How to Self-Publish a Book: A Step-by-Step Guide

To self-publish a book, you finish and edit the manuscript, format the interior for ebook and print, create a cover that meets each store's specs, and decide whether you need your own ISBNs. Then you upload the book to the stores you choose, with your metadata and price. You do the uploading yourself in your own accounts, and the stores sell ebooks and print paperbacks on demand. The steps below are in the order you should do them.

What you need before you start

Gather these before you open any store dashboard:

• A complete manuscript. Not a near-final draft. Every chapter written, revised and read through at least once.
• An editing plan. Decide what you'll pay an editor to do and what you'll do yourself.
• Your author name. Decide whether you're publishing under your real name or a pen name. Changing it later means updating every store.
• Bank and tax details. Every store asks for payment and tax information before it can pay royalties.
• A rough budget. The main costs are editing, cover design and ISBNs if you buy your own. Get quotes before you commit.
• A first draft of your book description. You'll refine it later, but writing it early shows you whether you can explain the book clearly.

Step 1: Make sure your manuscript is ready

1.1 Finish the full draft

If you're still writing, start with our guide on how to write a book and come back when the draft is done. Some authors draft with an AI tool. Inkora, for example, plans an editable book bible (premise, characters or key concepts, style guide and chapter outline) and then writes each chapter with continuity notes so the book stays consistent. Whatever method you use, you are responsible for checking every fact, figure and recipe.

1.2 Edit in separate passes

Editing works best when you fix one layer at a time:

1. Structural edit. Check that the book works as a whole: plot, pacing, argument order and missing or repeated sections.
2. Line edit. Read sentence by sentence for clarity, rhythm and voice.
3. Copyedit. Fix grammar, consistency of names and spellings, and style choices.
4. Proofread. Do this last, on the formatted file, to catch typos and layout errors.

Don't proofread before structural changes are done. You'll only proofread pages that later get cut.

1.3 Get outside readers

Ask a few people who read your genre to read the book before you publish. Ask them specific questions: where they got bored, what confused them, and what they'd tell a friend about the book. Patterns in their answers matter more than any single opinion.

Step 2: Format the book interior

You'll usually need two interior files: a reflowable ebook and a fixed-layout print PDF.

2.1 Format the ebook

Ebooks reflow to fit the reader's screen, so you don't control exact page layout. EPUB is the standard format, and most stores accept it. To get a clean file:

• Use real heading styles for chapter titles so stores can build a table of contents.
• Use page breaks between chapters, not rows of empty lines.
• Avoid tabs and spaces for indents. Use paragraph styles instead.
• Keep fonts simple. Many readers override them anyway.

Preview the file in each store's previewer before you publish.

2.2 Format the print interior

Print is less forgiving. Decide on these before you lay out a single page:

• Trim size. This is the finished page size. 6 x 9 inches is common for nonfiction and many novels. Smaller sizes suit fiction, and larger or square sizes suit workbooks and children's books.
• Margins and gutter. The inside margin needs extra room so text doesn't disappear into the binding. The thicker the book, the more room it needs.
• Front matter. Title page, copyright page, and optionally a dedication and table of contents.
• Back matter. About the author, other books, and a note asking readers to review.
• Page numbers and running heads. No page number on blank pages or chapter openers.

Inkora exports a print-ready interior PDF at eight trim sizes, plus EPUB 3 and DOCX, from the same manuscript. If you format yourself, export to PDF and check every page before uploading.

The final page count matters because it sets the spine width for your print cover. Lock the interior before you finish the cover.

Step 3: Design a cover that stores accept

You need different cover files for ebook and print.

Ebook cover. This is a single front-cover image. Amazon KDP's published guidance recommends 1600 × 2560 pixels in RGB, and that size works for most other ebook stores too. Make sure the title is readable at thumbnail size, because that's how most shoppers first see it.

Print cover. This is one PDF containing back cover, spine and front cover, with bleed on every edge. KDP asks for 0.125 inch of bleed and places the barcode in the bottom-right of the back cover. The spine width depends on your page count and paper type, so calculate it once the interior is final. Our book spine width calculator does this for you.

If you also print through IngramSpark, build that cover on IngramSpark's own template. Their spine width and barcode position can differ from KDP's, so one file rarely fits both.

Study the bestselling covers in your category before you design. Readers judge genre from the cover in a second, and a cover that looks like the wrong genre attracts the wrong readers.

Step 4: Decide whether you need your own ISBN

An ISBN identifies one specific edition of a book. Whether you need one depends on the format and store:

• Ebooks: Most major stores don't require one. Amazon assigns an ASIN and Google assigns its own identifier.
• KDP paperback: An ISBN is required. You can use KDP's free ISBN, but it only works for distribution through KDP.
• IngramSpark: You need your own ISBN for each format. A free KDP ISBN can't be used there.
• Draft2Digital: Optional. D2D can assign a free one.

Each format needs its own ISBN, so a paperback and a hardcover need different numbers. Buy ISBNs from your country's official ISBN agency (Bowker in the US, for example). Prices vary by country and quantity, so check the agency's current rates. The ISBN record lists whoever bought it as the publisher. If you want your own imprint name on the book, buy your own.

Step 5: Choose which stores to publish on

You have three broad routes, and you can combine them:

1. Amazon only. Publish the ebook and paperback on KDP. If you enroll the ebook in KDP Select, Amazon's terms require the ebook to be exclusive to Amazon while you're enrolled.
2. Wide. Publish the ebook on Amazon and also on Apple Books, Kobo, Google Play Books and Barnes & Noble. You can go direct to each store or use an aggregator like Draft2Digital, which distributes to many stores from one upload for a fee.
3. Print beyond Amazon. Many authors use KDP for Amazon paperbacks and IngramSpark to make the print book available for bookstores and libraries to order.

Here's what each store asks for, based on their published terms. Terms change, so confirm the current details in each store's dashboard.

Store	ISBN	Royalty (published terms)	Cover file
Amazon KDP ebook	Not required (free ASIN)	70% for list prices $2.99–$9.99 minus a delivery fee, otherwise 35%	JPEG or TIFF, ideal 1600 × 2560 px, RGB
Amazon KDP paperback	Required (free KDP ISBN or your own)	60% of list price minus printing on Amazon (50% below $9.99 on Amazon.com); 40% with Expanded Distribution	One PDF: back + spine + front, 0.125 inch bleed
Apple Books	Not required	About 70% of list price (verify)	JPEG or PNG, 1400 px minimum short side; 1600 × 2400 or larger recommended
Google Play Books	Not required (Google assigns ID)	Usually 70% of list price (verify)	JPEG/PNG/TIFF, 1600 × 2560 recommended
Kobo Writing Life	Not required	70% at $2.99 or more, 45% below (verify)	JPEG or PNG, 1600 × 2560 works
Barnes & Noble Press	Not required for ebooks; print needs one	About 70% for ebooks at $2.99–$9.99 (verify)	JPEG or PNG, 1400 px minimum short side
Draft2Digital	Optional (free ISBN available)	Store royalty minus a fee of about 10% of list price (verify)	JPEG, 1600 × 2400 or larger
IngramSpark	Required, your own per format	List price × (1 − wholesale discount 30–55%) − printing cost	Full-wrap PDF on IngramSpark's template

For store-by-store walkthroughs, see the guides in our publishing hub.

Step 6: Prepare the metadata each store needs

Metadata is the information that helps readers and store search engines find your book. Prepare it once in a document and copy it into each store so everything matches:

• Title and subtitle. Use exactly what's on the cover.
• Author name and contributors. Include the editor or translator if you want them credited.
• Description. Open with the hook, not background. Fiction descriptions sell the conflict and stakes. Nonfiction descriptions say who the book is for and what they'll be able to do after reading it.
• Keywords. Use phrases readers actually type, such as subgenre, setting or problem solved. Don't repeat words already in your title, and don't use other authors' names.
• Categories. Stores use BISAC codes or their own category lists. Choose specific categories where your book fits, rather than broad ones where it gets buried.
• Language, age range and content flags. Fill these in honestly. Wrong age ranges can get a book pulled.

Inkora's publishing kit drafts a description, keywords and BISAC categories, and can export ONIX 3.0 metadata. Edit those drafts so they sound like you, and check them against the categories bestsellers in your genre use.

Step 7: Price your self-published book

Ebooks. Look at the prices of comparable books in your category, especially from other independent authors. On KDP, the published terms pay 70% only for list prices between $2.99 and $9.99, so many authors price inside that band. Other stores have similar thresholds, so check the table above and each dashboard.

Print. Your print price has a floor. The store deducts printing cost from your royalty, and printing cost rises with page count and trim size. On IngramSpark, the wholesale discount you set also comes off before you're paid. Run your numbers through the KDP royalty calculator to see what you earn at different prices, then compare with similar paperbacks.

You can change prices later, so pick a reasonable starting point rather than waiting for a perfect one.

Step 8: Upload and launch the book

8.1 Order a proof copy

Before releasing a print book, order a printed proof from KDP or IngramSpark, or order a proof through Lulu. Check margins, spine text alignment, cover colors and image sharpness. Screens hide problems that paper shows immediately.

8.2 Upload to each store

Create your accounts, enter your metadata, upload interior and cover files, set prices and territories, and use the store's previewer. Our Amazon KDP guide walks through the ebook and paperback setup screen by screen.

8.3 Decide on a pre-order

KDP and several other ebook stores let you set up a pre-order. That gives you a live link to share before release day, but it also commits you to a delivery date. Only use it if your final files are close to ready.

8.4 Launch

• Tell your mailing list and social followers, with direct store links.
• Send advance copies to readers who agreed to review honestly. Never pay for reviews. Stores prohibit it and can remove reviews or your account.
• Check every store page on launch day for formatting or metadata errors.
• Keep writing. A second book gives readers of the first somewhere to go next.

Common problems and fixes

KDP or IngramSpark rejects the print cover. The spine width almost always doesn't match the final page count, or the file lacks bleed. Recalculate the spine with the final interior, rebuild the cover, and use each printer's own template.

Text is flagged as outside the margins. Increase the inside and outside margins, re-export the PDF, and check that nothing (including page numbers) sits in the trim area.

You used the free KDP ISBN and now want IngramSpark. That ISBN can't move. Buy your own ISBN and publish a separate paperback edition for IngramSpark. Some authors unpublish the KDP version and republish with their own ISBN so both editions match.

You spotted a typo after publishing. Fix the manuscript and upload a revised file. For print books, review the new proof before approving it.

The ebook is in KDP Select and you also published it wide. That breaks the exclusivity terms. Remove it from the other stores right away, or turn off Select auto-renewal and wait for the enrollment period to end before going wide.

Nothing is selling. Look at the cover, description and categories first, comparing each with top sellers in your genre. A cover that signals the wrong genre or a vague description is a more common cause than price.

Details differ between stores. Keep one master metadata document and update every store from it whenever you change anything.

Self-publishing is a sequence: finish and edit, format, design the cover, sort out ISBNs, choose stores, enter metadata, price, proof and launch. Doing the steps in order saves you from redoing covers and files. Once the first book is live, the second goes much faster because you already know the process.