Self Publishing for Beginners: Tips for Self Publishing a Book

About this video

Dale Roberts gives beginners an ordered overview of self-publishing a book. First, research the market on sites such as Amazon, Apple Books and Barnes & Noble to confirm a buying audience exists before writing a story or nonfiction book no one will read. Second, develop relationships in both author and reader communities where your audience gathers, such as Facebook groups, forums, meet-ups, coffee shops or libraries, participating as a real person rather than only promoting an upcoming book. Third, write the content, accepting his rule that the first draft is always the worst draft and that a book will never be perfect. Next, edit the content with a professional editor to clarify it and make it resonate, then format it for ebook and print. For Amazon KDP he recommends the free Kindle Create program, and notes aggregators Draft2Digital, PublishDrive and Smashwords can format content, though their auto-formatting may not suit picture books or image-heavy books. He advises hiring professionals for heavy lifting instead of trying to do everything, asking other indie authors for referrals. Proofreading is a separate final check after formatting for typos, grammar and the reading experience, including layout details such as spacing and font. On covers, he warns against relying on platform cover creators or grinding through tutorials, and against assuming a Fiverr cover will be excellent just because it is cheap; he recommends a professional designer familiar with your niche, ideally found by referral. He closes by promoting his step-by-step DIY Publishing course for beginners.

Key takeaways

• Research the market first on Amazon, Apple Books and Barnes & Noble to confirm a buying audience before publishing.
• Build genuine relationships in author and reader communities where your audience gathers instead of only self-promoting.
• Write accepting that the first draft is always the worst draft, then use a professional editor to clarify the book.
• Format for ebook and print with free Kindle Create or aggregators like Draft2Digital, PublishDrive and Smashwords, noting limits for image-heavy books.
• Proofread after formatting as a final check, and hire a niche-experienced professional cover designer by referral rather than relying on cheap DIY covers.

Episode details: published April 1, 2019 · 10:24 long. Summary written by Self Growth Videos from the episode itself. Business results and any income figures mentioned are Dale L. Roberts’s own claims, shared for education — they are not typical or guaranteed.

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