So you have written a book and want to get it published, but you’re not sure where to begin. There are a few options for publishing a book, the obvious one is to find a publisher. A publisher will provide editing, a critical part of publishing a book that is not always done. While you might think your book is written very well, you will be surprised when a professional editor fixes it for you. They will find typos, grammar mistakes, and poorly written sentences.

A publisher will also publish the book at some given price and determines the price of the book. Some publishers will provide you with a web site for new books. Additionally they have contacts for marketing your book or they will market it for you. The publisher will also provide the artwork for the cover of your book, another critical aspect of publishing a book. People are very visual and will buy a book simply by its look.

I remember when I publish my first book, it was a disaster! I picked a publisher and contacted them, and they sent me a contract. Everything seemed fine as the book was edited and the art work was done. But then I went to order books and they did not send me my books, much to my dismay. Next they quit answering their phone. At that point in time I decided to get my money back through my visa card, for the books that I had ordered. It turned out they were going out of business and were running a scam, selling their services at 25% of what it normally was and not providing the services. They ended up in prison for their crimes. And I did not get my book published and was out $3,000!

Alternatively you can self publish your book. You will be responsible for the editing, the cover art, formatting, disclaimers, copyright statement, setting the price, and marketing. I recommend you find a professional to edit your book, at least the first time so you can see what they do and learn to do it automatically in your writing. Self publishing is an inexpensive way to publish a book.

I have self published all of my books at Amazon Kindle, after my encounter with a standard publisher. They provide all the tools you will need to publish your book and on-demand paperback printing. Additionally you may publish your book as an e-book in Amazon Kindle. E-books are rapidly replacing the paperback book as a preferred method of reading them.

You can market your book at numerous web sites, some of them are free and some of them require payment. There also are companies that publish magazines or newsletters which offer marketing in the form of write-ups and book reviews for a fee.