draft2Digital – free to self-publish
- Google Books – free to self-publish
Royalties
Royalties on KDP, the largest marketplace for eBooks vary from 35% to 70% depending on the pricing of the book, the country in which the purchase is made and also based on whether you enroll in KDP Select (where you have to keep your books exclusive to Amazon).
Royalties on other platforms vary from 30% to 60%.
A self-publishing author or more commonly known as an Indie-Author would finish his manuscript, Find an editor by himself, find a cover artist by himself and then instead of approaching any publishing company he/she would approach the PRINTING PRESS. Any local as well as well-known printing company will offer to print your books at reasonable rates if you order in bulk. I’d say they’d offer you between 500 copies, 1000 or 2000 copies. Print on Demand (POD) would be too costly for you.
By far I am guessing that since you are opting for self-publishing your book that means you’d at least have a budget of around 1 lac rupees which is more than enough and which could be easily recovered in the 1st or 2nd month of your book release (If you have good sales, that is if you have a ready-made audience or marketing plan).
That’s it! Once you make a deal with the printing company. take care of all other requirements such as Typesetting your book and ebook creation (Generally a professional would offer both things hand in hand at a reasonable rate). Next step is to get copyrights which is easy if you just google it and lastly, ISBN number which can be obtained for free as well.
And there you go! Get your book printed, start an Amazon seller account, boost your sales through pre-orders and follow your marketing plan lead.
If you are looking for a publisher to help publish your book, Classy Publishing may help you comes true your dream.
Do feel free to contact us, if you have any specific questions.