If you've ever asked yourself that question, you're in the right place. Learn how to become a self-published author with the best free resources from Lulu.

To self-publish, start with a finished manuscript. Once your book is edited, you'll need to create a PDF formatted for printing and a cover file. Finally, you'll need to gather your book's information to correctly publish the book and make it available for sale.

4 Step Publishing Formula

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How to Self-Publish

Writing & Editing

Before you can publish, you'll need to finish the book! That includes writing and editing the entire book thoroughly. The book needs to be complete before you can design it! Otherwise, you'll repeat layout and design work as you make corrections and changes to the manuscript.

Start by editing yourself, using AI tools and your own writing skills to fix the most obvious spelling, grammar, and usage mistakes. But you can't stop there! You'll also want to employ at least one professional editor.

There are a lot of different kinds of editors you could work with. This might include line editing, developmental editing, and other reviews.  Make sure you're hiring the right editors for your book.

Not all books need professional editing. If you have editors in your professional network, you can trade your expertise for help editing.

Interior Design

Cover Design

Lulu offers an easy-to-use DIY cover creation option, but you can also create your cover as a unique PDF, sized to fit Lulu's publishing requirements and featuring unique cover art.

Prepare Metadata

Metadata is the information that describes your book. Publishers and retailers use this information to create a listing in their bookstore and ultimately sell your book. Here's a short list of the most important parts of your metadata:

Publishing

With your book written, edited, and designed and all the essential metadata close at hand, you're ready to publish! Using your free Lulu account, you'll be prompted to add your metadata, select your book's specifications, and upload your interior and cover print-ready PDF.

If you plan to sell your book, you must select your distribution options and set the retail price. Lulu offers three ways to sell your book: on the Lulu Bookstore, through retailers like Amazon, and directly from your own website.

Your book's interior PDF must contain everything inside the book, including the front matter, back matter, text, and images. Before you format your files, take some time to learn about the different elements of page layout and design.

Formatting & Design

Self-Publishing Resources

Get all the resources your need to publish like a pro. Includes: New User Guide | Tutorial Videos | Print & Ebook Templates | Pricing Caculator | Pro Marketplace

With your manuscript edited and finalized, you're ready to prepare print-ready files for your book. This is a PDF designed with all printer requirements and specifications in mind for your interior content and another PDF for your cover.

Already Know Your Page Count?

Explore Lulu's wealth of free book creation and publishing guides. Plus, download publishing template bundles with book page and cover templates for InDesign, Photoshop, and Word.

Book Design Templates

Use our Pricing Calculator to see print costs and download a custom cover template using your exact page count.

How to
Self-Publish

To self-publish, start with a finished manuscript. Once your book is edited, you'll need to create a PDF formatted for printing and a cover file. Finally, you'll need to gather your book's information to correctly publish the book and make it available for sale.

Self-Publishing Resources

Get all the resources your need to publish like a pro. Includes: New User Guide | Tutorial Videos | Print & Ebook Templates | Pricing Caculator | Pro Marketplace