The team at Self-Published have been involved in the production of more than 600 books. We know what it takes to bring together all the creative elements to make a great book, and produce it to a high standard. We cover every aspect of production – from manuscript development to finished product to launch and marketing campaign. Click on the icons below to learn more about specific services.
No one ever said it was easy to write a book – and if they did, it probably wasn’t a very good one! If you are a first time author looking for input and guidance, we can help you. If you are an experienced author who would like to sharpen and refine your style, we can help you too. We’ve guided dozens of authors in developing their style, who have gone on to successfully publish multiple books. We’ve even coached a few celebrities, but we can’t talk about that!
The manuscript development of any book is a critical stage in the publishing process. At Self-Published we are great believers in Content, Structure and Flow. Planning a great outline is seven tenths of writing a book. Get this part right and the rest will be so much easier.
We are here to offer an objective opinion on your book outline or early manuscript, and to give constructive guidance and help along the way. Get in touch to find out more about how we work.
Even the most accomplished authors acknowledge that the support of a great editor can bring out the best in them and add finesse and polish to the final manuscript. We describe our editorial style as “inspirational” rather than “technical”. In other words, we seek to preserve the author’s style as much as possible, rather than slavishly following the grammar and punctuation rule book. We still strive for excellence, however, to bring your work up to industry standards.
Our editorial services range from simple PROOFREADING, to COPY EDITING, to STRUCTURAL REWRITES, to full-on GHOST WRITING. Frequently, we are also asked to CRITIQUE MANUSCRIPTS. We can provide advice on the structure and direction of your work, but also its marketability. Use our contact form to tell us about your project and request a quotation.
Our design team have been designing book covers for more than 20 years and have won multiple awards. Always surprising and creative, they intuitively know what it takes to make an impact and sell a book. Although it’s a worn out cliche, the fact is that the cover is the main tool you have to sell your book (and yes, people will judge it!).
To compete with the myriad other products in the marketplace, you need a cover that grabs attention and packs a punch. It also needs to be appropriate for its genre and communicate a clear message about the content of your book without misleading readers. Have a look at our Portfolio page where you will find lots of examples of covers we’ve designed over the years.
The design of the printed page is just as important as the words upon it. Good internal design can enhance the flow of a book – just as poor page design will hinder it and detract from the reader’s enjoyment. When designing your book interior, we are always looking for ways in which we can “customise” it to make it that bit more special and unique. Check out our portfolio to see examples of our recent projects.
Is page layout really necessary you may ask? Yes! For two reasons: many of our customers want to end up with a printed book, so a professional layout is essential. But even if you’re going to produce an eBook, these are best produced from a well-designed document that shows exactly how the book should be laid out, making the conversion process much simpler and quicker.
Publishing has changed a great deal in recent years in response to advances in technology, which in turn has had an impact on how and where readers want to interact with books. In order to reach the widest possible audience with your work, publishing a digital version is essential. For some authors, the eBook complements their printed version, but more and more authors are focusing on publishing digitally, with print-on-demand hard copies as an optional extra.
Once the page layout of your book is complete, we create the eBook version from the formatted file – a method which has proven to get the best results. We deliver the files to you in 2 formats: mobi, for publishing on Amazon’s Kindle platform, and epub, for publishing on all other platforms/stores, such as Barnes & Noble’s Nook, Kobo reader, Sony, and Mac/PC based e-reading software
The quality of print-on-demand books has rocketed in recent years, to the point where it’s difficult to tell a POD produced book from a traditionally printed one. Historically, self-publishing authors have had to print large numbers of books (and store them in their garage!) in order to get the cost price in proportion to the retail price. Now, much shorter runs are achievable at sensible prices, meaning that authors a) don’t have to commit so much money up front, b) still make a good margin on sales, and c) can make a return on their investment more quickly.
We can supply print on demand books in a range of formats, but usually recommend the most common trade formats you would find in high street bookstores. We work with traditional print suppliers too. Whether produced on demand or traditionally, you can be assured of receiving a high quality finished product.
We say that the marketing begins when you’re planning your book outline, not when you have a finished product in your hands. At Self-Published we advocate a total marketing strategy that encompasses every stage of the book production process. Contact us for more information.
“An absolute joy to work with from start to finish.”
“Leave a message, and if I like you, I’ll call you back.” – James’ answerphone
“Joe & Tim instinctively know how to create great books and market them successfully. Their guidance proved to be invaluable.”
“You’ve made it sound like me, only better! Many people are commenting on the brilliant cover and the quality of my book, as well as the content.”