Tuesday, May 7, 2024

Make Your Book Indistinguishable In Quality to One Published By the Big Five Publishers: A Free Resource

Hello, SCBWI friends!

The Independent Book Publishers Association (IBPA) has a free PDF checklist called The IBPA Industry Standards Checklist for a Professionally Published Book.

screenshot of the first page of the IBPA Industry Standards Checklist for a Professionally Published Book

It's very helpful two page PDF that can help you make sure that when you publish your own work it is professionally put together and presented--both for industry folks (librarians, booksellers, agents, trade outlets, etc...) and the reading public.

The good news is the reading public doesn't care who published a book. So if you make sure your book is professionally done, you're giving that book the best chance to succeed.

Note: The term "self-publishing" tricks a lot of people into thinking that they just need to learn how to do it all themselves. This is the wrong approach. You need to hire professionals to do a lot of the elements that you can't do at a professional level. (Think about it: If no one is going to pay me to design the cover of their book, then I have no business designing the cover of my book.)

A better term for a creator publishing their own work is "author publisher" - because as a publisher, you're the final say on how professionally put together the book is. You hire the team, you oversee the project, and you're the one who signs off on the version that goes out into the world.

So if you are or want to be an author publisher, this IBPA Checklist for a Professionally Published Book is an excellent resource.

Illustrate, Translate, and Write On,
Lee



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