How To Self Publish Your Own Book

Many people spend a lot of money with a publisher and printer to publish their own book. I have news for you; you can do it all yourself.

I have published one book and I am working on another.

The publisher I use prints the books as they are ordered and they take a percentage of the sale price. You will have your own web site to sell your book; it will be listed on Amazon.com and Target.com.

I must say that I have been very satisfied. I did make a share of my own mistakes on that first book which I am making sure I fix in the book I am writing now.

In this hub I will explain the process and how to publish your own book at very little cost to you and with just a few sales you will make a profit.

The site I use to publish is this link:

One of my mistakes on my first book, Grandpas Mission shown at the right, was that I did it in color. It made it very costly for people. Black and white is the way to go.

I also didn't play with font size and so forth.

For the most part, the book came out very nice, but I will do even better with the next one

There is a process to publishing your book. I suggest going to Createspace and reading all the tips and helps they have there.

You must first decide what size of a book you want. I have decided on a 6 by 9 inch.

I suggest using an "office" program to write your book. I use Libre Office which used to be Open Office. It is a free program and you can download it at the link below:

Now the key in your office program is to format it correctly.

I set the page size at 6 by 9 and margins must be set at the scale that Createspace gives you depending on how many pages your book has.

Keep in mind it says inside and outside margins. Inside would be toward the binding and outside the opposite. I keep them typical as odd and even pages will be opposite which can create confusion for you.

Your office program surely has a number of fonts to choose from and the size of font is very important. For myself I use a 25 for the title, 22 for the chapters and 12 for the text. Your preferences may be different and there is really no right or wrong.

I keep two empty pages after the title page; one will be for chapter listings and the second a copy write page. It shows the year of copy write.

When you think you are finished writing your book do a complete spell check. Your office program should offer this feature.

I suggest having it proofread by someone other than yourself. Ask for constructive criticism and make changes you see fit.

Well, now you have your completed "office" book.

Look at the top of your office program and there should be a button to convert to a P.D.F. format. Createspace only accepts in PDF so convert and proofread again.

Does everything look good? Time to submit it to Createspace. They will print your first trial copy and send it to you. Check it over and see if you need any changes. If you do, make the changes and resubmit. If not, your new book will be listed. It will have its own ISBN number and will soon be on Amazon and Target.

You can pay a little extra for a pro plan and get bigger profits from your sales and buy your own copies at cheaper prices.

Createspace also has plans that will help you. Yes they cost, but if you are having troubles, they are very helpful.

You also may want to design your own book cover or, for a price, they have a program for that too.

It is all really simple if you just follow directions and ask if you are confused.

What are you waiting for?

You've been wanting your own book, now here is your chance.

Questions? If I can help, I will; just ask.

I'm still working on my second book so save your quarters to buy a copy.

Let us all know when you get yours published so we can put a new book on our shelves.

© G.L. Boudonck