How to Publish a Book in 2024: A Beginners’ Guide

So, you want to publish a book! Landing a publishing deal is considerably difficult, but the self-publishing ecosystem has made it easier than ever to write and publish a book online. Not everyone publishes for profit: Writers often publish a book to share their experiences, ideas, and knowledge. 

Even so, your book should be impactful enough to achieve this goal, and there are methods to ensure this. If you want to know how to publish a book that you can sell, we’ve given some steps that will lead you to success.

Here are our tips on how to publish a book in 2024:

1. Perfect your manuscript
2. Get feedback from beta readers and critique groups
3. Decide your mode of publishing
4. Format your book carefully
5. Design an eye-catching book cover
6. Prepare your book metadata
7. Decide the pricing of your book
8. Get the word out and plan your book launch
9. Publish and market your book
10. Stay informed and flexible

The process of publishing a book begins with a complete manuscript. So, if you only have a basic idea for a book, you should probably learn how to write a book first. You can only become a best-selling author once you know how to write and publish a book.

Without further ado, let’s take a closer look at the steps to publishing a book.

1. Perfect your manuscript

One of the most crucial steps in the process of publishing a book is refining your manuscript. Editing and proofreading can transform an author’s work, elevating the clarity, flow, and impact of their narrative, ensuring that their story resonates deeply with its readers. A skilled editor from your niche can help you better understand what readers respond to, improving your chances of selling your book.

Errors, no matter how small, undermine your hard work and lower its value in the mind of your reader. Since you’re hoping to crack a book deal, offering the best possible version of your book is a good idea!

Book editing is a layered process that starts with literary and structural edits and ends with proofreading. Take a look:

Once you have a refined version of your original manuscript, it’s time to get a review or feedback for your writing. 

2. Get feedback from beta readers and critique groups

Independent of whether you engage in professional book editing services, receiving insightful feedback is essential to the book publishing process. As you navigate through various stages of manuscript refinement (it’s common for authors to revise several times), circulate your draft among a group of reliable peers for their perspectives.

To encourage candid responses, consider having your beta readers and critique partners use an anonymous feedback form that focuses on key aspects of your writing such as plot, characterization, rhythm, and style. Additionally, guide your reviewers to not only identify areas of concern but also to suggest possible improvements.

3. Decide your mode of publishing

In 2024, there are primarily three routes to publishing: traditional publishing, self-publishing, and hybrid publishing. Traditional publishing involves securing a contract from a publishing house. Self-publishing means you undertake the publishing process independently, while hybrid publishing blends elements of both. 

Research the pros and cons of self-publishing vs. traditional publishing to decide which path aligns with your goals and resources and then decide how to publish your own book. If you want to get published traditionally, you should research book publishing companies and literary agents so you can start networking. Self-published writers can instead focus on hiring individuals or services to help them elevate their books. 

Regardless of how you select how to publish a book, the steps mentioned below are important for the process.

4. Format your book carefully

Formatting a book is the process of laying out your text and graphic elements onto a page. This involves specifics such as the font size and style, text alignment, spacing, and page numbers. A traditional publisher undertakes book typesetting, but writers can still opt for a basic formatting template while sending their manuscript to an agent.

Self-publishing writers, of course, must ensure that their book is professionally formatted according to the print or eBook format of their choice. If you’re only publishing an eBook, you can use one of several free formatting templates available online. The best option is to hire a professional typesetter, but it might increase the cost to publish a book.

If you’re typesetting your book on your own, here are some things to remember:

1. Use reliable software and templates; try out a few before you choose one.
2. Select the best page size for your genre. (While publishing a novel, for example, you’re more likely to use the 6×9-inch page setup than the 7×10 one.)
3. Leave a margin of 0.5 or 1 inch on all sides, especially for print books.
4. Choose your font based on both aesthetic and readability.
5. Ensure that your book has an attractive and reader-friendly layout, with well-placed images.
6. Use well-designed and high-resolution images.
7. Maintain consistency in your heading style, margin, spacing, and image placement.
8. Proofread multiple times to root out any formatting errors.

Now that your book’s interior has been designed, it’s time to create a stellar cover. After all, how do you publish a book that sells? By creating an attractive cover design!

5. Design an eye-catching book cover

A book cover design must hook potential readers while also reflecting the book’s theme, style, or mood. This can be achieved through high-quality visuals or inventive typography suitable for your genre. When you’re learning how to publish a novel, for instance, you’ll notice that each subgenre uses a certain color palette and typography.

Romance novels use warm colors and informal typography while fantasy covers use darker shades and intricate, runic typography. Observe the following book cover examples to understand how the design language differs across various genres:

To understand how these decisions play out, you should be familiar with the basic elements of book cover design. Your book cover needs to be professional and polished, so it’s a good idea to hire skilled authors or book designer services. Their expertise can help you create a cover that’s not only well-designed but also marketable.

There are three things to remember when working on your book cover design:

1. 1. Give your designer an informative and specific brief about your book’s content and your vision for the cover.
   2. Ask for a design that’s suitable for print as well as eBook formats, accounting for thumbnails and grayscale. 
   3. If you’re publishing multiple books in the same niche, develop a brand by using a unique visual style or typography. (For example, fantasy author TJ Klune’s book covers share the same visual style or typography, if not both!)

You may have realized by now that branding is an important part of book marketing. Remember that a writing career isn’t just about learning how to publish your book. It’s also about some good old salesmanship!

6. Prepare your book metadata

Don’t be intimidated by the term “metadata”! It is simply a list of details about your book that can help potential readers find it online. Naturally, it plays a crucial role in the publishing and distribution of a book, so you should know the metadata basics. 

Here’s a short list of key details that comprise your book’s metadata:

1. Book title: Create a title that is intriguing and memorable but also captures the essence of your book.
2. Book description: Summarize your book in simple language, only adding flair where it’s impactful. Incite your readers’ curiosity but don’t forget to account for keywords! 
3. Keywords: Think about the phrases potential readers might google to find your book. Select these key phrases on the publishing platform so it can slot and showcase your book accordingly. 
4. Categories and genre: Choose the appropriate categories and subcategories for your book to help readers easily find it on retail platforms.
5. ISBN (International Standard Book Number): Obtain an ISBN to register and place your book on online platforms, bookstores, or libraries.
6. BISAC (Book Industry Standards and Communications) code: Select the most fitting BISAC code to help retailers categorize your book by genre and subject matter.

All this will take your time, but what about the cost? An important question that authors have is how much does it cost to publish a book. Let’s have a look at how you can decide the pricing of your book.

7. Decide the pricing of your book

Depending on how much does it cost to publish a book, you can decide the pricing of your book. When deciding on the pricing of your book, consider factors such as your book’s genre, length, and target audience, as well as the pricing of similar books in your market. Research what readers are willing to pay for books similar to yours and adjust according to your strategy: higher prices might yield higher returns per sale but could limit the number of overall sales, while lower prices might encourage more readers to take a chance on a new author. 

For self-publishing authors, consider the cost of production on different platforms, as these will affect your royalties. It’s also important to think about your long-term goals—are you looking to maximize immediate income, or build a readership? Remember, pricing can always be adjusted over time based on the book’s performance and feedback. Keep an eye on trends and be flexible, adjusting your strategy as needed.

8. Get the word out and plan your book launch

If you engage with online communities throughout the book-writing process, this part will get much easier. This is the time to leverage your mailing list and offer readers exclusive content to generate buzz. If you’ve managed to network with influencers, try to land an interview or two about your upcoming book launch!

Online promotion, however, has its limits. There are few things as powerful as word of mouth! Assemble a team of friends, colleagues, and family members to help you plan the book launch. Ask them to promote your book in their circles, both offline and online. Keep your website or blog busy throughout the launch week, organizing events such as giveaways and writing contests. If you have the numbers, throw a launch party both as a promotional event and to thank people who helped you along the way.

A successful book launch can happen only as a result of months of consistent effort. This may be boring work, but it’ll pay off in the long run!

9. Publish and market your book

Now all that’s left to do is upload your book and metadata on the platforms of your choice. Most self-publishing companies in 2024 have made it fairly easy for writers to publish their books online. All you have to do is upload the file and enter details such as the book title, description, keywords, and categories.

If you’re publishing through various retailers, you can hire an aggregator to handle the task. Their experience with publishing means that you don’t have to second-guess yourself at every turn and can focus on promotional activities instead!

10. Stay Informed and Flexible:

The publishing industry is continually changing. Stay informed about the latest trends, tools, and opportunities. Be prepared to adapt your strategy and take advantage of new technologies or platforms that might help your book succeed.

Once your book has been published, it’s time to market your book and boost sales. Start by obtaining a good set of reviews on your book. Readers are more likely to entertain books with a decent number of positive reviews, so that’s your baseline for success.

Ideally, the book launch should bolster your social media and blogging efforts. At any rate, continue engaging with your audience and offering them valuable content. Once you reach a certain level of sales, you can run paid ads on Amazon, Facebook, or Goodreads to reach new readers.

Meanwhile, keep working on your next book and repeat the process all over again. Now that you know how to publish your book, we hope the journey ahead will be easier. All the best!

As providers of expert self-publishing services, we love creating useful resources for budding writers. Here are some more of our articles about writing and publishing: