Publish a Book for Free?

Publish a Book for Free?

 

 

The question as to whether or not you can publish a book for free is often debated. My simple answer is -Yes. It is absolutely possible to publish a book for free. 

How do you do it?

We live in amazing times. The internet has transformed the world of publishing. Mainstream publishing houses have been challenged by new concepts such as print-on-demand (POD), electronic books, fast self-publishing, and online distribution and selling.

No longer do authors have to try to find a publisher because they can now self-publish the fast way and profit from publishing their own books. The alternative way of publishing means authors can do it themselves.

Steps

  1. Authors create their manuscript
  2. Authors prepare their manuscript for publication
  3. Authors set up a free account on amazon.com with Kindle Direct Publishing (KDP)
  4. Authors list their book on KDP and then publish

Preparing a manuscript for publication

Editing the manuscript, formatting it, and designing a cover are the elements of publishing that self-publishers usually have to pay for.

Editing

It’s the editing that can be very costly. However, it is possible either to reduce these costs or to do it for no cost.

Self-editing

To edit for no cost then make sure you do an advanced self-edit. 

Ask yourself.

  • Have you paid attention to the text’s detail?
  • Are your words precise rather than general? 
  • Are you up to date with grammar and language usage?
  • Have you consulted a style manual?
  • Have you refined the manuscript and tried to remove inconsistencies like varied capitalisation and punctuation?
  • Have you avoided clichés?
  • Have you used the same words or sentences on a regular basis? 
  • Has the same information been repeated?  
  • Is the meaning of a sentence clear?
  • Do you need to delete content to produce a more coherent and complete manuscript?
  • Have you tweaked, polished, and fine-tuned your content?
  • Have you read the manuscript a few times and done a meticulous review?
Self-editing software

When you can get your manuscript to an advanced state and you are happy with it run it through some self-editing software like Grammarly.

Manuscript editing software programs have built-in spelling and grammar checkers. They can clean up mistakes in spelling, grammar, and punctuation; and some even have suggestions for improving your language. 

Beta readers

Find other people to read your manuscript. Fresh, unbiased eyes can see mistakes and errors that you have missed.

Set up a system of beta readers. They can read your manuscript, give you their feedback, and identify errors that have slipped through. Independent readers can give you honest feedback about your manuscript.

It’s helpful to have a fresh set of eyes looking at what you have written because you will always miss things when you read the manuscript yourself.

Make connections in the book industry and identify people who can edit books. You may be able to trade editing services with a service that you can provide.

Formatting

When you publish with Amazon KDP you can format your print or eBook using KDP resources. These are all free. 

You have to format and upload two files: a manuscript file, which is the interior of your book including the front matter, body matter, and back matter, and a cover file, which is the outside of your book including the front, back, and spine.

KDP offers free tools, guides and webinars to help you and outlines how to go about formatting your files.

Book cover design

Book covers can be created for free using the KDP Cover Creator or you can build a cover on the free version of Canva.

Outsourcing your book cover design to a graphic designer has become a thing of the past. With the Canva software, you the author, become the graphic designer and you can create a vast array of graphics with unequalled professionalism.

When starting out with Canva register for the free version. This has plenty of uses and things it can do which never fail to disappoint.

Publish 

KDP on Amazon is a free site that allows you to publish paperbacks, hardcovers and eBooks without paying a single penny.

Even if you use the IngramSpark platform which charges $49 to publish both print and eBooks it is possible to get a promotional code and publish for free.

In conclusion, by mastering how to DIY it is possible to publish your book for free.

Even if you decide that you’d like to outsource the formatting, for example, it is possible to publish your book for a very low cost.

Marji Hill

Author and Coach

 

Join Facebook Group: Fast Self-Publishing Online

 

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