Writing a book is something that many people aspire to do in life. If you have an original and captivating idea for a book, then why wait? Go for it and put it on paper. But before you embark on this venture, take into consideration the fact that becoming a published author is no easy feat. Someone may argue that the book writing part is the easiest, while getting the book published is the hardest.
Traditional publishers are very selective when deciding which books “work”, and which don’t. Editors and publishers alike agree that the odds of being published are only 1-2%, meaning that they only accept and publish one or two out of every hundred manuscripts they receive (source: Fiction Writer’s Mentor). As you can see, your chances of becoming a published author are extremely slim, unless you’re already a household name in the book publishing market, or you have the right connections in the business. No matter how interesting and well-made your creation might seem to you: if it doesn’t look like it will bring in money for the publisher, the book will most likely be dropped.
With that said, don’t give up on publishing your work because you feel discouraged or intimidated, yet. You can still make your dream come true thanks to the Internet. Among the many things one can do online, putting out a self-published book is on the list. Anyone can write and sell e-books on specific platforms that offer aspiring authors the help they need; let’s check out some of them!
1) Reedsy
The first website we’ll be talking about is Reedsy. On Reedsy you can use the Book Editor tool, a book production tool that allows you to effortlessly write and format a piece of writing for publishing, and it’s all for free. You don’t need to be a seasoned writer to create and format a professional-looking book, because the Book Editor tool is designed to be super simple to use. It is filled with helpful step-by-step instructions that will guide you through the (ordinarily complicated) process of making a book.
Sign up with your Reedsy account, and you can start writing your book from scratch by selecting “My Books”, and then Write. The tool is web-based, so you don’t need to download an application in order to use it: your data is securely stored online in the cloud.
The best thing about Reedsy is the possibility of easily exporting your files to any other book-writing platform – Blurb, Createspace, Lulu and IngramSpark – without the risk of messing up the original formatting. Reedsy’s one-click formatting tool makes your files fully compatible with all those platforms, in fact.
2) StreetLib Write
Moving on to our number 2 pick, StreetLib Write. This complete tool will help you create high-quality digital and paper books, that you can then distribute worldwide. Get your book ready for publication either by importing your own Word, OpenOffice or PDF file, or by creating the book from scratch.
StreetLib Write’s Text Editor tool will assist you during the book production process, in case you don’t have a book ready yet. You can perform pretty much every action useful for your purpose: inserting and editing your book’s contents, applying text formatting, and creating lists, links, tables and notes, for instance.
“Travel” in a matter of one second to the part of your book you want to work on with the Navigation Panel, redefine the book’s structure with the Book Map, choose a Graphic Theme, create your cover and much more!
E-books made with StreetLib Write are compatible with any reading device, and optimized for distribution on all international platforms, such as Kobo, Google Play, Amazon and Apple.
3) Kindle Direct Publishing
Let’s get to the last platform we chose: Kindle Direct Publishing. On KDP, you can build your book from the ground up or upload it to the website, just like the previous platforms we saw earlier. There’s a lot that needs to be taken care of before you publish your work, and KDP can help you with that.
The information you enter during the setup will be used in creating your book’s Amazon detail page: this detail page is where readers go to buy your book.
If you want to sell your book as both an e-book and a paperback, be sure to create both formats in your KDP account and link them together.
Sign into KDP to get started right away! Now, entering your book details is the first step of the setup workflow. To begin, just go to your account’s Bookshelf, and then click the “+” button for the type of book you want to start under the “Create a New Title” section.
The next step is to upload your manuscript and preview it to see exactly what your book will look like.
And finally, you’ll get to the last step: the Rights & Pricing section. Here you will set your book’s price, royalty rate, and agree to KDP’s Terms and Conditions before publishing. If you’re unsure about the price you set, don’t worry, because it can be modified at any time after your book is published.