Blog: Stop! Before You Publish Your Book (aspiring Self-Publishers Take Note!)

September 10, 2025

Blog: Stop! Before You Publish Your Book (Aspiring Self-Publishers Take Note!) 📚 

Self-publishing a book? Congratulations! But have you covered all your bases??! How sure are you that your readers will connect with it, or even get through it?

Self-publishing might feel like a quicker or more guaranteed way of ensuring people get to read what you've written, but it isn't simply a matter of typing something out, running a spellcheck, and uploading the book into KDP or IngramSpark.

Check out the tips below so that you can publish more confidently. At all costs, you'll want to skip the disappointment and flat-out panic of flipping through your newly printed #book only to question its quality, flow, and impact. (HINT: Hiring an editor isn't the only requirement!)

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In my line of work, it's not uncommon to hear clients express some doubt about the book they've just written. If you're there right now, you should know that some level of panic is a normal part of the publishing process. I've seen it manifest for established and aspiring authors alike.

You've worked hard for months or even years. You've spent hours of your life putting together words and stories that describe your most precious experiences, ideas, life lessons, intimate character journeys, or deepest sources of inspiration. You've sweated over black and white characters on a page and, sometimes, shed tears over them. Now, with a full manuscript in your hands (at last!), reaching this point feels like summiting the tallest mountain.

In a way, you're right. You're higher and further and deeper into it than you've ever been. There's no doubt that it's a massive achievement writing that last chapter and feeling ready for someone else to take a look at what you've created. Soak it in. Celebrate! When you're done glowing, however, gently remind yourself that completing your manuscript is really only your first step. Yes, it's a big step, a mammoth step, and it's phenomenal that you're finally ready to put the book out into the world. Still, it's only the first in a series of important steps that you'll want to take before actually seeing your name in print.

Why? The point of writing might not be the same to you as it is to the next author, but there's a chance it falls into one or more of these categories:

• You've had a story in your head that you want to share with the world.

• You've had an experience you want to share so that others can learn from it or understand life better.

• You've come upon a topic or research idea that has sparked your passion and driven you deeper into the subject, and you think others should know about it.

• You've come up against something that's got your blood boiling or made you want to take action, and a book seemed like the best way to showcase that problem or solution.

• You've desired to write a book that makes you lots of money or makes you famous.

• You've set a life goal to write and publish a book, like a bucket list item you can check off.

• You've got a gift that you want to offer to the world or a message that can change lives.

• You've found a life concept or product that could help others and make you money, and a book seems like a nice way to introduce it or highlight its best qualities for your potential customers.

Whether you're pure in your ideals of "being a writer" or savvy in monetizing an excellent product or service, publishing a book might get you to where you'd like to be. But only if it's a good book that people read, enjoy, and possibly recommend to everyone else.

Add Value Because Only Quality Self-Published Content Sells

Do you want to publish something that you are immensely proud of and ready to share with every person you meet? Of course, you do. I haven't yet met a client who didn't want to feel amazed and excited by the content they've published, whether that was a full-on book or a catchy blog post to boost their new website.

Maybe that's why it's so concerning to see people so willing to jump in unprepared. Most people wouldn't dare to run a full marathon without putting in enough hours on the road before race day. You wouldn't let your teenager jump behind the wheel unassisted until they'd had an adequate number of Driver's Ed sessions and studied the rules of the road. Why publish a book that isn't ready to go the distance?

After pouring in all the blood, sweat, and tears, you also want the finished work to reflect what the book has cost you. I don't mean catching typos, inconsistencies, and plot gaps. Those are important things to iron out for a credible and professional piece of work, of course. But what about value? What does your book offer that other books in the niche don't? What appeal might your personal style or perspective have for those who pore over your words? A publisher looks for these unique traits in books they agree to publish because being able to market them depends on what value they potentially provide for the intended readers.

Tips To Consider Before You Self-Publish That New Book

Self-publishing might feel like a quicker or more guaranteed way to ensure people get to read what you've written, but it isn't simply a matter of typing something out, running a spellcheck, and creating a cover. What are the most overlooked checklist items to consider before loading a book into self-publishing platforms like KDP or IngramSpark?

As a professional who serves that gap between raw manuscript ideas and submitting to publishers (or self-publishing), here are some tips that I advise my clients to take seriously:

1. Do the Background Work To Truly Understand Your Book's Value

When you submit a book for a publisher's consideration, they will typically ask you for a few items. Your submission might include a query letter, your detailed book synopsis, and a few chapters as a sample for them to look through. If it's fiction, they may ask you to provide some notes on your characters (showing the arc of each one's journey). If it's nonfiction, you may need to explain your sources and research process, as well as a comprehensive reference list. If you haven't really thought about any of that yet, you're not ready to publish your book.

This information is useful in helping you prepare for publishing if you're going through traditional channels. However, this type of background work is also essential if you want to understand how to position your book when you self-publish. Marketing the book is key if you're going to maximize the sales potential, after all. You can't do that as effectively if you don't have a grip on details like which genre the book fits into, what readers expect from that type of book, and how well your material meets those needs.

2. Hire an Editor and Keep an Open Mind

Yes, you'll want to hire an editor, even if you're going to go the traditional publishing route. Usually, a publisher will require a fully written, edited, and polished manuscript to be submitted for consideration. If you're self-publishing, hiring an editor could make the difference between a book that's full of errors, plot holes, and inconsistencies and one that makes the bestseller list.

So many clients remark "how ready" they felt when delivering their original manuscript to me for editing or proofreading. It's that feeling kicking in of summiting the mountain. You've done the lion's share of your writing work and come out on top. You're ready for an editor to do a quick check, and then to hurry along to the publishing stage so that you can see it all in print, right? You might get lucky and do that all in the one to two-week timeline you're demanding in your advertisements on Upwork or another freelance platform. In reality, however, you'll need a bit more time.

A professional editor can turn around your book in one to two weeks. That's true. However, when you receive the comments, notes, and tracked changes, you might be surprised at how much insight your editor can provide for you. Expect it to go deep, and to "query" just about everything. The right editor wants to help you preserve your authentic voice, but they also want to ensure your message is crystal clear, easy to read, and free of contradictions. They'll point out where things don't gel or where you're getting off track. For each suggestion or comment, you'll have to make a choice: accept or reject. And that takes time.

Once you're done going through the initial feedback, you may then have a few back-and-forth exchanges with your editor to finalize things, ask questions, change the material, or update sections that aren't working. You may have to rewrite or delete sections so that your book can truly shine. When all of that is in place, your editor will then want to run the final checks on the manuscript that may include things like grammar checks, plagiarism reports, AI detection, and so on. Again, all of that takes time to complete with precision.

It's worth it, though. The book you send on to the publisher or your typesetter will be the best it can possibly be. If you and your editor have put in the time required to polish, probe, and perfect the manuscript, the quality results will be obvious when you publish.

3. Only Use a Professional Typesetter and a Cover Designer (Before Self-Publishing)

Your motivation behind self-publishing might be to save time and money on an otherwise long and potentially expensive process. Can't you just self-publish and start making money without the middleman? You can, or you can find out that nobody is interested in buying your book because of its mediocre cover, unattractive text, and design disasters.

If you don't want to be stuck looking at your published book falling deeper into the ranking abyss from week to week, know that it's worth it to hire a professional typesetter to format your book's contents and make them truly beautiful. The same applies to a book cover designer: inexperienced designers might not hit the mark on your cover, spine, or illustrations. You get what you pay for.

Platforms like Fiverr do have a wealth of talent, but be discerning about the service provider you choose to hire. Do you like the samples they've posted? Do their clients give them great ratings on those design jobs? How professional does their profile look (a design expert won't stand for fuzzy visuals and webpages representing their work!)

4. Enlist Beta Readers, Endorsements, and Friends as a Reality Check

Does your book hit the mark? You'll sure find out when people start to buy it, read it, and then post their reviews. But why wait until that crucial moment to find out that you've missed something? You can find out whether people find your book worth reading way before you actually publish it. There are three main ways to go about this:

• Hire beta readers. These complete strangers read the book and give you feedback on it.

• Ask for endorsements. The person reads your book and provides a review that you include in the final published version. Note: Research how these work in your region before you go and include endorsements without legal agreements about pay, exposure, and licensing

• Ask friends and family to read your book and tell you what they think (honestly!). If you go this route, be sure to keep an open mind and prepare to receive negative comments with grace. Good and bad feedback can be useful to you if you're receiving it BEFORE you publish trash!

5. Preview Your Book as a Reader Before You Click "Publish Your Book"

You've received all the designs, put everything together, gathered feedback, and implemented any last-minute changes based on what your initial readers have said. Now, what? Well, have you actually read your book yet?

Reading your own book can feel like a mammoth undertaking after you've spent months or years of your life writing it. Yet, I can't tell you the number of clients who tell me how shocked they've been to see their words in black and white and offered to the world. They sit down to read the book they've read and... it feels like they've never seen it before. What are these words? Did you really write them?

Once your typeset, error-free manuscript is set out in its gorgeous jacket and lovingly printed into a book that's real and available for purchase, it's no longer your work in progress. That messy but familiar manuscript you've built and refined for so long is gone. This is the final, real version, and you might not recognize it.

Do yourself a favor: BEFORE YOU PUBLISH, sit and read through your book from cover to cover. Take note of how it feels to you as a reader. Does it flow? Are there places where you think it needs some work? Are there gaps in the material that you're only just seeing for the first time?

It's okay if you find something bad or if you feel dissatisfied with how it has turned out. If you haven't published yet, there's time to fix it, refine it, add to it, delete something, explain something better, and pull out the sections that sound, to be honest, a little incoherent now that you're reading them with distance between you and the manuscript. Don't despair; liaise with your editor and address the issues. Then, move on and publish with confidence.

Have you already published and are only now discovering issues in the printed copy? Stay calm; new editions are made for this purpose. Liaise with your publisher or editor on ironing out the problem sections and then update the content in a new edition. If there are major issues, you are within your rights to unpublish and keep working on it for the re-release.

Avoiding these issues is best, and a good editor can help you feel more confident about picking up your printed book and seeing only good stuff there. Still, don't give up hope if your published book has a fatal flaw. Second chances are possible, even if it takes extra time, effort, and money to get things right. Keep writing.

6. Finally, Hire a Professional To Proofread Your Typeset Book BEFORE You Publish It

The final tip, if you're self-publishing, is to add the extra step of proofreading your actual, finished, typeset, publish-ready book. The manuscript feels different from the finished product. It looks different. Often, it reads differently because of the role of visuals, font type, spacing, and page layouts.

Your reading brain isn't an island. It takes in the whole experience. Isn't reading a book on your phone different from reading one on an e-reader? The same can be said for holding a real book with pages to turn in your hand as opposed to swiping a screen with your finger. Sensory inputs matter to how you receive the read.

As per above, you should always take the time to read through your own book in its final form BEFORE YOU PUBLISH. However, it's also important to ensure that you send this final book version to your editor or a professional proofreader for one more run. Sensory experiences affect editors and proofreaders. We're humans, too! If you want to be 100% sure that your book passes, let a professional see it in its final version and read it as your readers will experience it. If there are still issues to pick up, they'll catch them.

And then? You can publish with so much more confidence!

Need some help getting your manuscript up to a professional standard? Find out more about my writing & book editing services here. #RewrittenServices #SmallBusiness #Passion