I don’t often write about my publishing process because 1) I’m trying like crazy to stay focused on making up stories (and, in case you don’t already know this: I am an easily distracted person) and 2) everyone’s publishing process is so different these days, and I feel strongly that each writer must find what works for them. So before we go on, know the following:

This is a snapshot of my process for publishing eBooks. It might not be the right way or the best way, but it’s working for me.
This is not a how-to guide. A how-to guide would be a complete book, like this one that I highly recommend: Indie Author Survival Guide. This is just an overview of my thoughts and process.
I’m an indie publisher. My process doesn’t include researching agents, query letters, or other things you might be looking for. I’ve done these things, but I’m not very good at it, so you probably don’t want my advice for these things.
My process assumes that you already have a book that you’ve written, rewritten, and basically gotten it into the best condition you can get it in. We can explore the writing process in a different post.
Not every writer comes to the business with the same skill set. While I might be great at doing my own accounting (I’m a CPA), you might be a talented graphic artist and able to do all of your book covers and marketing materials. Make good use of your skill set and hire the rest.
There are a gazillion great ways for doing things: Pick one and go for it. If the one you pick turns out not to be the best, pick something else and do that.
My process changes from time to time. I will try to come back and update this post as it does.

So, let’s get to it…

Get Thy Book To an Editor

Now that you’ve written, rewritten, and self-edited your book, it’s time to hire a real editor. Even if you are a REAL editor, you need another real editor to edit the book you’ve written. This is not one of the items you can do yourself.

Before you search for the perfect editor, you need to know what kind of editor you need. Have you used a couple of really good critique partners already to get the story/content the way you want it? Maybe you simply want a line edit or a copyedit. Maybe you’re in need of both a content edit and a line edit. Some editors offer both. Some authors prefer to pay two different editors. But be honest with yourself on what your manuscript needs. This is the #1 most important part of the process. Editing cost is also my #1 expense.

There are some amazing editors out there. I use David Gatewood, and I love him like I love pizza (which is a lot)! We’ve developed what I consider a strong writer-editor relationship that continues to grow. This was important to me when I was looking for an editor. I wanted an editor that wasn’t afraid to hurt my feelings a little for the sake of getting a story “right.” I try to have the story mostly “right” before I send a book to him, because he is mainly a line editor for me. But he also offers content editing as a service. You can check out the services he offers on his website. I also like David because he has the best sense of humor when he’s delivering comments about my writing in the margins. For more on his edits, you can read this post by Hugh Howey.

A word of caution about editors: Schedule ahead. I believe David is scheduling six to nine months out at the moment. Every editor works differently. Check their websites. I like to schedule my edits in advance, because deadlines keep me on track and motivated. Currently, I have three books scheduled in the next year. Some indie published authors are more aggressive. Do what’s right for you. To find the names of editors, you can check the acknowledgments of your favorite indie books for suggestions. Or look for suggestions in your favorite writers’ forums.

Don’t Ignore the Need for a Proofreader

I know you’ve written, re-written, edited, and read your manuscript a gazillion times. You’ve sent it to critique partners, beta readers, editors, and you’ve even read the manuscript again after that. YOU STILL NEED A PROOFREADER! I promise! You still have typos in your manuscript that you can no longer see because they are sneaky little assholes. I actually have a couple of amazing power readers on my street team that read my manuscript before I upload it to all of the retailers. Between my last read, my husband’s last read, and those two readers, we find MOST of the typos. And you wouldn’t believe how many different typos we find between the four of us. Not a single person finds every typo. That’s how sneaky those assholes are and how gifted we are at ignoring them. Despite those typo checks, a reader messaged me the other day with yet another typo in my latest release. It happens to EVERYBODY! So, either hire thyself a proofreader or find some trusted readers to do it for you and give them a present after. (Seriously, don’t forget the present!)

Formatting

I format my own books. Some people hire out, and are thrilled with Paul Salvette of BB eBooks. While I’ve never used Paul, I’ve seen his work and can tell you that he does a wonderful job.

Why do I format my own? I like the control of being able to change my book’s back matter or make other changes as often as I want. I also like to understand every step in the publishing process. So while I might eventually hire this step out, I think it’s important to understand the process so that you’ll know your limitations and gain an understanding of a reasonable cost of hiring.

There are a gazillion ways to format your books. There are also a gazillion blog posts on the subject that will give you better step-by-step instructions than I can give. If you’re looking for detailed information on formatting and much more advice about indie publishing purchase Susan Kaye Quinn’s Indie Author Survival Guide. I promise that this guide is worth every penny.

But this blog post is how I do things, right? Until recently I used Scrivener to format my eBooks (both ePub and Mobi files). And it was a good process, except it was a bit more time consuming than I wanted and I was having trouble with the ePub file on Barnes & Noble. Though I still write in Scrivener, I now use Jutoh to format. It took a little time to set up my template and get my process for using Jutoh down, however, I can now format ebooks in minutes and I save myself more than $150 each time I format my own book.

As far as I’m concerned, $150 is not a huge amount to spend to take part of the publishing process off your plate. You have to decide if that price is worth the time it will save you, or if the saving the money is much more valuable.

Get Thyself a Professional Cover

I still think editing is the most important aspect of the publishing process, but cover art runs a very close second. Cover art can be the reason someone will even read the back cover blurb. My philosophy on packaging a book: The cover decides whether someone will pick up a book; what’s on the front will make a person turn it over and read the blurb; a blurb will help a reader decide whether to open to the first page; the first page or sample chapters will help a reader decided to continue; and the rest of the book will help a reader decide whether to continue the series or pick up another book by the same author. THAT is how important cover art is.

My husband and I design my covers. Remember back at the beginning of this post where I said you have to know what skill set you bring to the table? Well, my husband is a photographer and knows Photoshop really well. I’m lucky, I know! He and I are able to discuss and decide on concepts, and after hours and hours of searching stock photography sites, we come up with ideas.

Our first ideas almost never become the final product. (I should really dig out all the cover concepts we tried for Emerge before we settled on the final cover. Maybe another post?) Cover art is difficult, and there have been many times when we’ve wondered if it would be worth it to hire this part of the process out. But we’re both control freaks when it comes to cover art, so we push through and do our best. (My husband has quit on several occasions, but it never sticks and only lasts for a couple of hours. :))

There are many cover artists out there. Like editors, ask other indie authors who they use. You can get a custom cover made or you can purchase a pre-made cover. Purchasing predesigned covers can be a wonderful way to save money. Some sites I like to peruse for predesigned book covers: THIS ONE, THIS ONE, or THIS ONE. As far as book designers, I’ve never used these designers, but I like their work: Okay Creations FB page (Here is Okay Creations’ website, but at the time I was writing this, I couldn’t get it to load) and Jessica Bell.

I have strong opinions about covers. They not only should sell your story, but they also should fit into the sea of books in your genre, while standing out at the same time. You should be able to look at a book cover and know what genre the story is in. I also think an author should think about their own branding when designing a cover. This is an area I’d like to improve on in the future.

This is obviously just an overview of my thoughts on cover art. But I can’t stress enough how important this part of the process is.

Publish Directly To All Retail Sites

This is where opinions vary greatly. And that’s okay, because that is the beauty of indie publishing. YOU get to decide how to run YOUR business. Even my closest indie friends and I vary in our philosophy on where and how to actually publish our books.

Currently, I publish directly to all sites: iBooks, Amazon, Nook, Kobo, and Google Play. By publishing directly (and not through distributor sites like Smashwords or Draft2Digital), I can change prices on retail sites quickly and easily. I also like the sales reporting I get by publishing direct. There are still some problems with this process, like not being able to make a book free on Nook or Amazon directly, but for the most part, publishing directly works for me. (There are some strategic reasons to use Smashwords and Draft2Digital (which I’ve done), but that gets into some advanced areas of publishing.)

I also publish to ALL retail sites. I don’t currently have any books enrolled in Kindle Select, therefore none of my eBooks are available on Kindle Unlimited. I have many readers who prefer to read on iBooks, Nook, Kobo, or Google Play, so at the moment it makes business sense to keep my books available across all retailers. I think there are very good reasons to use Kindle Unlimited as a strategy in your business, but at this time, I am not utilizing this tool.