How To Publish Your Novel

I’ve had experience of both self publishing and traditional publishing and enjoy both ways of creating and sharing work but for this post, I wanted to share a little about how I independently published my debut novel The Merry Players. There are many ways of indie publishing and below are some notes on how I did it in case it helps you to publish your own book too.

In traditional publishing, a whole team of people work on putting a book together to get it ready for sale. So the first thing to note up front is that when you’re indie publishing, all of these tasks will fall to you. But that doesn’t mean that you actually have to do them yourself. I always try to identify my own strengths and then, if at all possible, work with professionals to create the best book that I can, one that will stand up against traditionally published titles. For me, this means illustrating the cover and preparing the manuscript myself but hiring a professional editor and book designer. The first thing to do though, obviously, is to write the thing!

Getting it written
I started writing my children’s novel The Merry Players around 2010. It started with a character who fell into my head, a boy who was hiding in the wings of a theatre, captivated by the show night after night. He clearly lived at the theatre. I followed the idea and started to scribble paragraphs about him. I remember where I was when a couple of other characters came to me, I had to sit down immediately to start scribbling in my notebook. And so began, ten years of piecing the story together. I wrote as much as I could around my day job, very slowly edging my way towards a 60,000 word first draft. I work on a freelance basis so whenever I had a little time between contracts, I would treat writing like a job. Whether I felt the muse or not, I would sit down at my laptop at the same time every morning and type whatever I could onto the page. I found that this somehow taught my brain to create on demand and after a day or two I would feel myself getting into a habit. That’s not to say that there weren’t days when the words just wouldn’t come but I would do my best to stay committed to at least trying to write whenever I had time.

Many things have taken precedence over writing over the years but I always came back to The Merry Players, certain that there was something there. Certain that it was a story that was meant to be told. A couple of years ago, I took myself away on a three day writing retreat to work without distraction, which really helped to move things forwards. Then when I was on the ‘home straight’ and could see that the end was in sight, I started using the pomodoro method where you time 25 minutes and then take a 5 minute break. I have no idea why but this method really helped me to focus and to finish my first draft.

Being honest about needing help
I felt I had the basis of a good story but knew it needed another pair of eyes and some professional input so found the courage to share it with an editor. I found my editor via a freelancers Facebook group. She had worked in children’s publishing but was now freelance. I asked for a quote and decided that it was a really worthwhile investment. Having your head so deeply in a story means you can’t quite see it clearly sometimes, so having a completely new perspective was really refreshing. A few weeks after sending my manuscript, I received her comments. She had spotted gaps in my plot that I would never have seen and made lots of very helpful suggestions regarding how I could tighten things up and how I could make the story stronger. She also identified places where I needed to ensure the action stayed with my main character so that the reader felt that they were right in the middle of things throughout. I took my time absorbing the advice. It can be hard to read what can be taken as criticism. But the editor’s job is to see the strengths in your manuscript and to help you to make your book the absolute best it can be.

At this stage it became crystal clear to me that what they say about writing being 99% editing really is true. I found the actual editing to be almost like a puzzle. I was taking whole chunks of writing out, moving others around and rewriting sections. There’s no denying it felt like a huge task. I tried my best to concentrate on the particular part I was working on each day to ensure I didn’t feel overwhelmed. Slowly and steadily I had finally completed a second draft and saved up again so that I could afford a second round of editing. Having made a number of fundamental changes it felt like this was necessary. Once again, it proved invaluable and once again I set about making changes.

I should mention again, that writing this book has taken me several years. I know that people write books a lot more quickly in many cases but I wanted to mention, that even with a very busy job and a full family life, it is still possible. A real love for your project and a heart full of tenacity really is the key. And having my editor to collaborate with for a short time really did give me the boost that I needed to keep going and to see what was possible with my story.

As I mentioned, I found my editor via a Facebook group. You can also try sites like Reedsy.com who have directories that you can browse.

Formatting
Once I’d got as far as my third draft, I thought it would help me to see my story in book form. I knew this would help me to read it with fresh eyes and to feel like I was getting closer to my goal of publishing it. You can simply format your book in Word or you can use specific software such as Vellum. I had already used Reedsy Book Editor for my poetry book so set up a new project in my Reedsy account. You can simply import your Word doc or you can start a book project from scratch and copy and paste your work in. I have found Reedsy so easy to use. It drafts the copyright information for you, separates your work easily into chapters, justifies the text and you can export your book as a PDF or ePub at the click of a button. And it’s free. I would recommend having a play with it if you haven’t already to see if it’s right for you but I love using it.

Reedsy offer four different sizes. I decided on the standard 5” x 8” and used the Classic font style as it felt the most recognisable.

Designing a cover that will compete well online
Publishing independently means that many of your sales will likely be print-on-demand online, so for your cover, you will need something that not only looks good in print but also works well as a thumbnail on phones, tablets and laptops. The image of your cover needs to be eye-catching and to sit well against titles from more experienced publishers. I illustrate as well as write so set about sketching out an idea for my cover. I’ve worked with my designer before as I’ve also collaborated with her to publish two picture books so I got back in touch. She helped me to think about what images and fonts would work best and also did the legwork of creating the cover file as a PDF using InDesign (which I don’t know anything about!) Again, I felt like this was a worthwhile investment. I had started with a sketch of my main character peering onto the stage with a view of the back of the actors and the faces of the audience. Between us, we decided this was much too busy and therefore simplified it to simply show a magical box that features in the story with some gold handwritten text so that the title was also a main feature. Thanks to my designer’s advice, this looked a lot clearer and less cluttered than my original idea.

Once again Reedsy is a great place to start if you need an illustrator or designer. You can also look on children’s books Facebook groups or sites like Fiverr. Also look inside books that you like to see who designed them or browse Twitter and Instagram profiles. Seek out someone whose style resonates with you and your story.

Checking your formatting and cover
Once I had a formatted draft that I was almost happy with and a draft PDF of my cover, I set my project up on Amazon KDP. This isn’t the only solution, in fact, I used Lulu for my poetry book and have also set my picture books up on Ingram Spark. For this novel, I felt Amazon was a good first step as I was using a standard format and I wanted to initially focus on online print on demand sales for Christmas. I also wanted to experiment a bit with Amazon marketing, categories and keywords. The KDP site leads you through the steps by the hand and also has an online previewer so that you can check that your book is going to look as expected. You will be asked to enter your book description as it will appear on their site so make sure you have this text ready. You will also be asked to assign your book to categories, for example, children’s chapter books, and can price your book as you wish. You can save your book as a draft and tweak these details until you’re ready. Order review copies so that you can check everything is in order before taking a deep breathe and clicking the Publish button.

Reviewing your book and being brave enough to let people read it
Be prepared for the review stage to take longer than you think. Firstly it takes a few days to receive your review copies, even when using the expedited option and also, if you are like me, you will find yourself tinkering. I found my cover looked too dark once in print and revisited this a couple of times. I also took several weeks to incorporate feedback from readers, more of which below, and went I through the text with a fine-tooth comb to ensure there were no words dropping onto pages on their own or any strange spacing between chapters. I also read each chapter out loud and recorded each one to ensure the text flowed should I decide to record it as an audiobook. In short, everything should look and feel as professional as possible so that you are 100% happy with the creation you are sharing and it is able to stand up against all the other books on your readers’ shelves.

I took my time reading my first review copy and made many (many!) edits in pencil throughout. It’s surprising how different it feels reading your text as an actual book and I highly recommend it. Having the experience of reading it as a reader allows you the subtle shift of putting yourself in their shoes. I confess, I went through ten rounds of making changes at this stage. Each time ordering a review copy and marking it up in pencil. While I was doing this, I also shared my book with some trusted readers.

As it was a children’s title, I needed to find the courage to share it with my target audience, knowing that children would be brutally honest about how they felt about it! I appealed to friends with children aged 8 - 12 and was so happy to find that I had lots of eager volunteers. I asked for comments by a certain date, giving about three weeks to read the book. It was such a relief and boost to hear that my new readers had enjoyed the story. They also gave me some really open feedback that I was able to incorporate before publishing.

I also enlisted four friends to read the book. One of whom is a brilliant proofreader. I was very lucky as, to be honest, I was unable to commit any further funds to the project and he did a full, very detailed proofread as a wonderful favour. If I hadn’t had him I likely would have saved up to ensure the book was proofread before publishing. There are so often grammatical bits and bobs that you just don’t see. Another friend works in the theatre and was a brilliant asset to the project. He could really see the world I was trying to create and gave me some great advice about how to make it all the more convincing.

Publishing independently also means that you have complete control about what feedback you do and do not incorporate. It’s important to approach all comments with a really open mind, to see them all as contributing towards the good of the story and to not take anything personally. The story is not you. As a small example, one point that came up a few times was that one of my character’s names was too similar to my lead character and it confused readers. It’s these kind of things that were so helpful. I was far too familiar with the story to be able to see this. I was really attached to this particular name and found it hard to let go of it but had to make the change to put my readers first.

Publishing
And so to actually pressing the Publish button. This is a nerve-wracking moment! Using KDP it may take a couple of days for your book to show up on Amazon’s website but when it does, it is out there. Personally, I ordered one final copy of my book as a buyer would, to once again ensure that I was 100% happy with how it looked. This reassured me that the books that were starting to land on readers’ doormats were exactly as I wanted them to be. Then it was time to let people know that the book was for sale.

Marketing
I confess, this is the part that I find trickiest and, if you do not have experience in marketing, is an area that I would recommend seeking assistance with. As writers, we are often rather introverted and it can feel uncomfortable and a bit salesy shouting about your book. I try to focus on what I feel I can offer my readers. The Merry Players is a cosy, comforting read and when I talk about it online, I try to think about giving children (and grown ups!) a bit of escapism. So rather than just saying ‘buy my book’ (!), I like to think of them hiding out in the theatre in the book, fully absorbed in the magic of the story. As my book is for children, I am appealing to their parents so I highlight that my book is for theatre lovers and I’m clear that it’s a middle grade title for 8 - 12 year olds.

I’m also trying out Amazon Marketing for the first time so will report back on this once I’ve made some progress.

Another great idea is to approach book bloggers and booktubers who are suited to your title. Remember that many of them have a schedule of books set up well in advance so try to think ahead before the date you plan to publish.

In summary
I’ve been working on book ideas for almost two decades and in that time have seen such great leaps in independent publishing. I spent a long time trying to find a way to print small batches of books or trying to work out how I could distribute books and be seen in such a vast marketplace. I am still very much learning but am really enjoying the relative new-found freedom of print-on-demand and independent creating. As I said at the start of this post, there are pros and cons to all ways of publishing but if you love all parts of the process, like I do, indie publishing is a brilliant, rewarding challenge. I find it so incredible to see readers enjoying my books. I remember the feeling of escapism and joy that books gave me as a child (and still do now!) and that, for me, is what makes this all so worthwhile.

Other resources
Two resources that I come back to time and time again with regard to indie publishing are The Creative Penn, who has a brilliant podcast as well as a very informative website and Karen Inglis who has written a very helpful book about the self publishing process.

If you’d like to support me, please buy a copy of The Merry Players. Perfect for little ones, for grown ups, for theatre lovers, for adventurers and for anyone who needs a little bit of magic. Wishing you luck with your book too!

My debut novel The Merry Players, available on Amazon