Self-publishing can seem overwhelming because there are so many steps involved – I’ve made a checklist to help authors who are finding it all a bit overwhelming!
The checklist covers some of the publishing steps you need to take when self-publishing, as well as suggested marketing tasks. It’s not an exhaustive, in-depth guide, but should give you a brief rundown of things you need to do to be prepared. This list is intended to get you started – you’ll probably want to research some of the individual tasks here more thoroughly, as there are lots of topics covered and there is just so much involved in self-publishing a book.
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You can scroll down to the bottom of the post to download the checklist as a free PDF, which can also be printed out.
Publishing steps
Choose your book title, series title if needed, and pen name
Choose your release date
Buy your ISBN numbers (you need one ISBN per format, e.g. one for a paperback and one for an ebook) – in the US you can buy them from Bowker, and in the UK, from Nielsen
Write your blurb/book description
Decide if you’ll buy barcodes (most print-on-demand services print one onto the paperback book for you)
Hire a cover designer for your ebook and/or paperback
Hire a formatter (or learn to do it yourself). Content you may need to include in your manuscript: dedication, contents page, copyright page/ISBNs, acknowledgements, thank you/request for reviews, author bio
Decide whether you’ll be Amazon exclusive or “wide”
Research keywords and categories (try Publisher Rocket for help with this!)
Order your proof copies to check for errors
Upload any corrected files
Prepare any advance review copies you have or want to send out to reviewers before release
Choose your Amazon categories (as of 2023, you’re allowed to choose three categories)
Marketing tasks
You don’t have to do all of these, they’re just ideas. I suggest starting with a few that interest you, or that you want to test out. You can always do more later, or stick to a couple of tried-and-tested methods.
Make a multiple-territory link for your book (for example, mybook.to)
Post social media announcements (pre-release posts might include cover, blurb, and title reveals)
Create an author website and add your book details
Create a media kit with your author bio and headshots
Start or grow your newsletter and offer incentives for signing up (I love MailerLite because it’s easy to use and the free plan covers up to 1,000 subscribers)
Send out advance review copies (you can use sites like BookSirens or BookSprout for this, or contact bloggers)
Claim your book on Amazon Author Central and set up your profile and bio
Send out regular newsletters with updates
Try out Amazon or Facebook ads
Social media: share regular updates, post short-form video on TikTok or Instagram, aesthetics posts, quotes/snippets, photos of your writing space, reader Q&As, live chats, share reviews and book recommendations, writing tips
Add your book to Goodreads (try the Goodreads Librarian Group in Goodreads groups if you have trouble)
Set up your Goodreads author profile and do the Q&A
Try out some Kindle Unlimited countdown deals if you’re enrolled in KU
Set up and run a street team to help promote your book
Remind people to review your book if they’ve read it
Try doing some real-life events such as conventions or signings
Use Pinterest to pin content related to your book and any future projects
Take part in newsletter swaps with authors who write in your genre (try BookFunnel)
I hope this self-publishing checklist helped you on your publishing journey! Do you have any suggestions for things that I’ve missed from this list? I’m always happy to update it so feel free to leave a comment or get in touch with me with suggestions!
Rachel Rowlands is a freelance editor and an author. She has worked on hundreds of books for both writers and publishing houses, including Hachette, HarperCollins, Black Library, and Penguin Random House. Her romance novels Snowed in at the Cat Café and Cake Off at the Cat Café, published by Hodder & Stoughton, are being translated into multiple languages.
