Steps to Publishing
a Book

Book Publishing is about the preparation and distribution of a written work. First and foremost you need to write the book. After it’s written, you need to find a way to put it out in the world for people to read, either through self-publishing, hybrid publishing or traditional publishing. This will allow stores and libraries to order it for sale or use.

It’s very important to choose your path wisely and remember that taking your time is a good idea. Even the best authors can take years to shop a manuscript in the industry. Challenges exist if you’re new to the scene and lack the real understanding of how slow the pace can be. Blue Handle Publishing aims to help with the entry barriers to the publishing industry and empower authors.

The first thing you need to do is review your options, assess your manuscript, and jump in. No matter how certain you are of your book, you will need to take a leap of faith and put yourself out there. It is one of the hardest parts of the process, followed by waiting and feedback (it can be hard to hear you need to work on your manuscript).Overall, during the publishing process, you will go through writing, editing, book design and marketing. along with several other steps and hurdles that will come up.

Steps To Publishing a Book

Step one is always writing it, otherwise you don’t have a book, just an idea. Think of it like a great invention. Until you build it, test it and work on it, your just starting. It’s a concept, more than a tangible thing.

The question to this is often yes. The real question is when do you publish the book. I guess there could be a few moments that you wouldn’t. Especially if you fear legal action or you just don’t think the book is ready. That’s where the Book Puma Service platform comes in.

This is very important, you want to get other viewpoints. Especially from people who aren’t your closest friends. Hard criticism can be rough to hear, but it’s needed. If it’s not friends and family it will be an editor or an agent that tells you its not up to par. Get the feedback and grow.

For some this process is done at the very end, others it’s done early. For example, Charles D’Amico has been known to have a title in the first 10 pages. It helps him have a flag pole to chase. If you have a general idea of what your book is about, it can be the best time to title it (you can always change later). Often at the end, there is so much, or you can be too spent, to even think of it.

Look no further than the Book Puma Services platform for a new look on editing. We still offer the traditional Copy/Line/Developmental and proofreading services; we do it at a lower cost, with our proprietary systems and operations. This is an important choice, because the voice of your book and direction of the story can change drastically depending on the editor you work with.

Similar to a title Charles D’Amico (Founder of Blue Handle Publishing), loves to design the cover early in the process. In the beginning the book has a feel and an idea that he is working towards. When you wait until the end (for him), there can be too many scenes or thoughts running through your mind to pick just one. That is why he loves working on the cover early, since the story is just an idea, or a feeling, which is what you want your cover to be.

Currently the Book Puma platform doesn’t have any book designer services. We do utilize a great team for our Publishing platform, but that is only for the authors we sign. Remember our Book Puma Platform is about coaching and cultivating authors/writers. We are not a hybrid publisher.

The basics, or industry standards are your paperback, eBook and Audiobook. If you are going the self-publishing route (growing in volume every day), the best to help you with these (all three) is Amazon. Though we suggest using IngramSpark too, to give bookstores and libraries an opportunity to get your book.

This is easier than you might think. Look at books in your genre with similar page counts and mirror it. You want to ensure your book is priced competitively and allows for a profit when it's wholesale (to bookstores). You can always put your book on sale to drive sales, but it's hard to increase it at a later date. Find that sweet spot in the market. As with anything, if you are self-publishing, do your research.

This has changed over the past year(s). With health concerns changing the way we interact, finding a digital team that can help you pre-market and create buzz is huge. If you are going to wear all the hats, you need to have a well written plan you can follow with time to execute it.This is often where family and friends come in. Don’t be afraid to ask people. It’s a daunting task to take a manuscript from rough draft to finished product and sell it.

Similar to your book launch team, this is going to take a plan and some help. Social media can help, but if you haven’t started growing an active following (time to get moving). Remember if you are going the self-publishing route (or hybrid) you are going into business with your book. This isn’t a hobby, but a business. You need to act like it.

Writing it out, giving yourself a long runway (time), is key to pulling it off. One of Charles biggest mistakes (founder) in the beginning, was not being patient enough with marketing. Learn from his mistakes in our Book Puma Services platform. We have a great team to get your manuscript in the best shape possible and we are adding to our team and our services all the time.