We are currently receiving daily emails from people wanting their book to be published. We know how extremely hard it is to get a publisher to even take a look at a manuscript and even harder still to get to the point of a publishing deal.
As much as we would LOVE to publish everyone’s books we are just unable to do so. As a small family owned and operated business we only have enough time to publish a few books a year (at this stage). Often those spaces are filled with our very own stories that we are working on. 2020 is completely filled at this stage with three new books we have in the works.
But don’t despair! It is becoming easier and easier to self-publish ... a little bit like what we did. I highly recommend you jump onto platforms like www.ingramspark.com and read up all the information they have on hand about self-publishing through them. Platforms like this enable your book to be listed via Amazon and Book Depository.
Like everything, there is a process you need to go through, so don’t get overwhelmed! First thing I would recommend is to find an editor (not a family member or friend) to read over your manuscript and give you real feedback. Then if you are needing illustrations start looking for an illustrator that you like the style of. Get some quotes from an illustrator you like, or you could look at approaching University art students who might be interested. Then a graphic designer may be required to layout the book in order to upload to places like Ingram Spark. If you don’t want to outlay a lot of money in printing, this is your best option. However, you will only get a few dollars per book sold via these channels. You could decide to get your booked printed. If you want to be in bookstores you will need good enough margins in order to sell at wholesale prices. A lot of book stores also need you to be represented by a book distributor. Just a quick Google search should bring up some options and they will no doubt have a wealth of knowledge for you too.
So, to sum it all up. If your dream is to have a published book .... there are many ways to do that! Start by submitting manuscripts when publishers open up their doors. DO NOT JUST SEND MANUSCRIPTS without getting consent to do so first.