The self-publishing industry has greatly advanced technologically in the past few years. There are multiple authors who have chosen to self-publish rather than go to a traditional publishing company and with good reason, often you earn a better royalty cut compared to traditional publishers. Small publishers have received a great toll on sales and market value with the popularity of self-publication.

There are multiple ways to publish your book. However, as with the change in mainstream media being overtaken by civilian journalists, bloggers and influencers, authors have taken to publishing their own work.

Authors are realizing that traditional publishers are preventing them from being as involved with the creative process of publishing their work as they would like to be. Self-publication solves this problem. When you self-publish, you are able to take matters into your own hands and decide what you want your book to look like in print.

You might be worried that you lack the knowledge to actually turn your ideas into reality on your own. Companies like Agora Publishing offer a wide range of publishing services and provide you with various materials including a seminar on self-publishing.

Self-publishing is generally an easy task -- the most difficult parts of it being that leap of faith and deciding how you want your book to look.

The process begins with you choosing the size of your book. Once you have the ideal size you’d like, format your manuscript to fit that size and convert it into a PDF. Once the contents of your book are ready, you should have a cover design made. You can either whip one up on Photoshop by yourself or hire an artist to do it for you. Either way, you can decide what you want the outside of your book to look.

Once your book is ready for printing, upload it to your publisher of choice. Self-publications usually let you know if any changes need to be made. If everything goes smoothly, you should have a print proof of your book within a few weeks.

If this is your first foray into publishing your work, digital books would be a better option. This is not to discourage you from eventually physically printing your books, but e-books are easier to market with the lower price range and they require substantially less effort to produce.

With that said, self-publications generally provide great quality printed books. You might not get those fancy soft-touch matte covers yet, but your book will feel like any other book out in the market if you choose a cover that looks professionally made.

Unlike before, you will be able to find like-minded people who are venturing into self-publication. This means you will always have a community around you to share ideas with and help you succeed.

There are plenty of books being self-published every day. However, very few of those books are actually good and will make it big. Self-publication will open you up to a whole new market if your work is great.

Due to the lack of professional support, often authors will only see their books sell 100-150 copies. However, this is not absolute, books like Fifty Shades of Grey started out as a self-publication and still reached mainstream media.

Contrary to popular belief, often you do need an editor. Producing quality work is different from writing a good story and often books that have a lot of potential are buried under unprofessional writing. Invest in professional help to make your book look, feel and read more professionally. This will ultimately put you a step above others and improve the chances of your book soaring to the top of the ranks.

As with everything in life, setting clear goals ensures that you achieve them. Setting a goal for your book will help you identify the key prospects needed to achieve it.

However, even authors who put out amazing work have difficulty making it big in the literary industry. The key to this narrative is don’t quit your day job until your books are flying off the shelves.

Self-publishing can be an incredibly exciting venture if you’re excited to share your work with the world. Although publishing in itself is easy, you should always be prepared to do the hard work to make your book sell and reach as many readers as you can.

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