DIY Book Printing: A Comprehensive Guide for Self-Publishers

By August Grebinski

So, you’ve written your manuscript, edited it to perfection and now you’re ready to self-publish your book. However, the traditional route of finding a publisher and going through the long process of getting your book printed may not be what you’re looking for. Lucky for you, many options are available today for self-publishing your book through book printing.

Take a look at this guide to DIY book printing for self-published authors, you may find it’s easier than you initially thought!

9 Steps for DIY Book Printing

When you’re a serious writer, you want to make sure everything is perfect. Self-publishing means that you’ll need to find the best book printing partner. That process can seem like a daunting task, but it isn’t nearly as difficult as you’d think.

Step 1: Write Your Book

Yes, this might seem like an obvious step in the process — you can’t publish a book you haven’t written, after all. However, it’s part of the process, so it has to go on the list. Once you’ve got a finished draft, you’ll be ready to move on to the next steps.

Step 2: Editing

Your first draft is never your final draft. You’ll want to go through and self-edit your manuscript. You’ll want to check for things like grammar, spelling, context, syntax and other potential errors or areas of improvement. You’ll also want to edit the content and story itself — for continuity, transitions, ease of reading and so forth.

In addition to self-editing, you’ll want to send your draft to a professional editor. You can outsource to an independent contractor or find a professional editing service to work with. Either way, you will have to pay someone to edit for you. Don’t expect people to just hand out favors because you’re trying to make it. Typically, you can expect to spend between $20 and $40 per hour for a high-quality editor with experience.

Step 3: Getting Feedback

Now that you’ve edited your book, made some tweaks and had a professional give it a good once-over, it’s time to start asking for feedback.

Ask your friends and family to read your book or reach out to feedback groups and focus groups to see how people respond to the book and whether they enjoy the material. This kind of feedback could help you fix plot holes, make storyline changes or add to or remove content if the book is too short or too long. Don’t take feedback personally — take it constructively.

Step 4: Rewrites and Additions

You’ve edited the book; gotten professional input; and solicited advice from family, friends, and the general public. Now it’s time to get to rewriting and making changes. Take your time here and make a plan ahead of time. That way, when you sit down to write, you’ll know exactly where to go and what needs your attention.

This is where you may need to make additions to the content. Perhaps you’ll take out sections or material that doesn’t fit or that people didn’t respond well to. Think about what you want to accomplish with your final rewriting process. Make sure that you cross off every item on the checklist of changes.

Step 5: Final Edits

You edited once, but now that you’ve made a bunch of changes, you’ll need to edit again. This will be another self-edit, followed by sending the book off to a professional editor to let them clean things up before you send your book off for printing. This is also where you’ll think about the design and layout of your book and format it accordingly.

Step 6: Designing Your Cover

One of the most important elements of your book printing project is the cover design. The cover image should grab your reader’s attention and provide a clear message about the content of your book. Many book printing companies offer design tools or cover creators to help you format images and text. You can also upload your own art files to ensure your book cover is personalized to your tastes. If you need help with design, get in touch with Print Bind Ship – we make the process simple.

You’ll also need to make sure that you remember to add the ISBN and BISAC codes, as well as a UPC and list price information so that the book can be sold in retail environments.

The ISBN is the International Standard Book Number and is used to identify a specific book. This number is used throughout the market and never changes between organizations or networks. The BISAC is the sub-code that is used to define the subject or area of expertise of the book. That will need to be printed on the cover with the ISBN. When you publish a manuscript, you will have to submit an application for these numbers.

Step 7: Publishing

Publishing your book means getting it printed and turned into a tangible product. This will require that you choose a printer that can create the right formats and produce the finished product that you have in mind. For example, if you want a paperback in addition to a hardcover book, make sure they can handle printing both. What is their experience like? You’ll want to work with a publisher that knows what they are doing.

At Print Bind Ship, we have over 60 years of experience in book printing and production and can walk you through the entire process from formatting to finalizing your cover design and everything in between. We can even help you decide whether you should make multiple versions and what paper weight and size to choose.

Step 8: Marketing

You can’t just publish a book and expect it to sell. In today’s marketplace, you have to take advantage of marketing tools to get your book out there and make sure people know about it. Not only that, but you might want to consider adding complementary products to create an unboxing experience and give the reader more than just a book to read.

As a self-published author, it’s your responsibility to promote and market your book to readers. You can accomplish this in a variety of ways, but it’s important to start by launching a dedicated website, social media account and mailing list. Your mailing list is your direct line to your readers, so keep it updated and send regular updates about your work. Platforms like Twitter, Facebook and Instagram allow you to engage with readers in real time and promote your book to a wider audience. You may want to consider joining Facebook groups to connect with readers who might be interested in your book.

Step 9: Fulfillment

Congratulations, you’ve written your book, and it’s ready to hit the market! However, to get your book off the presses and into the hands of your readers, you’ll need a reliable and efficient fulfillment service that can help you manage your orders, whether they are individual or bulk orders. That’s where Print Bind Ship comes into play.

At Print Bind Ship, we understand that managing your book fulfillment can be a daunting task, especially if you’re self-publishing. We offer a complete solution for book fulfillment that integrates seamlessly with your online accounts such as Amazon, the Etsy store and point of service (POS).

What’s more, we offer affordable and high-quality hardcover book printing without order minimums or expensive printing fees. Whether you need one book or a thousand, we’ve got you covered. With our complete solution for book fulfillment, you can focus on what you do best — writing — while we take care of the rest. So, if you’re looking for a reliable and efficient book fulfillment partner, look no further than Print Bind Ship!

Level Up Your Publishing with Print Bind Ship

With a variety of book printing services available, it’s important to find the right book printing company that meets your needs. Print Bind Ship offers all types of services for book printing, including paperback book printing, hardcover books, coffee table books, graphic novels, coloring books and more.

Our team can give you customized guidance on print quality, paper type, cover design, book size, as well as shipping options. In fact, we’ll handle the entire fulfillment process for you — from packing to shipping to tracking and more.

If you’re ready to take your writing career to the next level by getting a hard copy of your book online and in retail stores, we can help. From printing to delivery and everything in between, our experienced team can help make your dreams of publishing and selling a book a reality. Contact us now to get started!

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