Self-Publishing 101 - the Mechanics
How to Self-Publish a Book
This is a course designed for the person who wants to do most of the work of creating and publishing their book on their own. It is a beginner to the intermediate level course - perfect for the first time author or maybe 2nd time author who realizes they missed some steps the first time around. It's okay - publishing is a big, big, big world, and after years and years, I am STILL learning. So be kind to yourself!
This course is self-paced and self-guided. You may leave comments or send me emails with questions at [email protected], which we will answer as we can. But if you find yourself need a lot of support and guidance, I would strongly encourage you to book a consulting call with me, where we can get into the details.
Schedule a consulting call here.
Note: I will teach you all the basic concepts for Self-Publishing - when, where, and how. I cannot guarantee the success of your book and strongly encourage you to invest in author platform building and marketing tools as well. I do guarantee that you will know exactly how to get your book self-published by the time this course ends.
What will we cover?
This is a mini-course. So I'm not going to teach you everything in the world about self-publishing. If that's what you are looking for, I do have that option. If you want to be taught everything I know about Self-Publishing, check out the Success Publishing Academy - a six-month program with coaching.
Included in this mini-course:
- The tools and resources so that you know the timeline, process, and places to self-publish your book
- Connections with other freelancers who can help you with the production of your book
- Basic distribution & book launch
By the end of this course you will:
- Understand the timeline for self-publishing
- Have a good understanding of all of the key elements for having a professionally self-published book and how to make those things happen
- Have knowledge of the places you should be publishing your book
- Have a Rolodex of places to go for professional support in the preparation and publication of your book
Course Curriculum
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1
Instructions for this course
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Welcome to Self-Publishing 101 - Please Read!
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Self-Publishing 101 - the Mechanics - Overview
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How to use this course
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Before we begin...
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Need live support?
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2
Module 1: Understanding the Publishing Timeline
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What's the end game?
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Module1Checklist-SP 101 The Mechanics
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Understanding the Publishing Timeline
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The Publishing Timeline
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3
The Elements of a Published Book
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An overview of publishing your book
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What do you actually need to publish your book?
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ISBN, Copyright, and Library of Congress Control Number
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Editing
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Stacey Aaronson - Working with an Editor
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Cover Design
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Getting the barcode for your book cover
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Panel on Cover Design
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Melinda Martin - cover design and good graphics
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Melinda Martin's interview {audio file}
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4
Planning & Writing Your Book
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The Essentials for a powerful book
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Planning Your Book {Timeline}
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Front & Back Matter - they MATTER
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Research
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5
The fundamentals of interior layout
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Interior layout and design
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Hiring a Professional Formatter
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6
Ebook conversion
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What you need to know about ebook conversion
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ebook conversion tutorial - from Word
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7
Where and HOW to publish your book
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The things you MUST know before you hit publish!
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Where should you publish your books?
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Should you put your book on Pre-order?
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{VIDEO} Loading your book to IngramSpark
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{Video} Loading Your Book to KDP
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8
Understanding the importance of Key Words & Categories
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Keywords, Categories, and why they matter
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9
Preparing for Launch
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Smash Your Book Launch
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Basic Marketing Strategy
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Blogging & Social Media for Book Marketing
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Twitter for Writers with Guest DJ Paris
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10
Post Launch
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What about post launch?
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11
New content coming soon!
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New content coming soon
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12
Next Steps...
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Join the Membership program for live coaching and support
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Free webinar series & podcast
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If you're self-publishing a book and need expert guidance and support to make sure you know all the things you need to know, do not wait any longer!
If you're self-publishing a book and need expert guidance and support to make sure you know all the things you need to know, do not wait any longer!
About the instructor
Author Coach and Publisher
Alexa Bigwarfe
Alexa Bigwarfe is a USA Today best-selling author and the founder and CEO of Write|Publish|Sell, a company dedicated to helping authors professionally self-publish and market their books. Her courses and training focus on outlining and writing books, self-publishing, author platform growth, and creative ways to market books through her company Write|Publish|Sell. She is also the founder and host of the Women in Publishing Summit and owns two hybrid publishing houses, Kat Biggie Press and Purple Butterfly Press.