How to self-publish a book in India: the stages in order

Most guides to self-publishing jump straight to printing, which is the middle of the story. Here are the stages in the order they tend to happen, so you know what is coming.

1. A finished manuscript

Finished means you have read it start to end at least twice and stopped changing the plot. People often send a file to a printer while still rewriting chapter nine. That is how you end up paying for the same book twice.

2. Editing

Someone other than you needs to read it with a pencil. This can be a trained editor or a friend who reads a lot and is not afraid to be honest. We wrote about the different kinds of editing in another post.

3. Proofreading

Editing changes the content. Proofreading catches the typos left over once the content has settled. Do it after the text is final, and do it on the typeset pages, not on the Word file.

4. Design and typesetting

Your manuscript becomes a book here. Page size, margins, fonts, chapter openings, page numbers. A good typesetter makes this invisible. A bad one makes every page feel slightly off.

5. Cover

The cover is designed after you know the page count, because the spine width depends on it. Many people design the front first and then scramble.

6. ISBN and basic details

Each edition of your book needs an ISBN, and the book needs a title, subtitle, blurb and a short author bio. Get these ready before the book is printed, since the ISBN goes on the back cover and the copyright page.

7. Printing

You choose a printing method, paper and binding, and ask for a proof. Read the proof properly. Then print.

8. Selling and sending

A book that nobody can buy is not published yet. Decide where it will be sold, how orders are packed, and who answers a reader who emails about a missing parcel.

9. Telling people

Releasing a book does not make people find it. Plan a few small, honest ways of letting readers know. A message to friends, a post on your own site, a request to a few bloggers who like your kind of book.

A note on order

Several stages can overlap. The cover can be worked on while the proofreader reads. But the text should be frozen before typesetting, and the typeset pages should be frozen before printing. Every change after those points costs time and usually causes new errors.

If you only remember one thing from this list, remember that each stage has someone to say "stop, this is final". Decide who that is before you begin.