research on self publishing

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My Research Journey in Self-Publishing

In this article, Alison Baverstock reflects on her research into self-publishing: its methods, its impact, and the motivation and demographics of those involved. She considers its initial frosty reception and its new position at the core of an area of great significance to the publishing industry, the wider creative economy, and society at large.

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Barker , C. J. and Martin , B. , 2011 . ‘ Participation: The happiness connection ’. Journal of Public Deliberation , 7 ( 1 ), pp. 1 – 16 .

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Baverstock , A. , 1990 . How to Market Books . London : Kogan Page .

Baverstock , A. , 2000 . Marketing Your Book: An author’s guide . London : A&C Black .

Baverstock , A. , 2004 . ‘ Supermarket Sex: It’s the write stuff ’, The Times , 11 August .

Baverstock , A. , 2010 a. ‘ Have You Considered Self-Publishing? ’ Writers’ & Artists’ Yearbook Blog .

Baverstock , A. , 2010 b. ‘ A New Name for Self-Publishing? ’, The Bookseller .

Baverstock , A. , 2010 c. ‘ You’re Not So Vain After All ’, Times Higher Education , 7 October .

Baverstock , A. , 2011 a. ‘ How Books Became Less “Different”: An exploration of the rise of marketing within the publishing industry ’, PhD thesis, Oxford Brookes University.

Baverstock , A. , 2011 b. ‘ In Depth – Self-Publishing ’, The Bookseller , 28 October .

Baverstock , A. , 2011 c. The Naked Author: A guide to self-publishing ( London : Bloomsbury ).

Baverstock , A. , 2012 a. ‘ Now that Self-Publishing Offers Everyone a Potential Platform through Which to Share Material, Who (if Anyone) Is Bearing An Associated Responsibility for Ensuring the Content Made Available Is Fit for Dissemination? ’, in Proceedings of Annual International Conference of Journalism and Mass Communication , ed. K. Kenney , pp. 116 – 123 (Global Science and Technology Forum).

Baverstock , A. , 2012 b. ‘ What Lessons Can Aspiring Writers Learn from Alison Moore? ’, The Independent , 12 October .

Baverstock , A. , 2012 c. ‘ The Woman Reader, by Belinda Jack: Writing the female body: from the cave to the book club ’, The Independent , 29 June .

Baverstock , A. , 2013 a. ‘ From Cinderella to Belle of the Ball ’, Editing Matters , May .

Baverstock , A. , 2013 b. ‘ Is Self-Publishing an Option? ’, Lloyds Bank Shoreline Magazine .

Baverstock , A. , 2013 c. ‘ Ten Ways Self-Publishing Has Changed the World ’, The Guardian , 8 April .

Baverstock , A. , 2013 d. ‘ Why Self-Publishing Needs to Be Taken Seriously ’, Logos , 23 ( 4 ), pp. 41 – 46 .

Baverstock , A. , 2014 a. ‘ How Publishing Has Changed ’, SHARP News , Autumn.

Baverstock , A. , 2014 b. ‘ Self-Publishing’s Vices and Virtues ’, The Guardian , 20 November .

Baverstock , A. , 2014 c. ‘ Why Memoirs Matter ’, The Guardian , 24 December .

Baverstock , A. , 2014 d. Writing Family Memoir ( London : The Guardian ).

Baverstock , A. , 2015 . ‘ Does the UK Book Publishing Industry Today Lack Boundaries – or Frontiers? ’ Logos , 26 ( 1 ), pp. 27 – 39 .

Baverstock , A. , 2016 . ‘ Is Peer Review Still the Content Industry’s Upper House? ’, Learned Publishing , 29 ( 1 ), pp. 65 – 68 .

Baverstock , A. , 2019 a. ‘ The Fastest-Growing Trend in Contemporary Publishing ’, Editing Matters , April .

Baverstock , A. , 2019 b. ‘ Marketing ’, in The Oxford Guide to Publishing Studies , ed. A. Phillips and M. Bhaskar , pp. 345 – 364 ( Oxford : Oxford University Press ).

Baverstock , A. , 2019 c. ‘ Who Is Taking Legal Responsibility for What Gets Published? Why both an understanding and lived experience of copyright are becoming increasingly important to writers ’, in whose book is it anyway? , ed. J. Jefferies and S. Kember , pp. 105 – 128 ( London : Open Book ).

Baverstock , A. , 2023 . ‘ How Does The Future Look for the Editorial Role in Publishing? ’, focus paper, Chartered Institute of Editors and Proofreaders.

Baverstock , A. and Steinitz , J. , 2013 a. ‘ What Satisfactions Do Self-Publishing Authors Gain from the Process? ’, Learned Publishing , 26 ( 4 ), pp. 272 – 282 .

Baverstock , A. and Steinitz , J. , 2013 b. ‘ Who Are the Self-Publishers? ’, Learned Publishing , 26 ( 3 ), pp. 211 – 223 .

Baverstock , A. , Blackburn , R. , and Iskandarova , M. , 2015 a. ‘ How Is the Role of the Independent Editor Changing in Relation to Traditional and Self-Publishing Models of Publication? ’, Learned Publishing , 28 ( 2 ), pp. 123 – 131 .

Baverstock , A. , Blackburn , R. , and Iskandarova , M. , 2015 b. ‘ Who Are The Independent Editors, How Did They Reach Their Role and What Are Their Associated Job Satisfactions? ’, Learned Publishing , 28 ( 1 ), pp. 43 – 53 .

Knowles , C. , 1981 . Self-Publishers and Their Books ( Leicester : Primary Communications Research Centre, University of Leicester ).

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• [195.158.225.230]
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• DOI: 10.1163/18784712-03104070
• Corpus ID: 266674177

My Research Journey in Self-Publishing

• Alison Baverstock
• Published in Logos 22 December 2023

24 References

Why self-publishing needs to be taken seriously, what satisfactions do self‐publishing authors gain from the process, who are the self‐publishers, who are the independent editors, how did they reach their role and what are their associated job satisfactions, does the uk book-publishing industry today lack boundaries - or frontiers, is peer review still the content industry's upper house, participation: the happiness connection, 고객과 지식 marketing, now that self-publishing offers everyone a potential platform through which to share material, who (if anyone) is bearing an associated responsibility for ensuring the content made available is fit for dissemination, supermarket sex: it's the write stuff, related papers.

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Last updated on Feb 15, 2024

How to Self-Publish a Book in 2024 [+ Checklist]

Are you looking to self-publish and join the thousands of authors every year who enjoy complete creative control and a greater portion of royalties? If so, we're here to show you how to get your book out into the world on your terms with the help of a seven-step process and a host of extra resources.

How to self-publish a book in 7 steps:

1. Write a book with market potential

2. edit it to near perfection, 3. get a beautiful book cover, 4. prepare your ebook and print files, 5. list your book on a self-publishing platform, 6. price the book to maximize sales , 7. self-publish and promote the book.

If you want to know how to self-publish a book, it’s likely that you’ve just completed your manuscript or you’re actively working on it.

If your masterpiece is finished, congratulations! That’s an impressive milestone in and of itself. This article will guide you through the next steps to publish your work. 

Meanwhile, for those still in the writing phase, we recommend checking out our post on how to write a book , which will help you validate your book idea and navigate the entire writing process.

While the appeal of self-publishing lies in its limitless creative freedom, this post will assume that you aim to publish your book for market success. This implies that in addition to being unique, your manuscript aligns with its book genre and resonates with an existing target audience .

Having done your market research and drafted your manuscript, you’re now hoping to take the literary world by storm. But before we get ahead of ourselves, you need to refine and edit your manuscript to ensure it reaches its highest potential.

Seasoned authors will know that editing isn’t just a chore that needs to be tolerated, but also a creatively exciting part of the writing journey. It’s where the raw material of your first draft gets shaped and honed into a book that readers will want to cherish. The way we see it, this process can be broken down into a few stages.

Self-edit your first few drafts

Before anyone else sets eyes on your manuscript, try to write the best book you possibly can. For novelists, that means working through a few drafts to really nail the story's plot and the believability of your character's motivations . For non-fiction writers, it could mean tightening up your chapters and re-evaluating how your central message is conveyed. 

Share your draft with beta readers

Having fresh eyes review your manuscript is also invaluable. Share your work with beta readers to receive constructive feedback and with sensitivity readers to get help with spotting cultural inaccuracies and biases.

Before you share anything with these first readers, you may wish to clear your work of basic grammar mistakes and typos, which you can do using free proofreading tools . You’ll be focusing on the sentence-level edits later on in the process, so there’s no need to lose sleep over dotting every “i” at this point.

🤓 Here are two free courses we offer to help you revise and self-edit your manuscript: Novel Revision: Practical Tips for Rewrites 一 A 10-part course that includes great lessons on working with critique partners and beta readers. How to Self-Edit Your Manuscript Like a Pro 一 Learn how to spot the ten most common writing mistakes.

Let a professional help you cross the finish line

Even your best self-editing efforts might not be enough. Traditionally published books undergo multiple rounds of professional editing before hitting the shelves, and you should aim for the same standard of quality. There are various types of editing to consider , with the most crucial being:

Developmental Editing: This type of editing focuses on addressing overarching issues in your manuscript, such as structure, plot, and character development, ensuring the foundation of your book is solid.

Copy Editing: The editor reviews the text line-by-line to correct grammatical errors and punctuation mistakes and resolve any voice or tone inconsistencies.

Proofreading: The final polish to catch any remaining typos or minor errors, ensuring your manuscript is flawless and print-ready.

Depending on what your book needs the most, consider bringing in the right professional. These days, finding your ideal editor is easier than ever. On the Reedsy Marketplace, you can search for (and request quotes from) professionals with specific experience in your genre.

The cost of editing will depend on the service you choose, your word count, your book’s genre, and the freelancer’s experience. For example, for a 60,000-word book, you can expect to pay between $1,000 and $2,000 for most editing services. Try out our calculator below to determine  how much you’d pay for editing services . 

Pricing calculator

Calculate the average cost of editing services for your genre.

Editorial Assessment

Developmental Editing

Copy Editing

Proofreading

You can search for professional editors over on the Reedsy marketplace .

Okay, your manuscript has been edited, polished, and proofed. Now it’s time to make sure your book looks as good on the outside as it does on the inside.

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Learn how Reedsy can help you craft a beautiful book.

The value of a great book cover design cannot be overstated, especially in self-publishing. It’ll be your most-used book marketing asset and a cornerstone of your overall publishing success.

To prove this, we conducted an experiment to evaluate whether professionally designed covers drive more ad clicks. We did the test for seven books across a range of genres, and the results were significant, with some books experiencing over a 60% increase in conversion rates .

If you're a seasoned designer familiar with genre tropes, typography, and visual hierarchy — in addition to being capable of handling technicalities like trim sizes, spine width, and back cover design — then by all means, design your own cover. 

However, if you lack this expertise but still aim for a stunning book cover, you’ll want to work with an experienced designer. Reedsy offers a broad array of professional book cover designers to help bring your vision to life. Based on our internal data, the cost of a book cover typically ranges between $500 and $800 if you’re hiring a skilled professional.

But don’t forget about the interior

While your book cover plays a crucial role in driving sales, whether that be through ads or as a thumbnail used by online retailers, don't overlook the importance of interior design, which encompasses the page layout and text formatting. 

Reedsy has a free book formatting tool with a user-friendly interface that will get your book ready for publication in under an hour. You can simply import your manuscript and effortlessly format headings and paragraphs, insert images and endnotes, create a copyright page, and much more. Read our post on how to format your book with Reedsy’s free publishing app for further info.

For books requiring intricate interior designs, such as photography books or cookbooks, you might consider hiring a designer. On average, this service costs between $250 and $750.

Once you’ve taken care of your book’s outer and inner design, you just need to prepare the files to start selling and distributing it. 

The next step is to prepare the files for printing your book. Each service has slightly different requirements for file upload, but in general, you’ll need an EPUB file for the ebook version and a PDF file for print. For the manuscript, you can get both types of files for free using Reedsy’s writing app. Once you’re happy with how you’ve formatted your book, identify the book size you need and simply export the files!  

For the cover design, if you’re working with a professional, just let them know what platform you want to use to print the book and they’ll take care of the details. If you’re making the cover on your own, read about the platform requirements for file upload and follow them carefully. 

A word on audiobooks

The audio format has skyrocketed in popularity, and many self-published authors who have invested in audiobooks have reaped the benefits. If you want to take advantage of the audiobook market, check out our guide on how to make an audiobook as an indie author . You’ll also find all the important  details to know about how to create and distribute your audiobook files.

Now that you’ve got the files prepared, it’s time to upload them to your retailer of choice.   

You’ll need to choose a self-publishing platform that offers print-on-demand (POD) and distribution to customers. POD is a type of printing service that will only print and dispatch paperback or hardcover copies after customers buy them. Most self-publishing authors choose it over traditional offset printing because it minimizes the risk of unsold inventory that comes with pre-printing thousands of copies. 

The two largest POD services in the world are Kindle Direct Publishing (KDP) and IngramSpark . Both let you upload your book and list it on their platforms for free , and they also provide comparable book products at similar printing and shipping costs. They notably offer different royalty schemes and distribution deals that mainly depend on whether you wish to also distribute your book through non-Amazon retailers. 

You can still investigate other POD services to see which one makes more sense for you and your book. Most of them are free, while some, like Bookbaby and Bookvault, have setup fees. For detailed comparisons, check out our post in which we tested and reviewed all the major POD book services .

Mastering Amazon’s KDP

Since many authors rely on Amazon to drive most of their sales, learning how to properly list your book on it is crucial. Read our guide to Amazon Self-Publishing for a deep dive, and consider these quick tips below:

Write a description that sells. Start with a compelling tagline to draw readers in and reveal your book's tone, genre, and some story elements (e.g., “A Village, A Murder, A Keen-eyed Sleuth.”) Or you could feature a notable mention or editorial reviews you've  received (e.g., “An evocative story that will make a lasting impression on readers.” Booklife Reviews). Read our post on how to write an Amazon book description for more tips.

Pick your categories and keywords wisely. In selecting categories for your book , it's wise to choose one broad category (such as Romance) and one more specific niche (like Enemies to Lovers). Regarding choosing keywords , opt for terms that aren't already included in your title and description so that potential readers can discover your work through varied search queries.

Get your own ISBN

At this point, you may be wondering whether you need your own ISBN number, as well as how much it costs. The quick answer is that owning your ISBN allows you to register as your book’s publisher, maintaining publishing rights across various retailers. And if you want to publish more book formats (e.g., ebook, paperback, audiobook), you need multiple barcodes. On Bowker, a single ISBN number costs $125, but you have the option to buy a bundle of 10 barcodes for $295. For more information, read our guide on how to get an ISBN number .

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If Amazon isn’t suitable for you, there are other self-publishing companies that you can leverage to distribute your book to readers around the world, like Apple Books, Kobo, and Google Play , or aggregators like Draft2Digital. You’ll have to find the one that most aligns with your values and goals before deciding on your book’s price strategy. 

📚 Read The Complete Guide to Ebook Distribution : it contains everything you need to know about selling your digital book, including sections about going "exclusive" with Amazon, alternative retailers like Kobo and Barnes & Noble, and instructions on setting your book up on retailers.

Setting your book price is a delicate balance. If you price it too high, you will profit more with every copy sold, but you may sell far fewer copies. Similarly, underpricing a  book may sell more units but leave you with less money at the end of each month. So how should you price your work?

Research your market

The first prerequisite to setting your book’s price is to know your market inside out. What is considered a “normal” price for a book like yours? You can find that out by perusing the bestseller lists in your genre and looking at their prices. 

Ricardo Fayet, author of How to Market Your Book , points out that for many years, traditional publishers have been voluntarily overpricing ebooks in an effort to protect their print sales.

"You can’t really trust the prices of famous, traditionally published ebooks in your genre. Instead, look for high-selling titles from independent authors in your genre, and use those as a benchmark."

Lower your price to build your fanbase

As part of your grander strategy, Ricardo also mentions that price can be a great tool to entice readers to take a chance on your book. “While you can certainly mimic the prices of the most famous indie authors in your category, it can also be a good idea to price your books a tad lower as a start, just to start building that fanbase.”

Once you have an established readership, they’ll have no problem paying more to get your future releases. And once you have multiple books in your back catalog, your pricing tactics can get more sophisticated.

For a series, adopt a staircase pricing strategy 

The most successful self-published authors are usually the ones who write a series of books . One of the reasons for this is that it only requires the author to heavily market the first book in the series. If the reader likes that first book, they will be inclined to buy the next book (and perhaps even pay more for it).

With a series, Ricardo suggests starting with a free (or heavily discounted) ebook and then progressively raising the prices as readers get deeper into the series.

"For example, you could offer book one for $0.99, book two for $2.99, book three for $3.99, and the rest of the books in the series for $5.99. Once a reader is heavily invested in your series — and absolutely needs to know what happens next — pricing is not as big a factor in their purchasing decision."

To learn more about using price promotions to boost your sales and ensure your publication is priced correctly in all countries, check out Reedsy’s free course on pricing books for an international audience .

Now that you’ve exported the finished product, uploaded your book to your retailer of choice, and selected a price, all that's left is to pull the trigger and... congratulations, you’ve published your book ! 

However, if you want to give your book the best chance to thrive on Amazon and other platforms, you’ll need a proper book launch. A lot hinges on a book’s first few weeks on the market 一 your title must accumulate a healthy dose of book sales and reviews right away.

Note that, while this is a post-publication step, it's important that you create an effective and timely book publicity plan weeks in advance. It takes some to plan PR activities like reviews, interviews, live readings, and podcast appearances . With that in mind, keep on reading for a few key steps to consider. 

Get book reviews

One of the key elements of sales is gathering social proof 一 people who read your book and (hopefully) give it a positive review. There are several ways to get book reviews . You could ask book bloggers to review your work, send ARC copies to your friends, followers, and other potential readers, or pay $50 for a high-quality review on sites like Reedsy Discovery. 

For advanced tips on how to get reviews on your Amazon’s book page before your launch day, read our post on how to promote your book .    

Create an author media kit

Another important piece of the marketing puzzle is creating an author media kit. This kit should include  things like your author bio , book pitch, a tip sheet (like a sample Q&A for interviews and author events), and other promotional information. You can make the kit a standalone PDF, an online folder with various resources, or a dedicated page on your author website — choose whatever method makes it easiest for you to share your content with media outlets. For more guidance, read our post on building a rocking author media kit .

Keep marketing your book

There are many other marketing strategies you can implement, from learning how to make the most of your social channels to running Amazon ads and more. We’ve collected over 70 book marketing ideas in another post in case you want to go deeper. 

If marketing isn't your forte or you're short on time, consider hiring a book marketer. They specialize in optimizing your book's metadata and product pages, setting up and teaching you how to manage ad campaigns, and building your mailing list. While a comprehensive marketing strategy costs around $1,100 on average, you can drastically reduce costs by opting for specific services (e.g., only counseling on advertising).

If you’ve followed all the steps in this post, congratulations! Not only have you finally published your book you worked so hard on, but you've also given it the best chance to succeed.

There are many success stories of self-publishing authors making bank with their stories, and thanks to higher royalty rates, indie authors can potentially earn up to five times more than writers who go the traditional publishing route. If you're interested in learning more, read our post on what authors can expect to earn for a closer look at the numbers of self-publishing.

In the next part of this guide, we'll show you the benefits (and potential drawbacks) of self-publishing. Be sure to read on!

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Self-Publishing vs Traditional Publishing: Which Is Best in 2024?

Deciding between self-publishing vs traditional publishing is the big choice many authors are faced with in today's book publishing space.

If you’re researching how to publish a book, you’ve likely started (or finished!) writing your book .

First off, congrats! Wherever you may be on your book-writing journey, you’re well on your way to becoming a published author .

Although you may be stressing over which publishing method is right for you, having options as an author is a good problem to have!

We live in an exciting time when publishing a book has never been easier – and this is true whether you're writing a nonfiction book , a fiction novel , a memoir , or a children's book!

In our age of information, it’s as important as ever to make an informed decision between self-publishing vs traditional publishing. A book is life-changing, so you’ll want to be sure you choose the path that’s right for you.

Are you ready to learn how to publish your book and share your story with the world?

This blog on self-publishing vs traditional publishing will cover:

A quick history of publishing.

Throughout history, the road was narrow for aspiring authors.

Traditional publishing companies were the standard, and the traditional publishing process was not easy (not to mention it hasn’t changed much!).

If you wanted to publish a book, you had to get past the gatekeepers first (aka traditional publishers).

Think of Jane Austen’s novel Pride & Prejudice , written in 1797. This magnificent literary piece continues to be a classic today. It has sold over 20 million copies!

But Jane was rejected by publishers on numerous occasions, and this particular book was not published until 1813. It took 16 years to traditionally publish the book!

As you can see, the struggle was real for writers – even literary geniuses like Austen (who later became a self-published author). And though writing itself has never been easy, publishing a book today can be less challenging.

Modern authors have two choices for publishing: self-publishing vs traditional publishing.

The first step in publishing a book is to be aware of your options. Most importantly, it’s now easier than ever for writers to be in control.

So, what’s the difference? Let's take a look!

What is self-publishing vs traditional publishing?

First, we’ll start with a quick rundown on each. Then, you can decide on self-publishing vs traditional publishing for your own author career as you navigate how to publish a book .

Here are the steps to traditionally publish a book:

• Write a book .
• Self-edit the manuscript.
• Submit your manuscript to literary agents and hope that someone finds the potential in your work.
• If your manuscript is accepted, the literary agent will submit your work to publishers.
• If a publisher accepts your work, they offer you a contract to publish your book.
• The publisher handles everything in the production process, including expenses – from editing, to formatting, to designing your book.
• Market your book.
• You are paid an author royalty based on the number of books that are sold.

As you can see from the traditional publishing process steps, authors are generally less in control with traditional publishing vs self-publishing.

Here are the steps on how to self-publish a book:

• Write a book.
• Have your book professionally edited (and formatted, if needed).
• Have your book cover professionally designed.
• Choose a self-publishing platform to publish and/or distribute the book.
• Maintain your book.

What does independently published mean?

Independently published means the same thing as self-published. In brief, self-publishing vs traditional publishing means that an author is in charge of the entire book publishing process – there isn’t a gatekeeper to get approval from!

Although the author oversees and funds the self-publishing process, it shouldn’t be completely DIY. In fact, successful self-published authors hire professionals for things like book editing and book designing , while retaining full creative control.

Because of today’s technology, self-publishing a book is a viable option for many authors.

Pros & cons of self-publishing vs traditional publishing

When looking at traditional publishing vs self-publishing, each publishing process has its own advantages and disadvantages. As you decide how to publish your book, it’s important to weigh the pros and cons of self-publishing vs traditional publishing.

Each author's situation is different, so what was the best decision for another author, might not be the best decision for you. As you can see from the steps on how to publish traditionally and through self-publishing, the process is pretty different.

Now it's time to take a closer look at the advantages and disadvantages of self-publishing vs traditional publishing.

Please keep in mind that what one author might think of as an advantage, you might think of as a disadvantage, and vice versa! Or, you might even find more pros and cons based on your own personal preferences.

Let's take a close look at the benefits and disadvantages that many authors experience while traditionally publishing a book.

What are the pros and cons of traditional publishing?

If the traditional publishing route sounds like a ton of rejection, you might be wondering why authors choose this path when considering how to publish your book.

In short, it was simply the accepted way to publish for so long. Until recently, many authors didn’t know of any other way to get their work published and into the hands of readers.

Although it’s still extremely difficult to get your book traditionally published today , there are some advantages to going this route.

Pros of traditional publishing:

• No upfront costs from the author. The publisher pays for all of the expenses to get your book published, including editing, formatting, and designing costs.
• Possibly sell more books . Traditional publishers have more industry connections that can help to sell more books. For example, traditionally published books are readily available in retail bookstores.
• Social credibility . It’s validating to have your book accepted by a traditional publisher. It can improve an author’s feelings of self-worth, and it can be considered prestigious. For some authors, this is important.
• Publishing is done for you. You handle the writing and self-editing. The publisher will handle publishing.

Cons of traditional publishing:

• Very competitive. The chances of actually being traditionally published are very slim. In fact, an agent or publisher won’t even consider your work unless you have a social following .
• Lengthy process. If you’re able to get past the gatekeepers and get a book contract, the process is very time-consuming, and can take years for your book to hit the market. Just be aware that you’ll need to spend time querying an agent before publishers will even consider offering you a contract.
• Less creative control. Since the publisher handles the editing, formatting, and designing of your book , you might have less say in how the book actually turns out.
• Lower royalty fees. Because the publisher eats up the costs to publish your book, traditional publishing royalties are often significantly lower.
• Marketing may be up to you. Many publishers provide less support in marketing your book . For instance, marketing may be entirely left up to the author in many cases.

What are the pros and cons of self-publishing?

Now that you understand traditional publishing’s pros and cons, it’s time to weigh the alternative in detail when it comes to how to self-publish a book .

If you’re considering how best to publish your book, it’s important to note the advantages and disadvantages of self-publishing.

Pros of self-publishing:

• No gatekeeper. If you want to write and publish a book, then you can do exactly that. No need to wait for permission.
• A quicker process. It’s all on your timeline, so you can decide when exactly you’d like to write and publish your book, unlike with a traditional book deal .
• Full creative control. You oversee the entire process, and book production is all in your hands. This means that if you have a specific vision for your book, you can execute it!
• Higher royalty rates. Depending on which platform you use to publish your book, the royalty rates are generally higher. For example, if you publish your book on Amazon, royalty rates are as high as 70%!
• Build a skill. Once you learn how to publish your book, the sky's the limit. To clarify, this means you can keep writing and self-publishing as many books as you want!
• Endless opportunities. Being able to publish your book on your own terms can open up a world of opportunities. Many self-published authors use their books to build industry authority. In fact, some self-published authors even use their books to spring into traditional publishing by getting a book deal!

Cons of self-publishing:

• It’s all at your expense. Self-published authors pay out of pocket for professionals to edit, format, and design their books. There also may be other expenses such as marketing costs.
• You risk selling fewer books. It isn’t standard to have self-published books in any major retailer. With less visibility comes less opportunity to sell a large amount of books. It will be up to you to market your book.
• Less support. It’s up to you to learn how to publish your work. And you’re in charge of the entire book process from start to finish, so everything is up to you. But there is a huge self-publishing community that you can reach out to along with self-publishing companies . You can check out our review of Self-Publishing School to learn more about this avenue.
• Stigma. Self-publishing can sometimes get a bad rap. This is mainly caused by the idea of an oversaturated market and the quality of self-published books. Because the gates are open to literally anyone, there is a higher potential for a self-published book to not be of high quality. This is why it’s crucial to hire professional services like editing .

The costs of self-publishing vs traditional publishing

Now that you understand the advantages and disadvantages of traditional publishing vs self-publishing, we’ll learn how much it costs to publish with both options.

It’s important to understand that the cost can vary depending on a number of factors, which we’ll explain more in the sections below.

How much does it cost to publish a book traditionally?

In true traditional publishing won’t cost you anything upfront to publish your book .

A traditional publisher will handle all of the costs associated with publishing your book. If a publisher asks you for money, they are not a true traditional publisher.

Instead, they might be what’s commonly known as a “ vanity publisher .” These are companies that basically slap their company label on your book, so it appears that you have a “traditional publisher.”

These vanity publishers are known to prey on authors. They are often not recommended, and can come with a high cost. Thus, it’s important to do your research as you consider how to publish a book.

You can get an idea of which companies to avoid from this list from the Alliance of Independent Authors , which rates self-publishing companies.

How much does it cost to self-publish a book?

On average, the cost to self-publish a book is around $1,500 to $2,000, but this cost will vary depending on a number of factors. While the actual cost to publish an eBook is free on self-publishing platforms like Amazon’s Kindle Direct Publishing, the author will pay for other book production services in order to prepare the book for publishing.

The cost to self-publish includes the cost to hire professional editors, cover designers, and marketing tools.

Therefore, the cost to self-publish a book is entirely dependent on you as the author. With self-publishing vs traditional publishing, you can choose to publish your book for as little, or as much, money as you want.

It depends on which services you pay for, and the rate of the freelancer or company you hire. Some services include editing, formatting, designing, illustrations, and marketing.

If you're writing children's books , you'll also have to factor illustration costs into your expenses. If you're writing children's picture books , the illustration fees may be higher, depending on your book's subject and context.

At the minimum, self-published authors should hire professional book editing and cover designing services.

Self-published authors can stay within a budget of $1,000, or choose to spend up to $20,0000 – it really just depends on your needs and preferences!

How much do authors make with self-publishing vs traditional publishing?

Traditional authors typically receive an advance from the publisher once they accept their book contract; however, traditional authors receive significantly lower royalty rates compared to self-published authors.

On average, traditional authors receive an 8% royalty rate of the retail price per printed book sold, and a 25% royalty rate of the retail price per eBook sold. When you look at self-publishing vs traditional publishing, self-published authors typically receive a 60% royalty rate of the retail price per book sold, and 70% royalty rate of the retail price per eBook sold.

Read this for more info on the question of, “ How much money do authors make ?”

While it costs more upfront to self-publish a book, the author has greater earning potential over time. The one caveat is that traditionally published books often have the capacity to sell more books than a self-published author; this is why it's important for self-published authors to market their books well.

You can use this Book Profit Calculator to determine how many books you need to sell, and at what cost, to earn back what you've spent to self-publish your book.

For a closer look at your earning potential and to compare royalty rates between self-publishing vs traditional publishing, use our Book Royalty Calculator .

1. My book will be published by a...

2. my book will be an:, 3. my royalty rate will be:.

*Please note that this royalty rate is based on the market averages for paperback books. Actual royalty rates for traditional and indie publishing can vary by author depending on several factors.

4. My book’s retail price:

5. the # of books sold:, your results, your profit per book sold, for books sold, you earn:, for 1,000 books sold, you earn:, for 10,000 books sold, you earn:, royalties comparisons for 10,000 books sold, want to receive personalized tips on how to sell more books right in your inbox, research self-publishing companies.

If authors publish books on their own, what exactly are self-publishing companies around for?

Great question! With the rise of the self-publishing industry, comes a rise in self-publishing businesses. With this in mind, we’ll cover three main types of self-publishing companies.

The main types of self-publishing companies:

• Self-publishing platforms are the mediums that you will use to publish your book. Some examples of self-publishing platforms are Amazon’s Kindle Direct Publishing (KDP), Apple’s iBook, and IngramSpark .
• Self-publishing author services provide authors with publishing services like book editing and designing. Some authors find these companies convenient, but they often are more expensive than finding your own freelancers. Before working with these companies, do your research to ensure you’re working with a reputable business.
• Self-publishing education companies like Self-Publishing School , for example, teach writers how to write and self-publish a book, among other things. They can also provide authors with learning resources, community, and mentorship.

FAQs: self-publishing vs traditional publishing

Still struggling to decide between self-publishing vs traditional publishing? It can be a tricky process to navigate!

In this section, we'll include the frequently asked questions that our readers come to us with.

Is it worth it to self-publish a book?

That answer depends on you. If you are looking to become a career author, publish multiple books, and have the drive and budget to outsource your production needs for a high-quality book, you might want to consider self-publishing vs traditional publishing.

But if you just want to boost your ego and say you're “traditionally published” then self-publishing is not for you.

Can you traditionally publish a self-published book?

This will depend on the publishing contract with your traditional publisher. Typically, self-published books can be traditionally republished, but this is not common. You'll usually see this instance when a self-published book has received a high level of success.

Is Amazon Self-Publishing worth it?

We have a full article that details Amazon Self-Publishing , but many of the authors we work with prefer to use Amazon's KDP as it has an extremely large audience base, high book royalties, and cost-effective book printing.

Can self-published books become bestsellers?

YES! In fact, there are thousands of self-published books that are bestsellers. Achieving bestselling status does not depend on how the author published. In fact, this is what we teach authors in our Become a Bestseller program .

Is it better to self-publish or get a publisher?

Now that you understand the fundamental differences between self-publishing vs traditional publishing, you still might be stuck wondering which route is the right one for you.

Use the table and guiding questions below to help you decide how best to publish your book. If you meet one of the listed criteria, then the “X” means that you should consider that type of publishing.

When you should traditionally publish:

• You have a large social following
• You are writing a book for an extremely large market
• You can handle rejection often
• You have the time and patience for a longer publishing process
• You need social credibility or prestige

When you should self-publish:

• You have the drive and initiative to oversee the entire process yourself
• You are eager to learn how to publish on your own
• You are writing a book geared toward a niche market
• You have a timeline for when you’d like your book published
• You can afford to hire professionals to get your book ready to be published
• You can deal with less validation, and fine being the underdog in the publishing world
• You want to share your book with the world as quickly as possible

Self-publishing vs traditional publishing: make your decision

Achieving your goal to write a book, and making the decision to publish it, is a huge milestone.

As you do research on how to publish a book, we hope this article was informative and helped you find a starting point in considering self-publishing vs traditional publishing.

Whether you're considering publishing on your own or pursuing a traditional publishing company, learning more about the process will only help – because informed decisions are the best decisions.

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How to Self-Publish a Book in 5 Steps

Ready to take your writing skills to the next level? Writing a book is one of the ultimate forms of validation—especially if you can make your way to a bestsellers list or two.

But many writers are intimidated and held back by all the hoops they have to jump through to work with a publishing company. From compromising on your work to negotiating terms to balancing the middle man, it can be a lot to handle.

There’s good news. There are plenty of opportunities for you to find success as a self-published author. Of course, this path will still require work. You’ll need to be well-researched, determined, and ready to put in the work.

In this article, we’ll take a high-level look at everything you need to do if you want to self-publish a book.

Step 1: Do market research for your book

As with most things, self-publishing a book requires you to conduct market research . This process involves studying the work of other authors, evaluating their strengths and weaknesses, identifying untapped areas, and establishing their ideal audience. While you may scoff at the idea of doing research, know that understanding your audience early makes it easier to sell your book down the road.

When doing market research for your book:

• Identify your genre. Genre describes a lot more than just the category of your book. Aspects like story structure, writing style, and verbiage can all differ depending on the genre of a book. For instance, a children’s book might describe a stunning outfit as “beautiful and charming,” whereas a murder mystery might describe it as “glitz and glamorous.” Understanding the specifics of your genre will give you a better idea of how to approach writing for your audience.
• Find your niche.  While researching your genre, look out for any areas of the subject, the plot, or interest that writers have not covered that fans ask for. Comments on discussion boards or review sites will give you insight into what is most desirable amongst readers.
• Study your competition. Competitive analysis is the study of the strategies used by other people doing the same work as you. By looking through bestseller lists or popular book clubs, you will see the ways other authors succeed that you can use for yourself. This can include aspects like the kinds of values they present or how they set themselves apart from other writers.

Step 2: Edit the manuscript

Editing a manuscript can be the hardest part for budding authors. You may never see your work as fully done, and it can be easy to lose yourself in a cycle of endless rewrites and additions. However, self-publishing does not give you access to a team of professional proofreaders like you’d get through an agency. This means your main editor will always be yourself. 

To ensure your book looks just as refined and polished as it would coming from a major publishing house, follow these steps:

Read your manuscript

Before sharing your first draft with anyone, read it yourself, as though you’re a member of your target audience. While it can seem daunting to go back through it all again, a start-to-finish read-through will help you see the entirety of what you have created from a fresh perspective. You can then polish or make adjustments to your work based on your findings.

Have your manuscript read by your intended audience

Search online message boards or review sites for people willing to read your unpolished manuscript and give a fair report on it. These individuals are often known as “beta readers” and hang out in forums like My Writers Circle and Absolute Write Water Cooler . Find someone who is a fan of the genre you chose and have them give you feedback. The goal of this step isn’t to fix mechanical errors or typos but to get an overall feel of the book’s usability as a whole.

Hire a freelance editor

This step should always be your last one, as you don’t want to pay for someone to find the smaller mistakes that you can pick up yourself. Once you and at least one beta reader have checked your work, you can hand it off to an editor for a professional look-over. Reedsy is a great source of editing talent specializing in different genres, while Upwork is great for hiring editors within your budget. Once you hire a freelance editor, you can have them professionally edit your manuscript.

Step 3: Create an eye-catching book cover 

Although a traditional adage tells us not to judge a book by its cover, most people do just that. Your cover is the thing that will form their perception of you as they come across it in brick-and-mortar shops, marketplaces, your online store, and every other place where your book will be sold.

Whether you design the cover yourself or hire a freelance, make sure to consider the following:

Is the text visible?

While the image on the front is the first thing to draw attention, make sure it does not obscure other important elements—for example, the book’s title and your name. The title should be clear, visible, and unchecked by any graphics or color. Solid letters in a simple font will always triumph over an ornate and indecipherable script.

Is the design coherent?

Design coherence has a lot to do with the back cover and spine of your book. While these may not be visible in thumbnails, the physical incantation of your book will reveal the back cover design. Many readers care about what the spine looks like on their bookshelf. So follow the same aesthetic as your front cover to ensure the design is consistent. 

How clear is the cover image?

If you're using a graphic, such as a photograph or a piece of art, try to keep it simple. If your cover features an image too busy, colorful, or confusing, it can be immediately off-putting for a potential buyer. It is also important to consider how the image will look when rendered. If you’re planning on selling your book online, the cover image needs to comfortably render to a thumbnail size without losing any fidelity.

When it comes to making the actual cover, you can use freelance resources like Reedsy and Upwork to hire a designer. Make sure you look at all potential candidates’ portfolios of work to help you find the artist who can best capture your ideal vision. Prefer taking the DIY route? Tools like Canva , Fotor , and Visme are great options for bringing your cover idea to life. 

Step 4: Choose a self-publishing platform 

You’ve reached the point where you’re ready to convert all the elements of your book into a physical product so you can distribute it to retailers and wholesalers. This is where you need to start thinking about the self-publishing platform you’ll use to get from drafting to final enactment. There are a few ways to go about this.

Self-publishing with print on demand

If you don’t have the space to keep several copies of your book as stock, consider going the print-on-demand route. This involves using a third-party publisher to print and ship your books at the point of sale. 

Print on demand is an ideal choice for self-publishers — it saves time and money since you can outsource the production and distribution of your products to a third party.

Self-publishing on Amazon via Kindle Direct Publishing

Amazon’s self-publishing platform, Kindle Direct Publishing (KDP), allows users to print their books on demand at the point of sale. KDP’s interface is easy to navigate, and Amazon even suggests books to readers whose interests align with the published genres. 

How much does it cost to use KDP?

KDP does print-on-demand fulfillment, meaning you incur charges only after you’ve sold a book. A 60% royalty rate applies to paperbacks sold on the Amazon marketplace using KDP, so you earn 40% of the book’s listed price. Note that printing costs (which can vary based on the number of pages and your paper type) are also deducted from your earnings. Amazon has a  printing cost and royalty calculator  you can use to estimate the final amount in royalties you’ll receive.

One downside to using KDP is that it has an exclusivity clause for ebooks. In other words, if you sell ebooks on Amazon via KDP, you won’t be able to sell them elsewhere. 

Selling in-store with Shopify and Lulu

Lulu is a self-publishing platform that offers tools for printing and distributing your very own ebooks and paperbacks. The platform offers a wide range of page types, bindings, and sizes that give you various options for developing your cover and manuscript into a physical item.

Lulu is ideal for Shopify entrepreneurs looking to self-publish a book. Using the Lulu Direct app on your Shopify store, you can have books printed and shipped at the point of sale, automating the core aspects of your supply chain.

Step 5: Format your book

A book’s format is how the text, pages, covers, and chapters are laid out before printing begins. Though your manuscript may be edited to perfection, make sure to format:  

• The height and width of your pages (known as the trim)
• The font, font size, and line spacing of the text
• The book’s front matter (everything that comes before the story begins, such as the title page, author page, publishing info, and table of contents)
• The back matter (everything that comes after the story, such as appendices, indexes, and bibliographies)

Besides these elements, your book needs to have an ISBN (International Standard Book Number). This is a 13-digit code that serves as a universal reference number for your book across different platforms. The ISBN also acts as proof of ownership over the book’s content, so it is crucial for self-publishers to have. 

You can get a free ISBN for your book through Kindle Direct Publishing . If you’re using another self-publishing platform that doesn’t offer one, you can request a universal ISBN through myidentifiers.com .

Now it’s time to get going

Now that you know all the basic steps to self-publish a book, it’s time to get your hands dirty. Keep doing your research and finding the right partners and platforms for your goals.

Start having conversations with potential editors, graphic designers, or promotional partners you might want on your team. Dig into self-publishing platforms to see which feels the most promising.

The groundwork has been laid. The rest is up to you!

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The ultimate guide to self-publishing: tips and tricks for success, a beginner's handbook to navigate the world of self-publishing.

Welcome to the exciting world of self-publishing! If you've always dreamed of seeing your book in print or reaching a global audience with your words, self-publishing is the perfect avenue for you. In this beginner's guide, we will provide you with essential tips and tricks to help you navigate the self-publishing journey successfully. From writing and editing to marketing and distribution, we've got you covered. Let's get started on your path to self-publishing greatness!

Section 1: Crafting an Engaging Manuscript

Your manuscript is the heart and soul of your book, so take the time to create something truly captivating. Begin by brainstorming ideas, outlining your plot, and developing well-rounded characters. Allow your creativity to flow and embrace the joy of storytelling. Write in a clear and concise manner, engaging your readers from the very first page. Don't forget to edit and proofread your manuscript thoroughly, ensuring it is polished and free from errors.

Section 2: Engaging Professional Editing Services

Every writer needs an editor! Hiring a professional editor is an investment that will elevate the quality of your book. An editor will provide valuable feedback, help refine your writing style, and ensure your manuscript is error-free. They will work with you to improve the pacing, structure, and overall flow of your story. Remember, the goal is to make your book the best it can be.

Section 3: Designing an Eye-Catching Book Cover

They say not to judge a book by its cover, but let's face it, readers do! Your book cover is your chance to make a memorable first impression. Engage the services of a talented graphic designer who can create a visually stunning cover that captures the essence of your story. Consider the genre, target audience, and market trends when designing your cover. Remember, it should stand out among the competition and entice readers to pick up your book.

Section 4: Formatting and Typesetting for a Professional Look

Formatting and typesetting are essential to create a visually appealing and reader-friendly book. Choose a suitable font and font size, ensure consistent spacing and margins, and format chapter headings and page numbers consistently. Pay attention to the layout of images, tables, and other visual elements. Strive for a clean and professional look that enhances the reading experience.

Section 5: Selecting the Right Self-Publishing Platform

Choosing the right self-publishing platform is crucial to your success. Research different platforms such as Amazon Kindle Direct Publishing (KDP), Smashwords, and Barnes & Noble Press, among others. Consider factors like ease of use, distribution reach, royalty rates, and marketing opportunities. Select a platform that aligns with your goals and helps you reach your target audience effectively.

Section 6: Implementing Effective Book Marketing Strategies

Once your book is published, the real work begins – marketing it to your audience. Embrace various marketing strategies to generate buzz and attract readers. Establish an author website or blog, engage with readers on social media platforms, and leverage email newsletters to build a loyal fan base. Seek out opportunities for book reviews, collaborate with influencers, and explore paid advertising options. Remember, consistent and targeted marketing efforts are key to increasing your book's visibility and sales.

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The Self-Publishing Checklist: Editorial, Production, and Distribution

Whether you’re completely new to the publishing process or an old pro, it can be helpful to have a to-do list to guide your self-publishing project to completion, to ensure you don’t miss any important steps, and also to help you plan well enough to hit your target pub date.

I’ve created both a downloadable PDF handout and an interactive worksheet that you can customize for your book project.

Below I detail the distinct stages of the editorial, production, and sales/distribution process. My goal is to help you understand some of the assumptions I’ve made about the publishing process (which follows a traditional model), as well as where you can save time and expense.

The Editorial and Production Process

This process can be broken down into roughly three stages:

My checklist begins at the point where you have a reasonably final manuscript that does not  require higher level editing or significant revision. While much depends on what level of editing your manuscript has already undergone, for most authors, I recommend seeking a formal copyedit: you send the manuscript to a professional freelance copyeditor, who will focus on style, grammar, and consistency issues—and might possibly do light fact-checking if needed (very useful for nonfiction).

A typical copyedit for an 80,000-word manuscript takes two weeks, but good copyeditors usually need to be booked a month (or more) in advance. Authors should give themselves at least a week, if not two, to review and make changes after the copyedit is returned.

Depending on your project, you’ll have several stages of book design.

Front cover design.  While the manuscript is being copyedited, you can begin on the cover design. Some authors are able to put together their own cover designs using tools such as Canva , but since your cover is often the number-one marketing tool for your book, hiring a professional designer is wise.

Before you hire a cover designer, I recommend doing some research and studying bestselling books similar to your own in genre, theme, or audience. Find at least two or three covers that you like, and write fifty to a hundred words explaining why these covers look good to you. This serves as the start of a creative brief you can give to your freelance designer, to help them create an appropriate cover for your book.

If you haven’t already, you should also finalize the title, subtitle, and book description that will be used at all retailers and on the back cover (for a print edition). It’s ideal if you have two or three versions of the book description: a very short one (25–50 words), a short one (50–100 words), and a longer one (250 words).

Obviously, it’s possible to produce a front cover for your book long before the editing is complete; all you need is a final title/subtitle, a final decision on your book’s trim size, and confidence in what the cover should look like.

Back cover design.  Most ebooks only have a front cover design and no back cover design. If you’re producing a paperback or print-on-demand edition, then you’ll also need a back cover and spine. (Hardcovers will require yet another cover design to account for the flaps and increased spine width.)

Traditional publishers typically produce the front cover design first, and they don’t complete the back cover and spine until much closer to the pub date. It’s not possible to design the spine until the exact page count is known, and the page count may be in flux until the book’s interior is designed and laid out. The cover’s measurements are also affected by the printer you’re using, as well as the type of cover and interior paper.

However, if your page count is firm and unchanging, and you know which printers or POD services you’re using, you can have the entire cover designed as part of one process.

Important note:  Many authors like to include advance praise or blurbs on the cover. If this is your intention, then you’ll need to start gathering these blurbs before  the cover design process begins. Otherwise, you’ll need to instruct the designer to use dummy text in place of the actual blurb, and swap it out later.

Print interior design.  If you’re planning a print edition and  you have the time and money to invest, you may also want to hire a designer for the interior of your book. This may or may not be the same person who designs the cover—it depends on the freelancer and their skill set. Here are some considerations when deciding if interior design is worth the investment:

• Books that are predominantly body text and nothing more (such as novels and memoirs), often do fine with very basic or template designs. Joel Friedlander’s Book Design Templates are an inexpensive way to produce a good-looking print interior using Microsoft Word or InDesign. His templates can also be used to generate your ebook files. Using a template system will dramatically cut down on the amount of time needed for book production—usually by one month.
• Books that have a lot of elements or styles (usually nonfiction) may require a custom interior design. Especially if you have illustrations, graphics, or any color elements, you’ll want a designer who knows how to properly set up the file and ensure decent reproduction values.
• When producing both a print and ebook edition, always keep in mind how you’ll ensure that both editions have the same final text if you’re using InDesign to produce the print edition. InDesign can export EPUB files, but it’s not necessarily a straightforward or simple process. A professional interior designer who knows how to export EPUB files from InDesign can be indispensable, or you can hire an independent ebook formatting professional to do it for you.

Usually, before the interior design process begins, the author comes up with a list of all the design elements that occur in the book. It looks something like this:

Chapter title and chapter opener A head B head Bulleted list Numbered list Block quote

If you’re not sure how to come up with a list like this, your designer should be able to help or anticipate your needs for you. It’s best if they show you a sample of the design—or lay out a single chapter—before continuing with the entire book, so you can ask for revisions or adjustments to the design. Once the full book is laid out, the designer will send you the entire file to review for any final changes or tweaks. Once you’re confident none of the text will shift between pages, then you can send the file to an indexer (if you want an index prepared for the print edition).

Ebook design (EPUB file preparation). There’s not really an ebook design process—at least not for typical, reflowable ebook files (EPUB files). If your title has lots of special illustrations or visuals—or needs to have a fixed page layout—then you’ll want to hire a professional to prepare your ebook files for you. You’ll likely go through a process similar to the print interior design process—be sure to budget extra time in your schedule for this.

However, many authors do not hire out this work—and sometimes it seems there are as many ways to prepare an ebook file as there are authors. Some manage by using only Microsoft Word and the auto-conversion process applied by Amazon, Draft2Digital, and others. Some use software such as Vellum, Calibre or Sigil to prepare the files. This resource list offers a range of tools to consider.

If you’ve never before prepared an ebook file for publication, give yourself plenty of time to do so—at least one week. If this isn’t a process you want to handle yourself, some ebook cover designers will handle preparation of your ebook files.

3. Proofing

As you reach the end of the design process, you’ll have to decide how thorough your proofing process will be. Some authors proof their files themselves, and others send them out for a formal proofread. If you think your files are very clean, and very few errors have been introduced during the production process, then you might skip hiring someone. However, if you skipped the copyedit, and you’re the only person who has ever looked at the files aside from the designer, then it’s a smart idea to pay for a proofer before publishing.

Important note: As Dana Delamar points out in the comments section, some authors are better off with an earlier proofing process—one that starts before ebook design and file prep. A critical question to ask: Will you be editing your final files directly—or will you have the access and capability to do so—or is someone else responsible for the final touches on the files? For example, if a freelancer is preparing and delivering final ebook files you won’t (or can’t) open or modify in any way, it becomes essential that you provide clean files to reduce costs or delays.

The Sales and Distribution Process

This process can be broken down into roughly two stages:

• Preparing your metadata
• Uploading your files and going on sale

1. Preparing Your Metadata

Before you head off to Ingram or Amazon to publish, it’s best to do all your research and legwork in advance as to how you will describe the book, how it will be categorized, what pricing you will use, and so on. That way, when you reach the publishing interface, you’ll have all the data at your fingertips and you won’t have to stop, think, go searching for missing information, or feel pressured into making a decision.

2. Uploading Your Files

This is perhaps the easiest and quickest part of the entire publishing process: making your book available for sale. In most cases, it won’t even take you an hour to get your book into the system and under review. With Amazon in particular, your book is often available and on sale in twenty-four hours. If you’re not ready to go on sale, then you can set the book as a preorder and input whatever pub date you want. (Amazon allows preorders up to ninety days in advance; Smashwords and others allow for one year.)

You should have the following files ready to upload for your print-on-demand edition:

• Full cover layout file (PDF): if you’re using  both Amazon KDP and IngramSpark, you will need a different cover layout file for each, since they each will provide different measurements for you to use
• Full interior layout file (PDF)

You should have the following files ready to upload for your ebook edition:

• Front cover image: JPG, PNG, or other image format
• Ebook file: EPUB will result in the best quality, but most retailers/distributors allow you to upload a Word document, among other common file formats

What’s Not Covered in This Checklist?

My checklist covers all the steps involved in creating your book and making it available for sale. However, it does not touch on any marketing concerns, such as sending out advance review copies, using social media prior to release or afterward, collecting endorsements, promoting a preorder, etc.

The interactive version of my checklist allows you to set any pub date you want, which will then automatically generate suggested deadlines for each step of the process. If you’d like to produce official-looking advance review copies (ARCs), then simply change the date to when you’d like to have ARCs. Alternatively, you can send out early, unproofed digital copies of your book to people who you’d like blurbs or publicity consideration from while you begin the production process.

• Click here to download the PDF checklist for printing on letter-size paper.
• Click here to access the interactive checklist and download/save it for your own files.

For More: My Most Popular Posts on Self-Publishing

• Start Here: How to Self-Publish Your Book
• How to Publish an Ebook: Resources for Authors

Jane Friedman has spent nearly 25 years working in the book publishing industry, with a focus on author education and trend reporting. She is the editor of The Hot Sheet , the essential publishing industry newsletter for authors, and was named Publishing Commentator of the Year by Digital Book World in 2023. Her latest book is The Business of Being a Writer (University of Chicago Press), which received a starred review from Library Journal. In addition to serving on grant panels for the National Endowment for the Arts and the Creative Work Fund, she works with organizations such as The Authors Guild to bring transparency to the business of publishing.

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed .

[…] This customizable checklist guides your self-publishing project to completion, to ensure you don't miss any important steps.  […]

Great list! 🙂

Jane, thank you! Your checklist is absolutely indispensable for author-publishers. I’ve downloaded a copy for my next self-published project and am sharing it with my writing groups.

Appreciate you sharing, thank you!

Thanks for creating this and distributing it for free, Jane. I’m sure many authors will appreciate it.

I hope so! I get asked about this so frequently, the time had come to write up something formal.

Thank you so much for this! Very useful list and info!

Jane, Thank you! This came at a great time for me and it will be very helpful and useful!

I am going to use this. Anything to help me get more organized.

Jane, thanks for sharing this. Hoping 2016 is my year to do just this–self-publish. This checklist will be invaluable!

[…] a to-do list to guide your self-publishing project to completion  […]

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Home » Blog » How to Self-Publish like an Experienced Author [In 10 Steps]

How to Self-Publish like an Experienced Author [In 10 Steps]

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Writers, like everyone else, are enjoying the benefits of technology and the internet. It has helped eliminate some of the problems and obstacles associated with trying to publish a book. This is why many are wanting to learn how to self-publish.

Self-publishing has helped writers both old and new get their writing in front of the world. They can now do this without the help of agents or traditional publishers who might think that their books are not good enough.

If you are a writer and still don’t how self-publishing works, familiarize yourself with these ten steps to self-publishing. Get a thorough understanding of how to write, design, publish and make your book a best seller online. Knowing how to self-publish properly is key to being successful.

Use a Template

Even though you will probably hire an editor, a large part of self-publishing is learning how to do some editing yourself. You want to be good and sure your book has been thoroughly sifted and checked before sending it to an editor.

This will save you money in the long run as the editor will have less work to do.

Self-publishing may be easier for you if you use a template to help you keep your story on track. It will give you some guidelines and instructions that can prevent plotholes and confusion.

It will also help you get to the finish line faster. Time is of the essence when you are setting out to self-publish. It can be a long process.

There are ten steps that will help you make the right decision when trying out self-publishing to get your book out there.

• Research the topic
• Start writing
• Create your hooks
• Find an editor
• Design the book
• Get a book cover
• Format the book
• Get professional reviews
• Choose a self-publishing platform
• Marketing and distribution

1. How to Self-Publish: Research Your Topic

The first step to writing a book is coming up with a bright and attractive topic which will compel your audience. Research your chosen subject and find out if it has been done before and how saturated the market is.

If you write a book related to several other books in the market, you might have a hard time making sales because readers may feel they have already read what you have to say.

Consider writing on issues and topics that are in demand but not saturated.

Go through the books of other writers and ensure that you write something different and unique even though you are talking about related topics. Your readers should have the feeling that there is something extra about your book that sets it apart from others.

2. How to Self-Publish: Start Writing

It may sound easy to ‘start writing,’ but this is where some writers have failed simply because they started and could not continue after a while. Writer’s block or other activities tend to get in the way of writing.

You should create a schedule for yourself if you hope to have any success. Dedicate a certain amount of time each day – whatever fits in your schedule. It doesn’t have to look perfect as you can easily edit when you are through.

If you are experiencing a block, you can get inspiration from checking out books related to your topic and carrying out in-depth research. You can also try going through some writing exercises to gain inspiration and get you back on track.

3. How to Self-Publish: Create Your Hooks

The “book hook” can also be known as the book description. This is what you write to compel people into reading your book.

It can also be the reason you’ve written the book. Make your readers feel that you understand what they think. Be a way for them to get to the end of the dark tunnel and into the light.

The chapter hook is what you write at the end of every chapter to excite your readers and make them look forward to the next section. You’ve got to be exciting and enthusiastic in a way that your readers feel the passion through your words.

4. Get an Editor Before You Self-Publish

Read through after writing to see if your book contains any spelling or grammar errors. Read it aloud to see if you can spot any mistakes you might have missed and to determine its readability.

It is also advisable that you hire a professional editor to go through your work as well. The editor will also ensure your book looks professional and will give constructive criticism if it lacks in some areas.

You can cut the costs a little bit by putting your work through some writing software that will do some additional checks. These are useful but will not replace a true, human professional.

Edit your book several times to ensure that you do not skip any errors and make all the appropriate corrections.

5. Design the Book

You’ve been building your content for a while, now is the time to turn it into a real book. What this entails is assembling the right team that will transform your manuscript into a book worthy of publishing.

You will need a professional designer that can take care of the design, illustrations, images, and layout. You will also need a marketer who can effectively promote your book and drive sales.

Avoid trying to do this on your own as you might end up creating an amateur looking book which will be a waste of all the efforts you put in to create the content.

Hire only professionals that will give you a good return on your investment. If you feel dissatisfied with their services, don’t hesitate to speak up and have them rework what you don’t like.

6. Getting the Perfect Book Cover to Self-Publish

Book covers are one of the best contributors to significant sales because the truth is people still judge a book by its cover.

Readers feel they can determine if a book is boring or exciting by just looking at the design on the front.

Get a professional designer to create a cover that will be intriguing and capture a potential reader’s eye. Create something that will make them want to know more details of the book and compel them to make a purchase.

7. Formatting

You can publish your book on several platforms online, but you need to understand that there is a specific book format these platforms accept.

You must adhere to their guidelines if you want to publish your book on their platform successfully. Some of the forms include Microsoft word doc, docx, ePub, Mobi, etc.

Some platforms have a format which they encourage writers to use because it will help their content look good. For example, Amazon Kindle has the KPF format which writers can convert their book to before uploading.

Aside from adequately arranging your material, KPF format makes the book look professional which helps to increase sales.

Aside from the file formatting, you can choose to publish an audiobook format which will allow your readers to listen to it at any place and time.

8. Get Professional Reviews

Professional reviews can help improve the sales of your book when you finally get to publish it. You will need to find reviewers in your chosen topics and get them to write strong reviews to establish the authenticity of your content.

These publishers could come from your professional connections or organizations.

When reaching out for reviewers, don’t act like you are seeking a favor. Let them also know that by reviewing your book, they are also increasing their publicity which will benefit them in the future.

9. Choosing a Self-Publishing Platform

The main reason writers want to self-publish is so they can bypass the traditional publishers who might reject their books. It also allows them to earn more royalties.

Your book has the potential to make it on the list of bestsellers all over the world. If this happens it may even catch the eyes of a publishing company who will buy the book. So, don’t ever think you are making a mistake self-publishing your book.

However, before deciding on a platform, ensure you do in-depth research about them to be certain there is no hidden cost. You want to make sure it’s a platform you can upload your books to without intruding on your own rights.

Here are some of the best self-publishing companies you’ll want to consider:

Kindle Direct Publishing

This self-publishing platform is on the lips of every author and even content marketers who are bent on teaching people how to use the platform to earn passive income.

Kindle Direct Publishing, which is an Amazon product, provides you with tools that make your self-publishing experience fantastic.

They also have tools available that help in promoting your book, thereby reaching out to more potential buyers.

Moreover, even once you’ve uploaded your book to the platform, you can update it as many times as you want to get rid of mistakes. This is not something other platforms permit.

Its a perfect option for first-time self-publishers.

AuthorHouse

AuthorHouse does not only help introduce your book to the world but also ensures they pay attention to it. The company goes all out to market your books through various e-commerce websites like Barnes and Noble and even Amazon.

 So, if you are a writer with no plan on how to market your book, take it to AuthorHouse and they will help you with their expert marketing techniques.

One benefit of using Lulu to self-publish is the fact that they have 24/7 customer support workers who are attentive to your needs. Lulu provides all the tools needed for successful self-publishing such as editors, illustrators, and even printers.

They also go all out to ensure that your book goes live within 24 hours. They release about 1000 new book titles every day.

You can get started with Lulu by downloading their free eBook which guides authors on how to self-publish with their products.

Maybe you’ve had experience with something other than an eBook, such as a print magazine, and you don’t know if the self-publishing platforms would accept it. If this is you, consider working with Blurb .

They allow pretty much any niche which gives you the opportunity to spread your wings.

If you want to avoid getting a professional designer for your book due to a tight budget, then you’ll want to try Xlibris . They offer book cover designs to make your content look more appealing.

You can see from the thousands of testimonials from authors that they are worth the try and will give good results.

Book Baby is a simple and straight forward self-publishing company anybody can use without getting confused.

It has an accessible interface with self-publishing packages that are affordable for authors with a low budget.

When you use the platform, you can be sure that your books will be ready to display on the Amazon bookstore without having to break the bank.

This platform is another good one, although they do not provide promotion and marketing like other self-publishing platforms.

But, they have their e-reader which makes your book instantly available to those with a Kobo device.

If you do not have a marketing plan, avoid using Kobo. If  you already have a PR agency to market your book, you can self-publish on Kobo to increase your reach to potential readers.

CreateSpace

Amazon has provided authors with several alternatives to get their books out there. Another self-publishing platform you can use aside from KDP is the CreateSpace .

This platform helps authors on a low budget by allowing them to publish their books without paying a dime and still earning their royalties.

But, know this comes at a different price. They do not provide formatting or editing of any kind.

Also, if you want to sell with other outlets, you will need to pay – though it is not expensive.

Outskirts Press

If you are not comfortable with a publishing or self-publishing company sharing royalties from your book sales, then you may want to use Outskirts.

They are one of the best self-publishing companies that allow you to keep 100% royalties.

Virtual Bookworm

This platform offers quick turnarounds, but the downside is you must be ready to part with 50% of your royalties. You will need to decide if that is worth the fast service they can provide.

 10. Marketing and Distribution

Now, you’ve gone through the stress of writing and self-publishing, you must ensure the book sells.

Most self-publishing companies offer promotional and marketing tools, but you can still do some marketing yourself.

Social media and a personal blog are great places to start.

Keep Pressing

Don’t give up because your book sold only a few copies. You need to keep trying while researching the reason for the low sales. Ensure your text is well-formatted to industry standards and your front cover design is on point. This could be what is turning readers away.  

So, there you have it, a perfect guide on how to self-publish in ten steps. Follow it, and you may stand a chance of being on the list of best sellers.

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Self-Publishing Facts and Figures

Did you know, self-published authors earn more than authors who are traditionally published., younger authors are making self-publishing their first choice., self-published authors made up over 50% of kindle’s top 400 books for 2023, 93% of indie authors asked were somewhat or extremely positive in relation to their perception of self-publishing., women and lgbtqia+ authors are highly successful in self-publishing., read a fascinating range of facts and figures about self-publishing, collated from organizations across the globe., our very latest 2024 reports have just been published, but you can also scroll down, to view and download our 2023 reports, which contain a wealth of extra information..

The Big Indie Author Data Drop 2024

ALLi reaches out each year to important self-publishing organizations across the world and the result is the Big Indie Author Data Drop: the best collection of data on self-publishing currently available.

With data and insights from ALLi, the Self-Publishing Formula, Draft2Digital, Written Word Media, K-Lytics, Kindlepreneur, PublishDrive and Kingston University, this collection of facts and figures is a must read for anyone involved or interested in self-publishing. Download the report to get up to speed on all matters self-publishing.

Re-defining Indie: analysis by CREATe

Diving deeper into the Indie Author Income Survey to offer valuable insights into demographics and cross-data indicators for what makes an author successful, diversity in self-publishing and how self-publishing is changing over time.

CREATe (the University of Glasgow) are currently carrying out further analysis of ALLi's Indie Author Income Survey, supported by the Self-Publishing Formula. Read some facts and figures from this report here or download (above) the whole report.

Indie Author Income Survey 2023: 1st round of analysis by SKS & The Future of Publishing

Self-published authors earn more than those who are traditionally published. 

ALLi's Indie Author Income Survey was the first independent and global study into self-published author incomes, and the results made for fascinating insights into just how successful indie authors are and what contributes to that success. Read some facts and figures from this report here or download (above) the whole report.

The Big Indie Author Data Drop 2023

ALLi reached out to important self-publishing organizations across the world and the result is the Big Indie Author Data Drop: the best collection of data on self-publishing currently available.

With data and insights from ALLi, the Self-Publishing Formula, Draft2Digital, Written Word Media, 20Booksto50k and Kingston University, as well as Amazon, this collection of facts and figures is a must read for anyone involved or interested in self-publishing. Read some facts and figures from this report here or download (above) the whole report.

Indie Author Income Survey 2023: 2nd round of analysis by CREATe (University of Glasgow)

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12 Key Research Topics For Self-Publishing Authors (Part I)

What i researched and you should too.

I mentioned in my Lessons Learned post that researching is important and necessary, but it should be targeted and organized. If you are just starting out on this writing journey, chances are that you agree with the sentiment but might now know exactly what you should focus on nor how to go about that. I promise you, I didn’t know when I started either. As a result, I spent two full weeks bouncing around from blog post to blog post, from video to video, inundating my brain with copious amounts of information. I could tell it was all useful, I just couldn’t keep any of it straight so it wasn’t proving useful to me .

Finally, I decided to go back through my notes and break the information down into categories. Whatever topics I saw popping up often—but that I didn’t feel well-versed in—made the list. I believe I started with ten categories and the list grew a bit as I continued to investigate.

While the topics I researched might not be the exact same ones you need to research, let me lay out the details of how I chose to target my research on self-publishing and other first-time author topics anyway. I have combined a few of the topics I originally looked at for the sake of conciseness and included links to particularly useful resources. I’m sure it will help give you a bit more direction too!

1.) Editing:

When I got to the editing stage of my process, I realized that this was an art I was not inherently talented in. One glance at Reedsy’s Types of Editing post and I was overwhelmed— there are literally different names for different kinds of edits? It turns out, there are! What’s worse is that I was mixing line editing with developmental editing with proofreading and apparently this is a no-no in the professional world. Oops!

In this category I also included tangential topics that I felt would improve my manuscript now that I was in the editing phase. Among these were how to start a story , different points of view / narrations styles , how to write realistic dialogue , and character motivation .

Note: I realized how much I needed to focus on this topic after attending a Reedsy Live on Novel Revision . When I attended, I got to watch it live and post questions to the speakers (who, that time were two authors named Gina Sorell and Caroline Leavitt). However, you can find loads of these recorded events on Reedsy’s YouTube channel .

2.) Author Page / Bio:

Time and time again, I came across mention of how important your Author Central Page (on Amazon) and similar biographical blurbs can be so I decided I ought to dedicate some time to figuring out how to do it right. I still don’t know that I did an amazing job with my first one , but at least I avoided the most common pitfalls of first-timers such as mentioning that I’ve been interested in writing since I was a kid and/or writing the bio in first person.

Also, after doing a bit a research through posts like this and this , I felt more confident about how I wanted to adjust my biography for posting it in different places. For example, I developed a very brief version for websites with character-limits like Reedsy Discovery, a longer version for my website and Author Central Page (read about how to do it well here ), and an intermediate version for my book’s back cover.

3.) Book Description, Categories, and Keywords:

Another highly important topic was how I would decide to describe my book and what categories and keywords I would file it under. Next to choosing my author name , this was one of the most difficult tasks for me when publishing my first book. Scribe provided a very helpful article on the topic of book descriptions (written by none other than Tucker Max himself). I found the same advice, more or less, everywhere else I looked too.

Kindlepreneur had plenty of information about choosing your keywords and categories. At first, I was slightly annoyed that each article included a call-to-action to purchase their KDP Publisher Rocket . With time, I decided this was actually an excellent tool for me to consider because, as a first time self-publishing author, I didn’t know much about competitive categories or keywords for my genre. Deciding to invest in the product ($97) for something I can use on every book going forward actually allowed me to cut down on my research on this topic with confidence.

4.) Book Cover Design and Formatting:

I’ll be honest, this topic really intimidated me! There are plenty of people out there who will tell you that you can do this all on your own and there are plenty more who will tell you that it is painfully apparent which authors have designed their own covers and this should therefore be avoided at all costs.

After reading the Kindlestation article that includes a link to “ Kindle Cover Disasters ” in the first line I was petrified that designing my own cover would land me on that list. (I was even more anxious once I visited the site and realized that I didn’t see what made half of the covers so disastrous. Oh my god, what if I have no eye for this kind of thing!? )

In the end, actually delving into the research of this category put my nerves at ease. I was comforted by this David Gaughran article about creating your cover for free on Canva, a platform I was already familiar with. For anyone freaking out about the formatting side, I urge you to check out KDP’s guidelines first if that’s where you’ll be publishing—I originally read a lot of contrary information but, personally, found that it was really painless to convert my Word document to their format through the Kindle Create software.

5.) Self-Publishing on Kindle:

That brings us to the topic of self-publishing and, specifically, where you plan to do so. In my initial two weeks, I had already read enough about self-publishing to know I wanted to use Amazon’s Kindle Direct Publishing (KDP) and no other marketplaces to release my first book. For my purposes, it made the most sense to opt for KDP Select (an exclusivity program), but it may not be the right choice for you. Start to read up on that here and here if you’re still deciding.

After I had made this decision, my research was focused on content guidelines / metadata , Amazon algorithms , pricing and royalty schemes , and whether or not it made sense to offer a paperback version of my book. One thing that I did not come across in my research but later proved frustrating to me was that (at least now, in 2020), unless you do a pre-order—which is only available for e-books—it is impossible to choose the date your book goes live on Amazon. Would it be useful for me to write a post about how I handled this? Let me know below!

6.) Book Reviews:

Wouldn’t it be wonderful to release your book with the reassurance that you have a number of positive reviews already lined up? Of course it would be! Every blog was telling me how important book reviews are, but I didn’t know how to get them . Fortunately, there’s a lot of information out there. Not only is it possible for authors to distribute advanced reader copies (ARCs) to anyone they’d like but there is actually a pretty large market of book bloggers and book reviewers out there to solicit!

I learned a lot about why book reviews mattered as well as found a long list of book bloggers to contact from this one resource . Unfortunately, I did not even receive a response from the five book bloggers I reached out to (which was disheartening), but I did feel confident that I had queried them professionally (really reading through their site to understand their interests and if they would be a good fit, following all of their review request rules, and following up just once).

On the other hand, I was able to distribute ARCs to a few of my friends and get them to read and review the book before it was officially released. Because I followed all the tips and tricks explained in this podcast before doing so, all but one of my friends were able to leave me a legitimate review (that Amazon accepted)! I also now recognize how valuable Instagram can be in this domain.

Now that I’ve spent a decent amount of time building a presence there, I realize that the #bookstagram community is strong and welcoming—a fact I imagine I can lean on with my second book, reaching out to people I have already developed a virtual relationship with. But more about that in Part II .

This list has quickly gotten lengthy and so I will be breaking it into two posts. Be sure to check out Part II in which I dive into the next six topics of importance, what I learned about them, and where you can start your research too!

4 thoughts on “ 12 Key Research Topics For Self-Publishing Authors (Part I) ”

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Learn How To Self-Publish a Book in 6 Easy Steps

• January 12, 2023

For self-published authors and creators of all kinds, publishing a book has never been easier. With the explosive growth of self-publishing and ecommerce platforms, indie authors are no longer held back by the whims of a traditional publisher or literary agent. Today you can secure book printing for your work with just an email address and your content files.

Self-publishing today may be easier but that doesn’t mean it’s a simple process. You’ll need to manage your book’s design and marketing. Book print-on-demand services give you complete design control but are no guarantee of book sales. 

In this guide, we’ll cover every part of self-publishing your book.

6 Steps To Self-Publish a Book

• Write Your Book
• Research The Market
• Edit & Revise Your Book
• Pick A Self-Publishing Platform
• Format Your Files
• Design Your Book Cover

Being a successful author in today’s creator economy means thinking and acting like an entrepreneur. This means more than just writing a book. You’ll need to identify a target audience and create content like blog posts, emails, social posts, videos, and more to supplement your book and continually build a community around your work.

Traditional publishers handle the design and formatting for authors, but as an indie author doing custom book printing, you’ll need to do all the work to design the book, sell your work, and grow your audience. This 6-step guide will help you understand the process and prepare you for creating your own self-published book.

#1 Write Your Book

Before you think about publishing, marketing, or anything else, you need the first draft of your book. If you’re a new author and this is your first book, you should also be developing a business plan as you write your book. Even then, you need to focus on completing a draft before you take any other steps in the publishing process.

Create a Writing Habit

Writing a book is a marathon. If you want to get a book written, you need to create a strong writing habit . If you can’t commit to writing on a schedule, you’ll find yourself struggling to finish writing your book. 

Even before you start writing your book, you should get in the habit of writing every day. That could be drafting outlines for your book, journaling, or doing prompts. 

Create a Writing Schedule

It’s helpful at this stage to look at some other books in your genre. Don’t spend too much time researching (that’s the next step!) but you should get a sense of two things:

• The way they structure their book
• The total page/word counts

The structure will give you some hints about what your readers expect. Are your samples broken up into chapters or sections? Maybe both? Are there long paragraphs with rich details or is it mostly dialogue? Take note and make an effort to craft your own book with a similar structure to the books your potential readers are buying.

Creating a Writing Style Guide for Your Book

As a writer, creating a style guide for your book, author website, & social media ensures your writing is consistent & accurate. Learn to make your own style guide.

Likewise, you can use the estimated page count or word count to get a sense of how long your book should be. If most of the authors in your genre are writing 60,000-word novels, you can use that to set your own word count goals when planning your book.

Use that word count to create a writing schedule. If you can get 800 words written a day, it would take you about two-and-a-half months to finish your draft (75 total days). Find a word count and timeframe that works for you and stick to it!

#2 Research the Market

This might not be the most fun part of publishing your book, but it’s important to spend some time researching your genre and the market for your book.

If you’re a first-time author or a returning veteran, it is important to understand who your audience is and what kinds of books they like to read. The first step in your marketing research is to read the most popular books in your genre. These books are your competition. Evaluate what the authors did right and areas where you can innovate on their ideas.

This could be format, style, or plot-based. Researching your market reveals what has been working but also gives you an opportunity to find room for new ideas. 

Use Social Media for Audience Research

Start your audience research by finding other authors who publish similar books in the same genre. Then go and follow these authors on their social media platforms and follow them. Pay attention to what they post and use that information to develop your own marketing plan.

Take Your Brand To Social Media

Learn the basics about using the most popular Social Media platforms to market your brand and your book!

As you spend time on various social media platforms, you should know which ones your potential fans are using and which ones are less active. Use that information to focus your marketing efforts in the lead-up to your book’s launch on the platforms you know work. 

Create Reader Profiles

You should make a profile that is as detailed as you need, but you don’t have to develop long, in-depth personas. Your reader profile can be a simple outline of who your readers are and what they like (and maybe what they don’t like).

The goal is to help identify small ways you can tailor your content and your marketing efforts to appeal to your readers. 

You’ll find most of the information you need by observing other authors and creators who are successful in your genre. 

Look for: 

• Shortlist to consider: Facebook, Twitter, TikTok, Instagram, LinkedIn, Discord, Goodreads, Reddit, Medium, Substack
• The kinds of posts that get the most attention
• Unique elements used for the cover design
• Where their book is available for sale (both online and in bookstores)
• Check reviews on Amazon and Goodreads to see what readers are saying
• The average price for digital and print books

#3 Edit and Revise Your Book

After spending some time learning about the marketplace and readers you hope will buy your book, it’s time to get back to your content and work on editing and revising. This means going through it several times to catch any spelling or grammar errors, and having at least one other person (preferably a professional copy editor) read it over as well. A poorly edited book will reflect poorly on you as an independent author. This is particularly true for self-published books; if you don’t do the work to make your book look professional , your readers will notice.

Using that time between writing and editing to research your readers will help you come back to your work with a deeper understanding of the commercial side of self-publishing. Traditional publishing houses have professionals who will do this work; the benefit of being an indie author is that you will know your work from all sides.

Self-Editing Your Book

Professional editing is a must if you’re planning to sell your book. But you can start by self-editing to bring focus and cohesion to your work. Reread your manuscript with an eye for:

• Trimming the fat – This is anything that doesn’t contribute to the story or develop your characters. Also, look for opportunities to rewrite sentences so they are shorter and more direct.
• Refine the plot – The first draft of fiction stories are always a mess. Even the most prolific and skilled writers are churning out mediocrity (at best) with the first draft. In your first round of editing, look for ways to refine and focus the plot. 
• Read sections aloud – Some editors will advise reading the entire story aloud. If you have the time, do that. Otherwise, just sample some sections and read them aloud—either by yourself or with a listener. You’ll find awkward phrases you might have read past when you read your story aloud.
• Use spelling & grammar checkers – I like Grammarly or ProWritingAid . No matter what you use, take some time to review all the suggested edits and corrections from your spelling & grammar software.

Browse Lulu’s collection of professional designers, editors, and marketers to help you publish like a pro!

Browse professional designers, editors, and marketers to help you publish like a pro!

Professional Editing

Hiring a book editor is (nearly) a necessity. Professional editors will look at your content with dispassionate eyes, helping you further refine your story.

We’ll cover this more later, but you should include editing as part of your budget for publishing. The cost to have a book edited will vary, but the Editorial Freelancers Association has a chart with the average costs for numerous book editing activities. Use this to get an idea about the cost of a professional editor, but remember you can use more affordable freelancers from platforms like Fiverr .  

Book Editing Round Two: Beta Readers

After doing a round of editing your own book and working with a professional editor (or a couple of editors), you’re probably ready to publish, right?

Not so much. But you are ready to get some Advance Reader Copies (ARCs) sent to your beta readers. This is one area where being an indie creator really benefits you. Beyond having creative control over the entire project, you can also use print-on-demand to quickly and easily create ARCs and send books to your readers directly .

Your beta readers should have a bunch of new feedback for you. Take all of that and give your manuscript another thorough edit. You might be satisfied and ready to publish, or you might need to go back to your pro editor to re-edit the newest version of your story. 

I write 4 drafts of anything I write. I want to make each paragraph, sentence, word earn its keep. Ann Handley

#4 Pick a Self-Publishing Platform

You’re not quite ready to publish your book yet, but once the content is done being edited, it is time to find a publishing service. Online book publishing has blown up in the last few years, so you’ll have a lot of options. Here are a few important things to think about when you’re researching self-publishing companies:

• How will you sell your book? 
• What are your publishing goals?
• What is your publishing budget?

Each platform has its own set of features and fees, so it’s important to do your research and choose the one that best meets your needs.

How Will You Sell Your Book?

As a content creator, you’ve got more publishing and distribution options today than ever before. From massive platforms like Amazon to distributing to your followers on social media, your options are vast. 

Luckily, you did that market research and you’ve got a good sense of who your readers are, where they spend their time, and what they like to buy. With that information, you need to consider how you’ll sell your book.

If you write serial fiction , you might use a dedicated platform like Wattpad. If you write ebook novels, you might be on Amazon. And if you’re publishing books for your business, you might want direct sales to your captive audience . The point is, that you need a clear sense of how you plan to sell your book before you select a publishing service. 

Sell Your Book, Your Way

Sell books on your Wix, Shopify, or WooCommerce website with Lulu Direct. Or use our Order Import tool for your next book launch.

What Are Your Publishing Goals?

Do you aspire to become a full-time author or is your book a hobby or supplement to your existing business? Are you a skilled book marketer or is this your first foray into selling your content? 

Without a goal, you’ll struggle to be successful. And you’ll run the risk of selecting a publishing company that isn’t right for you.

If your goal is to sell books on Amazon, use Amazon. There isn’t another publisher in the world who will make it easier or more efficient to sell on Amazon than their own publishing service.

Likewise, if you’re trying to sell your book through retail bookstores, you need to use Ingram. And if you plan to sell directly to your fans on your own site or social media, you need to use Lulu. 

Different publishers offer different product and service options. Define your goals for your book (and your publishing career) and then start looking for a publishing company that fits your needs and will help you achieve your goals.

What Is Your Publishing Budget?

This one might be more difficult. But have you ever stopped to think about how much it is to self-publish a book? The cost ranges from $0.00 to $10,000+ depending on your goals and the publishing company you work with.

Consider the costs of self-publishing when you plan your budget.

Additional Self-Publishing Service Considerations

The three questions above are fundamental when selecting a self-publishing platform, but there are a few additional features you may want to look for:

• How much does publishing/printing cost? Some publishers provide services like editing and layout but charge thousands of dollars to publish. Other platforms (like Lulu ) are free to use and only charge you print costs. Evaluate the cost to publish and the cost to print carefully, as both will impact your earning potential.
• How much will you earn? The amount you can profit from your book sales will vary wildly. For example, with Lulu Direct you earn 100% of the profit on each sale, while some self-publishers will share as little as 30% with you.
• What’s the deal with ISBNs? The barcode on the back cover of most traditionally published books is the International Standard Book Number (ISBN), a globally recognized means of identifying the book. If you’re self-publishing and intend to sell through distribution channels (like Ingram or Amazon), you’ll need to include an ISBN . If you’re selling directly to your fans, an ISBN isn’t required. You can purchase your own ISBNs from companies like Bowker (in the USA). Many self-publishing companies will offer free ISBNs for your or include them in your publishing package. It’s important to note that an ISBN is unique—you would need a separate ISBN for a print book and ebook version, even if the content is the same.

#5 Format Your Files

The last step! Before you can self-publish your book, you need to create book files and format those files properly for your publishing platform.

To publish with Lulu, you’ll need to create a PDF for your book interior and a separate PDF for your book cover. 

How To Create and Print a Book for Beginners

Learn how to print a book for a gift or to sell! This guide covers the basics and includes all the resources you’ll need to publish today.

Creating Your Interior Book File

Start by creating a file with MS Word or Google Docs that contains just your book’s text. No images, no header or footer text. Just the words.

Next, open up one of our page templates using your preferred page layout software. I suggest using one of the following programs to lay out your work:

• Microsoft Word – If you’re publishing a novel, memoir, or other work with very few images or complex elements, Microsoft Word is the easiest way to lay out your book.
• Adobe InDesign – On the opposite end of the spectrum from Word, we have the gold standard for page layout with Adobe InDesign. You’ll need to learn how to use InDesign and it is expensive, but if you intend to do a lot of page layouts or have complex books like comic books, magazines, or photo books, InDesign is an impressive tool.
• Affinity Publisher – Affinity Publisher is a low-cost replacement for InDesign. It lacks some of the features but offers many of the same functionality as Adobe’s products. Again, you’ll need to dedicate some time to learning Publisher, but if you plan to do the layout for multiple books but don’t want to invest in Adobe products, Affinity Publisher is the best option.

Creating a Professional Interior File

There is a lot that goes into creating a professional, eye-catching book layout . A few important elements to think about include:

• Front and Back Matter – The front matter of your book includes the title, half-title, copyright page, table of contents, introduction, and any other content that you’ll include before the main contents of your book. Back matter includes anything at the end of your book, like an index, appendix, about the author, or sample chapter for your upcoming release.
• Setup Your Pages – For MS Word, this means using page breaks and styles to define the margins, spacing, fonts, and more for each of your pages. If you’re using InDesign or Publisher, you’ll work with page templates, called Master Pages , to define how your pages will appear.
• Add Page Numbering – The content in your Header and Footer will include page numbers, your author name, the book or section title, and anything else that should appear on each page. If you’re working in Word, page numbering should come last; for InDesign and Publisher, you can incorporate page numbers into your master pages.
• Create a Style Guide – If you’re planning to write multiple books, you should define styles in a simple guide to keep all your work consistent. This might not seem like a big deal upfront, but it will save you time and energy years later and ensure your books retain the same ‘look’ throughout your publishing career.

Creating Your Cover File

If you have a professional book cover designed, be sure to use the cover template you can download while publishing. The cover file can be a challenge, as you may want your graphic designer to begin work before you’ve finished designing the interior file. But you will NEED that interior file to get the spine dimensions (based on your page count). 

Regardless of when you start working on the cover, the final design must be sized precisely and adhere to the margins included in our template or you risk text bleeding over onto the spine or being cut off on the edges.

#6 Design Your Book Cover

Once you’ve got your content finalized and you’ve selected a publisher, you’re ready to design the cover.

If you’ve got some graphic design skills, take advantage and design your own book cover. All authors can take advantage of low-cost cover designers:

• Lulu’s New Book Cover Designer
• Using Canva For Your Cover
• Adobe Express For Authors

Creating a Book Cover That Sells

A book cover should grab the attention of a casual browser. Refer back to your market research and look at the most popular books in your genre. What do all their covers have in common?

Consider your long-term goals when designing your cover. If your first book will extend into a series, the covers will need to be consistent . Thanks to print-on-demand, you can easily correct a typo by uploading corrected book files. But updating your cover is like a new book launch. 

Professional Book Cover Design

If you want to sell your book and don’t have experience designing book covers, hire a professional to design your cover. Seriously, if you have only one publishing expense, make it the cover. A professional book designer will help you get your book noticed—remember that online retailers will display your title and cover thumbnail and maybe a portion of your book description. You need your cover image to capture attention and pull in potential readers.

I’ll say it one last time before we move on: you need a professional book cover.

Your Free Lulu Account

Create a Lulu account today to print and publish your book for readers all over the world.

Create a Lulu account today to print and publish your book.

Publishing Like Successful Content Creators

As an author, you are a modern content creator and if you’re selling your books (or aim to sell your books), you’re a content entrepreneur. That means you need to think about your book-selling efforts as a business and treat them as such. 

When planning your self-publishing, you have to create a budget, plan the story from start to finish, and develop a marketing strategy based on the readers and online platforms that will serve you best.

Finding success as an author starts with publishing, but there is much more involved—from marketing to networking to diversifying your product offerings. You’ll need to be on top of all these factors throughout the writing, editing, publishing, and promotion phases of your book launch. 

Paul is the Senior Content Manager at Lulu.com . When he’s not entrenched in the publishing and print-on-demand world, he likes to hike the scenic North Carolina landscape, read, sample the fanciest micro-brewed beer, and collect fountain pens. Paul is a dog person but considers himself cat-tolerant.

Thank you for sharing these valuable insights on self-publishing a book! Your six-step process makes the journey seem less intimidating and more achievable. I particularly appreciated your emphasis on editing and proofreading, as these are crucial steps in producing a polished final product. Your tips on marketing and promotion are also valuable and will be helpful for those looking to get their book out into the world. Overall, this was a great read for anyone considering self-publishing.

Thanks for this blog

Keep Reading

Why Self-publishing Requires Constant Research from First Draft to Post Publication

• November 24, 2016

Rachel Gregory, editor of Matador's online Self-publishing Magazine

Rachel Gregory, editor of Matador's   Self-publishing Magazine , shares a useful reminder that the research necessary to the success of an indie author doesn't stop the minute you self-publish your book. Instead, you should cultivate an enquiring mind, continuing to research and take on new ideas throughout the self-publishing process.

At the Writing Stage

A raft of indecisions are involved in the creation process of a fledgling book, before publishing becomes a priority. This is the point when the devil is in the difficult details:

• finding inspiration
• making time to write
• creating plotlines involving something you know little about
• negotiating writers’ block

These issues arise long before you contemplate how to publish – where to spend your hard-earned money or when to invest in your own talents.

At this early stage, most writers research without hesitation, with an abundance of resources readily available to them. They attend talks, consult magazines and specialist writing blogs or websites.

Every bit of this is worthwhile research.

When Planning Publication

The majority of writers go on to look for further guidance at the beginning of the self-publishing process, when they are poised to start publishing independently, to make the transition from writer to indie author. Indies are skilled at pre-publication research, which is an absolutely essential part of self-publishing.

If you are thinking about self-publishing a book, ebook or audiobook, you probably have a decent idea of what to do. You might well have a timeline, a list of contacts and a budget set aside to cover the cost of any work you hope to outsource.

Your iCal will contain reminders about events to attend and suppliers to call for comparative costs. Doubtless, before deciding which formats to publish in, you will have taken steps to identify your target audience.

How did you get to this point? You did your research.

At this early stage, some writers haven’t quite completed their manuscript but want to be armed with information; others are finished and focused on preparation.

Many have designed a cover, created print files and are enquiring as to whether they can get competitive rates with printers or set up distribution links through a well-connected company.

Others want to know details about the mechanics of self-publishing, such as how to purchase an ISBN. Perhaps, they are unsure how best to market their book.

Alternatively, they could have a PR company lined up to complete their publicity; they might have drawn out a DIY media plan for the six months leading to publication but have a couple of queries.

Enquiring into the options now, regardless of prior knowledge or experience, is to be recommended.

This is an admirable step… but what about the rest of the research?

During the Self-publishing Process

Next, comes ongoing education while publishing. However well you have prepared, you will meet unexpected challenges during the self-publishing process, even if you have done it all before. Decisions will need to be made that no amount of prior preparation could have avoided.

• Some might be things that had never occurred to you: ‘Do you own the rights do use that image?’
• Others will be pleasant dilemmas that you had no idea you would welcome: ‘This would work well as an enhanced ebook with sound effects.’

Be open to relying on resources and consulting with experts. Try not to see a change of plan as a problem – it is natural – but it will require further research.

Research to Maintain Post-Publication Momentum

Matador answers self-publishing questions via its online magazine for indie authors – and you don't have to use their services to be able to access their magazine

You have officially self-published. Congratulations! Your hard work is starting to pay off. Your marketing’s underway, sales are trickling in. Is the time for investigating over?

That depends…

• How do you plan to refresh sales once initial interest has died down?
• Are you lacking inspiration for the next in your six-book saga?
• At what point, if at all, should you redesign your cover – or do trends stay current indefinitely?
• A customer wants to recommend it to his friends in South Africa. What is the most cost effective way of making a printed book available overseas?

Only by researching, can you keep an eye on publishing trends so that you can make post-publication decisions.

Finding Answers within a Collaborative Community

A famously collaborative community – ALLi members at the Londo Book Fair earlier this year

You will find answers to the majority of your questions through the indie author community, including of course the ALLi Author Advice Centre blog on which you're reading this post, and Matador's online Self-Publishing Magazine . (Matador is a Partner Member of the Alliance of Independent Authors.)

Social media is the indie author’s friend: post a question or a poll on Twitter. It is also a great platform from which to learn from experts.

This comes partly through knowledge collaboration and in part through the use of invaluable resources that are dedicated to helping self-published authors.

It's not by chance that indies are known for their collective wisdom.

OVER TO YOU Which question has provied your biggest stumbling block during your self-publishing journey and how did you overcome it? Join the conversation via the comments thread!

ANOTHER GREAT POST ABOUT RESEARCH – this time about researching your book's subject matter

Opinion: Why Wikipedia isn't Real Research for your Self-published Historical Novel

Author: Rachel Gregory

Rachel is the editor of the Self-Publishing Magazine , a free online resource that aims to inspire and educate indie authors at every stage of the writing and self-publishing processes. She is also the Group Ebook Manager at Troubador Publishing Ltd overseeing the ebook production and marketing processes for their Self-Publishing imprint, Matador, and their mainstream and partnership publishing company, The Book Guild. She is a keen writer and avid reader, with a soft spot for historical fiction.

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Independent book publishing

What is independent publishing?

Independent or self-publishing means the author handles the many jobs of a traditional publisher — such as editing, designing, promoting, distributing the book — or contracts them out to one or more company.

The number of independently published titles grew by 422% between 2007 and 2012. A large part of that growth is because it’s quite easy to publish a monograph, compilation of lecture notes, book of essays, textbook, or novel; there are now dozens of companies that will help you sell to a potentially large audience or simply print a copy of your book.

Why publish independently?

• Your book may not sell to a traditional publisher.
• You want to hold onto your rights.
• You want to handle the design.
• You want to set the book’s price.
• Your book is for a small audience/you don’t want to sell it.

Things to consider when choosing a publisher

Start with some questions:

• Who is the book for? Yourself, friends and family, colleagues, students, or a wider audience?
• Do you hope to make money from sales?
• Do you want to print one book or 1,000, or do you want an e-book only?
• Does your book have a lot of graphics, photos, or complex technical charts?
• Is your book already finished, or do you need help getting there?

The answers may help you determine which services are most important to you: editing, design, higher royalties, affordable printing on demand, marketing, etc. Some companies offer multiple services; others specialize in one or a few. Some publish e-books only; many do print as well.

Royalties can be particularly complex, and companies aren’t always straightforward about how they determine what you make. For an in-depth look at how various companies calculate royalties, one resource is Mark Levine’s The Fine Print of Self-Publishing , which offers a qualitative evaluation and ranking of many of the top companies in terms of printing markups, royalties, author-friendliness of contracts, customer service, and total cost of publishing.

An important issue to keep in mind with any company is whether the terms of the author contract are acceptable to you. This is also a complex area. Levine provides suggestions in  The Fine Print of Self-Publishing and on his website. The department of Scholarly Communications and Collections Strategy can also assist you with the process.

Sample of independent publishers & what they do

Below is an overview of the services offered by a small sampling of publishing companies, including some of the most popular ones used by independent authors today. (Note that these companies are more like content managers and printers than traditional publishers in the sense that they don’t discriminate about genre or quality. You pay, you publish.)

We describe the kinds of projects a company is known for, where your costs lie, and anything else of note. Unless otherwise noted, the companies below will register your books and e-books with online retailers (like Amazon, Apple, Barnes & Noble, and Borders) and international distributers (like Baker & Taylor, Ingram, and the Books-In-Print database). They may do this for free or as part of publishing packages, though your book must meet some requirements. See, for example, those of Lulu and Createspace .

This guide doesn’t address open access publishing, which can overlap with independent publishing but often doesn’t. Many traditional presses offer open access publishing, and there are also open-access-only publishers. Here is a list of publishers of OA books .

Createspace (Amazon)

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Self-publishing: How to get started

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As a psychologist, you impact lives every day through your face-to-face work. But you have an opportunity to reach a far wider audience by writing a self-published book. Plus, self-publishing can open the door to new career possibilities, from speaking opportunities to supplemental income.

In this presentation you will learn:

• The benefits (and potential risks) of self-publishing.
• How to choose between self-publishing, traditional publishing, and other routes like blogging or YouTube.
• How self-publishing works and how to get started.

More in this Series

• Supercharge Your Presence: Self-Publishing: How to Write Your First Book
• Supercharge Your Presence: Self-Publishing: How to Market Your Book

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Should You Self-Publish Your Research?

In 1901, Beatrix Potter’s “The Tales of Peter Rabbit” was rejected by several publishers, so she self-published the book. Less than a year later, publisher Frederick Warne & Co., one of the original group of publishers who rejected her manuscript , became Beatrix Potter’s publisher. The relationship lasted for 40 years and led to the publication of over 23 books. Over a century later, over two million books, which have been authored by Beatrix Potter, are sold each year!

Most of us still think of self-publishing as a relatively new phenomenon linked to the technological advances in digital publishing. However, importantly, the “self” aspect actually refers to breaking away from traditional publishing houses.

Traditional Publishers

Academic interest in self-publishing shares the same frustrations with the stranglehold that publishing houses have on getting your books or research papers to a broader market. Open access has started to decrease this hold. However, while earnest researchers may complain about the sclerotic pace of academic research and argue in favor of the fastest way to get their results out there, the aura of prestige that traditional journals still exude continues to caste such a large shadow that many dismiss self-published academic material as only for those who were unsuccessful in getting their work published anywhere else.

When Self-publishing Becomes a Last Resort

The integrity of academic research rests on objective third-party reviews. The increasing number of journal retractions may be bringing that integrity into question, but for now, once you step out of that traditional publishing cycle, you open your work to extra scrutiny because of the lack of peer review.

If you think that your material may be too controversial for traditional journal content, or that the six-month to two-year time frame will be too slow for your research to be available to the wide community, self-publishing is probably your last resort.

Freedom of Publishing!

The primary attraction of self-publishing is the freedom to have your voice heard outside the constraints of publishing houses. Many researchers already publish blogs, and a few of them have compiled those posts into e-books. They get to engage with their audience as they share their thoughts, opinions, and updates on the work they do every day.  The ability to control what they say and what information they share with their followers (institutional rules and protocols notwithstanding) is very attractive when compared to the supplication of your work to publishers who will dictate what they will accept for publication and when.

One promising area for self-publishing academic work could be replication studies. As journals continue to favor new and controversial research papers and demonstrate considerable reticence in responding to replication studies that bring original papers into question, researchers now have an avenue to bring their concerns to a broader audience. The persistence of papers that remain unretracted in the face of strong concerns about the integrity of their results has begun to raise broader questions about the effectiveness of the peer review process as well as fueling the growth of the open access model. Allowing experienced researchers to bring their concerns to an educated audience as soon as their studies have been completed rather than waiting for their papers to be rejected after six months or more by traditional journals may well prove to be one of the most disruptive events in academic publishing .

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How to publish your research

A step-by-step guide to getting published.

Publishing your research is an important step in your academic career. While there isn’t a one-size-fits-all approach, this guide is designed to take you through the typical steps in publishing a research paper.

Discover how to get your paper published, from choosing the right journal and understanding what a peer reviewed article is, to responding to reviewers and navigating the production process.

Step 1: Choosing a journal

Choosing which journal to publish your research paper in is one of the most significant decisions you have to make as a researcher. Where you decide to submit your work can make a big difference to the reach and impact your research has.

It’s important to take your time to consider your options carefully and analyze each aspect of journal submission – from shortlisting titles to your preferred method of publication, for example open access .

Don’t forget to think about publishing options beyond the traditional journals format – for example, open research platform F1000Research , which offers rapid, open publication for a wide range of outputs.

Why choose your target journal before you start writing?

The first step in publishing a research paper should always be selecting the journal you want to publish in. Choosing your target journal before you start writing means you can tailor your work to build on research that’s already been published in that journal. This can help editors to see how a paper adds to the ‘conversation’ in their journal.

In addition, many journals only accept specific manuscript formats of article. So, by choosing a journal before you start, you can write your article to their specifications and audience, and ultimately improve your chances of acceptance.

To save time and for peace of mind, you can consider using manuscript formatting experts while you focus on your research.

How to select the journal to publish your research in

Choosing which journal to publish your research in can seem like an overwhelming task. So, for all the details of how to navigate this important step in publishing your research paper, take a look at our choosing a journal guide . This will take you through the selection process, from understanding the aims and scope of the journals you’re interested in to making sure you choose a trustworthy journal.

Don’t forget to explore our Journal Suggester to see which Taylor & Francis journals could be right for your research.

Go to guidance on choosing a journal

Step 2: Writing your paper

Writing an effective, compelling research paper  is vital to getting your research published. But if you’re new to putting together academic papers, it can feel daunting to start from scratch.

The good news is that if you’ve chosen the journal you want to publish in, you’ll have lots of examples already published in that journal to base your own paper on. We’ve gathered advice on every aspect of writing your paper, to make sure you get off to a great start.

How to write your paper

How you write your paper will depend on your chosen journal, your subject area, and the type of paper you’re writing. Everything from the style and structure you choose to the audience you should have in mind while writing will differ, so it’s important to think about these things before you get stuck in.

Our  writing your paper guidance  will take you through everything you need to know to put together your research article and prepare it for submission. This includes getting to know your target journal, understanding your audiences, and how to choose appropriate keywords.

You can also use this guide to take you through your research publication journey .

You should also make sure you’re aware of all the Editorial Policies  for the journal you plan to submit to. Don’t forget that you can contact our  editing services  to help you refine your manuscript.

Discover advice and guidance for writing your paper

Step 3: Making your submission

Once you’ve chosen the right journal and written your manuscript, the next step in publishing your research paper is  to make your submission .

Each journal will have specific submission requirements, so make sure you visit  Taylor & Francis Online  and carefully check through the  instructions for authors  for your chosen journal.

How to submit your manuscript

To submit your manuscript you’ll need to ensure that you’ve gone through all the steps in our  making your submission  guide. This includes thoroughly understanding your chosen journal’s instructions for authors, writing an effective cover letter, navigating the journal’s submission system, and making sure your research data is prepared as required.

You can also  improve your submission experience  with our guide to avoid obstacles and complete a seamless submission.

To make sure you’ve covered everything before you hit ‘submit’ you can also take a look at our  ‘ready to submit’ checklist  (don’t forget, you should only submit to one journal at a time).

Understand the process of making your submission

Step 4: Navigating the peer review process

Now you’ve submitted your manuscript, you need to get to grips with one of the most important parts of publishing your research paper –  the peer review process .

What is peer review?

Peer review is the independent assessment of your research article by independent experts in your field. Reviewers, also sometimes called ‘referees’, are asked to judge the validity, significance, and originality of your work.

This process ensures that a peer-reviewed article has been through a rigorous process to make sure the methodology is sound, the work can be replicated, and it fits with the aims and scope of the journal that is considering it for publication. It acts as an important form of quality control for research papers.

Peer review is also a very useful source of feedback, helping you to improve your paper before it’s published. It is intended to be a collaborative process, where authors engage in a dialogue with their peers and receive constructive feedback and support to advance their work.

Almost all research articles go through peer review, although in some cases the journal may operate post-publication peer review, which means that reviews and reader comments are invited after the paper is published.

If you’ll like to feel more confident before getting your work peer reviewed by the journal, you may want to consider using an  in-depth technical review service from experts.

Understanding peer review

Peer review can be a complex process to get your head around. That’s why we’ve put together a  comprehensive guide to understanding peer review . This explains everything from the many different types of peer review to the step-by-step peer review process and how to revise your manuscript. It also has helpful advice on what to do if your manuscript is rejected.

Visit our peer review guide for authors

Step 5: The production process

If your paper is accepted for publication, it will then head into  production . At this stage of the process, the paper will be prepared for publishing in your chosen journal.

A lot of the work to produce the final version of your paper will be done by the journal production team, but your input will be required at various stages of the process.

What do you need to do during production?

During production, you’ll have a variety of tasks to complete and decisions to make. For example, you’ll need to check and correct proofs of your article and consider whether or not you want to  produce a video abstract  to accompany it.

Take a look at  our guide to the production process  to find out what you’ll need to do in this final step to getting your research published.

Your research is published – now what?

You’ve successfully navigated publishing a research paper – congratulations! But the process doesn’t stop there. Now your research is published in a journal for the world to see, you’ll need to know  how to access your article  and  make sure it has an impact .

Here’s a  quick tip on how to boost your research impact  by investing in making your accomplishments stand out.

Below you’ll find helpful tips and post-publication support. From how to communicate about your research to how to request corrections or translations.

How to access your published article

When you publish with Taylor & Francis, you’ll have access to a new section on Taylor & Francis Online called  Authored Works . This will give you and all other named authors perpetual access to your article, regardless of whether or not you have a subscription to the journal you have published in.

You can also  order print copies of your article .

How to make sure your research has an impact

Taking the time to make sure your research has an impact can help drive your career progression, build your networks, and secure funding for new research. So, it’s worth investing in.

Creating a real impact with your work can be a challenging and time-consuming task, which can feel difficult to fit into an already demanding academic career.

To help you understand what impact means for you and your work, take a look at  our guide to research impact . It covers why impact is important, the different types of impact you can have, how to achieve impact – including tips on communicating with a variety of audiences – and how to measure your success.

Keeping track of your article’s progress

Through your  Authored Works access , you’ll be able to get real-time insights about your article, such as views, downloads and citation numbers.

In addition, when you publish an article with us, you’ll be offered the option to sign up for email updates. These emails will be sent to you three, six and twelve months after your article is published to let you know how many views and citations the article has had.

Corrections and translations of published articles

Sometimes after an article has been published it may be necessary to make a change to the  Version of Record . Take a look at our dedicated  guide to corrections, expressions of concern, retractions and removals  to find out more.

You may also be interested in translating your article into another language. If that’s the case, take a look at our  information on article translations .

Go to your guide on moving through production

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Self-publishing has revolutionized the way in which authors bring their works to the world. Unlike traditional publishing, where authors often face numerous hurdles and relinquish creative control, self-publishing empowers fiction and nonfiction authors alike to take charge of every aspect of the publishing process. However, this autonomy comes with its own set of challenges, particularly in the realm of marketing. You’ll find yourself asking: How do you get customers to your book?

In this article, we’ll teach you how to self-publish a nonfiction book and get it in customers’ hands, from manuscript preparation to distribution and sales strategies.

Table of Contents: • Create a book proposal • Preparing your manuscript • Choosing the right trim size and binding • Publishing, distribution, and sales • Setting the right price for your book • Marketing your nonfiction book • Bring your nonfiction book to life

Create a book proposal

Even though you’re going to self-publish your nonfiction book, it’s a good idea to take a page out of the traditional publishing playbook. Once you have your idea for your book, write a proposal . This will include an overview, a market analysis, a comparable title analysis, and a marketing plan. This proposal will help you decide how viable your book is in the marketplace.

Once you feel that there is a market for your book, it’s time to start writing.

Preparing your manuscript

We’re going to assume you know how to write your nonfiction book , so let’s pick up the plot after you’ve written your last chapter.

Finalizing your nonfiction content

Before diving into the self-publishing process, it’s crucial to ensure that your manuscript is hitting all the right notes and is polished to perfection.

• Beta readers : Seek out feedback from beta readers to gain valuable insights and ensure your book resonates with your target audience. You can always ask friends and family for feedback, but honestly, your best bet is to hire beta readers on a site like Fiverr. This way you know you’ll get unbiased feedback, and that feedback will be more fleshed out than, “Yeah, I really liked it.”
• Book editing : Once you’ve incorporated your reader feedback and finished one last rewrite, it’s time for editing. Do not edit the book yourself. Writers are truly unable to see errors in their own text. Be sure to hire a professional who will provide you with an error-free manuscript. BookBaby offers professional editing services at affordable prices and speedy turnaround times.

The title of your nonfiction book

Your title and cover design are the most important and effective forms of advertising. You need a snappy, memorable title that will stop customers in their tracks and demand they open your book. Think of such classic nonfiction titles as The 4-Hour Workweek, The Perfect Storm, How to Win Friends and Influence People , and The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck for inspiration.

Designing your nonfiction book

Your book design plays a pivotal role in captivating readers and enhancing comprehension. Just like book editing, cover design is definitely something not left to the amateurs. Hire a professional book cover designer to create an aesthetically pleasing cover that will instantly grab attention, complement your content, and make a winning first impression. BookBaby offers cover design for as little as $399.

Formatting your nonfiction book

Unlike with fiction, nonfiction books aren’t usually just text. Modern nonfiction books not only incorporate lots of photographs, charts, and illustrations, but also include side bars, pull quotes, and other nonlinear text formatting elements. As such, you are way better off hiring a pro to layout your book. And not to sound like a broken record, but BookBaby offers incredible book formatting services at prices indie authors can afford.

Choosing the right trim size and binding

Selecting the appropriate trim size and binding for your book depends on various factors such as content, audience preferences, and budget.

Hardcover or paperback?

With nonfiction books — especially business books — hardcover is the norm, and finding a publishing partner that offers quality hardcover books can be a challenge. While Ingram Spark’s hardcover quality is notoriously inconsistent, BookBaby’s quality constantly gets rave reviews from authors and readers alike.

This is where your comparable title analysis is going to pay off. Choose a trim size that popular books in your genre and subgenre use. BookBaby offers traditional trim sizes as well as nontraditional.

Publishing, distribution, and sales

Today, indie authors have numerous avenues open to them when it comes to self-publishing their books. If you’re unfamiliar with the self-publishing process , BookBaby’s self-publishing packages include everything you need to format, design, print, distribute, and sell your books worldwide. That way, you know everything is being done correctly. Your books will be printed to perfection, your eBooks will work with every reader, and your titles will be distributed to every store with no issues.

And when it comes to distribution, by partnering with BookBaby, you can sell your eBooks and print-on-demand books in over 60 stores worldwide, including Amazon, Apple Books, Barnes & Noble, and more.

Setting the right price for your book

Again, this is where market research will help you. See how much your competitors are selling their books for, and see if you can match their prices. Another tip: join a writer’s group and see what price points seem to be working for everyone else. You can also try selling your book at different prices until you see what works. Customers are weird, and they don’t always buy books at the lowest price point.

Marketing your nonfiction book

Effective marketing is essential for generating a buzz and driving sales for your book. You will have already started the marketing process when you created your proposal, which should include a marketing plan.

Start by identifying and understanding your target audience, and tailor your marketing strategies to resonate with their interests and preferences. In short, figure out where your customers are and how they are likely to spend their money. You want to be on the social media platforms they are on, and that includes buying ads on those platforms. Plan a compelling book launch to generate excitement and momentum, then solicit reviews from influencers and readers to boost credibility and visibility. Attend events or conventions where your customers are going to be. Try to book public speaking engagements to build your author brand and connect with potential readers (plus, these events are great for in-person sales). And finally, create and maintain a mailing list, and be sure to send out monthly newsletters.

The most important thing is to never stop promoting your nonfiction book.

For more reading, check out these helpful articles:

• Book Marketing and Publicity: Do You Need Both?
• How to Plan a Book Tour on Your Own
• How to Choose Amazon KDP Keywords for Books
• 10 Book Launch Don’ts

Bring your nonfiction book to life

Self-publishing a nonfiction book requires dedication, attention to detail, and strategic marketing efforts. By following the steps outlined in this guide, and partnering with a publishing professional like BookBaby, you can absolutely compete in today’s nonfiction marketplace and achieve your publishing goals.

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• Where is the imprint name used?
• Why not your own name?
• Eight resources for researching book imprint names

How to Research a Name for Your Self-Publishing Imprint

One of the most important and earliest decisions you will make as a self-publisher is to choose the name of your self-publishing imprint, or publishing company. In this article I’ll explain why you want to make this decision early, why a name other than your own is advisable, and the resources for researching the availability of a name.

Additional information on this topic can be found in My Publishing Imprint: How to Create a Self-Publishing Book Imprint & ISBN Essentials.

What is a self-publishing imprint?

A publishing imprint is the name of your publishing company—the publisher's name displayed to the public wherever you sell your book and in distribution channels. It is also listed on your book’s copyright page, and it's the name assigned to your ISBN. Self-publishers can use their author name as their imprint name, but it is preferable to create a distinction between the author name and the publisher for public relations and brand-building reasons. It can be an invented name, the name of one’s existing business, or some variation thereof.

The first question that is usually asked is do I need to set up a formal business entity under this name?

The short answer is that there is no such requirement, but depending on your circumstances, it might make sense. One consideration is whether you want to accept payment in the name of your imprint.

A bank will want to see proof that you are authorized to be “doing business as” (DBA) this name, and you will need to formally register the fictitious name. Check with your city, county, or state. There are many considerations, so I’ll leave further discussion of business entities to a separate post. You should also contact your tax or legal adviser (or both) about your individual circumstances.

Why do I want to make this decision early?

Like other decisions in publishing, you can certainly skip this step, do it just before your book’s release date, or do it after you’ve already published a few books. But I believe you should do this early for one important reason:

Marketing a book before its release date—sending out advance reader copies (ARCs)—is one of the most effective marketing activities you can do. You will naturally be promoting your ARCs and doing pre-publication PR using the name of your imprint.

Another reason to consider selecting your name early is that it is an important metadata element. Depending on the words used in the name, it may help your book show up in search results—on Google as well as on Amazon.

Where is a self-publishing imprint name used?

One of our distribution management clients learned about this the hard way. Eager to get started, and before he had a plan, he bought his ISBNs. The problem is that he used his name, not knowing that this would be the name of his imprint. Fortunately, we were able to get this corrected, because the book was still in production. This is another example of why you want to make this decision early.

Besides being an important metadata element used when buying ISBNs , there are four places your self-publishing imprint name will appear before or soon after your book is released:

• Library of Congress filing. Beyond the imprint name, you need your publisher identifier from your ISBN series to start the process ( chapter 5 in Register Your Book ). The name you enter must be the same as the one you entered as publisher when you bought the ISBN.
• Copyright filing ( chapter 4 in Register Your Book ).
• Distribution accounts . This is especially relevant if you plan to enable pre-release ordering for your book.
• Book sales page . This displays automatically for books available via pre-order (e.g., Amazon Advantage or KDP).

Why choose a name other than your own?

As noted above, a name other than your own helps create (and maintain) a public record separate from you as the author. Unfortunately, there continues to be a bias by many in the media, book retailers, and readers against self-published books. A unique name, with no ties to your own, could help your marketing efforts. It certainly won’t hinder them like the use of your own name might.

Now, there are some who feel this is disingenuous or deceitful. Ignore them! You are no different from any other small business wishing for a life of self-determination. It is the American dream to own one’s business. For that matter, I think it helps authors maintain a healthy distinction between us as writers and us as business owners. It may also be helpful in establishing the legitimacy of your business when it comes to filing taxes.

Do you write as a hobby or are you a professional writer?

Notable examples of author imprints

• Waterhouse Press : Imprint for romance writer Meredith Wild . Wild has taken it to the next level by publishing books for other authors.
• Hyde Street Press : Imprint for Barbara Freethy . Freethy is notable because she signed a distribution agreement with Ingram Publishing Services .
• Broad Reach Publishing : Imprint for Hugh Howie , author of the blockbuster novel Wool . Howie is notable because he was able to negotiate a distribution arrangement with Simon & Schuster for his print book edition of Wool . His imprint remains the publisher of his eBooks.

Resources for researching names for your self-publishing imprint

While I can’t help you come up with a name, I can point you to several resources to check before you get your heart set on using a specific name for your publishing imprint. Remember that you can also add publishing-centric words like Press and Publishing to a chosen word or phrase to help distinguish it from similar names. (But don’t add Inc or Corp unless you are a legally registered entity.)

A few rules or guidelines about choosing names

• Do not use trademarked terms. (Obviously.)
• The more specific and unusual, the better.
• Modify a term to make it yours (but not a trademarked term).
• Avoid hyphenated words (a suggestion, not a rule.)

Here’s a good test. Imagine you called your mom to tell her the name of your new publishing imprint. How many times did you have to say it, or even spell it, before she understood?

Enter the name you are thinking of in the Publisher field. Try various spellings, and with/without spaces, depending on the term you are searching for.

Tip: There is a similar search function for Kindle eBooks, but I don't recommend using it. That's because Kindle eBooks do not require a publisher name (nor ISBN), so your research will not be thorough.

GoDaddy.com

I put GoDaddy second on the list because I feel it is important to also own the domain name for one’s imprint. True, the domain does not have to match the name exactly, nor do you need a publishing imprint website, but it is especially nice to have it if at all possible. Dotcoms are always the first choice, but other extensions may also work. Try a few combinations and then come back to buy it after you finalize your name. Do not wait to do this.

The county where you live

Searching your county’s records database is of vital importance if you plan to file what’s called a fictitious name filing, or DBA (doing business as). Your county may differ, but in my county, San Diego, I can search online and then visit a local office to file the necessary forms to begin the process.

Your secretary of state

Each state maintains a database of fictitious names in use by registered corporations, limited liability companies, etc. You may not be interested in going this far to establish your publishing company due to the higher fees and added paperwork, but for our purposes it is a rich source of names to help you avoid choosing an already-in-use name. Search online for your state’s database; in California, it is located here .

Federal trademark office

Even if you do not plan to file for trademark protection, the US registered trademark database at the US Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) is a good resource. Your state’s trademark database is also a good resource.

Literary Market Place

This is a comprehensive directory of the American book publishing industry, with listings for more than 2,000 big and small publishers. You can register for free and do a name search. Click for information .

Google search

I imagine this is the first place most people search. Be sure to also check other search engines such as Bing.com. Enter your term with and without spaces, put quotes around the term (to find an exact match), and go beyond the first few pages of results.

Hire an attorney

Finally, if you have more money than time, you can hire someone that specializes in this kind of research. Once complete, they can file all the forms on your behalf.

Does this sound time consuming and involved? Perhaps. However, once chosen, a self-publishing imprint name is essentially forever. It's a name that represents us and is the brand behind our books.

Additional resources

• Create a Self-Publishing Imprint Logo Design-Resources and Examples
• How Much Does It Cost to Create a Self-Publishing Imprint?
• Hybrid Publishing or Traditional Self-Publishing; Which is Right for You?
• Self-Publishing vs. Traditional Publishing: Making the Right Choice for Your Book
• The ISBN and Self-Publishing: Learn the Essentials in 5 Minutes

Do you need help establishing a self-publishing imprint?

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Home » How to Publish a Research Paper – Step by Step Guide

How to Publish a Research Paper – Step by Step Guide

Table of Contents

Publishing a research paper is an important step for researchers to disseminate their findings to a wider audience and contribute to the advancement of knowledge in their field. Whether you are a graduate student, a postdoctoral fellow, or an established researcher, publishing a paper requires careful planning, rigorous research, and clear writing. In this process, you will need to identify a research question , conduct a thorough literature review , design a methodology, analyze data, and draw conclusions. Additionally, you will need to consider the appropriate journals or conferences to submit your work to and adhere to their guidelines for formatting and submission. In this article, we will discuss some ways to publish your Research Paper.

How to Publish a Research Paper

To Publish a Research Paper follow the guide below:

• Conduct original research : Conduct thorough research on a specific topic or problem. Collect data, analyze it, and draw conclusions based on your findings.
• Write the paper : Write a detailed paper describing your research. It should include an abstract, introduction, literature review, methodology, results, discussion, and conclusion.
• Choose a suitable journal or conference : Look for a journal or conference that specializes in your research area. You can check their submission guidelines to ensure your paper meets their requirements.
• Prepare your submission: Follow the guidelines and prepare your submission, including the paper, abstract, cover letter, and any other required documents.
• Submit the paper: Submit your paper online through the journal or conference website. Make sure you meet the submission deadline.
• Peer-review process : Your paper will be reviewed by experts in the field who will provide feedback on the quality of your research, methodology, and conclusions.
• Revisions : Based on the feedback you receive, revise your paper and resubmit it.
• Acceptance : Once your paper is accepted, you will receive a notification from the journal or conference. You may need to make final revisions before the paper is published.
• Publication : Your paper will be published online or in print. You can also promote your work through social media or other channels to increase its visibility.

How to Choose Journal for Research Paper Publication

Here are some steps to follow to help you select an appropriate journal:

• Identify your research topic and audience : Your research topic and intended audience should guide your choice of journal. Identify the key journals in your field of research and read the scope and aim of the journal to determine if your paper is a good fit.
• Analyze the journal’s impact and reputation : Check the impact factor and ranking of the journal, as well as its acceptance rate and citation frequency. A high-impact journal can give your paper more visibility and credibility.
• Consider the journal’s publication policies : Look for the journal’s publication policies such as the word count limit, formatting requirements, open access options, and submission fees. Make sure that you can comply with the requirements and that the journal is in line with your publication goals.
• Look at recent publications : Review recent issues of the journal to evaluate whether your paper would fit in with the journal’s current content and style.
• Seek advice from colleagues and mentors: Ask for recommendations and suggestions from your colleagues and mentors in your field, especially those who have experience publishing in the same or similar journals.
• Be prepared to make changes : Be prepared to revise your paper according to the requirements and guidelines of the chosen journal. It is also important to be open to feedback from the editor and reviewers.

List of Journals for Research Paper Publications

There are thousands of academic journals covering various fields of research. Here are some of the most popular ones, categorized by field:

General/Multidisciplinary

• Nature: https://www.nature.com/
• Science: https://www.sciencemag.org/
• PLOS ONE: https://journals.plos.org/plosone/
• Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS): https://www.pnas.org/
• The Lancet: https://www.thelancet.com/
• JAMA (Journal of the American Medical Association): https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jama

Social Sciences/Humanities

• Journal of Personality and Social Psychology: https://www.apa.org/pubs/journals/psp
• Journal of Consumer Research: https://www.journals.uchicago.edu/journals/jcr
• Journal of Educational Psychology: https://www.apa.org/pubs/journals/edu
• Journal of Applied Psychology: https://www.apa.org/pubs/journals/apl
• Journal of Communication: https://academic.oup.com/joc
• American Journal of Political Science: https://ajps.org/
• Journal of International Business Studies: https://www.jibs.net/
• Journal of Marketing Research: https://www.ama.org/journal-of-marketing-research/

Natural Sciences

• Journal of Biological Chemistry: https://www.jbc.org/
• Cell: https://www.cell.com/
• Science Advances: https://advances.sciencemag.org/
• Chemical Reviews: https://pubs.acs.org/journal/chreay
• Angewandte Chemie: https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/journal/15213765
• Physical Review Letters: https://journals.aps.org/prl/
• Journal of Geophysical Research: https://agupubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/journal/2156531X
• Journal of High Energy Physics: https://link.springer.com/journal/13130

Engineering/Technology

• IEEE Transactions on Neural Networks and Learning Systems: https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/xpl/RecentIssue.jsp?punumber=5962385
• IEEE Transactions on Power Systems: https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/xpl/RecentIssue.jsp?punumber=59
• IEEE Transactions on Medical Imaging: https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/xpl/RecentIssue.jsp?punumber=42
• IEEE Transactions on Control Systems Technology: https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/xpl/RecentIssue.jsp?punumber=87
• Journal of Engineering Mechanics: https://ascelibrary.org/journal/jenmdt
• Journal of Materials Science: https://www.springer.com/journal/10853
• Journal of Chemical Engineering of Japan: https://www.jstage.jst.go.jp/browse/jcej
• Journal of Mechanical Design: https://asmedigitalcollection.asme.org/mechanicaldesign

Medical/Health Sciences

• New England Journal of Medicine: https://www.nejm.org/
• The BMJ (formerly British Medical Journal): https://www.bmj.com/
• Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA): https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jama
• Annals of Internal Medicine: https://www.acpjournals.org/journal/aim
• American Journal of Epidemiology: https://academic.oup.com/aje
• Journal of Clinical Oncology: https://ascopubs.org/journal/jco
• Journal of Infectious Diseases: https://academic.oup.com/jid

List of Conferences for Research Paper Publications

There are many conferences that accept research papers for publication. The specific conferences you should consider will depend on your field of research. Here are some suggestions for conferences in a few different fields:

Computer Science and Information Technology:

• IEEE International Conference on Computer Communications (INFOCOM): https://www.ieee-infocom.org/
• ACM SIGCOMM Conference on Data Communication: https://conferences.sigcomm.org/sigcomm/
• IEEE Symposium on Security and Privacy (SP): https://www.ieee-security.org/TC/SP/
• ACM Conference on Computer and Communications Security (CCS): https://www.sigsac.org/ccs/
• ACM Conference on Human-Computer Interaction (CHI): https://chi2022.acm.org/

Engineering:

• IEEE International Conference on Robotics and Automation (ICRA): https://www.ieee-icra.org/
• International Conference on Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering (ICMAE): http://www.icmae.org/
• International Conference on Civil and Environmental Engineering (ICCEE): http://www.iccee.org/
• International Conference on Materials Science and Engineering (ICMSE): http://www.icmse.org/
• International Conference on Energy and Power Engineering (ICEPE): http://www.icepe.org/

Natural Sciences:

• American Chemical Society National Meeting & Exposition: https://www.acs.org/content/acs/en/meetings/national-meeting.html
• American Physical Society March Meeting: https://www.aps.org/meetings/march/
• International Conference on Environmental Science and Technology (ICEST): http://www.icest.org/
• International Conference on Natural Science and Environment (ICNSE): http://www.icnse.org/
• International Conference on Life Science and Biological Engineering (LSBE): http://www.lsbe.org/

Social Sciences:

• Annual Meeting of the American Sociological Association (ASA): https://www.asanet.org/annual-meeting-2022
• International Conference on Social Science and Humanities (ICSSH): http://www.icssh.org/
• International Conference on Psychology and Behavioral Sciences (ICPBS): http://www.icpbs.org/
• International Conference on Education and Social Science (ICESS): http://www.icess.org/
• International Conference on Management and Information Science (ICMIS): http://www.icmis.org/

How to Publish a Research Paper in Journal

Publishing a research paper in a journal is a crucial step in disseminating scientific knowledge and contributing to the field. Here are the general steps to follow:

• Choose a research topic : Select a topic of your interest and identify a research question or problem that you want to investigate. Conduct a literature review to identify the gaps in the existing knowledge that your research will address.
• Conduct research : Develop a research plan and methodology to collect data and conduct experiments. Collect and analyze data to draw conclusions that address the research question.
• Write a paper: Organize your findings into a well-structured paper with clear and concise language. Your paper should include an introduction, literature review, methodology, results, discussion, and conclusion. Use academic language and provide references for your sources.
• Choose a journal: Choose a journal that is relevant to your research topic and audience. Consider factors such as impact factor, acceptance rate, and the reputation of the journal.
• Follow journal guidelines : Review the submission guidelines and formatting requirements of the journal. Follow the guidelines carefully to ensure that your paper meets the journal’s requirements.
• Submit your paper : Submit your paper to the journal through the online submission system or by email. Include a cover letter that briefly explains the significance of your research and why it is suitable for the journal.
• Wait for reviews: Your paper will be reviewed by experts in the field. Be prepared to address their comments and make revisions to your paper.
• Revise and resubmit: Make revisions to your paper based on the reviewers’ comments and resubmit it to the journal. If your paper is accepted, congratulations! If not, consider revising and submitting it to another journal.
• Address reviewer comments : Reviewers may provide comments and suggestions for revisions to your paper. Address these comments carefully and thoughtfully to improve the quality of your paper.
• Submit the final version: Once your revisions are complete, submit the final version of your paper to the journal. Be sure to follow any additional formatting guidelines and requirements provided by the journal.
• Publication : If your paper is accepted, it will be published in the journal. Some journals provide online publication while others may publish a print version. Be sure to cite your published paper in future research and communicate your findings to the scientific community.

How to Publish a Research Paper for Students

Here are some steps you can follow to publish a research paper as an Under Graduate or a High School Student:

• Select a topic: Choose a topic that is relevant and interesting to you, and that you have a good understanding of.
• Conduct research : Gather information and data on your chosen topic through research, experiments, surveys, or other means.
• Write the paper : Start with an outline, then write the introduction, methods, results, discussion, and conclusion sections of the paper. Be sure to follow any guidelines provided by your instructor or the journal you plan to submit to.
• Edit and revise: Review your paper for errors in spelling, grammar, and punctuation. Ask a peer or mentor to review your paper and provide feedback for improvement.
• Choose a journal : Look for journals that publish papers in your field of study and that are appropriate for your level of research. Some popular journals for students include PLOS ONE, Nature, and Science.
• Submit the paper: Follow the submission guidelines for the journal you choose, which typically include a cover letter, abstract, and formatting requirements. Be prepared to wait several weeks to months for a response.
• Address feedback : If your paper is accepted with revisions, address the feedback from the reviewers and resubmit your paper. If your paper is rejected, review the feedback and consider revising and resubmitting to a different journal.

How to Publish a Research Paper for Free

Publishing a research paper for free can be challenging, but it is possible. Here are some steps you can take to publish your research paper for free:

• Choose a suitable open-access journal: Look for open-access journals that are relevant to your research area. Open-access journals allow readers to access your paper without charge, so your work will be more widely available.
• Check the journal’s reputation : Before submitting your paper, ensure that the journal is reputable by checking its impact factor, publication history, and editorial board.
• Follow the submission guidelines : Every journal has specific guidelines for submitting papers. Make sure to follow these guidelines carefully to increase the chances of acceptance.
• Submit your paper : Once you have completed your research paper, submit it to the journal following their submission guidelines.
• Wait for the review process: Your paper will undergo a peer-review process, where experts in your field will evaluate your work. Be patient during this process, as it can take several weeks or even months.
• Revise your paper : If your paper is rejected, don’t be discouraged. Revise your paper based on the feedback you receive from the reviewers and submit it to another open-access journal.
• Promote your research: Once your paper is published, promote it on social media and other online platforms. This will increase the visibility of your work and help it reach a wider audience.

Journals and Conferences for Free Research Paper publications

Here are the websites of the open-access journals and conferences mentioned:

Open-Access Journals:

• PLOS ONE – https://journals.plos.org/plosone/
• BMC Research Notes – https://bmcresnotes.biomedcentral.com/
• Frontiers in… – https://www.frontiersin.org/
• Journal of Open Research Software – https://openresearchsoftware.metajnl.com/
• PeerJ – https://peerj.com/

Conferences:

• IEEE Global Communications Conference (GLOBECOM) – https://globecom2022.ieee-globecom.org/
• IEEE International Conference on Computer Communications (INFOCOM) – https://infocom2022.ieee-infocom.org/
• IEEE International Conference on Data Mining (ICDM) – https://www.ieee-icdm.org/
• ACM SIGCOMM Conference on Data Communication (SIGCOMM) – https://conferences.sigcomm.org/sigcomm/
• ACM Conference on Computer and Communications Security (CCS) – https://www.sigsac.org/ccs/CCS2022/

Importance of Research Paper Publication

Research paper publication is important for several reasons, both for individual researchers and for the scientific community as a whole. Here are some reasons why:

• Advancing scientific knowledge : Research papers provide a platform for researchers to present their findings and contribute to the body of knowledge in their field. These papers often contain novel ideas, experimental data, and analyses that can help to advance scientific understanding.
• Building a research career : Publishing research papers is an essential component of building a successful research career. Researchers are often evaluated based on the number and quality of their publications, and having a strong publication record can increase one’s chances of securing funding, tenure, or a promotion.
• Peer review and quality control: Publication in a peer-reviewed journal means that the research has been scrutinized by other experts in the field. This peer review process helps to ensure the quality and validity of the research findings.
• Recognition and visibility : Publishing a research paper can bring recognition and visibility to the researchers and their work. It can lead to invitations to speak at conferences, collaborations with other researchers, and media coverage.
• Impact on society : Research papers can have a significant impact on society by informing policy decisions, guiding clinical practice, and advancing technological innovation.

Advantages of Research Paper Publication

There are several advantages to publishing a research paper, including:

• Recognition: Publishing a research paper allows researchers to gain recognition for their work, both within their field and in the academic community as a whole. This can lead to new collaborations, invitations to conferences, and other opportunities to share their research with a wider audience.
• Career advancement : A strong publication record can be an important factor in career advancement, particularly in academia. Publishing research papers can help researchers secure funding, grants, and promotions.
• Dissemination of knowledge : Research papers are an important way to share new findings and ideas with the broader scientific community. By publishing their research, scientists can contribute to the collective body of knowledge in their field and help advance scientific understanding.
• Feedback and peer review : Publishing a research paper allows other experts in the field to provide feedback on the research, which can help improve the quality of the work and identify potential flaws or limitations. Peer review also helps ensure that research is accurate and reliable.
• Citation and impact : Published research papers can be cited by other researchers, which can help increase the impact and visibility of the research. High citation rates can also help establish a researcher’s reputation and credibility within their field.

About the author

Muhammad Hassan

Researcher, Academic Writer, Web developer

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How to Write and Publish Your Research in a Journal

Last Updated: May 26, 2024 Fact Checked

Choosing a Journal

Writing the research paper, editing & revising your paper, submitting your paper, navigating the peer review process, research paper help.

This article was co-authored by Matthew Snipp, PhD and by wikiHow staff writer, Cheyenne Main . C. Matthew Snipp is the Burnet C. and Mildred Finley Wohlford Professor of Humanities and Sciences in the Department of Sociology at Stanford University. He is also the Director for the Institute for Research in the Social Science’s Secure Data Center. He has been a Research Fellow at the U.S. Bureau of the Census and a Fellow at the Center for Advanced Study in the Behavioral Sciences. He has published 3 books and over 70 articles and book chapters on demography, economic development, poverty and unemployment. He is also currently serving on the National Institute of Child Health and Development’s Population Science Subcommittee. He holds a Ph.D. in Sociology from the University of Wisconsin—Madison. There are 13 references cited in this article, which can be found at the bottom of the page. This article has been fact-checked, ensuring the accuracy of any cited facts and confirming the authority of its sources. This article has been viewed 702,313 times.

Publishing a research paper in a peer-reviewed journal allows you to network with other scholars, get your name and work into circulation, and further refine your ideas and research. Before submitting your paper, make sure it reflects all the work you’ve done and have several people read over it and make comments. Keep reading to learn how you can choose a journal, prepare your work for publication, submit it, and revise it after you get a response back.

Things You Should Know

• Create a list of journals you’d like to publish your work in and choose one that best aligns with your topic and your desired audience.
• Prepare your manuscript using the journal’s requirements and ask at least 2 professors or supervisors to review your paper.
• Write a cover letter that “sells” your manuscript, says how your research adds to your field and explains why you chose the specific journal you’re submitting to.

• Ask your professors or supervisors for well-respected journals that they’ve had good experiences publishing with and that they read regularly.
• Many journals also only accept specific formats, so by choosing a journal before you start, you can write your article to their specifications and increase your chances of being accepted.
• If you’ve already written a paper you’d like to publish, consider whether your research directly relates to a hot topic or area of research in the journals you’re looking into.

• Review the journal’s peer review policies and submission process to see if you’re comfortable creating or adjusting your work according to their standards.
• Open-access journals can increase your readership because anyone can access them.

• Scientific research papers: Instead of a “thesis,” you might write a “research objective” instead. This is where you state the purpose of your research.
• “This paper explores how George Washington’s experiences as a young officer may have shaped his views during difficult circumstances as a commanding officer.”
• “This paper contends that George Washington’s experiences as a young officer on the 1750s Pennsylvania frontier directly impacted his relationship with his Continental Army troops during the harsh winter at Valley Forge.”

• Scientific research papers: Include a “materials and methods” section with the step-by-step process you followed and the materials you used. [5] X Research source
• Read other research papers in your field to see how they’re written. Their format, writing style, subject matter, and vocabulary can help guide your own paper. [6] X Research source

• If you’re writing about George Washington’s experiences as a young officer, you might emphasize how this research changes our perspective of the first president of the U.S.
• Link this section to your thesis or research objective.
• If you’re writing a paper about ADHD, you might discuss other applications for your research.

• Scientific research papers: You might include your research and/or analytical methods, your main findings or results, and the significance or implications of your research.
• Try to get as many people as you can to read over your abstract and provide feedback before you submit your paper to a journal.

• They might also provide templates to help you structure your manuscript according to their specific guidelines. [11] X Research source

• Not all journal reviewers will be experts on your specific topic, so a non-expert “outsider’s perspective” can be valuable.

• If you have a paper on the purification of wastewater with fungi, you might use both the words “fungi” and “mushrooms.”
• Use software like iThenticate, Turnitin, or PlagScan to check for similarities between the submitted article and published material available online. [15] X Research source

• Header: Address the editor who will be reviewing your manuscript by their name, include the date of submission, and the journal you are submitting to.
• First paragraph: Include the title of your manuscript, the type of paper it is (like review, research, or case study), and the research question you wanted to answer and why.
• Second paragraph: Explain what was done in your research, your main findings, and why they are significant to your field.
• Third paragraph: Explain why the journal’s readers would be interested in your work and why your results are important to your field.
• Conclusion: State the author(s) and any journal requirements that your work complies with (like ethical standards”).
• “We confirm that this manuscript has not been published elsewhere and is not under consideration by another journal.”
• “All authors have approved the manuscript and agree with its submission to [insert the name of the target journal].”

• Submit your article to only one journal at a time.
• When submitting online, use your university email account. This connects you with a scholarly institution, which can add credibility to your work.

• Accept: Only minor adjustments are needed, based on the provided feedback by the reviewers. A first submission will rarely be accepted without any changes needed.
• Revise and Resubmit: Changes are needed before publication can be considered, but the journal is still very interested in your work.
• Reject and Resubmit: Extensive revisions are needed. Your work may not be acceptable for this journal, but they might also accept it if significant changes are made.
• Reject: The paper isn’t and won’t be suitable for this publication, but that doesn’t mean it might not work for another journal.

• Try organizing the reviewer comments by how easy it is to address them. That way, you can break your revisions down into more manageable parts.
• If you disagree with a comment made by a reviewer, try to provide an evidence-based explanation when you resubmit your paper.

• If you’re resubmitting your paper to the same journal, include a point-by-point response paper that talks about how you addressed all of the reviewers’ comments in your revision. [22] X Research source
• If you’re not sure which journal to submit to next, you might be able to ask the journal editor which publications they recommend.

Expert Q&A

You might also like.

• If reviewers suspect that your submitted manuscript plagiarizes another work, they may refer to a Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) flowchart to see how to move forward. [23] X Research source Thanks Helpful 0 Not Helpful 0

• ↑ https://www.wiley.com/en-us/network/publishing/research-publishing/choosing-a-journal/6-steps-to-choosing-the-right-journal-for-your-research-infographic
• ↑ https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s13187-020-01751-z
• ↑ https://libguides.unomaha.edu/c.php?g=100510&p=651627
• ↑ https://www.canberra.edu.au/library/start-your-research/research_help/publishing-research
• ↑ https://writingcenter.fas.harvard.edu/conclusions
• ↑ https://writing.wisc.edu/handbook/assignments/writing-an-abstract-for-your-research-paper/
• ↑ https://www.springer.com/gp/authors-editors/book-authors-editors/your-publication-journey/manuscript-preparation
• ↑ https://apus.libanswers.com/writing/faq/2391
• ↑ https://academicguides.waldenu.edu/library/keyword/search-strategy
• ↑ https://ifis.libguides.com/journal-publishing-guide/submitting-your-paper
• ↑ https://www.springer.com/kr/authors-editors/authorandreviewertutorials/submitting-to-a-journal-and-peer-review/cover-letters/10285574
• ↑ https://www.apa.org/monitor/sep02/publish.aspx
• ↑ Matthew Snipp, PhD. Research Fellow, U.S. Bureau of the Census. Expert Interview. 26 March 2020.

About This Article

To publish a research paper, ask a colleague or professor to review your paper and give you feedback. Once you've revised your work, familiarize yourself with different academic journals so that you can choose the publication that best suits your paper. Make sure to look at the "Author's Guide" so you can format your paper according to the guidelines for that publication. Then, submit your paper and don't get discouraged if it is not accepted right away. You may need to revise your paper and try again. To learn about the different responses you might get from journals, see our reviewer's explanation below. Did this summary help you? Yes No

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Open Access

Peer-reviewed

Research Article

Pharmacological and behavioral investigation of putative self-medicative plants in Budongo chimpanzee diets

Contributed equally to this work with: Elodie Freymann, Fabien Schultz

Roles Conceptualization, Data curation, Formal analysis, Funding acquisition, Investigation, Methodology, Project administration, Resources, Visualization, Writing – original draft, Writing – review & editing

* E-mail: [email protected] (EF); [email protected] (FS)

Affiliation Primate Models for Behavioural Evolution Lab, Institute of Human Sciences, Department of Anthropology and Museum Ethnography, University of Oxford, Oxford, United Kingdom

Roles Supervision, Writing – review & editing

Affiliations Primate Models for Behavioural Evolution Lab, Institute of Human Sciences, Department of Anthropology and Museum Ethnography, University of Oxford, Oxford, United Kingdom, Gorongosa National Park, Sofala, Mozambique, Interdisciplinary Centre for Archaeology and the Evolution of Human Behaviour, University of Algarve, Faro, Portugal

Roles Funding acquisition, Supervision, Writing – review & editing

Affiliations Ethnopharmacology & Zoopharmacognosy Research Group, Department of Agriculture and Food Sciences, Neubrandenburg University of Applied Sciences, Neubrandenburg, Germany, ZELT–Center for Nutrition and Food Technology gGmbH

Roles Formal analysis, Writing – original draft, Writing – review & editing

Affiliation Ethnopharmacology & Zoopharmacognosy Research Group, Department of Agriculture and Food Sciences, Neubrandenburg University of Applied Sciences, Neubrandenburg, Germany

Roles Resources, Supervision, Writing – review & editing

Affiliations Wild Minds Lab, School of Psychology and Neuroscience, University of St Andrews, St Andrews, United Kingdom, Budongo Conservation Field Station, Masindi, Uganda

Affiliation Wildlife Research Center, Inuyama Campus, Kyoto University, Inuyama, Japan

Roles Investigation

Affiliation Budongo Conservation Field Station, Masindi, Uganda

Roles Formal analysis

Affiliations Budongo Conservation Field Station, Masindi, Uganda, Czech University of Life Sciences Prague, Prague, Czech Republic

Roles Resources, Writing – review & editing

Affiliations Budongo Conservation Field Station, Masindi, Uganda, Department of Comparative Cognition, Institute of Biology, University of Neuchâtel, Neuchâtel, Switzerland

Roles Conceptualization, Data curation, Formal analysis, Funding acquisition, Investigation, Methodology, Project administration, Resources, Writing – original draft, Writing – review & editing

Affiliations Ethnopharmacology & Zoopharmacognosy Research Group, Department of Agriculture and Food Sciences, Neubrandenburg University of Applied Sciences, Neubrandenburg, Germany, Pharmacognosy and Phytotherapy, School of Pharmacy, University College of London, London, United Kingdom

• Elodie Freymann, 
• Susana Carvalho, 
• Leif A. Garbe, 
• Dinda Dwi Ghazhelia, 
• Catherine Hobaiter, 
• Michael A. Huffman, 
• Geresomu Muhumuza, 
• Lena Schulz, 
• Daniel Sempebwa, 

• Published: June 20, 2024
• https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0305219
• Reader Comments

Wild chimpanzees consume a variety of plants to meet their dietary needs and maintain wellbeing. While some plants have obvious value, others are nutritionally poor and/or contain bioactive toxins which make ingestion costly. In some cases, these nutrient-poor resources are speculated to be medicinal, thought to help individuals combat illness. In this study, we observed two habituated chimpanzee communities living in the Budongo Forest, Uganda, and collected 17 botanical samples associated with putative self-medication behaviors (e.g., bark feeding, dead wood eating, and pith-stripping) or events (e.g., when consumer had elevated parasite load, abnormal urinalysis, or injury). In total, we selected plant parts from 13 species (nine trees and four herbaceous plants). Three extracts of different polarities were produced from each sample using n -hexane, ethyl acetate, and methanol/water (9/1, v/v ) and introduced to antibacterial and anti-inflammatory in vitro models. Extracts were evaluated for growth inhibition against a panel of multidrug-resistant clinical isolates of bacteria, including ESKAPE strains and cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) inhibition activity. Pharmacological results suggest that Budongo chimpanzees consume several species with potent medicinal properties. In the antibacterial library screen, 45 out of 53 extracts (88%) exhibited ≥40% inhibition at a concentration of 256 μg/mL. Of these active extracts, 41 (91%) showed activity at ≤256μg/mL in subsequent dose-response antibacterial experiments. The strongest antibacterial activity was achieved by the n- hexane extract of Alstonia boonei dead wood against Staphylococcus aureus (IC50: 16 μg/mL; MIC: 32 μg/mL) and Enterococcus faecium (IC50: 16 μg/mL; MIC: >256 μg/mL) and by the methanol-water extract of Khaya anthotheca bark and resin against E . faecium (IC50: 16 μg/mL; MIC: 32 μg/mL) and pathogenic Escherichia coli (IC50: 16 μg/mL; MIC: 256 μg/mL). We observed ingestion of both these species by highly parasitized individuals. K . anthotheca bark and resin were also targeted by individuals with indicators of infection and injuries. All plant species negatively affected growth of E . coli . In the anti-inflammatory COX-2 inhibition library screen, 17 out of 51 tested extracts (33%) showed ≥50% COX-2 inhibition at a concentration of 5 μg/mL. Several extracts also exhibited anti-inflammatory effects in COX-2 dose-response experiments. The K . anthotheca bark and resin methanol-water extract showed the most potent effects (IC50: 0.55 μg/mL), followed by the fern Christella parasitica methanol-water extract (IC50: 0.81 μg/mL). This fern species was consumed by an injured individual, a feeding behavior documented only once before in this population. These results, integrated with associated observations from eight months of behavioral data, provide further evidence for the presence of self-medicative resources in wild chimpanzee diets. This study addresses the challenge of distinguishing preventative medicinal food consumption from therapeutic self-medication by integrating pharmacological, observational, and health monitoring data—an essential interdisciplinary approach for advancing the field of zoopharmacognosy.

Citation: Freymann E, Carvalho S, Garbe LA, Dwi Ghazhelia D, Hobaiter C, Huffman MA, et al. (2024) Pharmacological and behavioral investigation of putative self-medicative plants in Budongo chimpanzee diets. PLoS ONE 19(6): e0305219. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0305219

Editor: Armel Jackson Seukep, University of Buea, CAMEROON

Received: January 9, 2024; Accepted: May 25, 2024; Published: June 20, 2024

Copyright: © 2024 Freymann et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License , which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.

Data Availability: All relevant data are within the manuscript and its Supporting Information files.

Funding: Funding for this project was granted by the the Clarendon Fund at the University of Oxford (to EF), the British Institute of Eastern Africa (to EF), Keble College at the University of Oxford (to EF), Boise Trust Fund (to EF), German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (13FH026IX5, PI: L-AG and Co-I: FS) (to LAG, FS) and Neubrandenburg University of Applied Sciences (grant # 13310510) (to LAG, FS).

Competing interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.

Introduction

‘Medicinal foods’ refer to resources in the diet that have potential curative value due to the presence of plant secondary metabolites (PSMs) [ 1 , 2 ]. PSMs are compounds that usually occur only in special, differentiated cells [ 3 ] and which help plants defend against predators, pathogens, and competitors [ 4 – 7 ]. PSMs can have a range of functions, including the inhibition of microbial, fungal, and competitor growth [ 8 ]. While some PSMs can be toxic at high doses, these compounds can also promote the health of human and non-human consumers [ 8 – 10 ]. Research suggests 15–25% of primate and other mammalian diets consist of medicinal foods [ 9 , 11 ]. These resources likely play a critical role in animal health-maintenance by passively preventing or reducing the impact of parasitic infections or other pathogens [ 9 – 14 ].

While most animals likely consume foods with medicinal properties as part of their normal diets, fewer species have been shown to engage in therapeutic self-medication. Huffman [ 15 ] defines this type of self-medicative behavior as the active extraction and ingestion, by an ill individual, of medicinal resources with little nutritional value. Instead of an individual passively benefiting from a plant’s medicinal properties through normal feeding, this form of self-medication requires basic awareness of the resource’s healing properties. One of the best-studied animals to engage in this form of self-medication is our closest living relative: the chimpanzee.

Wild chimpanzees ( Pan troglodytes ), across at least sixteen field sites [ 15 ] have demonstrated therapeutic self-medication using two well-established self-medicative behaviors: leaf swallowing [ 16 , 17 ] and bitter-pith chewing [ 18 ]. Leaf swallowing, first reported by Wrangham [ 19 , 20 ] and described by Wrangham & Nishida [ 21 ], involves the careful selection and ingestion of whole, hispid leaves. This behavior was later demonstrated to expel internal parasites (i.e. Oesophagostomum sp. and Bertiella studeri ) from the gut [ 16 , 17 , 22 , 23 ]. The functional mechanism responsible for this anthelminthic effect is considered to be primarily “mechanical” [ 9 ] as, rather than a chemical compound, the leaf’s indigestibility, brought about by the trichomes on its surface—stimulates gut motility in the swallower [ 17 , 23 , 24 ].

The second established behavior is bitter-pith chewing, which involves the stripping of outer bark and leaves from the soft new stem growth of the shrub, Vernonia amygdalina , exposing the inner pith. Individuals chew the pith and ingest only the bitter juices while spitting out the fibers [ 18 , 25 ]. Bitter-pith chewing is considered ‘phytochemical’ self-medication [ 9 ], as its anthelminthic effect appears to be the result of bioactive PSMs [ 26 – 29 ]. This behavior’s medicinal effect was associated with a significant drop in the infection intensity of Oesophagostomum stephanostomum nematodes [ 25 ], suggesting that the bitter compounds directly affect the adult worms. This hypothesis was supported by in vivo studies conducted by Jisaka et al. [ 30 ], demonstrating that extracts from the pith permanently paralyzed adult Schistosome parasites. V . amygdalina is also used to aid gastrointestinal discomfort and other signs of parasitosis in humans and livestock, symptoms also displayed by chimpanzees ingesting the plant’s bitter pith [ 9 , 18 , 25 , 31 ]. The bitter piths of other plant species are reported to be chewed by chimpanzees across field sites but detailed studies on their medicinal properties have yet to be conducted [ 9 ].

Beyond these two established behaviors, not much is known about the phytochemical self-medicative repertoires of wild chimpanzees, although some behaviors associated with the ingestion of specific plant parts or processing techniques have been recommended for further investigation [ 9 , 15 , 32 ]. One of these behaviors is bark feeding, which involves the ingestion of living stem bark and/or cambium [ 33 ], and which has been observed in at least eleven established field sites [ 33 – 43 ]. Bark feeding has been suggested as a medicinal behavior in chimpanzees and other primates, used to aid in the chemical control of intestinal nematode infection and to relieve gastrointestinal upset [ 9 ]. Bark is characteristically highly fibrous, heavily lignified, sometimes toxic, relatively indigestible, and nutrient-poor [ 44 ]. However, the contribution of bark in chimpanzee diets and toward general health is still poorly understood [though see: 45 ]. In this study, the bark of eight species ingested by Budongo chimpanzees ( Scutia myrtina , Cynometra alexandri , Alstonia boonei , Ficus exasperata , Ficus variifolia , Syzygium guineense , Desplatsia dewevrei , Khaya anthotheca) was screened for antibiotic and anti-inflammatory properties, to better understand the function of bark feeding behaviors and the role this behavior may play in the health maintenance of chimpanzees. For the species K . anthotheca , we tested a mixture of bark and congealed resin, which Budongo chimpanzees were observed to particularly target throughout the study period.

Another putative self-medicative behavior is dead wood eating [ 9 , 35 ], which involves the consumption of decomposing cambium from dead trees. To date, the majority of studies examining this behavior in apes have focused on exploring potential mineral and nutritional benefits, rather than investigating pharmacological properties [ 46 – 49 ]. Many of these studies suggest that dead wood is exploited by chimpanzees as a source of sodium in environments where this mineral is otherwise scarce [ 48 , 49 ]. Our study evaluates the pharmacology of two species of dead wood ( A . boonei and Cleistopholis patens) consumed by the Sonso community of chimpanzees to determine whether this behavior may have multiple functions or health benefits.

The ingestion of pith material from other species has also been suggested as putatively self-medicative [ 34 , 50 , 51 ]. However, unlike V . amygdalina bitter-pith, some of these plant piths appear bland or tasteless. While Wrangham et al. have previously suggested that pith is likely a high-fiber fallback food [ 52 ], De la Fuente et al. review several pith species targeted by chimpanzees with proposed medicinal properties [ 32 ]. In our study, two species of non-bitter piths ( Marantachloa leucantha and Acanthus polystachyus) , were collected for pharmacological assessment. M . leucantha was observed on several occasions being stripped, masticated, and spat out after the juice was extracted from the pith, whereas A . polystachyus was observed being stripped, masticated, and swallowed. Both of these species are also ingested by chimpanzees in Kibale National Park, Uganda [ 52 ].

Establishing phytochemical self-medicative behaviors in wild animals is difficult and time consuming, as the burden of proof is high, self-medicative events can be rare relative to other behaviors, and methods often require multidisciplinary expertise and collaboration [ 9 ]. Past studies have utilized ethnopharmacological methods to determine specific medicinal properties of foods consumed by primates [ 11 ], greatly advancing our understanding of the relationship between primate diets and health. However, a key challenge for establishing novel self-medicative behaviors is differentiating between medicinal food consumption and therapeutic self-medication. While pharmacological data interpreted on its own is crucial for establishing the presence of medicinal resources in chimpanzee diets, the integration of observational and health monitoring data is needed to parse therapeutic self-medicative behaviors from normal feeding behaviors with inadvertent health benefits. Furthermore, the importance of collecting in situ samples from the locations where putative self-medicative behaviors are observed is paramount, as ecological, climatic, and anthropogenic variables can cause variation in the bioactivity of plants across habitats [ 53 ].

In total, we investigated the bioactivity of 51 plant extracts produced from 17 part-specific samples (across 13 species), collected in the Budongo Forest. Each extract was tested for inhibition of bacterial growth as well as anti-inflammatory COX-2 inhibition activity. Due to limitations in scope, funding, and the unavailability of anthelminthic assays for wild animal parasites, none were not conducted in this study, restricting specific identification of parasiticidal behaviors. Assay results are reported and contextualized in this study with direct behavioral evidence and health monitoring data.

Materials and method

Study site and subjects.

Behavioral data, health monitoring metrics, and botanical samples were collected from the Budongo Central Forest Reserve in Uganda (1°35′– 1°55′ N, 31°18′–31°42′ E). An overview of methodological workflow can be found in S2 Fig . The Budongo Conservation Field Station (BCFS) site, founded in 1990, is composed of continuous, semi-deciduous forest and contains two habituated Eastern chimpanzee ( Pan troglodytes schweinfurthii ) communities [ 54 ]. The Sonso community has been studied continuously since 1992, and the ages, social relationships, demographics, and diet of its members are well documented [ 55 , 56 ]. The Sonso population was ~68 individuals at the time of data collection, and the home range covered an area of ~5.33 km 2 [ 57 ]. Waibira, a larger group of at least 105 individuals, was more recently habituated, with consistent data collection beginning in 2011. The Waibira maximum home range area was ~10.28 km 2 [ 57 ].

Behavioral data collection

All samples were collected in the Budongo Forest within the Sonso home range, based on behavioral observations from the study period and supporting evidence from the site’s long-term data of their use. Behavioral and health data were collected from two neighboring chimpanzee communities, each for one four-month field season (Sonso: June-October 2021, Waibira: June-October 2022). Data collected between June-September 2021 informed subsequent plant sample collection for pharmacological analysis, which occurred in early September 2021. Behavioral data collected after sample collection provided additional behavioral context for ingestion of these species. Behavioral data were collected between 07:00 and 16:30 in Sonso and between 06:30 and 17:00 in Waibira using day-long focal animal follows sensu Altman et al. [ 58 ]. This data was recorded using Animal Observer (AO) on iPad and ad libitum feeding events were recorded for any unusual feeding behaviors, including but not limited to bark ingestion, dead wood eating, pith stripping, and geophagy. All feeding events were filmed on a Sony Handycam CX250. We prioritized focal follows on individuals with wounds, high or diverse parasite loads identified through on-going monitoring, or known ailments. However, consecutive day follows of priority individuals were not always possible—or were avoided when they might contribute to increased stress in particularly vulnerable individuals. Throughout the study, using this protocol, 27 Sonso individuals (♂:11; ♀:16) and 24 Waibira individuals (♂:14; ♀:10) were observed. Authors collecting behavioral data were blind to pharmacological results during both study periods.

Health monitoring

Individual health data were recorded in both communities, including opportunistic macroscopic and microscopic fecal analysis and urinalysis testing. While anthelminthic assays were not run in this study, parasite load was opportunistically assessed to provide additional health context for each observation. As the presence of certain helminths may impair a host’s immunological response to bacterial, viral, and protozoal pathogens [ 59 ], parasite load can provide a proxy measurement for overall health. Similarly, a reduced immune system and increased stress caused by co-infections could render a host more susceptible to virulent endoparasites [ 60 , 61 ]. When helminths and/or proglottids were found in samples, they were collected and preserved in ethanol for later identification. To quantify parasite loads, fecal samples were analyzed using the McMaster Method [ 9 , 25 , 62 ]. Urinalysis samples were taken opportunistically using multi-reagent Urine Dipstick Test 9-RC for Urotron RL9 to assess the health and physiological status of group members following methods established by Kaur & Huffman [ 63 ]. Urinalysis metrics considered in this study included: leukocytes (LEU) associated with pyuria caused by UTI, balanitis, urethritis, tuberculosis, bladder tumors, viral infections, nephrolithiasis, foreign bodies, exercise, glomerulonephritis, and corticosteroid and cyclophosphamide use; blood (BLO) associated with peroxidase activity of erythrocytes, and UTIs; and ketones (KET) associated with pregnancy, carbohydrate-free diets, starvation, and diabetes [ 64 ]. Test results were interpreted in situ using a colorimetric scale. We considered a result ‘abnormal’ if the colorimetric scale indicated a positive result when the expected result was negative or if the result was outside the specified test parameters according to the manufacturer.

Plant sample selection for bioactivity testing

Plants were selected for pharmacological testing after three months of data collection in the Sonso community. We selected 10 samples (from 9 species) based on direct observations during this period. These observations included individuals targeting plant parts associated with putative self-medicative behaviors (i.e., bark feeding, dead wood eating, pith-stripping) or sick/wounded individuals seeking out unusually consumed resources. We then selected an additional five species, the ingestion of which had not been directly observed, for testing based on their historical inclusion in Sonso chimpanzees’ bark feeding repertoire. GM, who has worked at the field station for over thirty-years, has previously observed bark feeding on each of these selected species. These historic observations enabled collection of bark samples from specific trees known to have been previously stripped. In two cases, leaf samples were collected from tree species that were also selected for bark samples ( S . guineense and F . exasperata) . While neither Sonso nor Waibira chimpanzees have been observed ingesting the leaves of S . guineense , a sample was collected to enable comparison of bioactivity across plant parts. F . exasperata leaves are consumed in both communities; however, we found no behavioral evidence for use in unusual contexts. In some cases, direct observation of an event involving one of the collected species occurred after botanical collection was complete. These post hoc behavioral observations are reported in this paper, although they did not impact sample selection.

Collection of sample material

Plants were collected from the Sonso community home range following best practice procedures [ 65 ], using sustainable harvesting methods [ 66 ]. See S1 File for more information. Voucher accession numbers are reported in Table 3 . Digital images of voucher specimens can be found in S3 Fig . The currently recognized scientific names of each species were confirmed on https://mpns.science.kew.org/ . Plant family assignments were done in accordance with The Angiosperm Phylogeny Group IV guidance [ 67 ].

Ethnobotanical literature review

We conducted a post-hoc ethnomedicinal review of all species collected for this study using Google Scholar, PROTA, and Kokwaro’s ethnomedicinal pharmacopeia [ 68 ]. To search databases, we used scientific names and synonyms for each plant as keywords [ 65 ].

Plant processing and extractions

At Neubrandenburg University of Applied Sciences, samples were ground using a food processor. Extractions were produced using two solvents and a solvent mixture ( n -hexane, ethyl acetate, and methanol/water ( v/v 9/1)), allowing for the selective isolation of components with varying solubilities and polarities. Methanol-water, the solvent with the highest polarity, generally extracts primary plant metabolites (e.g., polar compounds such as proteins, amino acids, and carbohydrates). Nonpolar solvents like n- hexane extract nonpolar compounds like lipids, making n-hexane a preferred solvent for oil or wax extraction. Extractions with each solvent were achieved through double maceration of new material (non-successively). Extraction suspensions were placed on a shaker at 80 rpm at room temperature for minimum 72h, followed by vacuum filtration. Processes were repeated with the leached material. Filtrates were then combined and dried using a vacuum evaporator, labeled, and stored at -20°C until needed for assays.

Sample solution preparation

To create sample solutions, each crude extract was dissolved in DMSO (Carl Roth) at a concentration of 10 mg/mL. To ensure a homogenous solution, samples were mixed with a vortex mixer and, if necessary, treated with sonication at room temperature or up to 55°C for samples with low solubility. Each extract solution was then tested for inhibition of bacterial growth as well as anti-inflammatory COX-2 inhibition activity. Solutions were stored at -20°C when not in use.

Antibacterial susceptibility tests

A. bacterial strains..

For antibacterial assays, eleven multidrug-resistant clinical isolate strains from nine species were used. This process increased the study’s applicability for early-stage drug discovery, specifically relevant to the threat of antimicrobial resistance (AMR). Seven of these strains (from six species) are classified as ESKAPE pathogens, including Enterococcus faecium (DSM 13590), Staphylococcus aureus (DSM 1104; DSM 18827), Klebsiella pneumoniae (DSM 16609), Acinetobacter baumannii (DSM 102929), Pseudomonas aeruginosa (DSM 1117), and Enterobacter cloacae (DSM 30054), meaning they are highly virulent and resistant to antibiotics [ 69 ]. A strain of the foodborne pathogen Escherichia coli (DSM 498) with AMR as well as a non-resistant E . coli strain (DSM 1576) were also included in the study. Although not an ESKAPE pathogen, E . coli is widely known for causing bacterial diarrhea and AMR strains are a major cause of urinary tract infections [ 70 , 71 ]. Strains of Stenotrophomonas maltophilia (DSM 50170) and Salmonella enterica subsp. enterica (DSM 11320) were also tested. More information on specific clinical isolates/strains, their individual resistance profiles, and antibiotics used can be found in the S5 & S6 Tables in S2 File . Clinical and Laboratory Standards Institute (CLSI) guidelines for broth microdilution testing (M100-S23) were followed [ 72 ].

b. Growth inhibition screening and dose-response study.

The broth dilution in vitro methods for bacterial susceptibility assessment have previously been described by Schultz et al. [ 69 ]. The standardized bacterial working cultures were pipetted into sterile 96-well microtiter plates (Greiner Bio-One International, CELLSTAR 655185). Extracts and antibiotic (64–1 μg/mL), vehicle and sterility controls, were then added into respective wells. Initial optical density measurement (600 nm) was performed, accounting for absorbance of extracts. Plates were incubated at 37°C for 18 h, except for A . baumannii which was incubated for 22h in accordance with strain characteristics ( S5 Table in S2 File ) . After incubation, a final optical density reading (600 nm) was conducted. Percent inhibition values were calculated and the IC 50 and MIC values were determined [ 69 , 73 ]. The IC 50 value is defined as the lowest concentration at which an extract showed ≥ 50% inhibition, and the MIC is the lowest concentration at which an extract displayed ≥ 90% inhibition. A total of 51 samples underwent single-dose pre-screening for growth inhibition (in triplicate) at the concentration of 256 μg/mL on eleven pathogens. Samples showing ≥40% growth inhibition were further tested in a dose-response study with two-fold serial dilution at descending concentrations from 256 to 4 μg/mL. The dose-response experiments were done as biological replicates on separate days in triplicate (technical replicates) to validate reproducibility. Positive controls (antibiotics) and negative controls (vehicle control and sterile media control) were always included. Further details on bacteria standardization can be found in S1 File . Information on plate setup for bacterial library screens and dose-response assays can be found in S4 Fig .

COX-2 inhibition assay

Anti-inflammatory assays were assessed using an in vitro COX inhibitor screening assay kit (Cayman Item No: 701080), with modifications previously described in Schultz et al. [ 74 ]. All extracts were first screened in duplicate for inhibition against human recombinant COX-2 at an initial concentration of 50 μg/mL. For extracts exhibiting at least 50% inhibition, the concentration was then lowered to 10 μg/mL, 5 μg/mL, and 2.5 μg/mL. The most active extracts were taken to dose-response experiments for determination of IC 50 values ( Table 5 ). The assay was done in two steps: 1) the COX reaction step in which the prostaglandin H 2 (PG) was produced (which was further reduced to the more stable prostaglandin F 2α by addition of stannous chloride), and 2) an acetyl choline esterase competitive ELISA step to quantify the produced prostaglandin and calculate a potential enzyme inhibition caused by the extracts. The pure compound and selective COX-2 inhibitor DuP-769 was included as a positive control. DMSO was included as the vehicle control for determining 100% enzyme activity. Information on ELISA plate setup for anti-inflammation assays can be found in S5 Fig .

Ethics statements

Behavioral data used in this study were collected with the approval of the Uganda Wildlife Authority (permit #: COD/96/05) and the Uganda National Council for Science and Technology (permit #: NS257ES). Exportation of samples for pharmacological testing were conducted under UNCST permit #: NS104ES. Behavioral data collection adhered to International Primatological Society’s Code of Best Practice for Field Primatology [ 75 ]. No exported samples were listed under CITES. Plant samples were exported in collaboration with Makerere University (permit #: UQIS00005033/93/PC), issued by the Ugandan government, and transported to Neubrandenburg University of Applied Sciences in accordance with the Nagoya Protocol. A CUREC was approved by the University of Oxford (Ref No.: SAME_C1A_22_080). The authors report no conflict of interest.

Behavioral observations

Several unusual feeding events and putative self-medicative behaviors were recorded over 116 total field days. Table 1 reports all species collected for pharmacological testing and provides behavioral justifications for collection. Images from some of these events can be found in S1 Fig .

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https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0305219.t001

Individuals with injuries were directly observed ingesting K . anthotheca bark and resin, W . elongata young leaves, C . alexandri bark, and C . parasitica ferns. Individuals exhibiting respiratory symptoms were observed ingesting C . alexandri bark and K . anthotheca bark and resin. Individuals with abnormal urinalysis results (e.g., positive for leukocytes, elevated ketones, and presence of blood) were observed feeding on C . patens dead wood, K . anthotheca bark and resin, and M . leucantha pith. Individuals with recent cases of diarrhea were observed consuming A . boonei and C . patens dead wood, K . anthotheca bark and resin, and W . elongata leaves. Parasitological analyses further suggest individuals with varying degrees of endoparasite infections consumed S . myrtina and C . alexanderi bark, A . boonei and C . patens dead wood, K . anthotheca bark and resin, W . elongata leaves, as well as A . polystachyus and M . leucantha pith. On a day when two individuals were observed leaf swallowing, a scientifically established self-medicative behavior, one was observed consuming K . anthotheca bark and resin, while the other was observed stripping A . polystachyus pith prior to the event. Ingestion of F . variifolia , D . dewevrei , and S . guineense bark were never directly observed during the study period. Examples of bark feeding, dead wood eating, and pith-stripping marks are shown in Fig 1 .

[ a ]: Evidence of F. exasperata bark feeding [ b ] Evidence of C. patens dead wood eating [ c ] Evidence M. leucantha pith-stripping and wadging.

https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0305219.g001

Ethnobotanical review

Based on our analysis of ethnomedicinal literature spanning various African regions from 1976 to 2022, 11 out of the 13 species tested also had documented ethnomedicinal uses ( Table 2 ).

https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0305219.t002

Production of extracts and sample information

Taxonomic information and extraction details for the 13 plant species studied, including the plant family, local name (when available), plant part used, solvent for extraction, yield of extraction, extract identification numbers (extract IDs), herbarium accession numbers, and collection location are summarized in Table 3 . Overall, the highest extraction yields were obtained with methanol-water (9/1) as a solvent. The yields from methanol-water extractions for C . parasitica , F . exasperata leaves, and S . guineense stem bark were higher than the other extractions from these samples. The plant samples which had higher yield values with n -hexane, such as the leaves of W . elongata and bark extract of A . boonei , likely have a higher content of lipids (i.e., fatty molecules).

https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0305219.t003

Library screening against multidrug-resistant human and food bacterial pathogens

Initial screening of extracts involved checking for growth inhibition against each bacterium at a concentration of 256 μg/mL. In total, 45 of the 51 plant extracts (88%) showed activity ≥40% inhibition against at least one of the 11 strains and were thus considered active and brought to dose-response experiments to determine their IC 50 value and MIC. Results from the library screening are reported in S1 Table in S2 File . As all tested plant species in the library screen had at least one extract that was active ( in vitro ) against at least one bacterial strain, no entire species was eliminated for further experimentation. However, as no extracts (at any concentration) inhibited the growth of K . pneumoniae , no further tests were conducted on this bacterium. The extract active against the most bacterial strains (n = 11) was the methanol-water extract of S . guineense stem bark (mwE098a, active against eight strains), followed by the methanol-water S . guineense leaves (mwE098b), the ethyl acetate P . patens dead wood, and the n -hexane A . boonei dead wood (hE092b) extracts, which were each active against seven, seven, and six strains, respectively. The only extract that demonstrated significant inhibition against P . aeruginosa at the highest test concentration was the methanol-water extract from S . guineense bark (mwE098a). This was also the only extract to display significant inhibition at 256 μg/mL against E . cloacae . Of all bacteria in this study, the two strains of E . coli (DSM 498 and DSM 15076) were the most susceptible, with at least one extract from all plant species inhibiting their growth. The E . coli strain with nine known antibiotic resistances (DSM 15076) surprisingly showed growth inhibition in 80% of tested extracts.

Dose-response antibacterial experiments

In dose-response assays, 41 out of the 45 tested extracts (91%) showed activity at ≤256μg/mL, though not all extracts reached MIC values (see Table 4 ). The results, along with standard deviations, are reported in S2 Table in S2 File , while S3 Table in S2 File provides a summary of the number of strains each extract was active against. The strongest in vitro growth inhibition was reported for the methanol-water extract of K . anthotheca bark and resin (mwE088) against Gram-positive E . faecium and the n- hexane extract of A . boonei dead wood (hE092b) against Gram-positive S . aureus (DSM 1104). Both extracts had low IC 50 values of 16 μg/mL (showing strong inhibition), with MIC values of 32 μg/mL against respective strains. E . faecium showed the most general susceptibility to K . anthotheca , with all extracts of this species achieving MIC values (mwE088: 32 μg/mL, eE088: 64 μg/mL, hE088: 128 μg/mL). The ethyl acetate extract of A . boonei dead wood (eE092b) also strongly inhibited the growth of E . faecium (IC 50 : 16 μg/mL; MIC: 64 μg/mL), as did the n- hexane extract of A . boonei dead wood, producing an IC 50 value of 16 μg/mL but failing to reach a MIC value. S . aureus (DSM 1104) was also highly susceptible to the ethyl acetate extracts of A . boonei dead wood (IC 50 : 32 μg/mL; MIC: 128 μg/mL).

https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0305219.t004

Only one extract, the methanol-water extract of S . guineense bark (mwE098a), was active against the gram-negative P . aeruginosa . This extract exhibited moderate growth inhibition (IC 50 : 64 μg/mL) with no MIC value reached. Despite E . coli (DSM 498) being highly susceptible on the library screen, only two extracts, the methanol-water extract of A . boonei dead wood (mwE092b; IC 50 : 256 μg/mL) and the methanol-water extract of S . guineense leaves (mwE098b; IC 50 : 128 μg/mL), reached IC 50 values at the concentration range tested, with no MICs reached. Interestingly, the strain of E . coli with nine known resistances (DSM 1576) was more susceptible, with 89% (N = 40) of extracts achieving IC 50 values ≤ 256 μg/mL. The most active extract against this strain was the methanol-water extract of K . anthotheca (mwE088; IC 50 : 16 μg/mL; MIC: 256 μg/mL). S . guineense exhibited the highest overall inhibition of S . maltophilia , with all extracts except hE098a displaying IC 50 values of ≤ 256 μg/mL against the bacterium. At the concentration range tested, no extracts yielded MIC values for S . aureus (DSM 18827), A . baumannii , E . cloacae , P . aeruginosa or E . coli (DSM 498).

Anti-inflammatory COX-2 inhibition library screen

Results from the in vitro COX-2 inhibition library screen at descending concentrations are reported in S4 Table in S2 File . At the initial concentration of 50 μg/mL, 43 out of 51 extracts (84%) exhibited an enzyme inhibition of at least 50%, displaying anti-inflammatory activity. This included at least one extract of every plant species. In the next stage of screening, at 10 μg/mL, 18 samples were eliminated. During the final step, at 5 μg/mL, five more were eliminated. The remaining 17 extracts from 10 plant species which displayed inhibition ≥50% at 5 μg/mL, were then introduced to dose-response experiments. The ethyl acetate S . myrtina bark extract (eE089b) was taken to the COX-2 dose-response despite not showing inhibition past 50 μg/mL, as it almost reached the selection limit during analysis and had a relatively high standard deviation. No extracts from W . elongata , C . patens or D . dewevrei showed COX-2 inhibition at 5 μg/mL and thus were excluded from further testing.

COX-2 inhibition dose-response experiments

The most active COX-2 inhibitors were extracts from K . anthotheca (mwE088; hE088; eE088), C . parasitica (mwE087; hE087), F . exasperata (hE093a; eE093a), S . myrtina (hE089a; eE089b), F . variifolia (eE097; hE097), A . polystachyus (hE099; eE099), M . leucantha (hE094), S . guineense (hE098a), A . boonei (hE092b), and C . alexandri (hE096). Results are reported in Table 5 . The strongest COX-2 inhibitor was the K . anthotheca methanol-water bark and resin extract (mwE088) (IC 50 of 0.55 μg/mL), followed by the C . parasitica methanol-water fern extract (mwE087) (IC 50 of 0.81 μg/mL). In contrast, all extracts of the species W . elongata , C . patens , and D . dewevrei failed to show ≥50% inhibition, mostly at the second screening concentration (10 μg/mL). W . elongata extracts notably showed low activity in both antibacterial and COX-2 inhibition assays.

https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0305219.t005

Plant species with strong pharmacological activity

This study provides the first pharmacological and behavioral evidence of its kind, based on in situ sampling, for the medicinal benefits of bark feeding, dead wood eating, and non-bitter pith stripping behaviors in Budongo chimpanzees. In the following sub-sections, we describe and discuss specific results from five of the tested plant species in further detail. For scope, we selected the two species with the strongest antibacterial properties ( K . anthotheca and A . boonei ) to profile, both of which were the only species to reach 40% inhibition at 16 μg/mL. We also selected C . parasitica to discuss as this species, along with K . anthotheca , exhibited the strongest anti-inflammatory properties. We then discuss results from our S . guineense samples, as this species was effective against the most bacterial strains in our antibacterial assays. Lastly, we selected S . myrtina , as we have behavioral evidence and health data that anecdotally support the use of this species for therapeutic self-medication by Budongo chimpanzees.

Alstonia boonei . Numerous in vitro and in vivo studies, reviewed by Adotey [ 76 ], have reported pharmacological activity in A . boonei bark. However, none of these studies investigated dead wood samples of A . boonei . Consistent with these findings, we found high levels of antibacterial and anti-inflammatory activity in the extracts of this species. Interestingly, extracts from A . boonei dead wood generally exhibited higher activity than living bark. This difference could be due either to a change in active ingredient composition, or possible fungal growth following the tree’s death. While the A . boonei dead wood n -hexane extract (hE092b) exhibited strong growth inhibition against S . aureus (DSM 1104; DSM 18827) and E . faecium at low concentrations in the dose-response assays, the n -hexane bark extract (hE092a) showed no activity <256 μg/mL. Similarly, the ethyl acetate extract of dead wood (eE092b) also strongly inhibited S . aureus (DSM 1104) (IC 50 : 16 μg/mL; MIC: 128 μg/mL) and E . faecium (IC 50 : 16 μg/mL; MIC: 64 μg/mL), while the ethyl acetate bark extract of this species did not even exhibit enough inhibition in the antibacterial library screen to be taken to dose-response assays. However, the methanol-water extract of A . boonei bark (mwE092a) did show activity against E . coli (DSM 498) (IC 50 : 128 μg/mL), as did the methanol-water dead wood extract (mwE092a) (IC 50 : 128 μg/mL), with no MIC values reached in either case. Overall, extracts from A . boonei displayed more potent activity in Gram-positive bacteria, although this effect is more apparent in dead wood than stem bark. In the COX-2 inhibition assays, the n -hexane extract of A . boonei dead wood also showed strong anti-inflammatory inhibition, while the n -hexane extract of the bark only exhibited weak inhibition (at the highest test concentration of 50 μg/mL).

A . boonei is a known medicinal plant across East Africa, commonly used for a variety of reproductive, bacterial, and gastro-intestinal issues, as well as for snake bites, asthma, and dizziness [ 68 , 76 , 77 ]. The bark and latex are intensely bitter, a reliable signal of the presence of bioactive secondary compounds and toxicity [ 94 – 96 ]. Budongo chimpanzees in both communities have been reported to consume both bark and dead wood of A . boonei , often travelling long distances to access these trees and only consuming small amounts of bark per feeding bout [ 45 ]. In an observation reported in this study (see Table 1 : A . boonei , Case 1 ), three males ingested A . boonei dead wood while outside the community’s core area for 1-minute. Two days before the event, one of the individuals had been observed with diarrhea, while also shedding visible tapeworm proglottids ( Bertiella sp.). This sample also contained unidentified protozoa, and Taenia sp. eggs. Pebsworth et al. [ 34 ] also reported an event in which four adult males, all with diverse parasite loads, traveled to a large A . boonei tree and ingested bark.

In the long-term site data, A . boonei bark ingestion was only documented 17 times between 2008–2021 [ 45 ], although this behavior was not systematically reported. In addition, the direct observation of only one A . boonei dead wood eating event, and no A . boonei bark ingesting events over the two four-month periods of observation in this study, suggest that consumption of this species is relatively rare across both communities. While specific pathogenic catalysts for selection of this species remain unknown, based on pharmacological, ethnobotanical, and behavioral data, we propose that A . boonei may be a therapeutic self-medicative resource for Budongo chimpanzees. The relatively strong inhibitory activity of this species against S . aureus , a bacteria associated with causing contamination on the skin leading to chronic wounds [ 97 ], as well as its anti-inflammatory properties, suggests that A . boonei ingestion may have beneficial effects in wound care contexts.

Khaya anthotheca . Previous studies have demonstrated that K . anthotheca bark contains biologically active compounds like gedunins, mexicanolide, phragmalin, and andirobins [ 98 ]. One limonoid identified in the species, anthothecol, has anti-cancer properties [ 99 ]. A study by Obbo et al. [ 100 ] on K . anthotheca bark collected in the Budongo Forest, found strong antiprotozoal activity against Plasmodium falciparum (IC 50 0.96 μg/mL) and Trypanosoma brucei rhodesiense (IC 50 5.72 μg/mL). A related species, K . senegalensis , has been shown to cause cell lysis in some gram-negative bacteria, including Salmonella Typhimurium , Escherichia coli , Shigella sp. and Salmonella sp., by targeting cytoplasmic membranes [ 101 ].

In our antibacterial library screen, of all extracts tested, only the methanol-water extract inhibited growth of A . baumannii (although no IC 50 values were reached in dose-response). The methanol-water extract also inhibited the growth of E . coli (DSM 498) in the library screen, as did the ethyl acetate (eE088) extract, though again no IC 50 values were reached. In our antibacterial dose-response assays, all extracts of K . anthotheca stem bark and resin exhibited strong inhibition against the Gram-positive E . faecium . The most active extract against this strain, which was also the strongest antibacterial result reported in this study, was methanol-water (mwE088) (IC 50 : 16 μg/mL; MIC: 32 μg/mL). All extracts of this species were also found to inhibit E . coli (DSM 1576) in the dose-response experiments, with the methanol-water extract once again also showing the strongest inhibition (IC 50 : 16 μg/mL; MIC: 256 μg/mL). This extract also inhibited the growth of S . maltophilia (IC 50 : 64 μg/mL) in the library screen. Only weak inhibition was found against the food pathogen S . enterica ( n -hexane extract, IC 50 : 256 μg/mL).

K . anthotheca exhibited potent anti-inflammatory activity. Of all extracts tested, the methanol-water K . anthotheca extract (mwE088) displayed the strongest COX-2 inhibition activity (IC 50 : 0.55 μg/mL). Past phytochemical studies on methanol and ethanol-water stem bark extracts from the related species, K . senegalensis , revealed many phenolic compounds, including flavonoids and tannins e.g., [ 101 , 102 ]. Flavonoids act on the inflammatory response, and may block molecules like COXs, cytokines, nuclear factor-кB and matrix metalloproteinases [ 103 ]. Some tannins have also been proven to have strong free radical-scavenging and antioxidant activities [ 104 ]. These compounds are antagonists of particular hormone receptors or inhibitors of particular enzymes such as COX enzymes [ 103 ]. If Khaya species are phytochemically similar, this could help explain K . anthotheca ’s strong COX-2 inhibitory activity.

Across Africa, K . anthotheca is traditionally used for ailments including allergies, fever, headaches, jaundice, bacterial infections, and as a disinfectant for bleeding wounds [ 105 – 107 ]. Our behavioral observations suggest that this species is also a common resource for Sonso chimpanzees, with a total of 65 feeding events recorded throughout the first field season. Of these events, several involved individuals with imbalanced health states (see Table 1 : K . anthotheca ) . On at least three independent occasions, K . anthotheca bark and resin were consumed by wounded individuals. Two adult females on different days tested positive for leukocytes on urinalysis tests within hours of ingesting K . anthotheca , suggesting the presence of infection. One of these individuals was also experiencing severe diarrhea the day prior, the other was found to have trace levels of blood in her urine. A juvenile female with a persistent cough was also observed consuming K . anthotheca bark. On several occasions individuals with high parasite loads or diverse species infection were observed targeting this resource while shedding tapeworm proglottids ( Bertiella sp.). An elderly female was also observed eating bark and resin a few hours prior to leaf-swallowing, a well-established self-medicative behavior known to rid the gut of endoparasites [ 9 , 23 ]. The frequency of K . anthotheca ingestion in the Sonso diet during this period, suggests that individuals have consistent exposure to the antibacterial and anti-inflammatory compounds present in this species. Whether this is a case of passive prevention through intake of a medicinal food, or therapeutic self-medication for a common and wide-spread condition will need further investigation. If used therapeutically, our results suggest this species could be used for treating wounds, bacterial or infections, and/or reducing internal parasite loads.

Christella parasitica.

Extracts of C . parasitica produced notably high anti-inflammatory activity in COX-2 testing, with the methanol-water extract (mwE087) achieving an IC 50 value of 0.81 μg/mL. This same extract, however, exhibited the lowest general activity in the antibacterial library screen. The only antibacterial activity from this species was on E . coli (DSM 498) by the ethyl acetate and n- hexane extracts (eE087; hE087), and on E . coli (DSM 1576) by the n-hexane extract (hE087). The n -hexane extract reached an IC 50 of 128 μg/mL in dose-response assays with no MIC value. Prior to this study, there had been limited pharmacological testing on C . parasitica (though see [ 108 ]), so comparison across studies is not possible.

When we considered the associated behavioral observation involving C . parasitica , we found a notable relevance to our pharmacological results (see Table 1 : C . parasitica , Case 1 ). This observation involved a wounded Sonso adult male (PS) travelling outside of his core area with a large group. It was unclear if this was an inter-community patrol. PS had been observed earlier in the day with a severe hand injury which impacted his mobility, though no open wound was observed. PS separated himself from the group and moved a few meters to a patch of ferns where he began consuming the leaflets. The bout lasted approximately 3-minutes. No other group members were observed feeding on this species, and this was only the second case of fern ingestion reported in Budongo in over 30-years of observations (unpublished site data). Health states of individuals from the past event were unfortunately not recorded. Whether or not C . parasitica ’s highly anti-inflammatory properties were the principal motivator for the selection of this species remains unknown, however, regardless of intention, this plant may have benefitted PS by reducing pain and swelling in his injured hand.

Syzygium guineense.

S . guineense bark and leaves have both previously been found to exhibit a range of pharmacological activity, reviewed by Uddin et al. [ 109 ]. The antioxidant, analgesic, and anti-inflammatory activities of this plant have been attributed to flavonoids, tannins, saponins, carbohydrates, alkaloids, and cardiac glycosides in the extracts [ 109 – 112 ]. In our assays, S . guineense bark exhibited high antibacterial growth inhibition effects in vitro . The methanol-water bark extract (mwE098a) showed some level of inhibition against all bacteria tested in the dose-response assays, except for E . faecium and S . enterica . This was also the only extract, out of all tested, to inhibit growth of P . aeruginosa (IC 50 : 64 μg/mL; MIC: >256 μg/mL) a pathogen known to cause infections in the blood, lungs, and other body parts after surgeries [ 113 ], and was one of two extracts to reach a MIC value against S . maltophilia (IC 50 : 32μg/mL; MIC: 256 μg/mL). The other extract to reach a MIC value was the ethyl acetate S . guineense bark extract (eE098a; IC 50 : 64 μg/mL; MIC: 256 μg/mL). All bark and leaf extracts showed strong inhibition against E . coli (DSM 1576) in the dose-response assays, with the strongest results coming from the methanol-water extracts (mwE098a and mwE098b). All bark and leaf extracts of this species, except for the n -hexane bark extract (hE098a), inhibited E . cloacae , and were the only extracts in the study to do so. E . cloacae , while part of normal intestinal flora, can cause UTI’s and respiratory infections in humans [ 114 ]. S . guineense extracts were also the only extracts to inhibit A . baumannii at a concentration <256 μg/mL, with the methanol-water bark extract showing the strongest inhibition. A . baumannii can cause infections in wounds, blood, urinary tracts, and lungs [ 115 ]. The efficacy of methanolic extracts from this species suggests that the active compounds are polar molecules. In the anti-inflammatory COX-2 inhibition dose-response assays, only the n -hexane bark extract displayed strong inhibitory effects (IC 50 : 2.42 μg/mL), while the other extracts failed to exhibit significant activity during the pre-screening or ≥ 50% inhibition at 10 μg/mL. The COX-2 inhibition assays showed no inflammatory inhibition amongst leaf extracts at tested concentrations.

S . guineense can be found throughout Sub-Saharan Africa and is a common traditional medicine, for malaria [ 116 ]. The bark is also used for stomach aches, diarrhea, internal parasites, and infertility [ 68 , 109 ]. Ingestion of S . guineense bark is rare in Budongo, with no direct observations in either community throughout the study period, and only six total cases between 2008–2021 documented in the site’s long-term data. No observations of leaf ingestion of this species have ever been reported. The infrequent ingestion of S . guineense bark implies a more targeted use, making it unlikely to be a medicinal food. Instead, our pharmacological findings make this resource a strong candidate as a putative, therapeutic self-medicative resource. Unfortunately, as there is currently no health data associated with individuals who have recently consumed S . guineense bark, we do not yet know which properties chimpanzees may be targeting. However, based on pharmacological results, we recommend further investigation into this species as a curative agent for respiratory-related infections.

Scutia myrtina.

Kritheka et al. [ 117 ] in their study on the bioactivity of S . myrtina , found in vivo evidence that this species possesses dose-dependent anti-inflammatory, antimicrobial, and antifungal properties. Across our antibacterial assays, the bark sample of this species collected from the stem inhibited E . faecium (eE089a) and E . coli DSM 1576 (eE089a; mwE089a) in dose-response tests at concentrations ≤256 μg/mL. The refuse sample, collected from the ground below the plant’s stem, inhibited A . baumannii (hE089b), E . faecium (eE089b), and E . coli DSM 1576 (mwE089b; eE089b; hE089b) in dose-response tests below the specified concentration. Interestingly, the refuse sample inhibited more bacteria species overall than the fresh bark. The most potent antibacterial growth inhibition effects came from the ethyl acetate bark sample against E . faecium (eE089a; IC 50 : 64 μg/mL), though no MIC value was reached. In the COX-2 inhibition assays, the n- hexane bark extract had the fifth strongest inhibitory effect in vitro (hE089a; IC 50 : 1.19 μg/mL) out of all samples, while the ethyl acetate refuse bark sample was less potent, though still moderately active (E089b; IC 50 : 7.49 μg/mL).

As far as the authors know, this is the first published report presenting both behavioral and pharmacological evidence for S . myrtina bark as a putative medicinal resource amongst free-ranging chimpanzees (though see [ 118 ] for evidence based on food-combinations). Our behavioral observations indicate that an individual with a diverse and intense parasite infection deliberately sought out the bark of this species. The Budongo chimpanzees may, therefore, utilize S . myrtina as an anthelminthic. Across traditional accounts from multiple regions, S . myrtina is commonly used by people as an anthelminthic to treat intestinal worms [ 68 ], while aerial parts are also used to treat various bacterial infections. As we were not able to conduct urinalysis on the consumer during or after this event, we cannot determine whether the individual also harbored a bacterial infection at the time of ingestion. However, this possibility cannot be ruled out. Based on these findings, we propose S . myrtina be added to the list of putative chimpanzee self-medication behaviors as a treatment for internal parasites, and we encourage further exploration into the other specific chimpanzee health conditions that this species may help ameliorate.

Assessment of putative self-medicative behaviors

We synthesized pharmacological and behavioral evidence to assess therapeutic use of species associated with bark feeding, dead wood eating, and pith stripping behaviors. A summary of the antibacterial and anti-inflammatory results for each species is reported in S3 Table in S2 File . Overall, stem bark and dead wood samples were notable for their activity. Bark samples from every species showed >40% antibacterial inhibition against at least one bacterial strain. This activity was also true of the dead wood samples. When plant parts of the same species were tested ( S . guineense and F . exasperata ), barks generally exhibited more potent antibacterial and COX-2 inhibition activity than the leaves, likely to do with the higher concentration of plant secondary metabolites in bark. Our findings offer strong support that bark and dead wood eating of certain species could constitute novel self-medicative behaviors in wild chimpanzees. We also encourage more investigation into the bioactivity of non-bitter pith stripping, as the pith of A . polystachius showed strong antibacterial activity against E . faecium (hE099; IC 50 : 32 μg/mL; MIC: 128 μg/mL), and the piths of both A . polystachius and M . leucantha demonstrated significant anti-inflammatory properties at low concentrations. Future primatological research should prioritize the establishment of multi-disciplinary long-term projects that look systematically at health states of individuals who engage in bark, dead wood, and pith ingestion behaviors. We also encourage further pharmacological testing on other species used for these behaviors in Budongo and across primate field sites.

Drug discovery

Multidisciplinary studies on this topic have potential to lead to the discovery of new medicines which may benefit our own species [ 119 – 122 ]. Historically, PSMs have played a major role in the development of modern human medicine, and even today, a large portion of medicines are derived either directly or indirectly from plants and other natural materials [ 123 – 127 ]. Antimicrobial resistance is rising to dangerously high levels according to the World Health Organization [ 128 ] requiring the rapid creation of new antibacterial treatments. Infections caused by multi-drug resistant bacteria kill hundreds of thousands of people annually. Our findings of strong antibacterial growth inhibition across numerous plant species growing in Budongo have promising implications for our ability to discover novel compounds in existing forest habitats. Extracts should also be tested against additional bacteria and for anti-virulence effects, e.g., inhibition and disruption of biofilm formation, quorum sensing and toxin production, pursuing development of new therapeutic strategies that apply less evolutionary pressure, likely resulting in emergence of less antibiotic resistances in the future. Phytochemical characterization using advanced techniques, such as LC-ToF-MS and NMR, as well as potentially AI-assisted untargeted metabolomics approaches, are now needed to identify substances present in the most active extracts. This may eventually lead to the isolation and structure elucidation of yet unknown active ingredients and make way for determining their pharmacological selectivity and toxicity, while also taking potential synergistic effects into account.

Simultaneously, we are currently faced with a pressing need for more effective treatments to combat symptoms of acute inflammation and mediate long-term consequences of chronic inflammatory diseases [ 129 ]. The prostaglandin-producing cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) mediates and regulates pain, fever, wound inflammation, and many other medical disorders, as it plays a crucial role in the host organism’s defense against pathogens and injury. COX-2 inhibition has the same mechanism of action as non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs). While inflammation is a normal part of the body’s defense against injury or infection, it can be damaging when occurring in healthy tissues or over a protracted period. Chronic inflammation can lead to cardiovascular diseases (CVD) and cancer, the two leading global causes of death [ 130 ]. Past studies have shown that the IC 50 values of Aspirin and ibuprofen (pure compounds and common NSAIDs) are 210 μg/mL and 46 μg/mL respectively for COX-2, and 5 μg/mL and 1 μg/mL respectively for COX-1 [ 131 , 132 ]. The in vitro COX-2/COX-1 selectivity ratio for Aspirin and ibuprofen is 42 and 46 respectively. Surprisingly, the 17 most active extracts in our COX-2 assays display lower IC 50 values than these popular NSAIDs, meaning our extracts have more potent inhibitory effects on the inhibition of COX-2 than the most common anti-fever and anti-pain drugs on the market. While COX-1 assays were beyond the scope of this study, future research should investigate COX-1 inhibition activity of these 17 extracts to calculate COX-2/COX-1 selectivity ratios. Doing so will allow for preliminary assessment of potential side effects, selectivity, and efficacy before future in vivo experiments can commence.

Future directions

Future research on this topic would benefit from the inclusion of control samples (plants or plant parts not consumed by chimpanzees); however, in this study, assay costs were a prohibiting factor. Additional information regarding the nutritional and mineral content of the species mentioned in this study is needed to better understand the motivations for ingestion. However, bioactivity and nutritional/mineral content are by no means mutually exclusive. It is, therefore, highly likely that these resources provide multiple benefits to consumers.

Future studies should also consider ecological variables. For example, different individual plants of the same species should be tested across habitat types to determine whether bioactivity varies based on location, age, life history, or time of harvest. Situating samples in their ecological context will provide a better understanding of whether chimpanzees select resources based on species alone, or other more nuanced criteria. Lastly, climatic studies in combination with pharmacological testing should examine how climate change may impact bioactivity of these plants, as shifting weather patterns have already been shown to alter nutritional content [ 133 ]. This information will be critical for establishing protected habitats that can sustain healthy, wild, primate populations.

Conclusions

As we learn more about the pharmacological properties of plants ingested by chimpanzees in the wild, we can expand our understanding of their health maintenance strategies. Our results provide pharmacological evidence, from in vitro assays of plant parts consumed by wild chimpanzees collected in situ , for the presence of potent bioactive secondary plant metabolites in Budongo chimpanzee diets for a variety of potential illnesses previously not considered. Whether these resources are consumed intentionally as a form of therapeutic self-medication or passively as medicinal foods, must be assessed on a case-by-case basis, taking behavioral observations into account.

For the field of zoopharmacognosy to progress, we encourage continued multidisciplinary collaboration between primatologists, ethnopharmacologists, parasitologists, ecologists, and botanists [ 9 ]. Beyond improving our broad understanding of chimpanzee health maintenance, multidisciplinary studies will benefit our own species, potentially leading to the discovery of novel human medicines to combat the looming problem of growing drug-resistance. For this to happen, however, it is imperative that we urgently prioritize the preservation of our wild forest pharmacies as well as our primate cousins who inhabit them.

Materials availability

Voucher specimens for each species were deposited at the Makerere University Herbarium in Kampala, Uganda for taxonomic identification and storage. A duplicate set was deposited at the University of Oxford Herbarium for permanent storage.

Supporting information

S1 fig. budongo chimpanzees consuming resources tested in this study..

a.) IN eating K . anthotheca bark and resin b.) MZ eating S . myrtina bark c.) KC stripping A . polystachyus pith d.) MB eating C . patens dead wood e.) OZ eating S . guineense bark (post-study period) g.) MZ eating F . exasperata bark.

https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0305219.s001

S2 Fig. Generalized multi-method workflow used in this study.

https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0305219.s002

S3 Fig. Voucher samples collected in duplicate.

a . ) C . alexandri (00243133G) b . ) A . polystachius (00243136J) c . ) W . elongata (00243129L) d . ) C . parasitica (00243122E) e . ) K . anthotheca (00243123F) f . ) F . variifolia (51195) g . ) M . leucantha (51203) h . ) A . boonei (51204) i . ) D . dewevrei (00243132F) j . ) S . guineense (00243135I) k . ) S . myrtina (00243128K) l . ) F . exasperata (00243130D).

https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0305219.s003

S4 Fig. Plate layouts for growth inhibition assays.

[Top] Library Screen: done in 96-wells-mikrotiterplate; AB: Antibiotic as positive control; DMSO: vehicle control / negative control; GC: growth control: containing working culture, to check whether the bacterium grew/active; [Bottom] Dose-Response: done in descending concentration of samples, DMSO, and antibiotic. MB: Media blank, consisted of CAMHB as negative/ sterile media control; DMSO as negative/ vehicle control; GC: growth control, consisted of working culture.

https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0305219.s004

S5 Fig. ELISA assay setup for anti-inflammatory assay.

https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0305219.s005

S1 File. Supplementary materials: Methods .

https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0305219.s006

S2 File. Supplementary tables.

https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0305219.s007

Acknowledgments

We are grateful to all the field staff working in Budongo who provided invaluable instruction and guidance, generously sharing both scientific insight and traditional knowledge. This study could not have been done without their contributions. Specifically, we would like to thank members of the Perspectives Collective: Chandia Bosco, Monday Mbotella Gideon, Adue Sam, Asua Jackson, Steven Mugisha, Atayo Gideon, and Kizza Vincent, and Walter Akankwasa, as well as site director David Eryenyu. We would also like to thank Godwin Anywar for his assistance with plant identification at the Makerere Herbarium, Stephen Harris at the University of Oxford’s Herbarium for his facilitation of voucher storage, and the Natural History Museum in London for their aid in parasite identification. We are grateful to Vernon Reynolds who founded the field site and to the Royal Zoological Society of Scotland for providing core support. We also gratefully acknowledge the Uganda Wildlife Authority and the Uganda National Council for Science and Technology for granting permission to conduct research in Uganda. Lastly, thank you to the staff and students at Neubrandenburg University of Applied Sciences who made this collaboration possible, and to research assistant, Finn Freymann, for his help with botanical extractions.

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The unweighted numbers of participants using melatonin overall and using >5 mg/d of melatonin were 296 and 39, respectively. Shaded areas indicate 95% confidence intervals. P values for linear and quadratic trends were calculated using linear regression modeling survey cycle as a continuous variable. For overall use, linear P  = .004 and quadratic P  < .001; for use greater than 5 mg/d, linear P  = .005 and quadratic P  = .04. Prevalence trends for melatonin use greater than 5 mg/d were estimated from the 2005-2006 to 2017-2018 cycles.

• Melatonin for Insomnia in Children JAMA From The Medical Letter on Drugs and Therapeutics October 20, 2020 This Medical Letter review summarizes evidence about the safety and efficacy of over-the-counter melatonin-containing products as sleep aids for insomnia in children, and their role relative to standard nonpharmacological treatments.
• Young Children Increasingly Ingest Melatonin, With Serious Outcomes JAMA News From the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention July 12, 2022 Bridget M. Kuehn, MSJ
• Climbing Melatonin Use for Insomnia Raises Safety Concerns JAMA Medical News & Perspectives August 16, 2022 This Medical News article describes recent increases in melatonin use and the potential harm associated with taking it for insomnia. Bridget M. Kuehn, MSJ
• Association of Sleep Problems and Melatonin Use in School-aged Children JAMA Pediatrics Research Letter September 1, 2019 This cross-sectional study examines subjectively and objectively assessed sleep and melatonin use in children. M. Elisabeth Koopman-Verhoeff, MSc; Michiel A. van den Dries, MSc; Judith J. van Seters, BSc; Maartje P. C. M. Luijk, PhD; Henning Tiemeier, MD, PhD; Annemarie I. Luik, PhD

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Li J , Somers VK , Xu H , Lopez-Jimenez F , Covassin N. Trends in Use of Melatonin Supplements Among US Adults, 1999-2018. JAMA. 2022;327(5):483–485. doi:10.1001/jama.2021.23652

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Trends in Use of Melatonin Supplements Among US Adults, 1999-2018

• 1 Dongzhimen Hospital, Beijing University of Chinese Medicine, Beijing, China
• 2 Department of Cardiovascular Medicine, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minnesota
• 3 National Clinical Research Center for Chinese Medicine Cardiology, Xiyuan Hospital, Beijing, China
• From The Medical Letter on Drugs and Therapeutics Melatonin for Insomnia in Children JAMA
• News From the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Young Children Increasingly Ingest Melatonin, With Serious Outcomes Bridget M. Kuehn, MSJ JAMA
• Medical News & Perspectives Climbing Melatonin Use for Insomnia Raises Safety Concerns Bridget M. Kuehn, MSJ JAMA
• Research Letter Association of Sleep Problems and Melatonin Use in School-aged Children M. Elisabeth Koopman-Verhoeff, MSc; Michiel A. van den Dries, MSc; Judith J. van Seters, BSc; Maartje P. C. M. Luijk, PhD; Henning Tiemeier, MD, PhD; Annemarie I. Luik, PhD JAMA Pediatrics

Exogenous supplementation of melatonin, one of the key hormones governing circadian rhythm, is indicated for treatment of circadian rhythm sleep disorders 1 and, despite insufficient evidence, 2 is widely used as an over-the-counter sleep aid. Evidence of antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties of melatonin 3 has prompted investigation of its therapeutic value in multiple diseases. 4 Although melatonin is generally regarded as safe, adverse effects have been reported, and data on long-term use and high-dose use are scarce. 5 The heterogeneity in over-the-counter formulations 6 further supports the need for a broader understanding of consumption of exogenous melatonin in the population.

We examined reported prevalence and trends in use of melatonin supplements among US adults from 1999 through 2018. Because the recommended dosage of melatonin typically does not exceed 5 mg/d, we additionally evaluated prevalence and trends in use of greater than 5 mg/d of melatonin.

We used data from the 1999-2000 through 2017-2018 cycles of the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES), a series of cross-sectional, stratified, multistage probability sample surveys of the noninstitutionalized US population, with response rates ranging from 51.9% (2017-2018) to 84.0% (2001-2002). Participants younger than 20 years (n = 46 235) or without available dietary supplement data (n = 58) were excluded. For the analysis on greater than 5 mg/d of melatonin use, we additionally excluded those reporting melatonin use but without daily dose information (n = 2). The National Center for Health Statistics Institutional Review Board approved the NHANES protocol and all participants provided written informed consent. Data on dietary supplement use during the past 30 days and daily dose used when taking the supplements were collected through in-home interview, and to aid reporting, participants were required to show supplement containers.

For each survey cycle, we computed weighted prevalences and 95% CIs of melatonin use in the overall sample and across sex and age categories. Prevalences and 95% CIs of greater than 5 mg/d of melatonin use was also estimated. P values for linear and quadratic trends were calculated using linear regression modeling with survey cycle as a continuous variable. To determine if trends varied by demographic characteristics, interaction effects were assessed using weighted logistic regression. R version 4.0.1 (R Foundation) and SPSS version 20.0 (IBM Corp) were used for analysis, and a 2-sided P  < .05 was considered statistically significant.

Data from 55 021 adults (mean age, 47.5 [SD, 17.1] years; 52.0% women) from 10 NHANES cycles were included. The number of participants included in each cycle ranged from 4865 to 6214 ( Table ), and supplement containers were verified by interviewers for 93.9% of self-reported melatonin users. The overall reported weighted prevalence of melatonin use increased from 0.4% (95% CI, 0.2%-1.0%) in 1999-2000 to 2.1% (95% CI, 1.5%-2.9%) in 2017-2018 (linear P  = .004) ( Figure ), with an increase beginning in 2009-2010 (quadratic P  < .001). Trends were similar across sex and age groups (interaction P  > .05 for all) ( Table ).

Melatonin use of greater than 5 mg/d was not reported before 2005-2006. The reported prevalence of melatonin use greater than 5 mg/d increased from 0.08% (95% CI, 0.02%-0.38%) in 2005-2006 to 0.28% (0.13%-0.60%) in 2017-2018 (linear P  = .005) ( Figure ).

Among US adults, reported prevalence of melatonin supplement consumption significantly increased from 1999-2000 to 2017-2018 across all demographic groups. Although it remained very low, prevalence of self-reported use of greater than 5 mg/d of melatonin also increased over time. These estimates may raise safety concerns, especially given that the actual content of melatonin in marketed supplements may be up to 478% higher than the labeled content 6 and that evidence supporting melatonin use for sleep disturbances is weak. 2 The growing use of exogenous melatonin in the general population and its expanding therapeutic potential 4 provide impetus for the acquisition of robust evidence of long-term safety of melatonin supplementation. Limitations include self-reported use of melatonin, although supplement containers were verified in nearly all participants. Because of the small number of melatonin users in some subgroups, results of stratified analyses should be interpreted with caution. Reliable estimates of trends in melatonin use across racial/ethnic groups cannot be provided. Also, reasons for use were not available in all cycles.

Corresponding Author: Naima Covassin, PhD, Department of Cardiovascular Medicine, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN 55902 ( [email protected] ).

Accepted for Publication: December 13, 2021.

Author Contributions: Drs Covassin and Li had full access to all of the data in the study and take responsibility for the integrity of the data and the accuracy of the data analysis.

Concept and design: Li, Somers, Lopez-Jimenez, Covassin.

Acquisition, analysis, or interpretation of data: Li, Covassin.

Drafting of the manuscript: Li, Covassin.

Critical revision of the manuscript for important intellectual content: All authors.

Statistical analysis: Li.

Administrative, technical, or material support: Somers, Covassin.

Supervision: Covassin.

Conflict of Interest Disclosures: Dr Somers reported having served as a consultant for Respicardia, Baker Tilly, Bayer, and Jazz Pharmaceuticals and serving on the Sleep Number Research Advisory Board. No other disclosures were reported.

Funding/Support: Dr Li is supported by grant 82004301 from the National Natural Science Foundation of China. Dr Somers is supported in part by grants HL65176, HL134885, and HL134808 from the National Institutes of Health, grants from Sleep Number Corporation to Mayo Clinic, and the Alice Sheets Marriott Professorship. Dr Covassin is supported by grants HL134885 and HL134808 from the National Institutes of Health, a Mayo Clinic Marie Ingalls Research Career Development Award, and a grant from Sleep Number Corporation to Mayo Clinic.

Role of the Funder/Sponsor: The funders had no role in the design and conduct of the study; collection, management, analysis, and interpretation of the data; preparation, review, or approval of the manuscript; or decision to submit the manuscript for publication.

Additional Information: This work was done when Dr Li was a visiting fellow at Mayo Clinic.

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