Writing a book remains a major bucket list item for many, it certainly was for me and I was delighted to publish my first book Connecting the Continent in 2023.
In Part One of this series I outlined the process of developing the topic of your football book and the writing process. Now I turn my attention to the publishing component. By ‘publishing’ I mean a finished book, available for purchase at an online retailer (I’ll let you guess which one).
Formatting
In order to create a viable file for book printing, you’ll need to format your book to hit the right dimensions etc. The good news is this does not need to involve endless playing with margins on word or google docs.
There are a number of platforms that can help you format your book and create print ready files. I used Reedsy Book Editor. It does not have all the bells and whistles as some of the other offerings but served my needs perfectly. The best part is it is free.
I inputted my google doc about half way through the book. It was a major moment as things started to feel ‘real’ and gave me a spur to go on and complete the manuscript.
After I had finished a first draft complete I was able to use those files to upload directly into Amazon's KDP program (see below).
Cover Design
I used the gig service Fiverr to find a designer for my Book Cover. I created a simple mock up in PowerPoint and the designer used that to develop a few ideas for me. I found a picture to use via wiki commons which was free and in the public domain (benefits of working on an historical topic) and had it colorized, also on Fiverr. The total cost was less than $100.
There are do-it-yourself cover makers out there and you can certainly try your hand yourself if you have graphic design experience. Amazon will provide you with a template to help you get the dimensions correct, but you’ll want to get it right and as close to professional looking as you can on your budget.
My experience with my designer on Fiverr was excellent, as long as I provided them with clear instructions. Cost was around $50 which included a couple of versions and edits.
Publishing
I used Amazon's Kindle Direct Publishing (KDP) service to publish my book for e-book and paperback. I decided against hardback as I didn't like the samples sent but this may change in time.
The main benefit of self-publishing is a) you don't have to spend time and money finding a agent and a publisher b) you keep more of the royalties for yourself.
Though it is not easy to be traditional published, there are a number of smaller publishers now and in football, Pitch Publishing appears to be willing to take a chance on first-time authors. They will also have editing support which, as mentioned in Part One, is not cheap when financing yourself.
Amazon employs a Print-on-Demand model which means you don't have to fill your spare room with copies of your masterpiece. They handle all the fulfillment of orders and associated shipping. In most cases your book can be sent via Prime in a couple of days. Your book can be listed in all Amazon markets (may be some exceptions) so you can reach readers across the globe!
One of the biggest moments for me was when I was close to being finished, I uploaded into the system and purchased some author copies. Actually holding your (almost finished) book for the first time is one of the most exciting moments for any prospective writerThere are a lot of options with Amazon's royalty model but I went for the following:
E-Book: 70% Royalty minus $0.09 delivery fee. Please note this means Amazon has exclusive digital rights for my book. Right now I'm priced at $4.99 and I receive $3.43 for every ebook sold.
Paperback: 60% Royalty minus printing costs. For my 300p approx book the printing cost is $4.13. Currently I have it listed at $13.99 which brings in a royalty of $4.08 per book sold. In comparison traditional publishing royalties are around the 10% mark, so you'd need to sell 4x more books via a traditional publisher to make the same money.
Once all that’s been determined and you’ve decided your final price, you just need to click the button and go live. You’re now a published author!
Marketing and Promotion
One of the benefits of a publisher however is that they will certainly be able to bring your book to a wider audience. The increased level of sales may offset any difference in royalties but it is hard to tell. If you don't have much of a platform, and are lucky enough to have the option of working with a publisher, then it would make a lot of sense to have them help you build your author brand.
In my case I did exactly what you're not meant to do and just pushed it out in Amazon and hoped for the best with no promotion. Obviously I got some sales from friends and family but these only run to a certain level. However, my book has steadily made sales and though I'm not going to retire to my writing cave yet, it's pleasing to see it gain traction.
Social media can be a big help and even a small presence can boost your sales. There are also some football book review websites that you can reach out to promote your book also.
The great thing about a book is that it is not an perishable good. It never goes off and in the current system, it never goes out of print.
Amazon does offer advertising and there are a number of books and videos on this topic. I did experiment and though I was not out of pocket (you pay by click) it did seem I was going to have invest a lot more time and money in order to find the perfect formula.
Conclusion
So that's it, not that hard after all. No reason to put up the internal barriers and say it can't be done. Time to sit down and get typing.
If you are thinking of writing a football book and don't know where to start feel free to reach out with any questions here. I’d be happy to share my experiences thus far.