Top 7 Things to do Before Publishing to Make your Book Stand Out

Publishing a book is a very significant journey for you as an author. It is an important accomplishment that places a demand on you to create a book that stands out.

So, whether you’re a first time author or a pro, before embarking on publishing a book, you want to be sure that you’ve ticked all the boxes, crossed all the T’s, dot the I’s and made sure that everything is set to make your book a success.

Before getting to put things in place for your book, you have to identify what they are you need to put in place and then find out how you can implement them to make your book a success.

Fortunately for you, most first time and even some multiple time authors do not know about the things to do before publishing a book. So, you’re not alone.

But, since these things are crucial to the success of your book, I will be listing them out in the following paragraphs;

Edit & Review Your Work

This might sound cliché but one of the first things to do before publishing a book is to review and edit the work.

There are different stages of editing your book must pass through, to get the very best out of it. For example, an evaluation edit allows you to critique the structure and content of your manuscript while a content edit allows you to dig into the words, find out their appropriateness for the book and the audience.

You don’t have to go through each of the editing stages at a time. To hasten things up, you can combine some of the stages like line editing and content editing together while working on the others. Or you can get the services of a professional editor to fix this.

But whatever you decide, at the editing stage, you have to be sure that the words, copy, structure and voice meets exactly what you want it to reflect. This is very critical.

Get some Feedback

Another important step in the things to do before publishing a book is to get feedback about your book. This is not necessarily about getting reviews. See it as getting your book in the beta stage, to a select few so you can prop it up, based on their feedback, before your final release.

Although this step is not compulsory, it gives you the chance to garner fresh perspectives and insights about the book before publishing it.

The feedbacks you realize from this step are things you can use or discard, depending on your goals and purposes.

Decide on a Format

Now that you’ve gotten some feedbacks to improve your book, the next thing to do before publishing a book is to choose your preferred publishing format.

There are a handful of publishing format you can choose from. For example, you can decide to publish offline paperback copies of your book, ebook copies on online platforms like Amazon, Print on demand copies or audiobooks etc.

Usually, your choice of online platform will largely be influenced by these three factors;

• Your publishing goal: There are certain topics and niches that an ebook for instance will not provide the best result for your audience.
• Your target audience: The geographic location, status or technological advancement of your target audience will affect your choice of publishing formats.
• Your resources: Your resources like finance, design, time and marketing resources are some of the factors that will also influence your book’s format.

While deciding on the best format for your book, you have to keep these things in mind.

Create a Cover Design

Your cover design is the first thing a person sees about your book. Choosing the right cover design is one of the most crucial things to do before publishing a book because your cover design can make or mar your sales.

With the right cover design that connects with your audience, you can make more sales but the wrong cover design on the other hand can reduce your sales, regardless of the quality of the book’s content.

So, while at it, you have to consider the idea behind your book, the theme, concept and your target audience, then create a design that fits in with these.

While at it, play around with different design concepts until you get settled with the best design concept that fits in with your goals.

PS: Your cover page is also the best spot to bring up an excellent copy that will inspire and attract your target audience.

Choose a Platform

There are many platform options to publish your book either online or offline. Choosing the right platform is one of the top things to do before publishing a book because your preferred platform can affect the overall success of your book.

For example as someone planning to publish online, you must understand that some online platforms have their pros and cons. And you have to identify these before settling for one.

Also, you have to put your audience at the center of your publishing choices. If you’re targeting a local audience and planning to publish on an international platform like Amazon, be sure that people in your target market can easily access the book from that platform.

Finally, keep in mind that there are some mushroom platforms that will over promise but under deliver when it comes to value.

In a nutshell, the best way to avoid platform pitfalls is to identify your goals, target audience, resources and then appraise your platform options based on these things.

PS: Checkout this guide on the top online publishing platforms you can use to publish your books.

Cost of Publishing

What will it cost you to publish the book and what is the list price you’ll be willing to sell it based on your overhead expenses. Having this estimate in place is one of the crucial things to do before publishing a book.

If you’re publishing hard copy for example, depending on the cost of printing, you may not be able to afford some publishing options.

Also, if you have some exceptional interior design preferences, these may raise your cost on some online platforms like Amazon, this affecting your list price for the final buyer.

To get around this, you have to clearly identify your publishing choices and then accordingly align them with your resources in a realistic way that will make your book competitive.

PS: Use this link to calculate your publishing cost Amazon

Create a Marketing Strategy

This is an important step in the things to do before publishing a book. Create your marketing strategy. Find out how you want to promote and sell your book.

There are many marketing options to promote your book. From book launch, tours, reading, online marketing, there are many options you can choose from.

 But one thing you must keep in mind is the ROIs from these options. So since you’ve already decided on your preferred publishing format, it’s time to choose the marketing option that will work for you and your audience, based on your format and platform.

While at it, keep in mind that sometimes marketing a book can be cost intensive and as such, your marketing options should be open to flexibilities, based on market realities.

PS: To get better results, you can decide to hire a marketing expert or a third party to promote your book on your behalf.

Conclusion

There are things to do before publishing a book but by following these tips, you can be sure that your book will turn out as professional and all set for success as it can be, before you finally hit the publish button.

In any case, you can reach out to us or hire our team to handle your book, get it ready for publishing and get the job off your shoulders. Reach out to us here.

Now it’s your turn. What’s your biggest struggle when it comes to publishing online?? Drop your comments below.