Publishing your own book.

If you want to publish your own book but just not sure as to how you can or what route to take. I can help. As it was told to me, and from what I am slowly learning, the best way to get yourself out there is to start a BLOG. This way you can gain readers giving them little snippets and when your work is completed then you will have a crowd that is willing to read what you have.
Creating a book cover can be easy as Shutterstock or creating your own by using your own pictures and going to YouTube for videos on how to create a book cover. You can hire a professional which can cost you anywhere from 50 to 200 dollars but websites that sell photo stock are less than that. And making a cover is fairly easy.
Keep a notebook to jot down notes, when you think of names, locations, and activities do your research don't have your character shot in one scene and in the next it's as if it didn't happen. Draw out a floor plan so you remember which room is where because the reader wants to be able to feel that they are really walking through the house.
Editing, proof reading, typesetting is a must. Have a friend, relative, someone with an open mind that can give you valuable feedback and help you find any and all errors. Again you can hire a professional which will cost you from 1$ a page. Or you can find a teacher or professor that can help. Reading the story out loud will help with some wording because what comes out of your mouth is not always what you brain meant to say.
Use Spelling/Grammar check and Thesaurus when words are highlighted in your sentences they are done so for a reason, learn to understand that and use the basic skills that your computer offers, it can save you a lot of trouble in the end.
SAVE SAVE SAVE SAVE The slightest changes you make press Ctrl+S to save your story and use a flash drive to save on as well in case something happens to your computer and you cant get to your work. Always have a backup and I cannot express this enough, save, save, save, save.
This is YOUR baby, YOUR work of literary art and you can do with it what you want. Do not let others have you make changes that take away from the essence of your story. If you have repeated sentences, then that may be an issue but if you feel that a certain part is important to the story don't take it out because someone doesn't like it. There may be that few that will love it.
Make sure that the story flows, it has a beginning that makes the reader want to read more. A middle that has the reader on the edge of their seat and an ending that has the reader sitting back going 'Wow, that was Awesome.
Createspace.com is the place to go to get the project that you have spent long hours of typing, waiting for the proof reader, then the editor and rereading what the editor wrote and waiting for the cover to get approved. The site is self explanatory and very instructional. There are other places that you can go to self publish a book but Createspace is FREE. It also provides a newsletter when you sign up giving you more added tips and links.
Copyright.gov is the place to go for the copyright to your book. You don't necessarily need one, but to ensure that what you have doesn't get taken and used by another it's good to have. The website is self explanatory and it takes about two months to get the certificate. Be sure that your book is completed, edited and is in no more need of any changes. The Copyright office requires another if you make changes to I think 3% or more of the book. So before applying make sure its the final copy.
Once you have the finished product in your hands, you now need to PROMOTE your work through any social networking site, friends, and coworkers. CONGRATULATIONS.