Publishing your first book
For authorsUpdated 3 min read
Create a book from Studio, Books, New book, with its synopsis, up to three genres and six tropes, content level and warnings, language, page count and a cover (uploaded, or a pattern with the title drawn on). It starts as a draft only you can see; set it to Coming soon (with a date) or Published when ready. Add a sample and buy links from the edit page; archiving takes it off the catalog without deleting anything.
The short answer
Creating the book
From Studio › Books › New book:
- Title (under 200 characters) and synopsis: a couple of sentences that help readers decide, and who it is for.
- Genres (up to three; at least one before announcing or publishing) and tropes (up to six).
- Content level (None, Mild, Moderate or Explicit) and content warnings in your own words, e.g. "grief and bereavement". Each warning has a grade menu that starts at How heavy?: choose Graphic, Moderate or Minor, or leave it and the warning shows as Not graded. Readers filter on these (Content warnings).
- Language and pages (a whole number).
- The cover: Upload a cover (an image up to 12 MB; ten uploads a day across the account) or pick a cover pattern, on which the title is drawn for you.
- Status: books start as Draft: only you can see it. Save.
Announcing and publishing
Edit the book and change its status:
- Coming soon: listed with a date, for a book readers can follow and request before release;
- Published: live for readers.
Both need a publish date. When the book is published, followers of your pen name and of its series are told once. Changes go live when you save; nothing is published by accident.
Sample and buy links
On the book's edit page:
- Sample: paste up to 40,000 characters (the opening chapters); readers get Read sample on the book page. Remove it any time; the book is unaffected.
- Buy links: choose a shop (Bookshop.org, Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Kobo, Apple Books, Google Play Books, Waterstones, Libro.fm, Smashwords, or direct from the publisher) and paste the full address. The address must be on that shop's own site. Booklabria takes no cut and sells no placement.
Archiving
Archive this book takes it off the public catalog and discovery; reviews and readers' shelf history stay intact, and you can restore it later by editing its status.
A book that is already on Booklabria
If readers brought your book from Open Library before you arrived, do not create a duplicate: Studio › Books › Claim a book, search by title, author or ISBN, and say how a moderator can see it is yours (a publisher page, an ISBN record). One claim per book at a time; a moderator checks it. Where the external catalog is off, there is nothing to claim.
Books from Open Library also bring their author: a profile marked Not on Booklabria yet, with the name, the photo and the books. If that profile is you, claim all of it at once from its Claim this profile button (or from Studio › Books: "Is there a profile of you from Open Library? Claim it"), for your own pen name, with one proof: your website, your Amazon author page, or an address at your own domain (we send it a link, and the claim waits until it is pressed; a webmail address proves nothing, so it is refused). The team checks the proof. On approval every book on the profile joins your catalog, readers keep them on their shelves with their reviews and circles, and the profile sends its visitors to your page. You can then add your own store links, Kindle included.
Where this lives
Related
- Series and reading order: A series is a reading order of your books with its own public page readers can follow. Create it from Studio, Series, then Manage to add books from your catalog and arrange them; followers are told when the next book is published.
- Your pen name and public page: Your pen name is your public identity; books, series, campaigns and Journal entries attach to it. Edit its name, bios, avatar, banner, the genres you write, the languages you publish in and external links under Studio, Settings. Several pen names per account from Studio, Pen names: add, open in Studio, make primary, archive; Author and Creator one, Pro up to five, Publisher unlimited.
- Running an ARC campaign: Studio, Campaigns, New campaign walks through the book, dates and reader spots, ideal readers (genres, tropes, languages, regions, requirements), delivery (formats, files, your message) and how to launch (draft, scheduled, or now). Applications gather under Applications with each reader's match and reliability; approve or decline one by one or in batches, and every decision notifies the reader.
- Content warnings and content levels: Authors describe a book's content warnings in their own words and set a content level; both show on the book page, and an Explicit book opens only for signed-in readers who have said they are 18 or older. A topic you asked to avoid keeps matching books out of the books Discover recommends for your taste, and is marked on the book's page wherever else you meet it; nothing is hidden from search.
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