Self-Publishing— It’s Easier than Writing Your Book

Pat Buckna

Self-publishing is much simpler than it was even a decade or two ago. In August 2019, I published a 362-page memoir in Powell River. There were technical challenges, none insurmountable. Research before you start—it will save considerable time and money.

Design considerations. Many decisions need to be made: book size, margins, gutters, headers, footers, justification, leading, fonts, binding (perfect or stitched), paper stock (type and weight), cover finish, print run size (more units=lower unit cost), print on demand, or digital. For images, you’ll have to understand resolution, colour depth, bleed, and compression. If you lack technical skills, hire design or graphic specialists to help with some aspects. Being a good author doesn’t automatically make you a good book designer.

I chose to design my own book and cover and bought an Adobe subscription so I could use InDesign and Photoshop software. I purchased an inexpensive book design template to save tons of time and allow me to turn my manuscript into a professional layout. I published in four methods—print, print-on-demand, and two e-book formats (Kindle and Kobo)—which meant creating four different files with differing settings. Each company provided good online instructions about how to prepare files for upload. Each format requires a unique ISBN which can be obtained at no cost from Library and Archives Canada: www.bac-lac.gc.ca/eng/services/isbn-canada.

Cost and pricing. Research books with similar genres, formats and page counts to set a reasonable retail price to charge. Your costs are determined by the size of your print run and shipping costs. Make certain your retail prices are the same for each print and print-on-demand. Your retail price will determine what percentage you receive when print-on-demand or e-books are sold.

For printed copies, consider shipping costs. I originally planned to mail out my own books to purchasers, but Canada Post charges $14 per copy, so I now direct people to purchase from Amazon for print-on-demand, which costs them far less. I have the option to buy author copies through Amazon and ship them to customers. Even though I make less per book than from the ones I had printed, it evens out because of reduced shipping fees.

Lessons learned. Avoid “one-stop” self-publishing companies who try to sell you design, publishing, and marketing. Their services include hefty markups and the distribution services they offer do not guarantee any sales over what you can do yourself. (I made the mistake of contacting one and had to fend off their marketing people several times after I told them I wasn’t interested.)

Digital formats and print-on-demand have no upfront costs other than the cost of proof copies.

Regardless of what method of publishing you choose (print, print-on-demand, e-book) always check with each service provider to ensure you create files with specifications they require. This typically means saving or exporting your manuscript into a pdf, rtf, or EPUB format. If you find this to be too technical, consider hiring someone with the expertise to do it for you.

If you decide to have your own copies printed, make certain you deal with a book printer, not a brochure or poster printer. I used a local BC book printer in Victoria who provided excellent technical and pricing advice, and helped me avoid some common pitfalls.

Order proof copies—expensive but worth the cost. I ordered one from my printer and one from Amazon—one with gloss cover, one with matte. As a result I was able to modify the layout and reduce the page count to save significant per-book cost. Proofreading in final book format allowed me to catch several typos I missed in my four previous proofreads. (Kindle Direct has a built-in spell-check for digital pdf files, but none for print-on-demand.)

Be prepared to spend far more time marketing your work than you expected.

Is self-publishing a lot of work? Yes. Is it worth it? Definitely!

Pat Buckna is an author and songwriter who self-published his family memoir Only Children (www.onlychildren.ca). He offers seminars and workshops on non-fiction and self-publishing performance, combining his music with excerpts from his memoir. Pat Buckna is the FBCW Regional Rep for the southwest. www.patbuckna.com