I recently self-published a sad, tiny book that I will probably try to obliterate later in life when my frontal lobe fully develops. But, in case you also want to make your adolescent thoughts public—or at least allow them to haunt you later in life when a friend of yours goes, “Hey, remember that book you published in high school? I just found it in my mom’s basement”—here I will try to explain the two most efficient ways of self-publishing a book for high school students.

Physical Copies

I personally took this route. I ordered an appropriate number of copies and sold them myself at flea markets and as a community vendor.

How to do this?
Well, this is obviously not a paid sponsorship, but there is a really high-quality, trustworthy online book printing service—this is the one I used. It’s called 48-hour Books, and they market themselves by emphasizing their delivery speed and reliability. Depending on the size of your order, they promise to take no more than 48 hours to print your books. Here’s the catch, however: if you want your delivery to be that fast, you must pay extra… a considerable amount. This is because they use UPS as their service. If you’re willing to wait 3–5 business days for delivery (not counting the 2-day printing process), then you will pay a minimum delivery fee.

Pros

• The service is indeed as fast as they claim: get your books in less than a week.
• They offer professional editing and cover design services if you want to pay extra.
• Their customer service is amazing—they answer questions in a timely and friendly manner.
• If you stick to the basics, the service is very cheap compared to other forms of physical publishing.
• Selling your book physically to people feels fulfilling and opens you to both familiar and unfamiliar opinions.
• The website is user-friendly, with clear instructions.
• Free templates make editing and formatting easier and less prone to mistakes.

Cons

• If you want this to remain a cheap option, you’ll have to skip the extras: no editing, no design.
• You must trust your own formatting and editing—how good is your grammar?
• Calculating how many copies you need can be tricky. You might end up with a surplus or need to reorder.
• There’s always the chance of a mistake with the service, and refunds can be complicated.
• You must pay in full for delivery and printing to ensure smooth and timely processing.

Digital and Order-Based Printing

Hear me out before you lash out at me: Amazon. Capitalism? Sure. Bezos? I get it. However—to every writer who has slightly communist tendencies because you care about the world and the implications of your actions… do yourself a favor and take advantage of the actual good-ish benefits of monopolies with questionable ethics. Whatever—you’re gonna die one day.

I am waiting to open my bank account to self-publish with Amazon, so I’ve done a fair share of research on this.

Here are some notes:

Self-publishing on Amazon is surprisingly straightforward and accessible for beginners. Using Kindle Direct Publishing (KDP), you can upload your manuscript and cover design directly to the platform, set your pricing, and choose whether to sell your book as an eBook, a paperback, or both. The best part? Amazon handles the printing and shipping of physical copies, so you don’t need to calculate how many books to order upfront. It’s a print-on-demand system, meaning books are only printed and shipped when someone buys them. This eliminates the risk of surplus inventory and upfront costs. Amazon also provides free tools for formatting and cover creation, although you may want to hire a designer or use professional software if you want a polished look.

Takeaways

You’ve got this. Whatever option you pick is good; don’t overthink it. Enjoy the process—it is way more rewarding than the result.