How to Republish Your Book: A Step-by-Step Guide Book Cover Express

A Step-by-Step Guide for Republishing Your Book

by BookCoverExpress.com

Self-publishing your books after they’ve been published by either a traditional publisher, or through another publishing service, will give you complete independence and full control of your book projects. At first, this can seem like a daunting task and you’ll spend many hours setting up accounts, organizing tax information (required to sell books online through sites like Amazon), and depending on where you live, even applying for a business license. While we can’t help you with the tax information or business licenses, we can help to simplify the actual process of getting the book from your computer to the public.

Here’s an itemized list of what you’ll need to do, and at the end, you’ll find a quicklist, where you can just tick off the boxes. We’ve also included a list of links that will take you directly to the sites and services mentioned in this article.

1. Organize your information concerning the transfer of your publishing rights

You’ll need to make sure you have appropriate paperwork proving that the rights to publish your book have reverted to you from the publisher of record. Amazon will require that. When a book is being republished, Amazon will allow it to go through the entire process, then halt it once the book is online and for sale until you can prove that you own the rights. This is for the protection of all parties. All you have to do to get over this hurdle is forward the release letters to them. It isn’t complicated as long as you have all the info.

2. Screenshots, ASINs, ISBNs, keeping your reviews

To ensure that everything transfers properly, you should take screen shots of your book’s info on Amazon (or copy and paste to a Word document). Every book on Amazon has an internal code called an ASIN this is unique to Amazon, and you will need to know that. You will also need to know all previous ISBNs your book was published with, so you can have Amazon transfer the data and link the editions. Doing this ensures that your reviews stay with your book.

3. Obtain your print-read files, ebook files, and change the copyright page

If you have your high resolution print files (not everyone sends those to the authors), then it’s just a matter of replacing the copyright page and getting the book set up to print and sell on Amazon through your own account. If the previous publisher will release the ebook files to you, that would be a bonus.

4. Preparing and uploading files

Once that’s done, you’ll be ready to upload your files, assuming you don’t need any file work.

  1. If they provide you with print-ready files, you’ll just have to replace a few little bits of information such as the old ISBN, the previous publisher’s info if they don’t strip it out, etc.. You could ask them if they would provide you with source files, that would make it faster.
  2. The covers may need to be reformatted on updated templates.
  3. Using both IngramSpark and Amazon to republish

We recommend using both so your book is always in stock at Amazon and with Ingram’s world-wide distribution. Amazon offers extended distribution that includes Ingram, but there’s a lower profit margin for publishers that way.

Get proofs from both. We recommend going through the print proof process at Amazon first, since it’s free to upload files to their system, but there’s a fee to upload files to IngramSpark. That way, if you see an issue with your Amazon proof in print, you can change it before paying to upload with Ingram Spark.

6. Barns and Noble direct, Kobobooks

If you want to do the extra work, you can also use Barnes and Noble Press, as well as Kobobooks. Distribution to both sellers can be done through IngramSpark and KDP, but the royalty rate for you is better if you work directly with them and set up your own accounts.

7. Offset printing with local printer

For optimum quality and control, we recommend working with a local printer to produce the copies you’d like to have on hand. This will offer you many more options, and if you can afford it, offset printing (which is what your local printer will offer, as opposed to POD printing through Amazon and IngramSparck) will give you a great looking book. But, running offset usually requires a minimum purchase of 1000 copies, and you might have to have closer to 2000 copies printed to make it cost effective.

QUICKLIST

☐ Collect all rights reversion paperwork from the previous publisher for print and ebook versions of your book. If this is done through email, keep the email, print the email, and even screenshot it: Amazon may require the email headers to be visible.

☐ Make sure you have HIGH resolution files for both the cover and the interior of the book. if not, request them from the publisher. Request your ebook files, as well.

☐ Set up an account on AMAZON.COM.

☐ Claim your author page at AuthorCentral.com. This let’s you add info about you to your book pages on Amazon. You can do this no matter who publishes your book, as long as they are listed on Amazon.

☐ Set up an account at IngramSpark.com if you want to take advantage of their distribution system.

☐ Buy ISBNs (see list below).

☐ Once you’ve got everything together, upload books and metadata (that’s all the info about the book!)

QUICKLINKS

Getting started with Amazon/KDP: https://kdp.amazon.com/en_US/help/topic/G200635650

Getting started with IngramSpark: https://www.ingramspark.com/how-it-works?hsCtaTracking=0375d0d9-800a-4149-927f-ec780e77266a%7C6fa5ac55-e5d8-411c-8cc9-cb167d4998bb

Barnes and Noble Press: https://press.barnesandnoble.com/

Publish with Kobo Writing Life: https://www.kobo.com/ca/en/p/writinglife

Amazon’s Author Central: https://author.amazon.com/

Get your own ISBNs:

(USA) http://www.bowker.com/products/ISBN-US.html

(Canada) https://www.bac-lac.gc.ca/eng/services/isbn-canada/Pages/isbn-canada.aspx

(UK and Ireland) https://www.nielsenisbnstore.com/Home/Isbn

(Australia) https://www.myidentifiers.com.au/