Self-Publishing Process & Timeline
Book Publishing Made Quick & Easy
Outskirts Press takes the mystery (and the work) out of self-publishing and allows you to maintain control over every aspect of your published book — from how it looks, to how much it costs. It's your book, let's publish it your way.
Self-Publishing Process — 6 Phases to Self-Publishing Your Book
Outskirts Press has a simple 6-phase process to self-publish your book with 11 milestones to mark each step in your publishing journey.
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The infographic above illustrates all 11 milestones within the 6 phases of your publishing journey.
Once you've purchased your publishing package and your manuscript has been accepted, the fun begins.
- Phase 1 (milestones 1-5) — Lay the Foundation: You provide key details about your book and select your publishing options — including formats, cover design direction, interior layout preferences, and any optional enhancements. This phase ensures your book is positioned exactly the way you envision it before production begins.
- Phase 2 (milestone 6) — Professional Design & Production: Our experienced design team creates your cover and professionally formatted interior files according to the specifications you selected during pre-production. Your book begins to take shape.
- Phase 3 (milestone 7) — Review & Refine: Once your digital proofs are ready, you’ll review them through our online publishing platform. You may request revisions and submit corrections as needed. This collaborative review process continues until you’re confident your book is ready for publication.
- Phase 4 (milestone 8) — Final Approval & Pricing Control: After approving your perfected cover and interior files, you’ll finalize your retail price, author royalties, and trade discount. Outskirts Press is one of the only publishers that allows you to set your own retail price and select your preferred trade discount for distribution — giving you greater earning potential and full control over your book’s market positioning.
- Phase 5 (milestone 9) — You’re Published: Your book is officially published! Within just a few days, it will appear for sale on Amazon, and more than 60,000 online retailers, bookstores, and libraries worldwide will be able to order copies.
- Phase 6 (milestones 10-11) — Promote & Earn: With global distribution in place, it’s time to promote your book and connect with readers. As sales begin, you earn royalties on every copy sold — the reward for bringing your book to life.
Self-Publishing Timeline
Are you wondering how long this process will take? At Outskirts Press, that depends on you.
Outskirts Press allows its authors to maintain control of the publishing process at all times. This means you can publish at the pace that is right for you. We've published authors in as few as 9 days, but most authors take more time to complete the process and it usually takes about 13 weeks. Your self-publishing timeline will depend upon a few things:
- The services you select (if you select editing or illustrations, for example, your process will take longer)
- How long it takes you to gather all of your book's content materials and provide them to your publishing team
- How much time you spend reviewing each round of proofs
Some publishing companies claim to publish your book within 24 hours, or even 24 minutes; but think about that for a second. You've spent a long time writing your book; doesn’t it deserve something better than a machine spitting it out the other end? Don’t you deserve a team of professional human beings working with you to make sure your book is the best it can be? We love the books we publish at Outskirts Press — and so will you.
Are you ready to get started?
