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

  • 1

    Instructions for this course

    • Welcome to Self-Publishing 101 - Please Read!

    • Self-Publishing 101 - the Mechanics - Overview

    • How to use this course

    • Before we begin...

    • Need live support?

  • 2

    Module 1: Understanding the Publishing Timeline

    • What's the end game?

    • Module1Checklist-SP 101 The Mechanics

    • Understanding the Publishing Timeline

    • The Publishing Timeline

  • 3

    The Elements of a Published Book

    • An overview of publishing your book

    • What do you actually need to publish your book?

    • ISBN, Copyright, and Library of Congress Control Number

    • Editing

    • Stacey Aaronson - Working with an Editor

    • Cover Design

    • Getting the barcode for your book cover

    • Panel on Cover Design

    • Melinda Martin - cover design and good graphics

    • Melinda Martin's interview {audio file}

  • 4

    Planning & Writing Your Book

    • The Essentials for a powerful book

    • Planning Your Book {Timeline}

    • Front & Back Matter - they MATTER

    • Research

  • 5

    The fundamentals of interior layout

    • Interior layout and design

    • Hiring a Professional Formatter

  • 6

    Ebook conversion

    • What you need to know about ebook conversion

    • ebook conversion tutorial - from Word

  • 7

    Where and HOW to publish your book

    • The things you MUST know before you hit publish!

    • Where should you publish your books?

    • Should you put your book on Pre-order?

    • {VIDEO} Loading your book to IngramSpark

  • 8

    Understanding the importance of Key Words & Categories

    • Keywords, Categories, and why they matter

  • 9

    Preparing for Launch

    • Smash Your Book Launch

    • Basic Marketing Strategy

    • Blogging & Social Media for Book Marketing

    • Twitter for Writers with Guest DJ Paris

  • 10

    Post Launch

    • What about post launch?

  • 11

    New content coming soon!

    • New content coming soon

  • 12

    Next Steps...

    • Join the Membership program for live coaching and support

    • Free webinar series & podcast

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!

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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.