Building your publishing team can seem like a daunting task because there are so many different aspects to the process. If you are self-publishing and do not have a literary agent to guide you through the steps, it’s difficult to know where to start!

Thankfully, in the modern literary scene, there is an abundance of self-publishing services and freelancers who can help you through the process of producing and publishing your work.

When it comes to assembling your dream publishing team, there are various steps and considerations for all the roles you may need. In this author’s guide to publishing professionals, we’ll look at:

• Who might you have on your publishing dream team?
• What qualities do your publishing team members need to have?
• How do you go about finding members for your publishing team?
• What can Dibbly | Urban Writers provide for you?

An Author’s Guide to Publishing Professionals

So, first things first, who are you actually going to have on your publishing team? We could give you a never-ending list of potential roles, but for now, we’re going to stick with what you really need along the way. Keep in mind that in some cases, the same person (or service) may perform multiple roles. We can divide the steps of assembling your dream publishing squad into these stages:

1. Working on the book
2. Polishing the book
3. Producing the book
4. Promoting the book

Working on the Book

Before you get started with publishing the book, you need to have a book written. You can write it yourself, of course, if you have the time and skillset, but you could also consider getting a ghostwriter to do it. You will need to provide them with an outline for your book that details exactly what you want. The ghostwriter will put together a manuscript for you based on your idea.

You may want to consider at this stage if you want any images. This is a good time to look into illustrators who could do these for you.

As the writer finishes off sections, you may get some beta readers on board who can check for basic errors in the work (basically, like a preliminary edit).

Polishing the Book

Then comes the big edit. Editing involves checking grammar and spelling, ensuring the continuity is good, and making sure the layout is right. Generally, one editor will do all of these roles. This is a crucial role in building your publishing team and one you can’t do without.

At this stage, you will also want to get the cover designed. So you’ll need a cover designer, who could be the same person who is doing your illustrations. It’s worth getting variations of the cover designed and doing some A/B testing because your cover is an important marketing tool.

Producing the Book

Depending on whether you want a print book, a digital book, or multiple types of books, you will need to have your book formatted. Oftentimes, this will be done by the editor.

If you are looking to publish physical copies of your book, you will need to get them printed. Finding a good printer is the next step; you want to be sure the product meets industry standards.

When the book is produced, you will need a distributor. For print books, this will be a bookshop. For ebooks and audiobooks, you will need someone who can format and publish these books online.

Promoting the Book

The author promotes many self-published works. However, a self-publishing service can usually put together a press release for you to use.

It is worth looking into getting a marketing team or person to help you with promoting your work, even if they are just giving you some advice on how to go about things.

Building Your Publishing Team

So you have the basic components of building your publishing team, but what do those people need to look like, and how do you find them?

You, of course, need to think within your budget; it’s worth looking into how much everyone costs along the way before you start hiring freelancers. At the same time, it’s worth paying for quality, and you need to find freelancers who can produce a high standard of work. Freelancers should be able to provide either samples of their previous work or at least references or reviews. It’s worth using services that actually vet their freelancers (we vet ours at The Urban Writers | Dibbly, but not everyone does!).

When you’re assembling your dream guide for publishing professionals, you need reliable professionals who are consistent and communicate with you throughout the process. You don’t want people to disappear from you halfway through the project or for freelancers to take much longer than they promised to finish their work.

It’s worth thoroughly researching different freelance platforms and viewing the feedback they have received. A lot of good freelancers are found through networking with others you know in the literary scene, and this way, you know someone can vouch for them.

So, to sum up what you need, think GRAPH:

• Good Communication
• Reliable
• Affordable
• Professional
• High Standard of Work

And what you need to do to get those things is:

• Research
• View Samples and References
• Network

Assembling Your Dream Publishing Squad

So, where can you go to build your publishing team? Well, our freelancers at Dibbly | The Urban Writers meet the criteria set out in our author’s guide for publishing professionals. We offer talented ghostwriters who can make your vision come to life and editors who are thorough and will ensure your work is perfect. In addition to this, we offer illustrators and cover designers.

We also have the excellent Dibbly Create, which combines human creativity with AI ingenuity. Our freelancers will make your dream of a masterpiece come true, so get in touch and start assembling your dream publishing squad.

Final Thoughts

Building your publishing dream team is something that’s worth being careful with. Don’t put your trust in people who won’t get the job done; get on board with high-quality professionals who can make your bestseller a reality.