1. What are the most important steps when creating a book
When you're creating a book, there are several important steps to take in the writing, printing, and publishing process. And if you're like many self-published authors, you're probably mostly just interested in the actual writing of your story. Luckily, that's the first — and hardest! — step in making a book.
Ensuring that your book is finalized before you make moves to publish is essential. Writing a book can be a long process, and finishing your work is not only a huge accomplishment, but it's the biggest step toward your career as a published author.
The next most important step in creating a book is to have it edited. Once your book is printed and out on the shelves, you don't want readers distracted by misspelled words or the misuse of punctuation marks. Hiring an editor might be an added expense, but truly pays for itself in the long run.
Next, you'll want to have a book cover designed, as well as choosing the formatting of your book. Unless you have experience with graphic design, you'll likely want to hire a professional book cover designer to create a cover that pops on bookstore shelves. When formatting your book, you'll want to decide on how your text and images will appear on your pages. This might differ from printed to eBooks.
Other important steps when making a book include creating a marketing strategy and deciding where you want to sell your book. Services like BookBaby's Facebook Ads for Authors or Book Metadata Optimization will help you to get your book in front of a larger audience and boost your sales.
While it might seem like there are many steps to take when creating and publishing a book, BookBaby's self-publishing services make it simple. Contact us today to learn how you can get your story printed, published, and out in the world.
2. What are the benefits of making a book?
There are so many benefits to making a book and sharing your story — not just personally, but for your readers, too! Think about how many books you truly connected with over the years, that maybe even changed the course of your life. Whether it was fiction or non-fiction, someone's story somewhere has helped us along our own personal journeys.
If you want to be a writer, you owe it to yourself and to your potential readers to share your work. Plus, writing a book can help you to learn more about yourself in the process. Writing can be a journey of really looking inward. And furthermore, to finish your work is a testament of your dedication, commitment, and passion. Imagine putting hours, days, maybe years into a story that you can now hold in your hands as a finished book. And not only that — but you've just gone from being a writer to a published author.
Aside from the personal benefits of making a book, it can also be a great way to create some extra income. Depending on how you publish and market your book, earning royalties can become a passive income stream, where you've already put out all the effort (writing and publishing your book) up front. And when you self-publish with BookBaby, you'll earn the highest royalties in the industry by selling directly to your readers through Bookshop.
From personal to professional benefits, there are plenty of reasons why creating a book is a fulfilling milestone in your career as a writer.
3. Is it difficult to make a book?
Making a book doesn't have to be difficult. In fact, when you work with BookBaby to print and publish your book, writing your story is the hardest part. With BookBaby, we offer every self-publishing service you need, all in one place, so that all you have to worry about is writing and submitting your finished manuscript.
And while we'll help guide you to select options and features for your book, you'll keep total creative control — from choosing your trim size, binding, and paper stock options, to working with our design team to create a unique book cover. You can even convert your book to an audiobook, too!
We'll also help you with marketing your book, with plenty of services to help you spread the word about your work. Making a book doesn't have to be hard — in fact, it can be an overall fun, exciting experience when you have the right support by your side.