When we last discussed How to Not Get Overwhelmed with Indie Publishing we worked on setting a publishing goal, and today we’ll talk about the breakdown; we’ll get an idea of the separate parts which are easier to tackle.

If you’ve decided to publish for more than yourself or a select few of your family members, then the information we’ll be sharing in the series will be helpful to you in ensuring you don’t become overwhelmed by the plethora of information available.

Prior to the following steps, an indie author should already have started an author social media platform (i.e. blog, Facebook, Twitter, Goodreads, Pinterest, Google+, Tumblr, etc), built a reasonably sized beta reader community, and at least begun the search for a professional editor, which this last one we will discuss in great detail in the next article.

I’m not a lawyer, and there are legal aspects to publishing of which I cannot give you advice. I will tell you that it’s wise to read all the fine print where you are able, and if something was made by someone else, always verify that it is free to use, or determine the requirements for use (attribution, purchase, etc).

In our series on How to Not Get Overwhelmed we’ll focus on:

• Editor/Editing Consideration
  • Do you need an editor? Well, I think so. I will talk about why, and I’ll also have some help on the subject from my own fantastic editor who is not only well-versed in the ins and outs of editing but has a great grasp on fleshing out author voice as well as teaching her clients how to become better writers.
• Book Cover Design
  • Do it yourself or pay for a professional. There are options!
• The Back Cover Synopsis & Author Bio
  • Every book needs these features.
• Copyright (US)
  • If you wrote it, it’s yours and is automatically copyrighted material, but there are some benefits to obtaining an official copyright through copyright.gov
• Paper & Ebook Publishing Platforms (mainly US)
  • There are several options available, but the most popular by far are companies like Createspace, IngramSpark, & Lulu for paperback and ebook, but then also Smashwords and Kindle Direct for ebooks. These are the options we will focus on.
• ISBN (and barcode (US))
  • All books require a number to track through sales channels. ISBNs are not needed for most ebook publishing as places like Smashwords and KDP will supply their own special number at no charge. Each version of a book (e.g. ebook, paperback, hardbound) will require its own number.
• Ebook Formatting
  • Options abound for assistance with formatting as well, from DIY to publishing platform pro packages to independent professional offerings.
• Paperback and Hardbound Formatting
  • The same goes for these formats, and some also include templates to make formatting for print less complicated.
• Uploading Your Book to One or Various Platforms
  • There are all kinds of options for categorizing your book, title and author info, places for synopsis, pricing, distribution, etc.
• Marketing Strategies
  • This one is my least strong area, but I’ve learned some great stuff that will at least help you as you start out. There are so many ways to market and build your audience. You should start this now by taking the time to have a social media presence. Don’t discount it.

The items in the above list will be broken down into more detail in each article as we come to it. The next one will focus on Editing and Editors. As the need and/or opportunity arises, we will invite guest authors/bloggers/experts to share!

Would you say this is looking a little less intimidating or more so? If there was one area of indie publishing you would want help with, what would it be?