{"id":5472,"date":"2017-11-20T22:04:40","date_gmt":"2017-11-20T11:04:40","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/michellecooper-writer.com\/blog\/?p=5472"},"modified":"2020-09-26T23:21:21","modified_gmt":"2020-09-26T13:21:21","slug":"adventures-in-self-publishing-turning-your-manuscript-into-a-book","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/michellecooper-writer.com\/blog\/2017\/11\/adventures-in-self-publishing-turning-your-manuscript-into-a-book\/","title":{"rendered":"Adventures in Self-Publishing: Turning Your Manuscript Into A Book"},"content":{"rendered":"

The arrival of ebooks has made it much easier for self-publishers to get their work into the hands of readers, but I always knew I wanted to see Dr Huxley\u2019s Bequest<\/em><\/a> as an actual paper book that I could pick up (and be able to read, because I don\u2019t own any kind of ereader). But how does a self-publisher on a limited budget, expecting to sell only a few books, go about turning their work into printed books?<\/p>\n

At first I assumed I\u2019d have to do it the way that traditional publishers print books, just on a much smaller scale \u2013 that is, pay a printer to produce a limited number of copies using a traditional press. But this means working out how many books you want and paying for all of them up front. I did consider using a crowdsourcing platform<\/a> (such as Kickstarter) to fund a small print run, but the more I researched, the less attractive this option appeared. These companies take a significant percentage of the money raised and have all sorts of unappealing conditions attached. Anyway, I doubted I\u2019d attract enough contributors to make it worthwhile. And even if I myself paid for a print run, where would I store all the books? How would I sell and distribute them to readers?<\/p>\n

Then I did some research<\/a> and discovered the amazing world of digital Print on Demand (POD) publishing. This means that you print only the copies that have been ordered, when they\u2019re ordered. You can order just one book for yourself or hundreds of books. The POD publisher will print them in a couple of days and send them to you \u2013 or, even better, send them to the bookstore or library service that ordered them, charge them the price you\u2019ve chosen for your book, deduct the printing and distribution costs, and pay you the remainder.<\/p>\n

This is how it works. You, the author\/self-publisher, send the POD publisher two pdf files \u2013 one pdf of the inside of the book, laid out the same way any printed book is, and one pdf of the cover art, with front, back and spine art fitted into a template that the POD publisher supplies. They store these files in their computer and whenever a book is ordered (either by you or by booksellers), this happens:<\/p>\n