A self-publishing checklist, from manuscript to handover

Define the book and its current stage

Write a short brief with your intended reader, genre, approximate manuscript length and preferred formats. A first draft, an edited manuscript and a finished print PDF need different work. Include illustrations, tables, references or other features that affect production. Mark anything unfinished so it can be allowed for in the scope.

Choose a realistic first edition. Preparing an ebook and paperback together may be useful, but an audiobook is a separate production project. A focused first release can be easier to review than several formats moving at once.

Agree on work, fees and approval points

Ask for a written scope that connects each fee to an actual deliverable. An editing service should identify the level of edit; a design service should identify the files supplied. Separate the service fee from printing, distribution, advertising and any other third-party costs. Ask how changes outside the agreed scope will be priced.

• Record the delivery stages, review windows and included revision rounds.
• Confirm payment milestones, cancellation terms and the handover arrangements.
• Identify who approves the edited manuscript, cover, interior and listing details.

Keep publishing accounts under your control

Set up your publishing accounts using contact details you control. Complete identity, tax and payment steps directly with the platform. Keep recovery details current and enable available account protection. Where a provider offers appropriate delegated access, use that feature instead of passing around your main login.

At Publishing Core, author accounts and platform payments remain with the author. Do not put passwords, bank details or identity documents into our consultation form or live chat. A service agreement should explain any access required and how that access ends when the project is complete.

Prepare files and listing information together

After editing, approve a sample interior before the full layout proceeds. Finalize the interior before the print cover wrap: its spine depends on the production specification and page count. Keep the print and ebook files clearly named, with version dates, so an early draft cannot be uploaded by mistake.

Maintain one metadata sheet for the title, subtitle, author name, description, edition and selected categories. Check the ISBN decision for each relevant edition and platform. Record which artwork, fonts, photographs and quoted material you have permission to use, and keep those permissions with the project files.

Review the reader's actual edition

Check the uploaded preview, rather than relying only on a design screenshot. Read chapter openings, page breaks, images, contents links and front and back matter. For print, review a physical proof where available; for ebooks, test navigation and adjustable reading settings. Collect corrections in one document and approve the corrected version explicitly.

• Compare the listing title and author spelling with the cover and interior.
• Check the chosen price, territories and any optional exclusivity commitments.
• Keep the final approval and a copy of each released file.

Finish with a usable handover

Request the agreed final files, license records, metadata sheet and instructions for future updates. Confirm whether editable source files are included, because that should be settled before commissioning the work. Make sure you can reach your account dashboard and understand where reports and payments appear.

Publishing Core takes no agency share of author royalties. Keeping 100% of author royalties means the amount payable to the author under the platform's terms, after applicable provider rates and costs; it does not mean the full retail price. Paid preparation cannot guarantee platform acceptance, bookstore placement, sales or a bestseller position.