You’ve put a lot of effort into writing your manuscript and now you’re ready to take the next step – transforming your hard work into a published book. But where do you begin your self publishing journey and how do you know what to do? This presentation describes a customised 5-step book publishing program – the Five ‘C’s of Self Publishing which demystifies all the complex steps involved in converting your Word document into a high-quality published book.

1. I’ve written a book – now what?
Publishing your book
manuscript with the
Five ‘C’s of Self Publishing

2. Traditional Publishing Today
• In Australia, traditional publishing companies currently
receive at least 5–6,000 unsolicited manuscripts a year.
• Many traditional publishers no longer look at unsolicited
manuscripts – simply return them if postage is provided,
or shred them if it isn't.
• Among publishers who are willing to read unknown
authors’ work, 90% of manuscripts will be rejected on
the first page and 98% by the end of the first chapter.
• To have any chance of getting their manuscript accepted
by a traditional publisher, writers usually need to have
an agent to represent them – also a challenging task.

3. What is Self Publishing?
Self publishing is a way in which authors (especially
new writers) can get their story or message to a
large audience more quickly, more effectively, more
lucratively, and with greater control than via
traditional book publishing routes.

4. 1. Complete ownership
2. Retain all sales revenue
3. Quick turnaround
4. Control design / printing
By self publishing, you retain intellectual property and copyright for your book
and get to keep 100% of the royalties.
Advantages of Self Publishing
Self published authors retain 100% ownership
With traditional publishing, authors only make
5 – 15% royalty for every book sold.
Self published authors recoup 50 – 100% of
their book’s RRP.
Book printed within a few weeks or, at most, a
few months after completing it.
Traditional publishers usually work on
18-month timeline.
Control the ‘look and feel’ of book, as well
as format in which it is published.

5. Motives for Self Publishing
PRESTIGE
PERSONAL
PROFIT
You should be clear about your motives for self publishing your book
You want self publish in order
to make a profit from selling
your book.
You want to self publish for
personal reasons. For example,
to produce a memoir as a
legacy for family and friends.
You want to self publish
to help grow your
business or establish
professional credibility.
Self
Publishing
Motives

6. Self Publishing Models
Before you embark on publishing your book manuscript, you should
decide which self publishing model best suits your requirements.
DIY Hybrid
Publisher
Self
Publishing
Models
Author
Services
Company

7. Self Publishing Options for Authors
1
– Author does everything themselves.
– Cheapest option, but requires a lot of time and effort.
– Often difficult to do successfully without prior experience.
DIY
2
– Author pays for professional services.
– Easier than DIY; better results.
– Less expensive than hybrid publisher.
– Author owns ISBN for their book so officially its publisher.
3
– Author hires company to handle all aspects of publication.
– Easiest option but usually most expensive.
– Author may not own copyright or ISBN so not considered
official publisher.
Author
Services
Company
Hybrid
Publisher

8. Specialist Tasks in Book Publishing
1
2
3
4
5
– Typesetting the interior pages
EDITING
GRAPHIC DESIGN
PROOFREADING
BOOK PRINTING
E-BOOK CONVERSION
– Designing the front and back cover
– Structural/developmental editing
– Copy/line editing

9. Formats for Self Published Books
Different format options for self publishing a book
Book Manuscript
Printed Book eBook
Hardback .mobi EPUBPaperback

10. How to Self Publish your Book
Customised 5-step book publishing program
– The Five ‘C’s of Self Publishing –
simplifies the self publishing process for writers

11. The Five ‘C’s of Self Publishing
What are The Five ‘C’s of Self Publishing?
1 EDITING stage
PAGE LAYOUT / TYPESETTING stage
PROOFREADING stage
BOOK COVER DESIGN stage
ADMINISTRATIVE stage
CORRECT
CLASSIFY
CREATE
COVER
CHECK
2
3
4
5

12. The First ‘C’ – CORRECT
A Manuscript Appraisal
Acts as yardstick for gauging the strengths and weakness of your
writing
Structural & Copy Editing
Correct grammar, spelling and punctuation mistakes
Suggest improvements in word usage and indicate where a
sentence, or paragraph, is clumsy, out of place, kor repetitive
Check for consistency and logical flow in the narrative,
as well as any factual or storyline discrepancies
EDITING
B

13. The Second ‘C’ – CREATE
Book Page Layout
Using professional design software (e.g. Adobe InDesign) to
create a harmonious combination of fonts, graphics etc
Typesetting & Formatting
PAGE LAYOUT / TYPESETTING
Select the font, type size, line leading, and hyphenation settings
for book text
Serif fonts used for the body text in fiction and non-fiction books
Sans serf fonts often used for headings, plus technical manuals
and children’s books
A
B

14. The Third ‘C’ – CLASSIFY
International Standard Book Number (ISBN)
Cataloguing in Publication (CiP)
BOOK ADMINISTRATION
Free cataloguing service by the National Library of Australia
Under Copyright Act 1968, Australian publishers legally
required to deposit copies of their book in National Library of
Australia and relevant state library.
A
B
Thirteen-digit number assigned to every book before
publication
Legal DepositC

15. The Fourth ‘C’ – COVER
Front Cover
Spine
BOOK COVER DESIGN
A
B
Back CoverC
Contains the main graphical image (usually a photo or an
illustration), as well as the book title, sub-title (if used) and
author’s name.
Spine measurement (or thickness of your book) is a product
of the number of pages and the type of paper stock used
Usually includes the book blurb/author bio, plus ISBN and
pricing information

16. The Fifth ‘C’ – CHECK
Final editorial check
Restrictions / Limitations
PROOFREADING
A
B
Involves meticulously checking publication for any remaining
grammar, punctuation, and spelling errors, as well as any
formatting issues or typographical mistakes
Price and/or time restrictions often involved with revisions so
major changes are not usually appropriate at this stage
Usually undertaken twice to ensure a book is completely free
from errors: (1) after the manuscript has been formatted and
typeset, and then (2) reviewing the electronic PDF proof prior
to finalising the book for printing

17. Book Printing Options
1 OFFSET PRINTING
2 DIGITAL PRINTING
Best quality reproduction of artwork and photographic images
Only available in large print runs (minimum of 1,000 books)
Two types of digital printing:
1. Short print run (minimum of 100 books)
2. Print on Demand (POD) available to print one book at a time
Print quality is not as high as offset printing but advantage is there is
no requirement to store inventory
Print cost per book is cheaper than digital printing but have to
store inventory

18. The Next Step
www.epiphanyediting.com.au
Keen to get started on your self publishing journey?
kirsty@epiphanyediting.com.au
To find out more
about your book
publishing options
contact: