I had been working as a developmental editor for years at that point, so I had a pretty good understanding of the industry and the various publishing options available to me. The book I was writing was very niche, and I didn’t have any desire to commercialize it. I just wanted to write the book I wanted to write and make it available to people who would appreciate it for what it was.

So at that stage in my career and with that particular book, self-publishing on Amazon was undoubtedly the way to go.

Of course, even with my experience and the years I had spent helping other authors navigate both the self-publishing and traditional publishing paths, I still found myself feeling completely overwhelmed when it came time to put my book out into the world.

Theoretically, I knew exactly how to self-publish a book. But this was the first time I had done so for myself, which meant I had one heck of a learning curve ahead of me.

What is Kindle Direct Publishing?

As you might know by now, writers have several different self-publishing platforms to choose from. I chose to go through Amazon Kindle Direct Publishing (KDP). 

For me, it was a simple choice. KDP (which was known as CreateSpace back when I published my book) was one of the more established platforms, with countless reviews from other authors verifying how seamless the process was and even outlining step-by-step directions for publishing. I liked that publishing through KDP meant my book would automatically be available through Amazon’s Kindle Unlimited Program, and since selling through Amazon was a priority of mine, publishing through their platform made the most sense.

Is Kindle Direct Publishing really free?

Self-publishing through KDP is free. But as with all publishers, KDP does take a commission for each book sold — what you pay to them comes out on the back end, after your book has been purchased by an eager reader.

It’s also important to know that while the answer to the question, “Is it free to publish a book on Amazon?” may be yes, the reality isn’t exactly that simple. 

KDP doesn’t charge anything to self-publish, but if you’re hoping to make money off the book you’ve written (even if you’re just hoping to get it into the hands of readers beyond your friends and family), you’ll likely have to make a financial investment.

Formatting your book, edits, cover designs, building an author platform — you typically have to pay for these services to create a quality book. And while you could technically skip out these steps or do everything yourself, that would likely result in a finished product that contains errors and appears less professional. Which can impact your ability to sell the book once it’s published.

So yes, Kindle self-publishing allows you to publish your book for free. But remember that getting to that point is rarely free. And once you’ve published with Amazon, the company will be entitled to its share of every book you sell. Of course, this is true with any self-publishing platform. 

So if you’re wondering, “How do I publish on Kindle?” let’s get started!

How to publish a book on Amazon using KDP

I’m here to save you some of the research I had to do by walking you through the steps of Kindle Direct Publishing. 

Here’s a step-by-step guide for how to publish a book using Kindle Direct Publishing.

Format your book for KDP

Once your book is written, edited, revised and edited again (as many times as it takes to get it right), you are ready to format for publication.

Amazon Kindle Direct Publishing makes both ebook and paperback print-on-demand publishing possible. Unfortunately, each of these options requires a different file format.

For ebook publishing: KDP uses a file format called “mobi.” This is a different type of file than used by other ebook publishers. While KDP does offer step-by-step directions for ebook formatting, this can be a bit of a complicated process, especially if you’re not comfortable with coding. I hired an ebook formatter for this step and considered it money well spent to avoid the headache and frustration of having to figure it out.

For paperback publishing: Amazon self-publishing offers step-by-step directions for preparing your file, and doing so is much simpler than preparing an ebook file. I am not especially tech-savvy myself, but I figured out the formatting of my own paperback version using KDPs instructions. That said, it took me several hours to do so. If you don’t have the time or patience to commit to that project, a book formatter can also help you with this version.

Set up your KDP account

Start by visiting the KDP registration page. You’ll sign up with your Amazon credentials, or your email, if you don’t have an Amazon account. Once signed in, you’ll want to click on “Your Account.”

From here, update all the pertinent details in the Author/Publisher Information Tab, the Getting Paid tab and the Tax Information tab.

Complete this information prior to publishing so Amazon can pay you for the books you sell.

Input your book details

Once your account details are established, you can return to the KDP home page, where you will find the “Create a New Title” heading. From here, you can select “Kindle eBook” or “Paperback.”

Regardless of which option you pick, you’ll be brought to a similar page asking you to input your book details:

Language: From a drop-down menu, select the language you would like your book to be published in.

Book title: Enter your book title (and subtitle if you have one) exactly as it appears on your book cover.

Series: If your book is part of a larger series, identify the series name and what number in the series this book will be.

Edition: If you have previously published this book and are updating it now, identify which edition you are on here.

Author: This is you!

Contributors: Did you have a co-author? Does your book include illustrations? Did you have an editor you felt was invaluable to your process, or a photographer whose pictures are prominently featured? This is where you would identify those people who helped to make your book a possibility.

Description: You know that initial blurb you read when looking for books on Amazon? It’s one of the first things to show up, and it’s usually what helps you decide whether or not to purchase the book. That’s the description you’re asked to provide here. Similar to back cover copy, you want to describe your book in a way that will leave people desperate to read more.

Publishing rights: So long as you wrote the book and the work is entirely your own,  select the “I own the copyright” option.

Keywords: The keywords you select are an important part of your marketing strategy. These words will help establish how easily searchable your book is and how often your book appears in the feeds of those looking for something just like what you wrote. Out of all the fields you are asked to complete here, the keywords really are the most valuable to your ultimate success. For this reason, make sure the keywords you select are true to your book without being too generic. Focus on your setting, your characters and your overarching themes. 

For instance, a book about a teenage witch trying to save some future version of the world might do well with the keywords “magic,” “witch,” “dystopian,” “YA,” “strong female lead,” “end of the world,” and “teen hero.” Or, if we were going to publish this article as a book through KDP, these might be the keywords we would select. KDP offers some great advice on how to choose the best keywords for optimal searchability. 

Categories: Just like in a physical book shop, Amazon has categories people search through. Children’s books, YA novels, historical fiction… what category does your book fit in? And where might you find it in a bookstore?

Age and grade range: Who do you imagine your typical reader to be?

Pre-order: You have the option of publishing your book right away, or setting it up for pre-order. Immediate publishing might be best for authors who have been promising their readers a pub-date for a while and have only now just finished their book. Otherwise, choosing pre-order can often be a better marketing strategy, allowing you to build hype for your book in the lead-up to your actual publishing date, and allowing your readers to support you before the book is even available.

Upload your manuscript and book cover

Once you’ve finished filling in your book details, you’ll be taken to the Book Content section. 

Here you’ll have to work through a few final sections: 

Digital Rights Management (DRM): DRM is basically a system meant to protect authors from the unauthorized distribution of their books. While you might be fine with readers sharing your work widely and elect not to have this protection for your book, DRM helps to ensure you get paid when people read and enjoy your work. Which means it’s generally a good program to opt into.

File upload: You can choose to upload now or later, but you will have to do so before your publication date — hopefully at least several days before so you can have some time to preview the finished product and check for any errors. Once you’re ready to upload, simply select that option and KDP will walk you through the necessary steps.

Book cover: You have the option of uploading a cover that has already been created or launching KDPs cover creator. Using the cover creator can be fun, but it is also time-intensive and might not be the best option for writers who don’t have an artistic eye.

Book preview: Once you have your manuscript and cover uploaded, preview the finished product before publishing.

ISBN: Ebooks do not require an ISBN, but print books do. The good news is KDP is set up to provide you a free ISBN if you haven’t already purchased one yourself. Simply select “Assign me a free KDP ISBN,” and they will take care of it for you.

Print options: For the print version of your book, select the type of paper that should be used, the trim size, bleed settings and paperback cover finish. The default options are the most commonly used and typically what you should go with for a standard print manuscript. If, however, your book contains a lot of photos or illustrations, you may want to select better suited options for the book you are planning on publishing.

Establish your pricing: How much will your self-published book cost?

The final step of your Amazon self-publishing journey is establishing your book pricing. 

KDP offers some wonderful pricing support and advice. For ebook pricing, you simply want to ensure you’ll still make a profit after KDP takes their cut (unless you are using some limited time promotional pricing to get your book into as many hands as possible). With print pricing, you need to consider not only KDPs cut, but also the cost of printing, which will be deducted from the overall price before you receive your cut.

Pricing can be complicated because you want to price low enough to appeal to readers but high enough to still make a profit. It may be helpful to look at other books in your genre to get a sense of where you might want to price your book. The good news is you can revisit your pricing later and reset your overall cost if you find you haven’t priced correctly one way or the other.

What about editing after the book is published?

You can absolutely edit your book after it has been published. Simply revisit your KDP account, click the ellipsis next to your book in your bookshelf, and select “edit book content.”

Keep in mind: Just because you can edit your book doesn’t mean you should rush to publication assuming you’ll just fix errors later. Every reader will judge the content in front of them — and leave reviews based on that content. So make sure your book is in the best shape you can possibly get it in before publishing.

The edit option is always there, but you only get one chance to make a first impression on your readers. Don’t rely on them to be your editors and point you to the sections you should  improve.

Can you make money writing a book and self-publishing on Amazon?

This is the question almost all of my developmental editing clients ask me. And I’m going to give you the same answer I give them: It depends.

That answer is then almost always immediately followed up by: It isn’t easy, but it is possible.

Very few people get rich off writing a book. And while getting rich may not be your goal, it’s important to understand that there is also a very small percentage of authors who even manage to break even on their publishing endeavors.

This is especially true for first-time authors. 

By the time you figure in the hours you spent on writing and editing, the money you spent on hiring editors, formatters, and cover designers, and whatever funds you may have dedicated to promoting your book — an author often needs to sell thousands of books to see a return on their investment.

That’s not an easy goal to accomplish. Especially if you don’t already have an established social media presence. 

You can make money writing a book, but it takes more than just writing a phenomenal book people don’t want to put down — it also takes having a phenomenal marketing plan, and knowing how to get your book into the hands of the people who will best help you to spread the word about it.

Just know it’s not as simple as hitting publish and raking the money in. Having realistic expectations about what success means to you, and how you plan to achieve that success, is the best way to avoid disappointment in your publishing endeavors.

However, writing (and selling) a book is a major accomplishment.

Once your book is published, take some time to celebrate. You’ve accomplished something huge — a goal most people won’t ever achieve themselves. You wrote a book, figured out how to self-publish on Amazon, and put your words out into the world for everyone to enjoy. That’s a big deal!

Photo by Vlada Karpovich from Pexels

Sure, you knew it would be a lot of work. But now that you’re nearing the finish line, you realize how many extra steps you’ve had to take that you never before realized would be required. 

We’re not just talking about book editing, revising and how to format a book. We’re also talking about choosing a self-publishing platform like Amazon self-publishing, marketing, and yes…getting an ISBN. 

What is an ISBN? 

Every book that ever makes it to print and becomes available for public sale, whether through traditional or self-publishing, requires an International Standard Book Number (ISBN). 

These are unique 13-digit numbers (previously 10 digits, prior to December 2006) that help identify your book to libraries and book sellers, both online and on the street. The ISBN system is internationally used and recognized and the numbers within the ISBN represent five key elements:

• A standard prefix
• The country, geographical region, or language the book was published within
• The publisher or imprint responsible for the book
• The edition or format of the book
• A single digit used to mathematically validate the rest of the number

What isn’t an ISBN?

An ISBN does not represent your copyright to the material. It doesn’t provide any legal protection to your creative work at all. It is purely an number meant to help identify your book to distributors, libraries, and booksellers around the world.   

Why do you need an ISBN?

If you want your book to be sold and read anywhere beyond your own garage, you need an ISBN. 

Without one, those already mentioned distributors, libraries and retailers won’t consider it a real book, and you will never have the opportunity to market your words to a larger audience. 

How many ISBNs will you need?

Different formats require different ISBNs, even for the same book title. So if you are publishing a hard cover, a soft cover, an audiobook, and an e-book version, your book would require four ISBNs. 

Additionally, if you make substantial changes to your book after publication so that the updated version would be considered a new edition, if you change the title or subtitle, or if you publish a version in larger print, you will also need a new ISBN for that. And if your book is published in multiple languages, each language version will need its own ISBN. 

As you can see, a single book title can require quite a few ISBNs if you are aiming for multiple versions of that title. But for most self-publishers, an e-book and paperback ISBN will suffice. 

Using a free ISBN

Once your book is completed, and you’ve selected a self-publishing platform, your first step should be to check to see if your self-publishing platform will provide a free ISBN as part of the publishing process. Some do, some don’t. 

And in some cases, you may be able to receive a free ISBN for some versions of your book, but will need to purchase the ISBN for others (for instance, you may be able to get a free ISBN for your ebook, but have to purchase one for your paperback). 

You might want to consider whether you will ever want to publish your book through a different platform. If that is a possibility, purchasing an ISBN may be a better option, as those provided for free through publishing platforms are generally only good through that platform. 

If you want to be able to carry your ISBN with your book wherever it is published, it might be worthwhile to purchase one. Even if you could otherwise get it for free through your publishing platform. 

How to purchase your ISBN

The good news is, obtaining an ISBN for your book is a relatively simple process. 

• If you are located in the United States, you will want to purchase yours through Bowker.
• If you decide to purchase your own ISBN, Canadian residents can obtain theirs for free through ISBN Canada.
• And those living in the UK, Ireland or British Overseas Territories can purchase their ISBNs through the Nielsen ISBN Store.
• If you are located anywhere else, the International ISBN Agency can help you locate which agency you should be purchasing through. There are over 150 ISBN agencies in 200 countries, so rest assured there is one available to you. 

How much does an ISBN cost?

The current cost of an ISBN through Bowker is $125 for a single ISBN number. However, Bowker also offers packages for those who see themselves doing more self-publishing in the future, or authors who are planning on publishing their book in various formats. You can purchase 10 ISBNS for $295. There are also options for purchasing 100 or 1,000 ISBNs at a time, but these are generally best suited for small publishers intent on publishing quite a few books over the next several years. 

If you do purchase a package with multiple ISBNs, you do not have to assign them right way. You can save your additional ISBNs until your next book is ready for publication. Your ISBN numbers will never go bad or expire. 

What to do with your ISBN once you have it

Once you have your ISBN, you should register it through Bowkerlink (or look for the registration site affiliated with your national ISBN agency). From there, you simply need to place your ISBN on your copyright page and provide it to your self-publishing platforms. You will also want to publish it on your back cover, above the barcode. 

That’s it!

Your book is ready to be distributed to libraries and retailers. Or at least, it will be once you complete the publishing process!

Photo via Dean Drobot/ Shutterstock 

So, I pursued my degree in psychology and set out to change the world that way.

But when I was 26 years old, I had a health crisis that robbed me of my fertility and left me bankrupted by medical debt. I felt lost and alone, completely broken down by the events that had destroyed the life I’d always wanted. So I started doing the only thing I knew how to do to help me through the pain of all that.

I wrote.

What started as a blog in 2009 eventually became a memoir in 2013. I self-published the day before my 30th birthday, and Single Infertile Female became a success by all self-publishing measures — and it helped me launch a full-time writing career.

Still, none of it came easy. Self-publishing a book is a deeply involved endeavor. At least, if you want to do it right. Anyone can string some words together and hit publish. But doing so won’t earn you money or accolades.

You have to be willing to take the process seriously to find that kind of success. 

How to self-publish a book

Today I work as a writer and developmental editor, guiding as many as 20 clients a year through the self-publishing process. 

I’ve created a list I give to all my clients so that they know up front what this process will require of them:

• Build your social media presence
• Prepare your draft
• Design your book cover
• Polish your draft
• Select a platform for self-publishing a book
• Format
• Establish copyright
• Obtain an ISBN
• Publish
• Market
• Write another book

Let’s talk about what each of these items means to a hopeful author wondering how to self-publish a book.

1. Build your social media presence

The truth is, you could write the greatest novel known to man. But without the use of social media, you’ll never be able to get it into anyone’s hands.

As a self-published author, marketing and building an author platform is your responsibility. 

You won’t have a team behind you taking on this task, so you need to be prepared to do that work yourself — which means starting now with your social media presence. You don’t have to be on every platform, but you do need to start connecting and building a public network as soon into your publishing journey as possible.

These people will be your potential readers, and cheering section, one day. Part of marketing a book comes down to first being able to market yourself. And that usually starts online.

2. Prepare your draft

You may think your first draft is flawless, but I promise you…it’s not. 

Self-publishing often gets a bad rap because some authors don’t take the time to truly polish their work. But in the traditional publishing world, a book might go through as many as 10 rounds of revisions before making it to print.

Hold yourself to a similar standard.

Consider hiring a developmental editor to help you work through some of the big picture issues with your book. Then utilize beta readers and critique partners to help you pinpoint any other problems you may have missed. Revise, bring in another set of eyes, and revise again. 

You will never regret taking one more stab at making your manuscript better, but you may very well regret leaping to publish too soon.

3. Design your book cover

If you’ve got some expert-level graphic design skills, fantastic! Get to designing your cover. But most authors lack those skills and will need to hire a professional to create something that will tell the story of their book in image form.

Because remember: Plenty of people do judge a book by its cover.

If you don’t know where to find a good cover designer, start by asking for recommendations in various online writer’s groups. You can also look inside the cover of indie books that have designs you like — most will credit the cover designer in those first few pages that contain other publishing information. 

4. Polish your draft (again)

Once you’re confident your revisions are complete, it’s time to send your book off for line editing and proofreading. 

Please know that no matter how skilled you are at spelling and grammar, you will still need a professional editor to catch your errors. Because everyone makes errors within their own work, even editors themselves. 

The human eye is amazing at glossing over mistakes when you know what you meant to say — so don’t trust yourself to catch those mistakes when the time comes.

5. Select a route to self-publishing a book

There are a lot of different options for self-publishing a book, all of which provide different benefits and drawbacks to consider. 

I personally published through Amazon self-publishing with CreateSpace years ago, because it made selling through Amazon simple. CreateSpace has since merged with Kindle Direct Publishing (KDP), if that’s a route you want to consider. Apple’s iBooks can also be great for e-book only printing, and Barnes & Noble Press and Kobo are other options as well.

As you try to decide which option is right for you, ask yourself these questions:

• Can you achieve your goals through this platform? (Do you care about Print books vs. ebooks? Because some platforms are e-book only. If you want the option of having a physical book, you’ll need to look for print-on-demand services as well).
•  What percentage of each sale will the company take?
• What protections do they offer to their authors?
• Where will your book be available for sale?
• Does the platform provide an ISBN?

6. Format

When you finally feel like your book is ready and you’ve selected a platform to publish through, you’ll still need to format your book to that platform’s specifications. 

Most offer in-depth guidelines, but e-book formatting, especially, can sometimes be tricky. I formatted my own print on demand documents, but hired someone to format my e-book, mostly because I didn’t trust myself to set up the coding for things like clickable titles correctly. 

You can find a good e-book formatter in the same way you found your cover designer: by asking groups of self-published authors for their recommendations.

7. Establish copyright

I remember all too well staring at my screen and wondering, “How do I copyright my book?” But the truth is, whether or not to copyright your book is a personal choice. 

Under U.S. copyright law, written works are protected as soon as you create them. But if you want to register your copyright (and there are various reasons to consider taking this step, to include the fact that it may make your case easier to prove if you do have to go to court), you can do so by visiting copyright.gov and selecting “Literary Works.”

The cost for officially copyrighting a book is $85.

8. Obtain an ISBN

How to get an ISBN number for a self-published book is a question that can be answered a few different ways. 

Some self-publishing platforms, like KDP, will automatically provide you with a free ISBN as part of publishing with them. Otherwise, you’ll have to purchase your ISBN, either through Bowker or your local ISBN agency.

9. Publish your book

At this point, you are ready to publish your book! Congratulations.

Make sure you follow the guidelines of your chosen platform so that publishing goes smoothly and your book is available for purchase as soon as possible.  

10. Market your book

But your work isn’t done! In fact, some might argue that now is when the real work begins. Because writing a book is only half the battle — marketing it is your next task.

If you’ve built up a decent social network presence, you can start by marketing there. But you’ll also want to consider other options for getting the word about your book out there. Perhaps you could talk to a local indie bookshop about hosting a reading and signing. Or maybe you want to print up promotional materials to hand out to people on the street. You may even want to consider a giveaway with a copies of your book as the prizes.

There are countless ideas for book marketing that you could potentially utilize, but you need to be willing to commit to this part of the process if you want your book to reach as many eyes as possible.

11. Write another book

One of the best ways to find success as a self-published author is to keep writing. The more books you have to your name, the higher your sales will be — as fans of one book will flock to the others. This is how you build a name for yourself in the indie publishing world, and how you grow and expand as an author. So keep writing!

Self-publishing a book: How much does it cost?

Some people may see self-publishing as the easier route, but all of the tasks and expenses a publisher would typically take on, you are responsible for covering yourself through self-publishing.

Instead of getting an advance, you’ll be paying for various services and working hard to ensure your end product is flawless.

So it’s only natural to wonder how much self-publishing will cost you. In fact, some of the most common questions I get from potential clients are, “How much does it cost to self-publish a book on Amazon?” and “Is it free to publish a book on Amazon?”

The answer is complicated. Because, while, yes, self-publishing to Amazon is free through KDP, preparing your book for that moment is not.

All those editors, designers and formatters we discussed above? They cost money. And a lot of the time, it’s money you won’t see back.

It’s harsh, but true. A large percentage of self-published books will never make back the money that was invested into them.

This is why marketing is so important, and why it has to be a part of your self-publishing plan.

But as far as that initial cost investment, I always tell my developmental editing clients it will ultimately come down to how much work they are willing to do themselves, and how much quality they’re willing to pay for in terms of services.

You can save yourself some money by formatting your own book, for instance. But good editors and cover designers don’t come cheap.

On average, self-publishing a quality book will run you anywhere from $1,000 to $3500, depending on the rates charged by the contractors you hire to help you prepare your book for publication. And you do get what you pay for. So don’t pay $75 for editing and expect to receive back an error-free end product.

How to choose between traditional publishing and self-publishing

When you’re pursuing the path of self-publishing, it’s inevitable that you’ll ask yourself at some point, “Is it better to self-publish or get a publisher?” or “Will self-publishing hurt your chances of signing a traditional publishing deal?”

The answer to both questions is…it depends. 

When I published my first book, I never even considered traditional publishing. It was a memoir written by a woman in her 20s about a chronic health condition impacting the female reproductive organs. In other words: very niche.

I knew finding representation for it would be near impossible, and because the book itself was part of my healing process, I just wanted to get it out into the world.

Self-publishing was absolutely the right choice for that book, and at that point in my life.

But today I’m shopping a fiction novel I’ve been working on for two years to agents. It has commercial appeal and is a concept I’m really proud of. Plus, I see traditional publishing as the next step in my career.

So for this book, and at this point in my life…traditional publishing is the dream.

Every book is different. If you’re trying to decide whether traditional publishing or self-publishing is right for you, you need to do some soul searching and really get honest with yourself about your book (is it something an agent is going to feel confident in selling?), your goals (what do you hope to gain out of this publishing process), and your future aspirations as a writer.

Self-publishing has proven to be a very viable career path for some. And traditional publishing is right for others. There is no single best answer here.

As far as whether self-publishing today will hurt your chances of traditional publishing tomorrow, the answer is yes — for this book. But not for future endeavors.

Once you self-publish a book, it’s usually off the table for agents and publishers to consider. Unless it’s a massive success (selling tens of thousands of copies), most won’t even give it a second look.

But having self-published a book won’t hurt you at all when trying to sell a different book to agents and publishing companies in the future. In fact, if your self-published book did well (sales in the thousands) it could actually help you, because those numbers prove your ability to be part of the marketing process.

Should you choose a small press?

While researching your options, you may have come across authors mentioning having published through small presses. 

This is a version of traditional publishing that doesn’t typically require an agent, as small presses tend to like working directly with authors. Small presses are also often more open to taking niche books and working with an author’s unique vision.

You would pitch your book to a small press in much the same way you would to an agent, with a query letter, synopsis and the first few pages of your manuscript (or whatever their submission guidelines request). If they’re interested, they’ll ask for more.

But there are two important things to keep in mind when publishing with small presses:

1. The first is that they often only print a few books a year, which means you could be put on a waitlist that is several years out before your book will be published. They also tend to have small marketing departments, which means you need to be prepared to market your own book as aggressively as you would have with self-publishing.
2. The other thing to be aware of is the fact that there are a lot of vanity presses masquerading as small presses.

“What’s a vanity press?” you may ask? Well, these are publication companies that will offer to publish your book — for a fee. They will usually charge you thousands (more than you ever would have paid for self-publishing) all for the vanity of being able to say you have a publisher.

Avoid them at all costs. Not only will they charge you more for the services you could have gotten cheaper with contractors you found yourself, they will also take a far greater percentage of your royalties than you would have had to give up through self-publishing. And you’ll lose some of the rights you would have maintained through self-publishing.

On top of all that, the marketing services they offer are nothing more than blasting your book to their wide network of authors, who all paid the same thing you did and are simply hoping to see their own books advertised.

This is not how to self-publish a book, it’s how to get ripped-off in the process of self-publishing a book.

Now, there are plenty of small presses that aren’t vanities, and many of them are lovely to work with. But do your research if you decide to pursue this route, and don’t go with any press that is asking you for exorbitant amounts of money to help you with self-publishing a book.

Have you ever self-published a book? Tell us about your experience in the comments below.

Photo via GuadiLab / Shutterstock