Write your book in a program, such as Microsoft Word, that you then can save as a PDF file. Almost all self-publishing options require your text be formatted using their template from a PDF file.
Name your book, and either design the cover or find someone who can do it for you. Like the text, the cover design needs to be rendered electronically. If you have it created by hand, it will need to be scanned and saved on a computer, usually as a JPEG file.
Choose a company to publish your book. Selecting a company depends on many factors. How many copies do you want to print, if any? Will you be promoting and selling copies of your book to make money? Is your book meant for business associates and friends? Do you want it rendered in multiple formats --- print, e-book or on-demand --- to be read on multiple platforms, including Kindle and iPad? These factors will influence which company you choose.
Send your text and art to your publisher. Working with them, they will format and create your book. At this point, you will be a published author! Now, it's time to get busy distributing or promoting your book.
Your book can be published in three formats. The first is electronically. E-books are read on electronic devices, such as a Kindle or iPad. This is the easiest and least expensive way to render a book. It even can be done without the help of a publishing company by using programs such as Amazon Digital Text Platform, Lulu, Smashwords and others.
Printing your book in small numbers also is an option. This is the more traditional "vanity press" option, when between 100 and 1,000 copies are printed and you pay for each copy produced.
On-demand publishing allows you to have a specific number of copies printed at one time. One such device, an Espresso Book Machine, has nothing to do with coffee. It is the name of one of the most popular on-demand publishing machines, available through Xerox, Lightningsource and other companies. Download your book and have up to 1,000 copies printed at set cost, depending on quantity and pages. Then set the sale price for each book, distribute and promote.