How to Publish a Book: Your Complete Guide

Writing a book is an incredible achievement that takes a huge amount of time, passion and dedication. Finishing a manuscript is a huge milestone, but how do you turn it into the real deal?

Getting a book published is difficult, but the landscape has changed, and it’s more accessible than ever for aspiring authors to share their stories.

At Printed.com, our Book Printing & Binding service helps bring your hard work to life. Discover how to publish your own book, and how Printed.com can help make it real.

Table of Contents

How Hard is it to Get a Book Published?

How Much Does it Cost to Self Publish a Book?

How to Publish a Book: Step by Step

Bringing Your Story to Life: Book Printing at Printed.com

How hard is it to get a book published?

Traditional publishing is a notoriously difficult, selective process. You have to pitch your manuscript to agents, wait for responses, and face a lot of rejection. If you do manage to secure a deal, you may face a loss of creative control over elements of your book. From changes to the marketing strategy, cover design, and even the title. 

Given the odds, it’s not surprising that so many aspiring authors turn to self-publishing. According to Publisher’s Weekly, over 2.6 million books were self-published in 2023, and it’s a number that continues to rise. 

Taking the independent route gives the power back to the author, but it’s by no means easy! It requires a lot of hard work and the ability to “sell yourself”, but with so many tools now available to make the process easier, it’s a much more accessible option. 

How much does it cost to self publish a book?

This is a tricky question to answer as it depends on a lot of factors. Generally, you can expect to see costs land anywhere between £500 to over £5,000. It depends on whether you want to hire professional assistance, or do everything yourself. 

The things you can expect to cost most are: editing and proofreading, cover design, formatting, and copyright. 

Self-publishing is open to you no matter your budget, but a higher-quality result will require more investment. 

Image credit: Unsplash

How to publish a book: step-by step 

Polish your manuscript

Before anything else, you’ll need a winning manuscript. When going down the self-publishing route, you won’t have access to the editing that comes with support from a publisher. However, there are plenty of people who offer editing to self-publishing authors. You’ll need to allocate some budget to this to ensure your manuscript is up to scratch. 

A professional editor can review the pacing, structure, character arcs, spelling and grammar. These details can make a big difference to how your story is received by readers, so it’s worth investing in professional support. 

Design a fantastic cover

Like it or not, people absolutely do judge a book by its cover! Investing in high-quality design is crucial for catching the eye of potential readers. Seeking the help of a professional designer or illustrator is a great idea if budget allows – they will know how to signal your genre and transform your story into something visual that will attract readers on both physical and digital bookshelves. 

Two iconic book covers, yours could be next… Images from Unsplash

Sort out the admin: ISBN’s and how to get them

Unfortunately, self-publishing requires a great deal of admin. One of the most important tasks is getting your book an ISBN (International Standard Book Number). This is a unique product identifier for books and similar materials. 

It’s not a legal requirement to have an ISBN for your book, but it is used by publishers, booksellers and libraries for ordering, listing, and stock control, so it’s worth having. 

To get an ISBN in the UK, you need to go to the Nielsen UK ISBN Store where they can be easily purchased. 

Build an online presence 

Whether you love social media or it’s a whole new world to you, there’s no denying the power it has in helping get your name out there. Building an audience on social media platforms is a great way to build momentum before you even print a physical copy of your book. 

Bringing your story to life: Book Printing at Printed.com 

When you’re ready to hold your story in your hands, Printed.com is here to make it real! 

Our Book Printing service offers a wide range of options with low minimum quantities and affordable pricing to suit your budget. 

We also have an excellent choice of binding options, including Perfect Bound for paperback books and Case Bound for hardback. 

Individual pages are stacked together then glued along the spine with a strong yet flexible adhesive to create our Perfect Bound books. The pages are trimmed to create a beautiful, clean edge, then the cover is attached with glue. Perfect Bound is ideal for creating professional paperback books. 

Perfect Bound Printing

Pages are glued together then attached to a rigid cover, wrapped in paper. This creates high-quality, durable hardback books – perfect for showcasing your work. 

Case Bound Printing

We also offer more options to suit absolutely any genre or format. For zines, children’s books or manuals, our Saddle Stitch and Spiral Bound bindings are ideal. Here is a quick comparison of our different Book Printing options: 

With our low minimum order quantities, you can print just a single copy as a special keepsake for yourself, or place a high-quality bulk order. This makes the process flexible for any budget. With a wide range of premium, eco-friendly paper stocks, you can achieve a professional quality finish that guarantees your book will stand out.

Book publishing: Let’s make it real

Publishing a book once felt like an impossible task, but now it is well within reach with help from Printed.com! Our selection of book binding options means any story can be brought to life. See how we can help by exploring our Book Printing service today!