Self-publishing a book follows twelve steps, and the order matters as much as the steps themselves: decide where you will sell, finish the edit, research your market, then produce the cover, description, identifiers and formatted files, proof them, publish, launch and maintain. Most costly self-publishing mistakes come from doing a step too early, such as commissioning a print cover before the page count is final or formatting before the edit is finished, which means paying for the same work twice.

This guide includes a few product links near the end. As an Amazon Associate, Freyja Publishing earns from qualifying purchases, at no extra cost to you.

This guide is the process view: what each step involves, what it depends on, and what it produces for the next step. If this is your first book and you want the wider picture first (why self-publish, the main options and what to expect), read the complete guide to self-publishing your first book, then come back here to work through the production sequence.

At a glance

• Decide your sales channels first. Selling only on Amazon or selling widely changes which ISBNs, files and programmes you need.
• Lock the text before formatting, and lock the formatting before the print cover, because the page count sets the spine width.
• Research before you brief the cover or write the blurb. Comparable titles, categories and keywords should shape both.
• Always proof the final files, including a printed proof copy for any paperback or hardcover.
• Publishing is the middle, not the end. Launch, reviews, metadata updates and the next book drive most sales.

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The twelve steps and how they depend on each other

Step	Needs first	Produces	Cost of doing it out of order
1. Choose channels and formats	Nothing	A plan: stores, formats, exclusivity	Wrong ISBNs or files; rework when you change plans
2. Finish the edit	A complete draft	Final text	Every later change must be repeated in every file
3. Research the market	A clear sense of genre and reader	Comparable titles, categories, keywords, price range	A cover and blurb that miss the market
4. Set up accounts and tax details	Your legal name, bank and tax information	Accounts ready to publish and pay you	Delayed launch or withheld royalties
5. Get ISBNs and choose an imprint	The formats from step 1	One ISBN per format, publisher name	Mismatched imprint details can block publishing
6. Format the interior	Final text, ISBNs, trim size	EPUB and print PDF, final page count	Formatting twice if the text changes
7. Finalise the cover	Market research; final page count for print	Ebook cover and print wrap	Spine width wrong, cover redone
8. Write the description and metadata	Market research	Blurb, categories, keywords, author bio	Weak discoverability from day one
9. Proof the final files	Formatted files and cover	Corrected files, approved print proof	Errors in the version readers buy
10. Upload, price and schedule	Everything above	Live or pre-order listings	Rushed listings with errors
11. Launch	Live listings, early readers lined up	First sales and reviews	A launch with no momentum
12. Maintain and improve	A published book	Better metadata, fixes, series growth	Sales that fade after launch

How long this takes varies with the book and your team. A detailed month-by-month schedule is in the publishing timeline guide.

Step 1: Choose your sales channels and formats

Before spending money, decide where the book will be sold and in which formats. This single decision affects ISBNs, file formats, exclusivity and pricing.

	Amazon only (often with KDP Select)	Wide (many stores and libraries)
Ebook exclusivity	Required for KDP Select, in 90-day terms	None
Kindle Unlimited page-read income	Yes, for enrolled ebooks	No
ISBNs	Not needed for the ebook; free KDP ISBN available for print	Your own ISBNs are usually the better choice
Files	DOCX, EPUB or Kindle Create file	A clean EPUB for all stores, plus print PDF
Admin	One dashboard	Several stores, or an aggregator such as Draft2Digital
Suits	Genres where readers borrow heavily through Kindle Unlimited	Authors building income across stores, countries and libraries

Exclusivity applies only to the ebook. Paperbacks, hardcovers and audiobooks can be sold anywhere whichever route you choose. Decide your print formats now too: paperback only, or hardcover and large print as well.

Step 2: Finish the edit

Editing usually happens in layers, from big to small: developmental or structural editing (story, argument, pacing), line editing (sentence-level style and clarity), copyediting (grammar, consistency, facts) and proofreading (final errors, done on the formatted files). Not every book needs every layer from a paid professional, but every book needs every layer done by someone. Self-editing first saves money on professional rounds. How to choose and brief an editor is covered in finding the right editor.

Tool tip: Many self-publishers use an AI assistant for outlining, blurb drafts and checking consistency across a manuscript. Claude is one we use for editing and research. Keep the writing and the final decisions yours. (Referral link: Freyja Publishing may receive Claude usage credit.)

The rule for this step: do not move on to formatting until the text is final apart from proofreading corrections.

Step 3: Research your market

Find ten or more recently published books that a reader of yours would also buy. Note their covers, titles, description style, price, page count, categories and how they are positioned. This research feeds three later steps: the cover brief, the description and your price. It also tells you which categories and keywords to target, explained in KDP keywords and categories. On KDP you can choose up to three categories and enter up to seven keyword phrases per book.

Step 4: Set up your accounts and tax details

Create your accounts on each platform you chose in step 1 and complete the tax and payment sections early. Tax interviews, bank verification and, for some platforms, identity checks can take time. Authors outside the United States selling through US platforms usually need to complete a tax form to avoid unnecessary withholding on royalties. Do this before launch week, not during it.

Step 5: Get your ISBNs and choose an imprint

Each format you publish needs its own ISBN if you assign one. Ebooks on Amazon do not need an ISBN, and KDP offers free ISBNs for print editions that can only be used on KDP. If you are going wide, buying your own ISBNs from your national agency keeps your options open and lets you choose your own imprint name. Where to buy them and what they cost in different countries is covered in how to get an ISBN. Enter the imprint name exactly as registered, because platforms check it.

Step 6: Format the interior

You need a reflowable ebook file (EPUB is the most versatile) and, for print, a PDF built to your chosen trim size with correct margins and, if images run to the page edge, bleed. Formatting software, free tools or a hired formatter can all produce professional results. Which software suits you is compared in Atticus vs Vellum vs Kindle Create. The print interior gives you the final page count, which your cover designer needs for the spine.

Step 7: Finalise the cover

Brief your designer with your comparable titles, genre, title, author name and series plans. The ebook cover can be designed early, but the print wrap (front, spine and back) must wait for the final page count, trim size and paper type, because these set the spine width. KDP and IngramSpark both provide cover templates or calculators for this. Ask for the files each platform needs, and confirm you have a licence to use the artwork and fonts in all the formats and countries you plan.

Step 8: Write the description and metadata

Your book description is a sales page. Lead with the hook, set out what the reader gets (the story’s central conflict, or the book’s promise for non-fiction), and make clear who it is for. Keep paragraphs short. Alongside the description, prepare your subtitle (if any), series name and number, categories, keywords, author bio and age range where relevant. Use the same series name and author name everywhere so stores link your books together.

Step 9: Proof the final files

• Check the EPUB in a previewer such as Kindle Previewer and on at least one phone.
• Read the formatted print PDF at actual size, looking at headers, page numbers and chapter openings.
• Order a printed proof copy from your print platform and read it on paper.
• Check the cover on the proof: spine text alignment, barcode placement and colour.
• Confirm that ISBNs on the copyright page match each format.
• Check that front matter is short, so retail previews reach the story or substance quickly.
• Make corrections in your master file, then re-export every format.

Step 10: Upload, price and schedule

Upload the files and metadata on each platform and preview them there, because platforms convert files and errors can appear at this stage. Set prices by format and country.

On KDP, ebook royalties are 70% for list prices from US$2.99 to US$9.99 in the US marketplace (with a delivery cost deducted based on file size), and 35% outside that range, at the time of writing (October 2026). Paperback royalties are a percentage of list price (60% or 50%, depending on the list price) minus printing costs, or 40% through Expanded Distribution. Other platforms use their own structures, and rules change, so check each platform’s current pricing pages.

Consider a pre-order. KDP lets you set up an ebook pre-order up to a year ahead, which gives you a link to share before launch day. Leave enough time before the release date to upload the final file, because missing the deadline can cost you pre-order privileges.

Step 11: Launch

A launch is a short period of focused activity, ideally prepared weeks in advance:

• Early readers. Give advance copies to readers who have agreed to read the book. Retailer rules do not allow paying for reviews or offering anything in exchange for one, so ask for honest reviews and never make a copy conditional on a review.
• Your email list. Tell your subscribers first; they are the readers most likely to buy in launch week.
• Promotions. A price promotion or a featured deal site can increase visibility.
• Paid ads, carefully. If you try advertising, set a strict daily budget and a total cap, start small, and test for a short period before spending more. Amazon Ads are explained in how to use Amazon Ads for authors.

Step 12: Maintain and improve

After launch, review how the book is doing every few weeks. Fix any reported errors and upload corrected files. Test different keywords and refine the description if sales are slow. Add links to new books in the back matter of earlier ones. For most authors, the strongest marketing is the next book, especially in a series.

The pre-publication checklist

• Sales channels, formats and exclusivity decided.
• Text fully edited, with only proofreading left.
• Comparable titles, categories, keywords and price range researched.
• Platform accounts set up, with tax and payment details complete.
• ISBNs assigned to each format, imprint name recorded exactly.
• EPUB and print PDF formatted and proofed.
• Ebook cover and print wrap finalised to the correct spine width.
• Description, categories, keywords and author bio written.
• Print proof copy approved.
• Pre-order or launch date set, and launch plan ready.
• Any advertising budget capped, with a test period defined.

Common mistakes

• Formatting before the edit is final. Late changes mean re-exporting, re-proofing and sometimes re-paying for every format.
• Ordering a print cover before the page count is fixed. The spine will be the wrong width.
• Briefing the cover without market research. A cover that does not signal its genre loses browsing readers.
• Leaving tax and bank details until launch. Verification can delay publishing or payments.
• Using a free KDP ISBN for print and then going wide. You will need a new ISBN and a new edition elsewhere.
• Skipping a printed proof. Screen previews do not show colour, trim and binding issues.
• Uncapped advertising. Ads without a daily budget, a total cap and a test period can spend far more than intended.
• Treating publication as the finish line. Books need maintenance and follow-up books to keep selling.

For the tools that support each step, from editing to formatting to email, see the author toolkit guide.

Sources this guide draws on: Amazon KDP Help pages on categories, keywords, ISBNs, eBook and print royalties, pre-orders and KDP Select; IngramSpark’s help pages on cover templates and fees; and Amazon’s customer review guidelines, checked in October 2026.

Frequently asked questions

What are the steps to self-publish a book?

Choose your sales channels and formats, finish the edit, research your market, set up accounts, get ISBNs, format the interior, finalise the cover, write the description and metadata, proof the files, upload and price, launch, and then maintain the book. Following that order avoids paying for the same work twice.

Should I format the book or design the cover first?

You can design the ebook cover early, but finish formatting the print interior before the print cover. The final page count sets the spine width, so a print wrap made too early often has to be redone.

Do I need an ISBN to self-publish?

Not for a Kindle ebook, and KDP offers free ISBNs for print editions that can only be used on KDP. If you plan to sell print books through other printers or distributors, your own ISBN is usually the better choice.

Can I publish on Amazon and other stores at the same time?

Yes, unless you enrol the ebook in KDP Select, which requires the ebook to be exclusive to Amazon during each 90-day term. Print and audio editions can be sold anywhere either way.

How long does self-publishing take?

It depends on how much of the editing, design and formatting you do yourself and on the availability of professionals you hire. Plan backwards from your launch date, leaving time for proof copies and corrections. The publishing timeline guide linked above sets out a realistic schedule.

Is it better to sell only on Amazon or go wide?

Neither is better for everyone. Amazon-only with Kindle Unlimited suits genres where readers borrow heavily; going wide suits authors building income across stores, countries and libraries. Many authors test one route and change later.

Self-publishing is a sequence of manageable jobs. Do them in an order where each step hands finished work to the next, and you avoid most of the expense and stress that catch first-time publishers out.