Book Production – Uploading Your Manuscript

Before you upload your book to the various distributor sites, you must prepare your book description in long and short forms, any review quotes you’ve obtained, keywords and categories, and your author biography. You’ll also need your ISBNs, subtitle, series title and volume number.

If you’re going wide, choose if you want to submit your ebook directly to Amazon, Kobo, Apple, Barnes and Noble, and Google Play, or if you want to go through a third-party aggregator such as Draft2Digital for some of these. Definitely upload to Amazon directly. You’ll still want to submit to D2D for all the other sites it covers, including library sales through Hoopla and Overdrive.

Exclusive or Non-Exclusive

Decide if you want your book in Kobo Plus, which is a subscription program like Kindle Unlimited but without exclusivity. And will you go exclusive on Amazon in their Kindle Unlimited program? Be careful when you upload to make the right choice. This also applies to your print book. Do not select Expanded Distribution at Amazon if you plan to also upload your print edition to IngramSpark.

You can save your books at each site as a draft without publishing yet, or you can submit for preorder. Make sure your details are consistent at each site. You’ll also have the opportunity to review digital proof copies.

Metadata

At each site, you’ll be asked for the book title, subtitle, series, and volume number. In most cases, you’ll upload the ebook cover and the ePub file. Then you may be asked to choose the categories and keywords, add an author bio and review quotes, set the price and publication date. You’ll also be asked for your ISBN numbers. I suggest you buy your own so you are listed as the publisher. ISBNs are also required at IngramSpark and to enter certain published author contests. Read more about this choice HERE.

At this point, you can submit for preorder or hit the save button and exit. This allows you to come back later to hit the Publish icon. This is helpful if you don’t have all of your information ready or if you’ll be submitting a revised book file. Or you may have to wait until you’re within the parameters of preorder dates, like for print books at Amazon KDP.

Launching Your Book

Once your book is ready and a pub date is set, you can prepare for your book launch. For my upcoming September book release, I’ve already scheduled a cover reveal, a virtual blog tour, and an online launch party. I’ll publish my ebook in June for preorders. This will allow me to collect the buy links for my scheduled cover reveal.

Then I will start soliciting advance reviews, if not before. I’ll do a preorder alert on BookBub and put my book into NetGalley through an author co-op. Meanwhile, I’m writing all the guest posts for my blog tour and for my Facebook launch party. You can also draft newsletters and blog posts ahead of time for your preorder and your book release dates. And don’t forget to create memes to promote your book on social media.

Go here for a more detailed launch countdown – https://nancyjcohen.com/preparing-for-a-book-launch/

Free Workshop

You can also sign up for this free workshop where I’ll be doing a Power Point presentation with much more how-to advice and examples:

Saturday, June 21 at 2:00 – 3:00 pm EDT, “Self-Publishing Made Simple: Your Roadmap to Success” with Nancy J. Cohen via Zoom sponsored by Alvin Sherman Library at Nova Southeastern University – https://nova.libcal.com/event/14245503

View my previous posts:
Finalizing Your Manuscript
Choosing an eBook Distributor
Choosing a Print Distributor

Self-Publishing Made Simple: Your Roadmap to Success

Meet the Author

Tuesday, May 13, 2025 at 9:30 – 11:30 am “Meet the Author – Nancy Cohen” at the Seminole County Library, 215 N. Oxford Rd, Cassleberry, FL
https://www.facebook.com/events/632333466294423

A private event hosted by Mary Ippolito and JoAnn Baker for The Ethel Gathering Group: Central Florida. Join now and look for your local community chat room. The Ethels were created by AARP to help women meet each other to participate in local events while forming meaningful connections. Make new girlfriends within our fantastic community! https://www.facebook.com/groups/829169749098046

Book Production – Finalizing Your Manuscript

Getting your manuscript ready for formatting means adding front and back material and completing your copyright page.

For your copyright page, you’ll need the ISBN numbers for each edition. Make sure you have your book description, eBook cover, and author bio ready before you get started. You’ll need a separate ISBN number for digital, paperback, and hardcover editions.

You can use the same print ISBN at Amazon KDP and IngramSpark, but you’ll need a separate one for Barnes and Noble if you plan to upload direct. Otherwise, IS will get your print book listed at Barnes and Noble. You can use the same ebook ISBN at all vendors.

For detailed instructions on how to buy and assign ISBN numbers and why this matters, go to: https://nancyjcohen.com/buying-and-assigning-isbn-numbers/

Aside from the title page and copyright page, what else can go in front of your book? And how about items you can add in the back, such as Acknowledgements, Author’s Note, Book List, and more? It’s best to leave the front end as clear as possible for the “Look Inside” feature, so the reader doesn’t have to scroll through several pages to get to the first chapter. Instead, put most of that material in the back. Here’s a detailed look at what these pages might include: https://nancyjcohen.com/adding-front-and-back-material-to-your-book/

Once you have finished your front and back matter, you’re ready for formatting. You can do this yourself, use a third-party aggregator such as Draft2Digital to convert your files for free, or hire a professional. Once you have your pdf file, you can give your cover artist the page count for the paperback cover.

Now that you have your ePub and/or pdf files and your covers, it’s time to upload your work to the various book distributors and either save them as drafts or submit for preorder.

PRIOR POSTS:

Book Production – Cover Design
Publishing Choices

Coming Next: Book Production – Uploading Your Book

DEALS AND STEALS

Last Day! $0.99 sale on EASTER HAIR HUNT ends tomorrow. Get your copy now or buy a print edition as a gift! An Easter egg hunt at a historic mansion turns deadly when hairstylist Marla Vail discovers a body in a bunny suit. Can she use her egg-cellent sleuthing skills to crack the case? Available in print and ebook editions – https://books2read.com/EasterHairHunt

GIVEAWAYS

Easter Egg Hunt Blog Event at Coffee Time Romance – Recipes, Prizes and Book Spotlights. Join now at https://coffeetimeromance.com/easter-egg-treasure-by-nancy-j-cohen/

Enter the All Things Cozy Giveaway (Cozy Mystery & Cozy Fantasy) and you could win a bunch of eBooks and a brand-new Kindle! Look for my book, Easter Hair Hunt, as one of the featured titles. https://www.bargainbooksy.com/all-things-cozy-giveaway-040125/

What is your favorite chocolate dessert? Leave a comment at Booklover’s Bench for a chance to win an ebook copy of A Bad Hair Day Cookbook– Recipe and Giveaway! https://bookloversbench.com/lets-talks/national-chocolate-mousse-day/

Enter to win two free books from Booklovers Bench – https://bookloversbench.com/contests/win-two-free-books-april-2025/

Book Deals and Giveaways April 2025

April is a busy month with Passover and Easter holidays. Stock your book basket with the deals and steals below and enter the giveaways.

BOOK GIVEAWAYS

April 1-May 31

Enter the “All Things Cozy (Cozy Mystery & Cozy Fantasy) Giveaway” and you could win a bunch of eBooks and a brand new Kindle! Look for my book, Easter Hair Hunt, as one of the featured titles. https://www.bargainbooksy.com/all-things-cozy-giveaway-040125/

April 4

Easter Egg Hunt Blog Event Coffee Time Romance – Recipes, Prizes, and Book Spotlights. Join now at https://coffeetimeromance.com/easter-egg-treasure-by-nancy-j-cohen/

April 3-10

What is your favorite chocolate dessert? Leave a comment at Booklover’s Bench for a chance to win an ebook copy of A Bad Hair Day Cookbook! https://bookloversbench.com/lets-talks/national-chocolate-mousse-day/

April 1-22

Enter to win two free books from Booklovers Bench – https://bookloversbench.com/contests/win-two-free-books-april-2025/

ON SALE

March 2 – April 9
Ending Soon!! EASTER HAIR HUNT is On Sale for $0.99 – An Easter egg hunt at a historic mansion turns deadly when hairstylist Marla Vail discovers a body in a bunny suit. Can she use her egg-cellent sleuthing skills to crack the case? “Cozy fans will love it.” Available in print and ebook editions. https://books2read.com/EasterHairHunt

EVENTS FOR WRITERS

April 22-25 – The Business of Writing Summit

The Business of Writing Summit is a unique event where authors and entrepreneurs come together to share their best insights on craft and the business of writing. These workshops will provide tools for you to succeed as an aspiring author and for those wanting to improve their skills. The summit will consist of approximately 16-19 pre-recorded sessions. Look for my topic “Book Promotion on a Budget” on Day 4. Register April 13-21 at https://trouche-curreri.com/rgstr-bw?am_id=nancy5331

April 13 – Safety Awareness