Bookstrapping The Publishing Process

When you finally get to the point in your manuscript where you can write those two sacred words… The End, there can be a lot of mixed emotions.

Relief. Yep, definitely. You’ve made it to the finish line. That once niggle of an idea about the person who does the thing and then other things happen, has made it through the thing and there has been a resolution of some sort and those two fantastic words… The End.

But it isn’t the end.

Not even close.

This is the very reason our tagline is Writing The End Is Just The Beginning.

So what do you actually need to turn that manuscript into a published book when you have no money to invest in this endeavor, and no clue what the hell to do next?

There are four distinct areas:

Cover

Editing

Formatting

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Before we dive into each of these pillars of the bookstrapping process I’d like to add a disclaimer. Just because you can do things this way doesn’t mean you should. You want an end product that is indistinguishable from all the other professionally produced books on Amazon, Apple, Kobo etc.

But I don’t agree with that! I want my book to stand out! I hear you calling.

Readers have never read a book like this. You might also add to the above statement.

While this is true, yes readers will never have read a book with your voice, your book is a product and products need to fit into categories in retail stores in order for them to be found.

If you’ve opted to produce your book independently, which I assume you have, given you’re here, this means you are in control of everything. There are two ways to approach this: Either hire others to help you, or learn the skills involved to produce and publish your book yourself.  

Time vs money. You either have the time to learn and master new skills or you pay someone to do it.

Because we’re Bookstrapping the publishing process, we’re opting to do everything ourselves as cheaply as possible. But just because we are self-publishing, the last thing we want is for our books to look self-published. If you scour the listings on Amazon these books stick out like sore thumbs. The fonts are generic, the images are thrown together on the cover, and everything just looks a bit off.

Cover

The cover is the first port of call because this is what the reader will see before they’ve even clicked to read what your book is about. Readers DO judge a book by its cover, and you have about two seconds to catch their attention (in a good way) before they move on to the next listing and you are forgotten forever.

The cover needs to be on point and this is where taking the time to research covers in your genre pays dividends, because you DON’T want your cover to stand out too much. You want readers to take a look at your cover and immediately understand what genre the book is in.

How I do it

Spend 10 years figuring out photoshop

Fonts. I download my fonts from 1001 fonts.

Genre specific fonts, you get a feel for them in your genre after a while and I have different cover fonts for different serieseseses.

Images.

This is where amazon is your best friend. Dive into your genre and look at the sort of covers on other books.

Thrillers will have the silhouetted figure with an exciting background.

Sci-fi, the space ship with an alien world behind it.

Comedy/satire/rom-com usually big titles with a vector image of something. Sometimes the image is incorporated into the titles

For my time travel sci-fi fantasy I wanted to try something different and placed the fonts on their side running down the book with a posterized image of each book’s protagonist. Each book is a different colour, images are black and white apart from the eyes of the character which keeps to that book’s colour scheme and the series branding.

I love simplicity in covers. Like the I Am Pilgrim cover, just a fingerprint. That author’s second book Locust, just the wings. 

What’s important about covers, especially if writing in a series, is the consistency in the branding. You want readers to know right away that this is an XYZ book.

AI has come leaps and bounds in image production over the past few years and as we’re bookstrapping, the images it produces could help you figure out the idea you have in your head.

Research is key here. If you’re stuck, or maybe you’ve knocked a cover up but are unsure if it works, then please reach out. I’m no cover designing maestro, but I understand the elements of what makes a great cover and have designed covers for both my own books and other author’s books in the past. Reach out in the groups, or email (support@indieauthorroadmap.com) we’re here to help.

Editing

Editing is a must.

 You’ve finished your book, but now’s the time to first get it out of your head that it is finished. This is the first draft, things are far from finished.

The first thing you should do is leave the manuscript for at least a week or so.  Everything is still fresh in your head and you want to be approaching the first read through from a reader’s point of view and not the person who made it all up.

Let the story settle, and then come back to it with your reader hat on.

How I used to approach the editing process vs how I edit these days.

Back in the day when I’d finished a first draft, I’d print the entire manuscript out on A4 paper, double spaced and I’d read through, making notes in the columns, scribbling out words, adding bits, and completely defacing the whole thing. I’d then head back to the laptop and transfer all the corrections I’d made on the paper version, into my doc file.

Then I’d read through the manuscript on my laptop, making changes and editing things I’d missed on the initial read through, before sending it off to my editor who would do the same, defacing what I deemed a clean draft.

I hate editing, but it is a must because you don’t want your readers finding these mistakes and then mentioning them in  2 star reviews which might otherwise have been a 5 star. Mistakes put readers off the story, and the story is what they’re there for.

After getting the manuscript back from the editor, I’d then release it to my team of V.I.P readers who are my superfans, know my stories, have expectations and don’t mind sharing these views and criticisms. This is what you want, a group of trusted readers ready to criticize anything about the story, pick up on any hidden mistakes, and help you hone your book into the best possible version it can be.

In episode 5 of Indie Author Roadmap, Rachel mentioned a platform called https://www.scribophile.com/ and maybe that'd be a great place to start with your editing. They also offer up ways to find beta readers (or V.I.Ps as I call mine). Trust me, they become invaluable throughout the editing process.

Because we’re Bookstrapping let us remove the actual editor from the equation. I can’t stress enough how important this person is, and if you were going to spend any money getting your book ready for market, this is the area I’d always choose to direct the funds towards above anything else. But if you don’t have the money then find yourself a group of trusted readers who don’t mind ripping your baby to shreds instead. It’s worth it. Grow that thick skin and take the points they raise for what they are, help in seeing your book shine.

After the V.I.Ps have sent back their comments I’d correct and then give the book one last read through. By this point I’m sick to death of the story, bored with the dialogue, and just want it to be finished so I can move on to the next book.

When I’m here, I know the book is ready.

For my past few books I’ve adopted a slightly different approach to editing which I feel has been working better, and it starts while I’m writing my first draft.

I usually write a chapter a day (around 2000 words) and before I sit down every morning to start the next chapter, I’ll read through yesterday’s scribbles, editing as I go. This means by the end of the book I’ve a much cleaner first draft which saves time all the way through the rest of the process.

Once again, AI can help whip your book into shape too. Don’t be afraid to let Skynet do some of the heavy lifting for you. 

Formatting

Formatting is when you take your word document and put it into the magic machine which fires out a ready to publish ebook or ready to print interior for paperbacks and hardbacks.

There are a few formatting softwares out there, some free, (which we like) and because this is about bookstrapping, we’re concentrating on the free ones. I figured the best way to help would be to film a few videos and show you how to use this software, but until I’ve run through a few of the free platforms like Kindle Create, Reedsy Editor etc, I’m offering to format your manuscript for free using my own Vellum software.

To take me up on this offer, just email me at support@indieauthorroadmap.com or contact me on our FB page or group, and we can chat about your project. This is limited to the first 5 respondents.

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Now we’ve come to the end, our book has an awesome genre specific cover, it is edited to within an inch of its life, and the manuscript has been formatted and is ready to go.

Next we need to upload the files and publish.

Once again, as with in writing, it is better to show not tell, so once again, I’d be happy to walk you through the process if you reach out. Don’t be shy, it would be great to help get you published!

And that’s the stripped down, back to basics whistle stop tour of going from writing ‘The End’ to having a published book.

Please let me know in the comments section where you are on your writing and publishing journey.