How do you self-publish a book?
- Self-publishing is an ordered checklist, not a single upload step.
- Canonical sequence: copy edit → proofread → interior layout → cover → metadata → ISBN → retailer setup → ARC → launch → post-launch QA.
- Skipping or reordering steps causes most avoidable launch failures.
- A typical solo timeline is 3-6 months from finished draft to live listing.
- Most retailers are free to publish on; costs are editing, cover, and formatting.
You self-publish a book by running a fixed checklist in order: copy edit, proofread, lay out the interior, design the cover, build the metadata package, assign an ISBN, set up retailer accounts, distribute ARCs, launch, and run post-launch QA. Most avoidable failures come from skipping a step or reordering it. A solo author typically needs three to six months from finished draft to live listing.
Chapter i·Why it matters
Authors who treat self-publishing as one "upload" button publish books with typos, bad covers, or broken metadata that no one finds. Authors who treat it as a sequenced checklist ship clean books that retailers surface and readers trust. The difference between an amateur and a professional self-published book is almost entirely process discipline, not budget.
Chapter ii·What to include
- A completed manuscript that has been copy edited and proofread.
- A professionally designed cover sized for ebook and print.
- A formatted interior for both ebook (reflowable) and print (fixed).
- A metadata package: title, description, BISAC codes, keywords, categories.
- An ISBN for each edition that requires one.
- Retailer accounts and an ARC list ready before launch day.
Chapter iii·Example
A first-time indie author maps the full checklist before she touches a retailer dashboard. She copy edits and proofreads, hires a cover designer, formats the interior in Vellum, writes her metadata, sets up KDP and IngramSpark, sends ARCs four weeks early, and launches on a Tuesday. Because she ran the steps in order, nothing breaks on launch day and the book looks professionally produced.
WriteLoom holds the whole self-publishing checklist — manuscript, cover, metadata, ISBN, ARC list, launch plan — in one project, so the steps stay in order instead of scattered across tools.
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