How College Ministers Can Publish their own Million Dollar Book!!!

 College Ministers must self publish for the benefit of college ministry as a whole.  So, where do you start?

After my blog, "College Ministers MUST Self Publish" I was overwhelmed (ok maybe one or two) with requests to do a quick "How to" on self publishing.  Even though I have done several self published college ministry books, I am far from an expert.  At first, I paid a former student to edit and do the work of uploading it to Amazon, etc.  But, that was an expense, I sometimes did not recover.  So, I ventured out on my own.  If I can do it, YOU can do it.

BASIC STEPS:

Go to Kindle Direct Self Publishing.

Set up an account at no cost.  Just follow the prompts.

Click on Create..  It will give you the choice of eBook, Paperback, or Hardcover.  I did a few eBooks in the very beginning.  But, I now do only paperback.  It is just my preference.

Blanks to fill in will come up..  These are Title, Author, Description.  The Description is very important.  This is what will appear on the Amazon page about your book where people can order it.  So, the description and appearance of it are very important. You might go to Amazon and pick a book or two you like and see their descriptions.

Key words is next.  You can list several (7 I think) these are words that people google that might lead them to your book such as "Christian youth ministry" or "College Ministry" etc.  Look at the page of some college ministry books on Amazon and you will see how they are ranked.  Shane Pruitt's new book, Calling Out the Called, shows up in "Christian Church Leadership" and "Christian Evangelism".

Cover Creator is one of the next and FUN steps..  It is just that.  You are creating what will be the cover of the book.  You can upload your own cover or you can click on their cover options, which is what I do.  There are several categories to choose from.  You can try several and see which you like.  In this, you will also write what will go on the back cover.  This is usually a quick squib or paragraph about the book and a bio sketch about you and most have a place for a picture.  Adding the picture has always been one of the toughest parts for me, for some reason.  I always explore several cover options before I pick one.  You just click on it and your title and subtitle will appear on it.  It is pretty amazing.

Uploading the Manuscript- Remember, your book must be at least 25 pages.  You simply click on it and then click on your manuscript.  I had trouble here the first time due to having typed my manuscript in separate "chapters" and uploaded each to a file.  That is WRONG!  It needs to be all one manuscript.  My college granddaughter was able to rescue me with the chapters file and make it work.  But, don't go there.  Just do one single manuscript.

One issue that I have each time, is it will then state that my manuscript is outside the book page borders. But, there is a place to click on the left side that will re-size it to fit.  Don't panic.  That will solve the problem.  Just click there and it will automatically do it.

Pricing will come up.  It will tell you what the minimum price must be to cover their cost and then it is up to you to price it.  It cannot be free, as I understand some sites will let you do free for an eBook.

Click Publish!  Then, it will go through their review process and then  notify you by email in about 24 hours that it is available and you can click on your new book at Amazon Books.  That is a crazy feeling to see it the first time!  I always then order one to see for sure what all the final product looks like and if I want to re-work before I announce it. Let me warn you.  If you order "Author Copes" which are super cheap....BUT, you must pay shipping and they usually take 10 days to 2 weeks to ship.  

 There are inexpensive books available on Amazon on how to self publish and promote it. I read one after I had been doing it a while and learned some things, but was not blown away with the information.  But, I had already done it.

You can do it....probably better than me!!  Let me know what you publish and I will mention/promote it for the benefit of all.

Arliss Dickerson's book, A 3 Part College Ministry Success Formula is available at Amazon.com/dp/B09QFB9DJ9 and Tips for College Freshmen:  124 Tips for Fun, Faith & Good Grades is at Amazon.com/dp/B09QFB9DJ9.