Make 2015 the Year You Publish Your First eBook

by Will Viharo

Need a New Year's Resolution? Here's one: finish writing that book, then publish it. The writing part is up to you, and will take as long as you need in order to tell the story or convey the information properly. But the act of just getting your work out in the world is, or should be, the least of your worries. Here are the basic steps you'll need to take on that pending pathway to self-publication...

Once you've typed the final period and are ready to share your labor of love and/or commerce with a paying audience, converting it to a product for purchase is relatively stress-free in this brave new digital world. Of course, once it's published, keeping it relevant via consistent and strategic promotions will be the true challenge. First: just get it out there.

Below is a very basic timeline for the digital publication of your eBook, with print editions being optional via most companies like Lulu and CreateSpace. It's great to offer both, but print editions take a bit more time to format, edit, and upload. Meantime, your manuscript can be converted to an instantly manufactured eBook available to the whole universe within a single day – assuming you have already exhaustively edited the work for inconsistencies, typos, and other mistakes (the more critical eyes that review it prior to release, the better).

Next:

• Have social media networks, including but not limited to Facebook and Twitter pages unique to your identity as an author, already in place to immediately announce the availability of the work.
• Make sure you have a professionally designed front and back cover, with a spine, ready to roll off the virtual press (much more on this in later columns and our online course).
• Convert your carefully edited manuscript to a Kindle and/or ePub format (I'll talk more on this process, and which format you should choose, in a later post).
• Once all this is in place, hit the “publish” button. Voila! Kindle eBooks are typically live within a few hours of uploading. 

It's that easy. But don't be deceived by the apparent simplicity.

As you can see, most of the work is in the preparation. Besides the actual writing, which of course is the most crucial aspect, it means building a self-promotional platform and securing editorial/artistic services that can help you present the most professionally polished piece of work you can possibly offer in a crowded, competitive marketplace.

And then the real work begins... But it CAN be done, so make this the year you become published! And stay tuned to this wavelength for more. 

Have you ever published an eBook of your own? What tips can you add?