I’ve been sick over the last week and so I’ve been using that time to get as much groundwork laid for Rini & Butler‘s release in October! Fortunately, my couple of years in the publishing industry has helped me along quite a lot. I’ve just finished the second last hard proof for the novel and have been finalising decisions about the format and size of the paperback. The exterior files (the cover) are done and now all that’s left to do it the final proof and get the files approved by IngramSpark. After that, it’s a sample copy and hopefully from there I’ll be good to go!
The biggest challenge for me is going to be the ePUB file. I’m familiar with traditional printing and all but I’ve never done more than the data entry for eBooks. I don’t even own any myself. I prefer paper books, although I would like to try eBooks. I’m typically pretty good at figuring things out on my own through trial and error, but as I don’t even own/read eBooks, my understanding of them is minimal and so I think I’ll be spending much more time getting those files in order that the print version files. IngramSpark does have a conversion service but it’s $0.60 per page and Rini & Butler is 293 pages.
I will be publishing through IngramSpark but also arranging to sell through this website for local eager readers. Once the publishing process is finished and my book is available, I will post about my experience self-publishing with IngramSpark. For now, here’s a quick rundown of what I’ve done so far:
Note: these will be relevant to authors looking to self-publish in Australia.
Step 1: setting up the “Publisher”
- consider the budget and brand etc.
- request an Australian Business Number (ABN)
- this is free to do and required
- registered as a “Sole Trader”
- register a business name with ASIC
- this costs $104 and you typically pay it before receiving the registration
- it lasts for 3 years and will need to be paid again to maintain registration
Step 2: setting up the required accounts
- set up an IngramSpark account [for publishing]
- set up a Thorpe-Bowker account [for purchasing ISBNs]
- this isn’t required but if you wish to own your ISBNs and not use the ones provided by IngramSpark, you will need to purchase them through Thorpe-Bowker
Step 3: getting the publishing details sorted
- creating a copyright page
- copyright is inherently attached to your work in Australia; you do not need to register your creative words under it
- getting all of the data entry work together and finalised
- assigning ISBNs for print and eBook
- front cover for MyIdentifiers (Thorpe-Bowker ISBN management)
- blurb
- page count
- book dimensions
- release date
- first genre, second genre
- getting the BISAC Codes ready
Step 4: the publishing files—where I’m up to now
IngramSpark has many guides about how to prepare the files for uploading a title to publish. I’ve been spending a lot of time cross-referencing the details so that there is the least amount of issues when I go to first upload.
- exterior files ready
- publishing data collected for easy upload
All I’m waiting on now is getting that final iteration of the internal files and then I will upload and get a sample copy and hopefully it’s rain and iced coffee from there!
I have been posting excerpts and memes about Rini & Butler on my Instagram and YouTube, check them out!
