Edit in layers
Developmental editing shapes structure and story; copyediting fixes sentences; proofreading catches the last errors. Budget for at least one professional pass.
Design matters
Readers judge books by their covers. Invest in a genre-appropriate cover and clean interior typesetting.
Own your ISBN
In the U.S., ISBNs come from Bowker. Owning yours lets you be the publisher of record and distribute more widely.
Choose how to print
Print-on-demand avoids inventory and upfront cost; offset printing lowers per-copy cost for larger runs you can store and ship.
Distribute widely — or not
Decide between going exclusive with one ebook retailer for its programs or publishing “wide” across many stores and libraries.
Launch with a plan
Line up advance readers, an email list, and a launch week. A great book still needs readers to know it exists.