Brainstorm and Plan Release
3-5 daysDefine target audience, pricing strategy, and publication timeline.
Field context
This workflow is part of 4 niche fields
Complete guide for self publishing prep — step-by-step workflow, tools, checklist, and expert tips to get started.
Define target audience, pricing strategy, and publication timeline.
Estimate editing, cover, formatting costs and project royalty per sale.
Format interior, commission cover, and prepare ebook and print files.
Upload to KDP, set up metadata, and track early sales and reviews.
Determine print trim size and page count for KDP print cost calculation.
Project per-unit royalty at chosen list price and delivery cost.
Estimate audiobook production timeline if planning ACX release.
Verify word count category placement for genre browsing on retailers.
Key benchmarks for self publishing prep.
| Step | Cost | DIY Option |
|---|---|---|
| Edit | $500-3000 | Beta readers |
| Cover | $100-500 | Canva/99designs |
| Format | $0-200 | Vellum/Atticus |
Readers judge books by covers — invest here before spending on ads.
KDP Select exclusivity trades wide distribution for Kindle Unlimited page reads.
Vellum and Atticus pay for themselves on the first book versus hiring a formatter.