by Timothy Pike

What’s the quickest way to get your book published and onto Amazon, and even onto the shelves of your local bookstore?

The answer is…

…drumroll please…

It depends on how much time you have!

A book can be published as an e-book in a few days flat. A fully edited print edition, on the other hand, complete with a gorgeous cover, can take up to three months.

Here are three quick-start ways to get your book in the hands of readers ASAP:

1. E-book only release (Time needed: 3-7 days). Releasing your novel as a Kindle-only book is an easy way to become a published author quickly and affordably, or possibly even for free. Your e-book will be for sale in the Kindle store, with its own beautiful, virtual cover to attract readers.

All you need is a polished—preferably edited—manuscript and the rest is easy! Do it yourself, or let us do it all for you through our Publishing Rewards.

So go ahead—tell your friends and social media followers that your published novel will be launching soon, and invite them to our November Book Reading Party!

2. Pre-edited paperback + e-book (Time needed: about a month and a half). As long as your manuscript is polished and ready to go (I recommend working with a professional book editor to get it into tip-top shape), it can be turned into both a paperback and Kindle e-book in as little as 45 days.

3. Fully edited paperback + e-book (Time needed: about 90 days). Editing for a novel-length manuscript usually takes four to six weeks. While you wait for the editor to finish, you can start in on book cover design and get most of it done—all you’ll need is the final page count which will determine the exact spine width. This is a small finishing touch that you’ll be able to put on your book cover once you’ve got the final interior layout in your hands.

Take action today! Get a quick start with this basic to-do checklist:

• Send your manuscript to an editor. This step is highly recommended. A professional editor will catch mistakes you can’t see anymore and make sure your novel shines. You want readers to be hooked from the very first sentence so they’ll keep turning pages all the way to the end, but even small typos can be very distracting and pull readers out of the story. Looking for a talented editor? You can easily find one in our Directory.

• Get your free ISBN and barcode. If you’re going for quick and easy, get an ISBN—International Standard Book Number—from Amazon. It’s a unique number that identifies your book, and it’s required to publish. The barcode, which allows your book to be scanned at a bookstore register, should be placed on the back cover.

• Create your book cover and interior. You can use an online tool like Canva or Amazon’s Cover Creator to design your own book cover, and Microsoft Word to lay out the interior of your book. If you decide you’d rather work with a graphic designer, he or she will design the book cover (including back and spine) and use special software to make the interior look amazing. As an added bonus, many graphic designers are also able to convert your text into a Kindle e-book, so that’s one more affordable way to save time. (Of course, all of this is included and done for you in our Deluxe Publishing Package if you decide to go that route.)

• Upload your print files to Amazon. By the time you get to this step, you should have two files to upload: a PDF file of your cover, back, and spine, and a PDF file of your book’s interior. Once you upload them, a virtual book will pop up on your screen, and you can actually turn the pages one by one to see exactly how it will look in print. It’s really cool!

Last step: Book of the Year

If you’re looking to enter your book in the Book of the Year Competition at ChapterBuzz, your book must be published (as an e-book at a minimum) and available for sale. The deadline is coming up, so use the quick-start tips in this article to get a running start!

If you decide to put everything in our hands and publish through ChapterBuzz, I will do everything I can to make sure that your book is a strong contender for Book of the Year, and meets all the requirements.

For now, go ahead—tell your friends and social media followers that your published novel will be launching soon, and that they can help you win Book of the Year by being part of our November Book Reading Party.

And whether you’re publishing your first book or your fifth, congratulations on your upcoming release!

Timothy Pike is the founder of ChapterBuzz and editor-in-chief of Books & Buzz Magazine, and specializes in helping authors publish beautiful books on Amazon.