Self-Publish a Book That Actually Gets Into Bookstores and Libraries
Hitting “publish” on Amazon is the easy part. Getting your book onto an actual bookstore shelf or into a library catalog is where most self-published authors hit a wall, and usually never figure out why. Ariel Slick has been through the whole gauntlet, and she walks through all 10 steps it really takes, from securing a Bowker ISBN to landing a guaranteed editorial review to pricing your book so stores will actually order it. She’s upfront about the costs too (the $100 ISBN, the $600 review, the four-figure cover), and why skimping on any of them can sink your shot at getting stocked. If you’re treating your writing as more than a hobby, this is the roadmap.
Do you want to professionally publish a book so that your work gets on the shelves of libraries and bookstores? Read on.
Note: this article is not about how to make money from your books, how to market them, or a step-by-step navigating Kindle Direct Publishing (KDP). This is simply how to make a highly polished, professional book product. If you want to do that, you will need to invest money that you will most likely never see a return on.
If this is more than a hobby to you, let’s begin.
1. Write the best book you can. Your first book might not be good enough. Write another. You might have the best marketing team in the world, but it won’t matter if your book is poorly written. Invest in a high-quality developmental editor, a line editor, and a proofreader. Ideally, these will all be different people. Check their previous work and look at their client recommendations. This is one of the biggest costs of self-publishing. Do not skimp on editing.
2. Write the best back cover “blurb” you can. Edit it, then use a professional editor. The back cover is your sales pitch to bookstore owners, librarians, and the average reader. You only have six seconds to impress them. Make every word count. Include author praise. For that, pitch authors as far in advance as you can. Don’t try to get author blurbs from the Stephen Kings and the Ken Folletts. Ask three tiers of authors: your dream blurbs, your might-be-likely, and your probably-will-say-yes-if-you-beg-enough-and-your-book-is-good-enough. (See Step 1)
3. Get a professional headshot taken. Mine was about $400. Invest in a good, professional photographer because you will use that photo for more than just your back cover. It will go on your marketing materials, social media, and traditional media outlets. For the love of Gaia, don’t use AI, don’t use your cousin taking a photography class, and don’t just use a random selfie. The more professional your book looks, the more the public will take it seriously.
4. Obtain an ISBN through Bowker. ISBNs are how bookstores and libraries find, order, and catalog books, and you will use this number over and over. Bowker is the only official source of ISBNs in the United States.You will need one ISBN for each edition and format of your book (ebook, paperback, hardcover, audiobook, etc). Amazon will give you one for free, but they can repeal it at any time for any reason. Draft2Digital (more on them in a moment) provides a free ISBN, but you can only use it on their platform. Invest in an ISBN that won’t disappear. Through Bowker, they are $100 per number.
5. Obtain your book cover. Invest in a human graphic design artist who specializes in book covers. Not AI. Not some rando on Upwork or Fiverr. Not someone who says they can do it for <$100. I highly recommend I Need a Book Cover. Find your specific genre and ask a few artists whose work you like about their availability and rates. Find something that fits your budget (but please budget for around $500-$1,000, which is the average professional charge). Together, we can all elevate the professionalism of the indie book world. You will need your headshot, back cover copy, any advance praise, and author bio, which should be short and sweet. Your graphic designer will be able to give you the PDF you need with the strict specifications Amazon and Ingram set for dimensions, and it’s a pain to do it yourself. I used Rachel Kelli, and I highly recommend her. You will also need a JPEG of your cover.
6. Format your interior. That’s making all your chapter headers look pretty, your inside details (advance praise, title page, etc). Draft2Digital makes it quite easy but tends to be plain. Scrivener or Vellum are also the main go-tos, and they are budget-friendly. You will need an ePUB file for ebooks and PDF file for print. Once you upload your Word file to Draft2Digital, you can redownload your file for free as an EPUB or PDF. Decide what interior trim size you want. Most books are 6×9 or 5.5×8.5. Once you do that, you can get your page count. Go back to your graphic design artist and tell them the page count. They’ll be able to calculate the spine width you need.
7. Get Advanced Reader Reviews. Do not bother with beta-readers. That’s what a developmental editor is for. Do not try to get your friends and family to read. They might not like your genre, and everyone is busy. Don’t take it personally. You need reviews so that once your book is launched, you will already have reader praise to show bookstores and libraries. I highly recommend NetGalley, which offers 1, 3, or 6 month options. NetGalley has readers who want to leave reviews. You really only need one month because there will be a spike of interest, then drop off. In the first week, I had 200 people download my book, and 25 reviews completed by publication day.
8. Get an Editorial Review. Librarians and bookstore owners rely on reviews to discern which books to buy. They read from Kirkus, Publishers Weekly, Library Journal, Clarion, etc. I used Kirkus, which offers two tiers for indie books: guaranteed review and a less expensive version, but it’s not guaranteed. Purchase the guaranteed review if you want to get into bookstores. When I purchased it, it was $600. If the review is negative, you don’t have to publish the review on their site. Kirkus only recommends 1 in 4 books “to buy” so see Step 1.
9. Upload to Ingram Spark. Virtually all bookstores and libraries will order from Ingram. You must set your price at wholesale, not retail. Most bookstores and libraries will expect at least 50% off the “sticker” price. You will make about $1 on a $20 book of roughly 300 pages. Most places will also expect your book to be “returnable,” meaning that if they purchase it, they can return it at any time. Yes, that does suck for you, the author.
10. Pitch your book to bookstores and libraries. Include a snippet of your editorial review and advanced praise. Some bookstores will have an individual form to fill out, and some you can email directly. Check their website. I try to personalize my pitches whenever I can. Address it by their first name, which you can sometimes find on their site. Find your local indie stores because most “big box stores” (Barnes and Noble, etc) don’t take indie books. Do not spam them, and do not whine if they decline to stock your book. Be professional and courteous. Not every book is for every bookstore or library.
Armed with your fabulous cover, great editorial review, ISBN that bookstore owners and librarians can easily find in Ingram, go forth!
*This is not easy. If it were, everyone would do it.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Ariel Slick is a novelist from Fort Worth, Texas. She has written The Devil Take the Blues and Ancient Egyptian Mythology (Firefly Press) and co-wrote the Good Harbor Witches mystery series with USA Today Bestselling author, Jeri White. Her short story “Bella,” was published by Free Spirit in the volume, Train Journey – Stories Associated With Railway Travels. In addition, her articles have appeared in Deep South Magazine, Texas Highways, The Texas Observer, Texas Co-op Power, and many others. When she is not taking her beloved cat, Kate, on a walk, she is running through the forest.
CONNECT WITH ARIEL SLICK!
Website and social media: Ariel Slick Writes
Instagram: @arielslickwrites
Facebook: Ariel Slick Writes
The Devil Take the Blues
During the 1920s, Beatrice Corbin just wants to keep her general store afloat and keep an eye on her younger, newly married sister, Agnes, in the small town of Azoma, Louisiana. Until, she is approached by the Devil, Frank Charbonneau, and learns that her sister will be murdered. At first, she doesn’t believe Frank until one of his predictions comes true. To save her sister, she makes a bet with him, staking her soul on the wager that she can find her sister’s would-be killer in seven weeks. Meanwhile Agnes is hiding her own secret, and Beatrice ignores her growing feelings for a Black blues musician, with whom Frank has also made a deal.
Unbeknownst to Beatrice, the true target is someone in her own family. As her time runs out, Beatrice becomes desperate and unknowingly pushes Agnes toward her inevitable fate. And everyone knows that the Devil doesn’t play fair…but in this case, is he?
