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It's often said that three's a novel in all of us. But after you've toiled away, worked ceaselessly through the midnight hours by candlelight and produced your magnum opus, there's only one question that remains: How can I get it published?

With book sales taking a hit from their digital counterparts, publishing companies lessening in numbers, and the ones that are still in existence reluctant to take on unknown names or authors without a credible (ie: money-making) track record, writers are increasingly being shuffled in the direction of self-publishing.  But as far as direction's go, it's not a bad one.

Here then, is a rough guide to getting your novel, short story, poetry or prose disseminated amongst the literary masses through the means of self-publishing.

Do It All Yourself 

It's increasingly difficult for new writers to break in to the publishing market and get their work out there. A combination of factors including a decline in physical book sales and the unstoppable juggernaut of digital book downloads has left new writers with aspirations to get published with no other option than to explore getting their works published themselves.

In many ways it's the best way – you have total control over every aspect of the process. But it also presents its own demons, namely the costs involved in seeing it through from beginning to end. The publishing industry is a competitive market, so you could do everything yourself as long as you have the tools and the cash injection. However, money nowadays is tight for most people, so an alternative is to -

Self-publish Online

Practically everything is done online nowadays, and being able to publish your work this way is no exception. You'll have the creative freedom to produce the piece the way you want it as retaining total rights to your work.

Online self-publishing services are usually linked to print-on demand printers so you can produce physical copies at minimum cost. The worst you might have to do is learn a few new software packages or programmes. So as a cheap and flexible option, it's a very good one.

The Old Fashioned Way 

Despite the explosion of digital downloads, Kindles and eBooks, some people remain steadfast traditionalists when it comes to their reading matter. And that means a book. Front and back covers. Pages you can flip through. Paper you can touch and feel.

And whilst it's proving increasingly difficult for publishing houses to take on new, unknown writers (you could end up with blistered knuckles from the relentless door-knocking), you can always get your prose printed by a professional printer.

Print-on-demand

This is an option that involves getting printing companies to print your work  - but they usually do it in bulk, so the more you have printed the lighter it will be on the wallet. Which is good, just as long as you can sell the majority of the copies, hence minimising any potential losses.  With this option it's also imperative to have a proof copy, too, so you know exactly what the finished product will look like.

Feedback Is Important 

Working on the same piece can render us jaded to our own work – we can miss spelling mistakes and other errors. That's why it's important to get other people's opinions, so why not ask friends or family to read your writing.

Or, for a more impartial evaluation and assessment, why not join a writing group or two? A fresh pair of eyes is important and feedback (constructive or not) can be taken on board to shape the finished work.

Know Your Market 

It's crucial you look at other books on the shelves to get a flavour of the market. Thrillers, comedies, horrors – anything genre-specific, in fact – have a specific style and look. While it's important to be unique, it's also important to know your demographic.

There are a few other things you'll need to consider as well, such as distribution (physically or digitally?) and ISBNs (International Standard Book Numbers, which you'll need to buy yourself if you go it alone).

So you can see some of the things you need to consider, from having the right printer equipment, support from other writers and readers, and the possibilities of digital versus traditional self-publishing. The decision, though, is ultimately yours.

Have you ever self-published your own work? I'd love to hear about it.

Author Bio:
Elise Leveque is an ambitious freelance translator whose passion for social media will hopefully lead her to self-publish a few books on the subject. She regularly blogs for Continua. 

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