It’s tough being a new self-published author. There are a ton of things out there which experienced publishers take for granted, but which don’t seem all that obvious to a newcomer. Other articles of this sort tend to focus on really practical aspects of publishing (having an amateurish book cover, for example), but I wanted to go beyond the minutiae and into the mindset required to be a successful author and publisher.
Here are the five biggest mistakes you can make, and what you can do to avoid them.
1. Get a Publisher (who isn’t really a publisher)
You might have come across some of these while researching your options. They’re called Vanity Publishers. Publishing companies who are always open to submissions, and will accept your manuscript for publication in exchange for a fee. They’ll talk a big game, making you feel like you’re on the verge of being the next Number 1 bestseller, if only you shell out the money for their services. Typically speaking, they will pretend to be proper, traditional publishers (the type who pay you money for being able to publish your manuscript, not the other way around), and even send you a contract to make the process seem more legitimate.
I’m not saying that Vanity Publishers are a scam, typically. But they’re not publishers, and they tend to make promises they cannot keep. You will not become the next Stephen King or JK Rowling thanks to their services. You’ll be a self-published author just like the rest of us, only you will have spent a lot more money to get there.
Instead, research the various parts of the publishing process yourself and hire reputable freelancers to complete the work, then publish (or hire someone to publish) your book in your own publishing account with Amazon and other retailers. I’ll share how exactly to do all this in future articles on this blog.
2. Try to do it all yourself
This is the other extreme. Some people get into self-publishing expecting and wanting to hold on to the reins so tightly, they refuse to get outside help. Budget constraints aside, there’s absolutely no reason why you should do everything on your own.
Are you a professional cover designer, editor, copywriter, marketer, accountant as well as lawyer, all at once? Probably not. And even if you were, would you be able to give each part of the publishing process all the attention it deserves, and also get the book ready and published within a reasonable timeframe?
You’re a writer, so you should write. This is obvious. In addition, you should be taking charge of your writing and publishing activities to the best of your abilities, and outsource what you cannot or don’t want to do, as soon as your finances allow it.
Ask any bestselling self-published author out there how they manage it all. They typically have help. At the very least, they’ll have a professional editor, most have a brilliant cover designer as well. Perhaps they’re brilliant marketers themselves, but they’ll still hire someone to build their website. Or they have a supportive spouse who can offer help in those areas which they’re not so talented. Don’t try to be a jack of all trades!
3. Not have a plan or goal
It’s always good to have a plan, no matter what kind of project you’re about to take on. But for publishing your own written work (or more generally, before presenting any kind of creative expression to the world), it’s good to be clear about what you’re trying to achieve. Is this a hobby, and you just want to share it with a few people? Or do you wish to turn this into a profitable business to replace your day job income?
Be honest with yourself, and plan accordingly.
Too many people set out to publish their first book, only to be disappointed when it doesn’t sell as well as they thought it would. Often times these disappointments could have been avoided by doing a bit of research, adjusting your expectations to the ground reality of the (self-)publishing industry and launching your book in a way that improves its chances of success. All parts of the planning stage.
You wouldn’t start a business without researching your chosen market, competitors, and making a business plan, would you? If you intend to make money with your books, then this is also a business, so treat it as such and make a plan.
4. Refuse to let go
Nothing in life is certain. And nothing ever stays the same. The refusal of some people to let go, whether of preconceived notions and expectations, or literally of that first book that’s been sitting on their hard drive, just waiting to be released.
I’ll give you an example of the former, which I have been guilty of myself. Faced with the unfortunate situation of releasing a book that didn’t sell as well as I wanted it to (misplaced expectation), I tried to analyse where I’d gone wrong. The prevailing advice tells us that if a book doesn’t sell, either: the cover, the description, or simply that nobody found it.
Covers are huge. Did I go and change the cover (which I stupidly create myself?) No. I liked my cover, therefore I dismissed this idea out of hand. Stupid mistake. In hindsight, my cover was completely wrong for the book in question. Just because you as the author like something doesn’t mean that readers will.
The second type of refusal to let go is First Book Anxiety which I wrote about in an earlier blog post. Some authors get so wrapped up in trying to make their first book absolutely perfect that they can’t bring themselves to release the thing. It’s an endless cycle of revision after revision and rewrite after rewrite. And the tragic thing is that the book will never be perfect.
Firstly, you learn by doing, so you have to keep writing more books in order to improve. Secondly, revising a book endlessly is likely going to kill its soul and uniqueness. Do yourself a favour and put that first book aside for now while you write a new one. And once you’ve created some distance between the book and your emotions, start the publishing process. You can’t be a published author unless you’ve actually published something.
Keep an open mind and accept feedback from others, within reason. If people are telling you your book isn’t selling because the cover is no good, don’t fight to hold on to it. If you’ve spent years on your first book already, and you’re not feeling like it’s getting any better, consider sharing it with an editor or some beta readers to get feedback. Don’t get stuck in the endless revision cycle.
5. Expect a Magic Button
All of the points I’ve mentioned are big, but this one is huge. Some people get into publishing because they read somewhere that nowadays you can make big bucks publishing some books on Amazon. They see it as a Get Rich Quick scheme, when the ground reality is just the opposite.
Sure, there might be some outliers who seemingly hit the ground running with their very first book. Some self-published authors have even become household names (E.L. James, anyone?). But often times if you look behind the curtain, you’ll find that those super successful authors didn’t just roll out of bed one day and made a million dollars.
Every successful author I’m aware of has been at it for years before they ever saw success. They are disciplined, hard working, smart, and business savvy. They know what their readers want and expect, and do everything in their power to give it to them. They built publishing businesses with so many moving parts, it takes a whole team to run them.
They do not, however, have magic fairy dust which will make any book a bestseller.
Some books sell, some books don’t. There are ways and means of increasing the likelihood of something selling, but nothing is ever certain. There isn’t a checklist you can follow with a great big pot of gold at the end of it. So, don’t even go looking for it. Just write the best book you can, get the best possible cover you can afford, hire a good editor, and do your best at marketing. And when you’re done with all that, do it all over again for your next book. And your next.
A successful writing career is a marathon, not a sprint.