I wrote a book recently. A work of narrative non-fiction, which is now available all over the internet (Amazon and affiliated country-specific online retailers) and in a couple of local bookstores. My friends and acquaintances sometimes assume that I self-published because I couldn’t get a publisher to take it on. In fact, I didn’t even bother trying to find a publisher. Felt like a waste of time and an unnecessary hurdle. I also knew that my financial returns would be much lower. I’m not expecting to make a living from the sales of my one book, but I figured that I might as well keep all my own profits.

Here are the initial steps I took to get my book into print (not necessarily in this order, except for the first item):

• First, I wrote a book!  Sounds obvious – but so many people put the cart before horse and imagine the marketing/sales/logistics before they have even a rough draft of their book.  I let this bog me down in the early days, delaying the project for months (maybe even years?) before I actually got started.  It wasn’t until I finished writing that I could turn my full attention to the fulfillment and marketing plans.
• I assembled a team.  Interior book designer, cover designer, editor, print-on-demand company.
• I established a publishing brand, Low to the Ground Publishing.   Had a logo made, and separated out the publishing business from the web business in my accounting and bookkeeping files.
• I applied for a CIP profile and ISBN number through Collections Canada – this needed to be done early, as my print-on-demand publisher, Lightning Source, required an ISBN before they would accept me as a client.
• When the final product was finished, I paid close attention to digital file requirements and ensured that my submissions were exactly right.  My designers were excellent and meticulous, but it’s my book after all– quality assurance was my responsibility.
• I ordered a proof, as required by the publisher, to be extra sure that the book was the quality I was looking for, in terms of printing.

Someone commented to me recently that self-publishing is not self-publishing at all – rather, it should be called team-publishing.  She was absolutely right!