If you intend to make a business out of self-publishing a book, be sure you understand the key elements to the book publishing process. Once you have an understanding of these basic publishing terms, you’ll be more prepared to succeed in this business we call the book business.

2019 is here, and with it comes a fresh sense of excitement in the air! As we look toward this new year, it's only natural to take a moment and celebrate some of the best and brightest ideas from 2018. The verdict is in—here are your top seven most loved self-publishing blogs from IngramSpark last year! 

As the holiday season winds down, there’s a new sense of excitement in the air. This is the year that you’re going to publish a book. You’ve thought about it for months, maybe even created goals around writing, networking, and creating a fan-base; but you still haven’t published a book. We get it – life happens, and maybe writing isn’t your full-time job (yet). Now is the time to take a leap and go for it. For all of you aspiring authors ready to take the plunge, we’ve put together a list of New Year’s Resolutions for writers that will make your dream to publish a book in 2019 a reality.

A crucial element of your book marketing and sales strategy needs to be making your book easy to categorize and discover. You achieve this with good book metadata. Successful self-publishers know how to incorporate as much quality metadata as possible into their publishing strategy, and while you don't have to include all of the following elements, consider incorporating those that are applicable to your book and your potential audience. Following are the metadata components that impact book sales most.

When you decide to self-publish a book, you are signing up for all the duties a traditional publisher would typically take on. That means you not only have to write a great book but you also take on the job of marketing it. Where do you begin? You construct a book marketing strategy and forge ahead step by step! Here are a few key elements for a good book marketing strategy.

Considering converting your print book into an ebook? Offering your book in multiple formats is one of the easiest ways to reach more readers. While some readers prefer to read in the print format, there are some who prefer to read ebooks only. Not offering your book in ebook format, is a guarantee your content will never reach them, so why limit your book's distribution?

If you’ve been considering how to publish a book by becoming an indie publisher, here's a brief overview of core publishing topics, from crafting your creation to bursting onto markets across the globe, and why they're so important to achieving publishing success. 

Social media marketing is important for almost every industry. Consumers use it to make purchasing decisions and see what non-marketers are saying about a person, brand, or idea. Authors and publishers use social media marketing to direct consumer awareness in the online community.

Did you know IngramSpark has free online self-publishing courses on topics that matter most to you and your publishing success? Courses are already available on book metadata, social media marketing, building an author platform, and the business of self-publishing. You’ll find them in the IngramSpark Academy!

We launched our self-publishing podcast, Go Publish Yourself, in January 2018 and have since completed Season 1, Season 2, and an Author Spotlight series for a total of 30 episodes. We’ve been blown away by your warm reception of gaining self-publishing tips in this way. With over 70,000 listens in more than 70 countries, the people have spoken, and we look forward to producing even more episodes!