How to Publish a Book Online

The publishing market has been democratized. In the last decades, the editing and publishing processes have become increasingly accessible to normal people, so there are many options to publish a book independently.

In this article, we’ll explore the best digital publishing platforms for writers, we’ll discuss the editing process and the advantages of various publishing platforms, and we’ll provide tips on how to promote a book online.

What Are We Talking About When We Talk About Publishing a Book Online?

Self-publishing implies that the author is in charge of the entire process of editing and publishing the book. Thanks to online publishing, we can reach a massive audience: according to Statista, by the end of 2023, the worldwide number of eBook readers would amount to 980 million people.

However, this means that competition also increases. Besides, publishing online doesn’t mean publishing in digital format only: platforms like Amazon also print books.

What is Print on Demand?

Print on demand is a service in which copies of a book are printed once a sale has been made, which reduces the costs of printing and storing books the traditional way. Besides, it makes it possible for you to know the demand in advance.

This system has become very popular over the past two decades. For the customer, it’s more expensive than buying the eBook, but people usually want to have a printed version of their favorite books.

Online Publishing Platforms

Online publishing platforms are one of the fastest and most effective options to publish and promote your work independently without having to invest a lot of money. However, not all platforms have the same features or offer the same advantages.

Publish my Book on Amazon Kindle Direct Publishing

We already have an article on self-publishing on Amazon in Spanish, but we’ll do a brief review. The first thing you need to know is that Amazon gives you the option to publish in digital format or in physical format, thanks to their print-on-demand system.

The platform is quite simple: you have to create an account and adapt the manuscript to the platform design guidelines. Then you can upload the book in its final format and complete some book details, such as title, author, synopsis, price, etc. You can publish it at once or set a release date.

As for royalties, Amazon gives you a percentage of the sale, which goes from 35% to 70% of the price of each copy sold.

Advantages of Publishing a Book on Amazon:

Speed. The book is published immediately, so you can start selling it right away.
Ease. The platform has a lot of educational material for each of its functions. Besides, it’s intuitive enough not to get lost.
Audience. The greatest advantage of publishing on Amazon is its reach: their number of users is huge.

Disadvantages of Publishing a Book on Amazon:

Although it’s one of the few platforms that offer this service, it only works in Europe, the United States, and other countries, but it doesn’t work in much of Latin America and the Caribbean.
It doesn’t offer advertising. Amazon offers a large audience and editing tools, but the platform doesn’t have the resources to actively advertise your book. It also doesn’t allow you to sell the book on other platforms and stores—it requires exclusive sales rights.
It doesn’t offer editing services. To ensure the integrity of the manuscript, you can hire editorial services.

Publish my Book on Google Play Books

This platform lets you publish digital books with one of the most-used reading apps. However, acceptance of manuscripts can take up to twelve days. Besides, to sell eBooks on Google Play, you need to be affiliated with Google Play Books Affiliates.

This resource consists of a free marketing program that allows readers to preview the book in the Google Books app before buying it on Google Play. To publish the book, you have to create an account and fill in your details. Then, you can upload the material. The platform supports two formats: EPUB and PDF. Access the Contents tab and then go to Choose files to load the manuscript.

Advantages of Publishing a Book on Google Play Books:

Competition. With fewer users, the competition between authors is smaller than on Amazon, but enough to make oneself known.
Link to other stores. Google Play Books allows you to sell your book in other stores without penalties, which is not the case for Amazon. It even allows you to link the stores on the same platform.
Royalties per sale. Google offers up to 70% of the cover price per copy sold to the author, so it is a very lucrative option.

Disadvantages of Publishing a Book on Google Play Books:

Delay. The company has an acceptance process that can take up to twelve days and doesn’t guarantee acceptance of the manuscript.
Complexity. Publishing on Google Play Books is less intuitive and more complex than on other platforms.
Lower sales volume. Books sold on Google represent a much smaller share of the online market than those sold on Amazon.

Publish my book on Kobo Writing Life

Kobo Writing Life was created in 2006 by the Japanese online store Rakuten. It allows you to publish your book on the Internet quickly and easily. You only need to create an account, upload your book, and set a selling price. In 72 hours, it’ll be uploaded to the Kobo catalog. Kobo’s payment system is similar to that of Amazon, so the author can get paid up to 70% of the cover price of each copy sold.

The platform allows you to sell the book or offer it for free, and it has no time limit. In addition, it supports a wider variety of formats than other platforms: EPUB, DOC, MOBI, DOCX, ODT. It’s a great option because it allows you to choose which countries your book will be available in and track its commercial performance.

Advantages of Publishing a Book on Kobo Writing Life:

Speed. Kobo makes sure the publishing process is fast, so there are no delays in uploading the material.
Kobo eReaders. The platform has a captive reader market thanks to its Kobo eReading devices.
Rights and exclusivity. The author keeps the rights to the work, sets prices, and directs marketing campaigns. In addition, Kobo doesn’t demand exclusivity, so you can publish your book on other platforms.

Disadvantages of Publishing a Book on Kobo Writing Life:

Limited market. While it was one of the first platforms of its kind, companies like Amazon, Google, and Apple took over a great part of the market.
Limited algorithm. The capacity of the search engine is reduced, and its performance is below the standard expected from users nowadays.
Price difference with the printed version. Kobo requires that all eBooks be priced at least 20% lower than the print version of the same book.

Publish my Book on Lulu

Lulu is one of the most author-friendly platforms, offering educational materials for editing and publishing books, favorable business options, and the possibility to sell directly to readers. The publishing tools are simple and intuitive, and they offer the choice of printing on demand.

One of the most attractive features of the platform is its royalty system, which allows the author to get paid up to 90% of the sale price. Its free print API system for publishers is one of its latest innovations and a very convenient tool.

Advantages of Publishing a Book on Lulu:

Simplicity. The platform’s software is simple and easy to use, and it has a lot of learning content, like tutorials and guides.
Distribution. Unlike Amazon, Lulu offers a truly global distribution network with its print-on-demand system.
Royalties. Publishing with Lulu gives you the highest percentage of profit in the market: between 80 and 90%, depending on the chosen sales system.

Disadvantages of Publishing a Book on Lulu:

Reach. Thanks to its print-on-demand system, Lulu allows printing and distributing books on other platforms and in online and physical stores. However, its own store has a very low level of sales.
Printing costs. On-demand printing costs can become very high for local authors, significantly reducing revenue.
Selling on other portals and bookstores. While it allows you to sell your book on other online portals, Lulu charges a percentage of these sales, in addition to the one charged by the portal in question.

Publish my Book on Wattpad

When we talk about publishing on Wattpad, we are not talking about the same as with other publishing platforms. This is because Wattpad is not strictly a publishing platform; It’s a self-editing social network directed to young people. And while this platform has a content monetization system, it can be cumbersome.

Signing up for the platform is relatively simple. We open an account, fill in our details, and start writing or uploading material. Wattpad has a large audience of readers and writers. Many authors have been published by a reputable publisher thanks to their success on this platform.

Advantages of Publishing a Book on Wattpad:

Reach. While competition is high, the platform has millions of users around the world, many of them highly engaged. Posting your material here can lead you to create your own audience, which in turn allows you to make yourself known and eventually publish with a publishing company or improve your profile.
Learning. Publishing on Wattpad is a great way to apply the trial-and-error method to discover what works and what doesn’t. Novice authors can learn a lot from other users’ comments.
Motivation. Many authors get frustrated because they don’t have a platform to publish their work and be read. This is something that Wattpad, thanks to its community of readers, has solved.

Disadvantages of Publishing a Book on Wattpad:

Not unpublished works. While publishing on Wattpad can be a great option to take your first steps, once you upload a manuscript to the platform, it’s difficult for a publisher to be interested in it, since it will no longer be unpublished.
Plagiarism. Although the platform doesn’t allow copy and paste, the material uploaded to the platform is publicly accessible, so anyone can transcribe it. Therefore, before uploading any work, it’s advisable to register it in the patent and trademark, or intellectual property office of the author’s country.
It’s not profitable. Unless you undertake monetization actions, you won’t see any income from your work on the platform, and the monetization system is complex and demanding without being lucrative. Note: A store for selling books is being developed on the platform.

What Should I Know Before I Publish My Book Online

Regarding the editing and publication of an eBook on the Internet, we must distinguish the two processes. The first one refers to the production and processing of the manuscript before its dissemination, and the second one refers to the process of printing, promotion, and dissemination. Since competition is high, both processes are necessary to successfully publish a book.

The editing process is essential because it will ensure the quality of the work and it will improve its reception among readers. As for the publication and dissemination process, this will be equally important since, regardless of the quality of the material, the book must find its readers and differentiate itself from the rest.

Editing Process

Although there may be certain variations in the processing of the material, the editing process is usually the same both for publishing a book online or the traditional way. Having a comprehensive idea of this process will help you understand what kind of processing your manuscript needs before it’s published.

Reading Report. The editor responsible for the process reads the manuscript and writes up a document in which they identify the strengths and weaknesses of the material, with suggestions to improve it.
Editing. The editor works with the author on the structure, style, and content of the book, among other things, to expand what has potential, simplify, clarify, or eliminate information with the aim of improving the manuscript.
Copy-editing. This instance should be distinguished from the proofreading and editing stages. The text structure, which should already be final, is not affected. Copy-editing is intended to provide clarity and fluency to the text, ensuring it’s comprehensible and grammatically and syntactically correct.
Proofreading. During this stage, the text is revised once more, but with the purpose of eliminating spelling and typographical mistakes that were missed during the previous instances, unifying typographic styles (bold, italics) and writing styles (numbers, names, foreign words, etc.).
Design and layout. The dummy is the graphic «skeleton» of the book to be published without the text. It shows the design decisions of the book, including margins, numbering, typography, and other design choices. Most publishing platforms have tools that allow you to create and edit dummies from templates, but it’s always advisable to hire layout and typesetting services.
Assembly of pages and final proofreading. The version of the text intended for final publication is created. Then, the text is copied into the final dummy, and it’s adjusted to match the visual elements: headings, spaces, pagination, etc. Finally, the manuscript is proofread one last time.

Publication Process

This process includes all those stages in which the definitive original will be disseminated. In traditional physical publishing, this process begins, on the one hand, with sending the original to print (which we can ignore for online publication), and, on the other hand, with the necessary promotional and marketing efforts to ensure that it reaches readers.

Marketing and dissemination strategy. Before launching the book, a dissemination strategy should be devised. It should contemplate all the efforts necessary to publicize the book and generate expectation among readers: launches and presentations, articles, reviews, interviews, posts in social networks, and any other effort that can help the book’s sales.
Registration of the work. Before publishing the work, you must register it in your country’s intellectual property or patent, and trademark offices to ensure copyright. Likewise, you must register it with an affiliate of the International ISBN Agency to obtain its International Standard Book Number.
Publishing. At this stage, you will upload your book to the platform chosen for publication. Here, the instances of page assembly and proofreading overlap, since, as we’ve said, the layout is usually done on the same platform, although not exclusively: some of them allow you to upload a file already laid out.
Distribution and Marketing. In traditional publishing, this stage involves the distribution of printed books in bookstores and other sales points. Marketing corresponds to sales, promotions, discounts, contests, and other commercial strategies to encourage the purchase of the book. The online publication may or may not have a printed version. The concept is the same: the book is marketed in its eBook format on the same platform, but it can also be marketed on other portals.

How Can I Improve the Dissemination of My Book on the Internet?

How can you promote your book on the Internet and make it stand out from the rest? Let’s take a look at tips for promoting an eBook and tips for promoting a physical book online. As these can be your first steps in this area, we’ll give you easy-to-apply tips.

SEO Optimization

This method is very common these days, and it works. The first step to give your book online visibility is to optimize the accompanying paratext (titles, descriptions, tags) and publications on social networks and online stores with keywords that correspond to the main searches on the Internet.

Creating an Engaged Audience

Instead of trying to monopolize a lot, it’s best to target and interact with a small audience and to start building a strong reader base. Answering messages and comments, and offering deals, discounts, and free downloads for a limited time can help you achieve this.

Broadcast Materials

It is very useful to create additional material specifically designed for the broadcasting channels on which you are going to promote the book. Graphic materials such as banners and thumbnails, and specific websites for the book and the author, will increase interest in your book and its purchase.

Keep an Active Social Media Profile

To make the most of your audience and earn followers for your book, the best thing is to create organic content based on your readers’ interests and engage in the same communities. Plan ahead and don’t overload your feed with irrelevant content: remember that your book will be part of a larger universe in which it has to actively take part.

Don’t Be Afraid of Advertising

If you can, don’t hesitate to invest in advertising and ads on Google, Facebook and on the platforms where you have uploaded your book. These actions are very effective in increasing the audience for your book and reaching the reader. However, don’t forget to do research on your target reader’s profile to ensure that ads are where they need to be.

Bookstore Launch

If you opt for print-on-demand to sell your book in physical format, you can contact independent bookstores and suggest launching it in their stores. Independent bookstores tend to accept this type of offer as it allows them to receive more customers and improve their sales.

Send your Book to Booktubers and Ask for Testimonials from your Readers

This strategy is used by publishers to capture influencers’ audiences, and it’s very effective. Reviews and comments help generate interest and raise the profile of your book as a phenomenon within the publishing genre to which it belongs.

Press

This strategy involves reaching out to influential people in the media so that they comment on the launch of your book. You have to send a courtesy copy with a personalized letter to their office or place of work. Radio hosts and columnists may be the best choice for independent authors. But be careful, don’t aim too high: the important thing is to choose well so that the book gets commented on by the person.

Conclusion: Persevere and You Will Triumph

Publishing a book on the Internet is perfectly viable for an independent author. Today’s editing tools and self-publishing platforms are great resources for reaching out to your audience. However, it’s also possible to trust the editing, proofreading, and design processes to professionals with experience in the field.

In Palabra, we can edit your book to ensure its quality and publish it on any of the platforms described. And, if you are interested in publishing your book with a traditional publisher, we can also help you create a professional editorial proposal. Feel free to contact us!