You, writer, who have just arrived here and have many questions about how to publish a book, arrived at the most complete article on the internet.
After reading this complete writer's manual, you will have more than enough knowledge to make the best decision regarding your literary career that you are just starting.
Estimated reading time: 16 minutes
For those of you who arrived at this article and already know how to publish a book and search for SGuerra Design To take care of the entire production of your book, here is a summarized step-by-step guide on how we publish authors:
From now on, I will present all the stages of publishing a book.
Table of contents
First step:
First of all, you need to understand how the Brazilian publishing market works: What are traditional publishers (those that you don't pay to publish), service provider publishers (you pay for the production, but there is no publicity and sales effort on the part of of these companies) and self-publishing. If you haven't read my text about book publishers yet, take a break and click here so you can clearly choose the path you will choose to follow.
If you have already read my article about book publishers, let's now talk specifically about what the production and publication of a book entails.
Publishing a book is a fascinating and transformative process. As an author, it's an incredible feeling to see your work come to life and reach readers all over the world. In this article, I will explain what book publishing is, the different types of publishing and the importance of publishing a book. If you're thinking about releasing your own work, read on to find out everything you need to know.
What is Book Publishing?
According to Britannica, a book is a set of printed sheets of paper held together inside a cover, or a written work that can be read on a computer, as in the case of e-books. Book publishing involves making this information and literature available to the public, either free of charge or for a set price.
Publishing a book encompasses the creation, compilation and distribution of information and knowledge. Regardless of whether you choose an e-book, accessible on mobile devices, or a physical book, sold in online or physical stores, the publishing process requires effort and dedication.
The Importance of Publishing a Book
Credibility
Publishing a book is an excellent way to establish your credibility in your field. It's a way to transfer knowledge from one generation to another and show potential employers or clients that you have a deep understanding of a given topic. The more books you publish, the more your credibility grows.
Thought Leadership
Publishing a book also positions you as a thought leader in your field. People begin to value your perspective on topics related to your industry as they recognize your wisdom in solving problems and offering valuable insights. This serves as an endorsement of your professional knowledge and experience.
Generation of Leads
A book can generate leads for both individuals and organizations. Yes, a corporate organization can also publish a book. These leads can turn into customers, business opportunities or collaborations, expanding your reach and influence.
Types of Book Publishing
Traditional Publishing
In traditional publishing, your book is published by an existing publisher. The publisher takes care of all the processes necessary to publish your book, which can make the work much easier for you. However, you give up control over your book's content and price. The publisher buys the right to publish your work and pays royalties based on sales.
For traditional publishing, authors do not bear the publishing costs as the publisher covers all expenses. In return, you may receive a percentage of profits as royalties, depending on the contract signed.
in my article Book Publisherss, I explain everything about how the types of publishers work. If you are not familiar with the book market, I suggest you go there to read all the details.
Self-publishing
Self-publishing means you commit to learning how to bring your book to life or hire professionals to handle all aspects of the publishing process while retaining 100% copyright to the work. Independent authors often hire editors, designers and other professionals, paying them as they would any other service provider.
Unlike traditional publishing, in self-publishing, you have complete control over your manuscript and keep all profits from sales rather than receiving royalties. Another benefit is that you avoid intermediaries who could influence the content of your book.
However, the self-publishing process can be challenging. Finding the right professionals and managing the entire project can take a lot of time and resources, especially if you don't have experience in the publishing industry.
Self-publishing or Independent Publishing
Now I'm going to present you with a publishing alternative, which is to publish a book by independent way, also called self-publishing. Stay with me.
Here you will find the step-by-step guide to publishing a book, without having to leave your home, pay a fortune for it or sign complicated contracts that make you a hostage of publishers for many years.
I'm talking about independent publishing, a modality in which you, as an author, have total decision-making power over the various stages of the production of your book, ranging from cover creation à book layout, including reviewing texts and documentation such as the ISBN and Catalog Sheet.
Don't worry, although it may seem scary, I'll guide you through this entire process. Even if you are completely new to the subject of how to publish a book, I will be by your side, helping you throughout the process, which goes from the text written in Word to the delivery of printed books to your door.
How to Publish a Step-by-Step Book Independently?
Write a book
This is where it all starts. This is the stage where you write your texts and put all your ideas on paper.
It is important to know that before moving on to any other step, you need to close the writing process. Yes, I know: for some writers it is a little difficult to put an end to the story, but it is essential that you bring this stage to an end.
Detach yourself from the text and say a symbolic farewell, as it is from here that your work stops being a text and becomes a book product.
Book Review
This step is of great importance. Never, ever, ever stop hiring a book reviewer when publishing a book. Leaving this step aside is throwing all the rest of the work in the trash.
Even if you have an excellent command of the Portuguese language, even if you have a friend who is an excellent Portuguese teacher, never fail to hire a text editor specialized in the literary world to publish your book, someone who is active in the publishing market.
I explain:
A text proofreader specializing in books has experience in detecting, in addition to trivial spelling and agreement problems, problems specific to the world of book publishing, such as, for example, correct codes for dashes, quotation marks, ellipsis, widows, gallows, kerning, inconsistencies in the narrative, in short, elements very typical of those who work in the publishing market. And no matter how good a Portuguese language teacher is, he doesn't have that experience.
Some duties of a text proofreader:
- Spelling and grammar review;
- Adaptation to technical standards;
- Academic or technical review, carried out by a specialist in the area or object of the work;
- Text formatting or organization;
- Review of text proofs already laid out in final pagination format.
Book Layout
Book design includes not only the graphic design of the front and back covers, but also the layout and typographic design of each page of your text. Therefore, it is the responsibility of the book designer ensure that the entire visual part convinces your future readers to be interested in your work, through a feeling that they are facing a professional work that invites them to read and does not create impediments to the enjoyment of your work.
Book Cover Design
The cover is one of the most important aspects of literary marketing. There's no point in taking people to your sales pages if, when they get there, they find an unattractive cover that doesn't give any clues about the work and doesn't spark interest in reading.
I highly recommend that you work with a book professional for your cover. See my portfolio of book covers here. As an author, you don't have all the skills needed to create a great cover, and this is one area where you can't cut corners when publishing a book.
In general, those who write do not master design techniques, they are different areas of activity. The Brazilian public, however, highly values well-designed covers, this is an area in which it is not wise to save.
The cover is often the first and only chance your book has to attract the readers who have made it this far. So, although it must be impactful (or thought-provoking or mysterious), it also needs to be readable! There is no point in a beautiful image and a title that is difficult to read on a cell phone screen.
The cover also needs to communicate well the literary genre of the work, since there are conventions for different types of books. Good cover artists produce covers that respect the charms of the literary genre while at the same time giving a hint of the style that the work adopts and suggesting the atmosphere of the narrative.
What is ISBN and Catalog Card
- You need an ISBN number to publish a book. The ISBN is a 13-digit code used to identify your book. It is through them that bookstores catalog their stocks. Without the ISBN number, you will not be able to sell your work.
- You also need the Catalog Sheet. The Catalog Sheet presents a set of systematically ordered data, which provides the physical and thematic description of the book. It is a mandatory element in accordance with article 6 of Chapter 3 of the Book Law and according to the Standards of ABNT- NBR 14724/2005. It must be printed on the back of the title page, at the bottom.
Don't worry: SGuerra Design will provide these documents for his literary work. To learn more about these details, read our article How to register an ISBN and Catalog Card.
Book Printing
Not just any printing house is capable of printing books. Book production is quite complex and requires specific machinery, such as sewing machines, folders and binders, for example.
To obtain quality printing, it is necessary to work with printers that already serve publishers, thus having plenty of experience to print books with the same quality as those seen in any bookstore.
We have partnerships with the main book printers in Brazil. Thus, we guarantee impeccable books for you to sell and distribute to your readers.
If you don't already have a large audience, consider printing between 100 and 300 copies.
Do you already have a number of readers interested in your work? So think about printing between 500 and 1.000 copies.
If your story is already finished, find out how to publish a book with me.
What are the Advantages of Publishing an Independent Book?
Publishing an independent book has several advantages compared to other methods. Look:
- You have full control over the book production process. You can choose the cover, layout and all the professionals involved in creating the book;
- All proceeds received through sales are 100% yours. The return on investment is much faster. For example: when publishing a book by a traditional publisher or service provider, they generally pay 10% copyright on the cover value. If you sell 1.000 books for 30 reais using this method, you will receive 3 thousand reais. When publishing your independent book, the return will be total, minus production costs: you will receive around 15 to 20 thousand reais;
- There are no contracts that tie you to any company. When you publish a book through publishers, there will always be a contract that must be signed and, many times, it will not be advantageous for the authors;
- The amount to be invested is very advantageous in the long term. After printing the first edition, subsequent printings will no longer incur costs for proofreading texts, documentation, cover creation and layout. Basically there will only be the printing cost and, from then on, the production cost will drop by more than 50%. While in other modalities the production cost does not fall a single cent;
- You own your career. You can make the decisions you want, make the mistakes and successes that will build your story as a writer and enrich your literary career.
- Total control: One of the main benefits is that you maintain full control over your work. You can make creative and strategic decisions without anyone's interference.
- Flexibility: Self-publishing offers flexibility in choosing services. You can choose only the services you really need, customizing the publishing process according to your needs and budget.
- Access to Professional Services: You have access to a professional who will significantly improve the quality of your book, such as proofreading, design and layout.
Did you feel that these advantages are interesting for your career as an author? Call me on WhatsApp and I can help you publish a book. Let's talk.
See what my friend and site partner Write your Book says about independent publishing, in this video:
How SGuerra Design Can Help
Here at SGuerra Design, we help you realize your dream of becoming an independent author, without compromising your manuscript and the process involved. We are here to assist you at every stage of self-publishing, ensuring that your book is published in the best way possible.
If you need support publishing your book, send us a message.
After all, how much does it cost to publish a book if I choose SGuerra Design?
Many authors ask how much it costs to self-publish a book. When choosing to produce your work with SGuerra Design, you won't need to worry about anything related to production, as the entire process is led by me, Sidney Guerra, together with my team of professionals specializing in books and acting, just like me, at editorial market, providing services to the main Brazilian publishers.
Talking about prices is quite complicated, as each book has its specific needs. That's why we always analyze it case by case.
For example, a 14x21cm book with 128 text-only pages will have a completely different budget than a 14x21cm book with 256 pages, full of internal photos, tables or graphs.
But I can tell you that from approximately 3.500 reais in up to 10x it is possible to realize your dream of publishing a book with just a few pages, being text only.
If you already have a finished text, you can contact me directly at WhatsApp: (11) 9-9215-9571.
You can also send your original directly to me via this quote request link.