Self-Publishing Made Simple

A Breakdown of the Basics

You’ve just put the finishing touches on that old manuscript you’ve been working on for years, and the ink has only just dried. “What now?” That is the question most authors find themselves facing upon completion of their first book. Over the next several weeks, we will be taking a look at all of the steps that are involved in publishing your book with a POD (print-on-demand) self-publisher like Xulon Press.

For many authors, self-publishing is a much more viable alternative to traditional publishing because of the cost and exclusivity of the latter; for a nominal fee, authors can get their name in print and push their book into the hands of the readers who need it most. And for “niche” books that ordinarily receive minimal marketing and distribution—such as family history books, autobiographies, or cookbooks—self-publishing is also a wonderful option.

Once you have written your book, what is the next step? First off, congratulate yourself on a job well done. Writing an entire book is no easy feat, and you are to be commended for your devoted efforts and “stick-to-it-ness.”

Second, you must select a publisher that is most in line with your needs—one that cares about helping you. For instance, when you sign on to publish with Xulon Press, you will speak with one of our Publishing Consultants before completing our Online Book Publishing Agreement. Our Publishing Consultants are there to help you customize a program that will work for you and your book—all depending on your needs. When you fill out this agreement, you are submitting your choice of publishing program as well as your complete payment. Although we do not need your final book manuscript at this time—you have up to a year to complete it—you are welcome to submit it if you are ready.

We offer a tier of programs that fit the budget of almost any author and are negotiable in price.

• The Basic Program includes book cover design, interior formatting, ISBN number assignment, a listing on Google Book Preview, and more.
• The Premium Program features all of those things plus distribution through Ingram Book Distributors and Spring Arbor Distributors, Amazon.com marketing, a hefty 100% net royalty rate after print cost and distributor discounts, Books-in-Print listing, and more.
• The Best-Seller Program features all of these things plus placement in the Xulon Bookstore Catalog, an online bookstore page, and tradeshow placement.
• Finally, our Elite Program includes everything plus a professionally produced ChristianBooksTV trailer, placement in the Christian Book Browser Catalog, our press release service with newswire blaster, a Christianity.com banner ad, and much more!

No matter what program you select—you are always able to upgrade later or add options!

To view these prices and programs, please click here.

This may seem like a lot of information, so you may want to take a moment (or five!) to digest it before making a decision. Once you are absolutely certain you are signing up for the publishing program that best suits your needs, you will submit your publishing agreement and then be considered a “Pre-Production” author.

In our next article, we will be looking at what exactly authors need to do in order to get their manuscript ready for publication—as well as common mistakes authors make when submitting.

I welcome any questions you may have about the publishing process!