How to Publish Your Own Writing at Iuniverse.Com

Self-publishing opportunities have grown increasingly more attractive in recent years, and no other place offers such a streamlined, user-friendly approach as iuniverse. Growing tired of drafting a long line of unsuccessful query letters, or receiving enough polite rejection letters to wallpaper your family room, electing to publish your own writing may bring a satisfying sense of relief to your world. Not only that, but also, if done well, you can use the tools presented by iuniverse to market your own writing in multiple ways, and, in the end, earn some money from all your hard work.

The site itself is loaded with advice and opportunity, ranging from services such as author conferences and community boards to editorial evaluations and recognition programs. All designed to ease the process of getting your own writing into the public market, iuniverse offers several different publishing packages, each with its own set of upgrades that can make your work cleaner and more attractive to a general audience. While you have to pay anywhere from $599 to $2,099 to publish one book, the money is well spent if you not only want to generate a profitable piece that has strong marketing, but also if you just wish to accomplish a life goal of getting your own book in print.

So, if you have finished drafting a book, whether you will do the editing and proofing yourself or you want iuniverse to do it for you, follow the steps below to get your book out on the market in virtually no time at all.

1.

Review the four possible packages on the "Compare Packages" section. Look at all of the services provided within each, and then decide which one will work best for your budget. The Select package, which runs the cheapest at $599, allows the author to receive one-on-one author support, a customized book cover, volume discounts for the author, worldwide distribution on Barnes&Noble.com, Amazon.com, Booksamillion.com, non-exclusive contracts, and five free copies of your book upon publication. The Premier and The Premier Pro packages, which cost $1,099 and $1,549 respectively, are the middle choices while Bookstore Premier Pro, which runs $2,099, represents the most diverse selection. This package provides the author with everything in the Select package and also supplies twenty free soft cover books upon publication; editorial evaluations; Star Program, Rising Star, and Editor's Choice eligibility; hardcover formatting; book buyer's preview; and bookstore return program. If you decide to publish by mail rather than online, the price increases $100.

2.

Once you have picked the best program for you, select to publish now. Depending on the package you have chosen, iuniverse will offer you add-on services, such as editorial reviews, hardcover options, line editing, additional graphics, indexing, proofreading, extra bookselling materials and marketing workbooks, book reviews, and an author website. These services range from $49 to $500. If you find you are tacking on too many additional pieces, you may want to return to the main page and select a different package that has these opportunities include and discounted. If you are serious about marketing the book, read through the details of the various publishing tools iuniverse offers. See the Marketing and Publicity Services page for in-depth descriptions on how to best market your material.

3.

When finished selecting the details of the package, you will finish the payment and ordering process, after which you will begin to construct the actual book. The directions are simple, but be prepared to make critical decisions about what the book will look like, what the jacket will say, etc.; basically, be ready for all the little things first-time publishers will often not realize. Once you have started the process, you do not have to finish it in one sitting. The website should save the inputted data, and you can return later to finish. Try, however, to get the process concluded quickly.

4.

Prior to uploading the manuscript of your book, you will need to craft the book's back cover, generate an author statement, write suggestions for or design your own cover, define key words for search engines, and scribe an enticing book description for marketing purposes. The larger the package you select, the more add-ons you will need to tend to. Be careful here to not rush this; in fact, have all of it written out prior to beginning the process. This way you can paste it in rather than trying to write it inside the box the first time.

5.

Now you can upload your book and send it off to iuniverse. Make sure you follow the guidelines for page breaks, tables of contents, titles, fonts, spacing, etc. Remember that they are a print-on-demand company, so much of this is strictly formatted. Once you have clicked the send button, all you have to do is wait for your publishing agent to be assigned.

6.

The agent will contact you via email (they are very receptive to you calling them with any questions you may have) and inform you of approximate time tables for publication. Generally speaking, iuniverse turns the books around fast, usually within four to six weeks; this can vary depending on how much volume they are handling at the time.

7.

You will receive a downloadable set of author proofs for your review. You have the opportunity here to proof the book and make any typographical alterations that need to be completed. The amounts vary in relation to the original package you selected. The faster these are made, the faster your book gets to print. Understand that once you return these revisions, the template is set. Any changes afterwards are awkward and expensive, so be patient and do it right.

8.

Several weeks later you will get notification that your book is available online at iuniverse for purchase; your free books should arrive a few weeks after that. This is when you can begin to get moving on the marketing side of the task, so follow the author toolkit provided or work closely with the agent to establish a plan. You may also want to reach out into the community to help publicize your release.

So, whether you long to see you own book on a shelf in your personal library, or you want to use your talents to make money, utilizing what iuniverse offers will certainly help you achieve your goal. The company understands its authors' motivations, and they want to help. Your experience with them will undoubtedly be one that is both positive and rewarding.