How to Build Your Publishing Team
Building Your Self-Publishing Team: Who You Need and Why
Self-published authors are responsible for their own team of contributors. In order to create a professional, polished book that stands out on the shelf, you need to make sure that you have built the right team.
Who do you need on your publishing team?
Beta Readers (3-5)
Beta readers read your book before it is published and give you feedback on what you have written. They often do this service for free or in exchange for a review of their work. It's best to find people in your target market, and choose a mix of people you know and people you don't know. How many beta readers you recruit is up to you, but I find that 3-5 readers is the sweet spot.
Editors
Hiring an editor for a full-length book can be one of the biggest publishing expenses, but a good editor will take your book to the next level. There are two types of editors you should consider adding to your team. If you're not sure what kind of edit you need, ask your editor for their opinion!
Developmental editor: Helps you with plot and structure of your book. A lot of self-published authors skip the developmental edit to cut back on cost, but for most first-time authors do need this step. If you are publishing something short and simple (like a children's book or short story), have a lot of experience writing and developing plot (this is not your first rodeo), or you have worked with a writing coach to help you plan and structure your book, you may be able to skip this step, but do so cautiously.
Technical editor: A technical editor looks at spelling, grammar, sentence structure, and flow. I don't recommend skipping this step!
Cover Designer
Your cover is your biggest marketing tool when it comes to your book. A good cover is going to immediately attract the attention of the right audience, and gives them an idea of what to expect inside your book. A good cover design should pay you back for the expense.
Formatting and typesetting
This step is a little easier to DIY. By the time a customer opens your book, they're already interested in what you have to say. Unless the font is illegible, they are going to be focused more on the writing style and content than on layout and design. That being said, formatting software can be tricky, and sometimes it's worth it just to let an expert handle it. You also might be able to get a package deal for the inside formatting from the same artist that does your cover.
Other team members to consider
Writing coach: A writing coach will help guide you through all of these steps and more, keep you on track, be your biggest cheerleader, and give you feedback along the way.
If you are interested in hiring me as your coach, set up a free call here.
Subject-matter expert: If you are writing something technical, consulting a subject-matter expert will make sure your content is correct. Adding their name to your book can also lend an extra layer of credibility.
Marketing expert or coach: Once your book is written, it needs to be sold. That means that you need to start learning the skill of marketing. Consulting with a marketing expert early on can help set you up for success.
Illustrator: For children's books or graphic novels.
Virtual Assistant: If you have an existing business or budget, you might want to consider hiring a virtual assistant that can help you with book launch details, manage email lists, and post on social media. Most first-time authors DIY this for the first few years, but as your business grows, a VA becomes essential.
How to Find Your Team Members
Referrals
The best way to find good team members is to ask other writers for referrals. Writing groups are plentiful, and many writers are eager to chat and share their experiences.
Ask targeted questions
Online groups are another great way to connect with team members, but sometimes they can also contain a lot of spam replies. Here's how to find reputable teammates in an online group.
1. Ask 3 questions.
A. Question 1 should be about your project.
B. Question 2 should be about their experience
C. Question 3 should be an open-ended or personal question about them (such as "please share a fun fact about yourself")
2. Read through the responses. Anyone who does not thoroughly answer your three questions can be cut from your list.. Watch out for AI-generated responses (you can usually catch them in that open ended question. You may notice that several responses all include the same "fun fact" for example.)
3. Visit the team member's website or portfolio. You can also ask to view samples of their work or speak with references.
4. Get a sample done. Before you have them start on your full project, get a sample done and make sure you are satisfied.
How to pay your team members
While many of your team members will already have a preferred payment method for you, payment can get tricky if you have hired international team members. Contractors who are just starting their business may not have an established payment method, and many new authors choose to work with team members that are starting out to cut down on costs. Here are some options for you to explore if you need a way to pay your team members. These are all payment methods I have personally used to send or accept payments.
eTransfer: If you are a Canadian paying another Canadian, eTransfer can be the easiest way to send payment.
PayPal: With PayPal you can easily create and send invoices, which makes it a very easy payment option to use.
Square payment: Once you start selling your books you can register with Square and take payments directly from your phone. You can also use the app to send invoices to your clients. If your contractor has a Square account you can ask them to send you a payment request or payment link through Square. It's secure and can be integrated with most websites.
Square payment offers no fees on $1000 when you use my referral link.
Wise: This is what I use to pay my VA who lives overseas. It's easy to use, it's secure, and over the five years I have been using it, I haven't had a problem sending money with it.
If you want to try out Wise, you can use my referral link for zero fees on your first transfer.