Thank You Hey guys if you have made it this far, congratulations. I hope this information was informative. I know when I was doing my research it was

Thank You Hey guys if you have made it this far, congratulations. I hope this information was informative. I know when I was doing my research it was a longer process unless I wanted to buy a book about it. I didn t buy a book because what if it didn t have all the information I needed. That s why I created this free ebook. Also since this book is made of five parts I plan on taking it a step further and doing YouTube video s. If you are interested in that make sure you are subscribed. 28

Part 5/The Wrap Up 27

Bookstores I would recommend you looking into local book stores in your state. You want to get your book out there as much as possible. My books are now sold at Verbatim Books located in San Diego, CA 92104. **P.S. They were sold there; due to the military I am now living in Virginia. Launch Party You do not have to have a book launch party but I wanted to combine my first book and birthday together. I had to book the restaurant which was tender greens. And I was lucky enough for them to waive the deposit. It was a great turn out. It was just another way for me to connect with people who were interested in my books. 26

createspace. When you are ready to publish your book you can go back to that same channels tab and reselect them. EBook/Amazon I am setting up my ebook through amazon, also known as KDP. www.kdp.amazon.com This is the same as createspace. You follow the steps to set up your book. This can take up to 48 hours to be approved so I advise setting your book up for preorder. Just because it is set up for preorder doesn t mean you have to do pre-sale. I set my book up but didn t promote it. On my book release date, I set the price to $0.99. I do have different plans for Hidden Secrets make sure to check that video out on my YouTube channel. Cost What you all have been waiting for. How much did I spend? Maybe over a $1,000. Now you do not have to do every step I did, but I wanted the best for my first book. Copyright Make sure to copyright your work, so it is protected at all times. Technically when writing your book it is protected, but if you ever have to go to court you want it documented. https://www.copyright.gov 25

Print It is time to set your book up for print. Once your formatting is done, your cover is done you can now upload your manuscript to createspace to be reviewed. You first start off by clicking add a new title. Once you have done this then you can click get started and it is that simple. Createspace is very friendly when it comes to setting up your manuscript. After you have uploaded your manuscript it takes about twenty four hours before they get back to you with their review. After they have reviewed your book they will email you. You just log into your account and go from there. Once you review your book and check for any errors you are ready to print your proof. I highly recommend this before order fifty books, because this will just cause you to lose money. During this ordering process you can have it rushed to you or you can do the regular shipping. Once you receive your book look at it from front to back and make all the corrections you need to make and if no corrections are needed you are ready to print for customers. Once you have approved your book it is time to order copies to sale. You must deselect all the platforms to order a bundle of your books. This is under the channels tab on 24

Part 4/Print & Demand/Cost 23

Not only am I writing my romance books, but I do weekly blog post, and scheduled YouTube videos. Same time every week so that my followers can take time out of their day and remember the time and day. By the way my YouTube schedule is Monday and Thursday 5AM pacific standard time. 22

Branding: Logo/Slogan This step is not necessary if you just want to write. But lets be honest having a logo/slogan helps me get myself out there. Also since you are going the self-publishing route just remember you do everything yourself. When it comes to branding you actually do not have to do this step. I choose to do this step because I knew that I wanted to build a career out of writing. I had Dream Diver Designs create my logo and slogan. www.dreamdiverdesigns.com She did an amazing job, so go check her out if you need something done. Her pricing is really affordable. Promoting Your Book When you began to write, you should have different foundations to stand on. Well what do you mean by that? For example, for me I have been promoting my book through Instagram, Facebook, Website, Tumblr, Snapchat, YouTube, and Twitter. Now you do not need all of these social media s but you want to find your target of people and promote those the most. For example, I promote more on Facebook and Instagram, because that s my target zone. Now that may change in the near future but who knows. And you have to be consistent on everything. 21

could get the swipe machine for free for purchases on the go. Make sure you keep track of these receipts too because you will also need it for taxes. WordPress/Domain Now it is time to create a website. At this point you should have a blog where you can begin to build a following. If you plan to build a website just to look more professional, then of course you have to buy a domain. For example, if your tight on cash you can buy a domain on www.godaddy.com for about $9.99 or more just depending on when you buy it. I chose my host through WordPress. Now remember when I said if you are tight for cash you can wait on a domain. For example you can do www.jasminebartonmoore.wordpress.com. For me I chose to use www.jasminebartonmoore.com because my name was already too long. I actually got my website after finishing my first editing stage. I wanted it for my blog host. Make sure you go and check out my website for weekly blogs. Vista Print I ordered my bookmarks and business cards off of here. Along with some other merchandise. I advise looking into this website. www.vistaprint.com 20

LLC/Limited Liability Company I have always dreamed of being a successful writer and being my own boss. What did I do next? I got my business license in the state of California. If this is your plans, all I did was go to google and type in LLC for California. It was about $70 plus another $20 after you get your name approved. Pick a name you are willing to stick to forever considering this is your business. http://www.sos.ca.gov Create a Business Binder In order to keep up with all of my expenses I brought a threering binder with dividers. I labeled my divider by the months. Anytime I pay for something I print out the receipt and put it the binder. You don t have to do it this way but when you start off self publishing it is a lot of you spending your own money and you want to keep track of it so when taxes comes around everything is in order. Bank Accounts If you have been approved for your LLC congratulations, now onto the bank account part. At this point you want to start looking at banks that will fit your need. I went with Chase Bank, they had some pretty good reviews and I really liked that you 19

Createspace ISBN Tip: If you plan on turning this into a hobby or you just want to get your book out there createspace does offer free ISBN numbers for your book. I believe they also offer services for covers if you want to design it yourself. If that is your plan you can skip the rest of this section. If not keep on reading. Just remember if you use createspace ISBN you lose certain rights to your book. www.createspace.com ISBN Bowker Bowker is the ISBN s for the United States. If you plan on writing more than one book make sure to purchase ten of the ISBN s it s a better bundle package. One ISBN is $125 but ten ISBN s are $295. www.bowker.com Publishing House I learned that if you want to self-publish on other platforms like Ingram spark you need a publishing company. Now if this is not your plan, then of course you don t need to do this. But I wanted to make sure my book could be eligible for all platforms. So what did I do? I created my own publishing house. www.jasminebartonmoorepublishinghouse.com 18

Part 3/ Business 17

and convert your own ebook and book. I just didn t have the time to learn, but I hope in the near future to do this all on my own. I heard www.diyformats.com is a good one to check out. 15

Cover Design I did a lot of research on cover design. I looked and saw how costly it was. At first there was a point and time I thought to design my own cover. Trust me when I say that was a very low point for me I barely know how to draw stick people. But I was content, I was willing to design my own cover. I started doing more research and I learned that if you have never done a cover design in your life then you shouldn t attempt to start. Or if you learn to do it make sure your book can sale. I went back to the drawing board and found Damonza. They are the ones who created my cover and I plan to use them in the future. www.damonza.com Formatting Maybe it s just me but I don t like spending time on things I can pay other people to create. I also used www.damonza.com for my formatting. At this point I am pretty sure you have checked out their prices. The one thing I like about them is you can pay half up front and the rest when the job is done. So if you are short on cash you can save some money. Also if you are not satisfied with their service you do get your money back. But also, there are free templates out there that you can download 14

Part 2/Book Design and Formatting 13

5) How can I find my beta reader? -For Sparks Fly I only had one person as my beta reader, but for Hidden Secrets I have recruited ten beta readers this time. 6) Should I make my beta reader sign a NDA form? -I thought about it, but why, your writing should be protected by copywriting it. Picking A Title I feel like this one is self explanatory. You pick a title. The hardest thing for me when it comes to picking a title is I can not pick a title for my book unless its half way done or all the way done. When you do come up with a title of course research it on the platform you plan on selling your book. 11

-For Sparks Fly I edited four or five times before I gave it to my friend who critiqued and edited it, she is also one of my beta reader. You should edit your novel until you can not change another word. Edit to the point where you know the book from front to back, inside and out. Edit to the point where that is all you think about. 2) What is a beta reader? - A beta reader can be a friend or family, someone you trust close enough to you to read your manuscript. 3) How should I prepare my manuscript for my beta reader? -What I like to do is I go out and buy a binder. I already own a whole puncher, printer and all that jazz. After I print my book I assemble it and put it in the binder. I prepare simple questions for my beta reader, just so that they know what to be on the look out for. 4) How long does my beta reader keep my manuscript? - I like to give my beta reader deadlines. This all goes back to your schedule you made in the beginning. Just make sure your beta reader is on the same page as you. 10

needs structure and a Pantser is someone who can just write no planning involved. I am a pantser. I do at least write down the characters and the setting but that is pretty much it. If you are a person who likes to plan then I do suggest making an outline. I am known as a free bird writer. Meaning most of the time I will not sit down and write out my plot and how characters will die, or meet. The most that I am writing down are the character s name. 3.) How many words should I write? - As I mentioned above, I just write. My genre of writing is suspense romance, but when I am writing, if I feel the story is over then I end it. And it also depends on the audience you are trying to aim for. Editing/Beta Reader Yes! You have finally finished the book, but now it is time to edit, edit, edit. I thought the writing was the hard part, nope it s the editing. Depending on how long your writing piece is, it can vary on your editing time. Questions I get. 1) How many times should I edit? 9

Writing The First step you should do before thinking about publishing, is sit down and write. Whatever you are working on you can do it, just sit down and write. Questions I always get. 1) How long should it take to write a novel? However long it takes you, but remember sit down and come up with a plan. Map out a schedule and stick to it. You can do it I believe in you. -For me it took about two months to write Sparks Fly. Once I set my mind to something its no stopping me. That s with sitting down and coming up with a plan to succeed. If you are determined about being an author and getting your book complete, then you will make the time. I work a full time job, YouTube, Blogging, plus I have other activities that I participate in on a daily basis. I don t mean to toot my own horn, but toot, toot! 2) What if I come to a dead end in my story? This is a little bit tricky for me because when it comes to my actual writing style, I just write. There are two types of writers, a plotter and pantsers. A Plotter is someone who 8

Part 1/Writing Process 7

Dear Reader Page I have created this free ebook for you guys, a step by step free ebook on self-publishing. I am specifically covering things I experienced. I want to go over my ups and downs and the things I had to go through just to get where I am today. Enjoy this free ebook. And please lets be respectful and not copyright any of this information. 6

Self -Publishing 101: Steps I took To Succeed 4

SELF-PUBLISHING 101 AUTHOR JASMINE BARTON-MOORE 2