Posted: February 20, 2024
Being new in the world of self-publishing can be disorienting, difficult and stressful. Here are ten tips that can help you figure out where you fit in the grand scheme.
As a self-publishing hopeful, you probably don’t have a lot of money to throw around to hire people to help you out with your book, but still, going to professionals is the best advice I can give you.
Getting your cover professionally done, the interior professionally formatted, and your story professionally edited will separate you from all of the wannabes out there. It will ensure that your readers feel like they’ve gotten their money’s worth. No one wants to pick up a book that looks cobbled together or read a story that’s riddled with errors.
Even popular traditionally published books, written by famous authors and designed and edited by professionals in the field, may have a typo or two that have slipped by. The goal is not to be perfect, but to be as correct as possible.
Marketing is never a fun side to self-publishing, but if you want your book to do well, you need to know what you’re doing. It’s never too early to start thinking about how you’re going to sell your book. There are so many book promotion scammers out there that will promise you mountains of sales, but in reality, if you have the patience, you can give yourself the know-how to make decent sales yourself.
A good book may sell a few copies and grow due to word of mouth, but for any book to get discovered, it needs to be sent out into the world first. It’s like fishing. You cast out your line, and you may not always get a bite, and you may not always land a fish, but it’s better than just standing on the shore staring at the river and hope a fish will jump out into your bucket.
[Related Article: Free Promo—Strategies to Promote Your Book]
You can make some pretty decent sales using free marketing strategies like in the article above, but the phrase “spend money to make money” comes into effect here. The problem is, unless you’re an expert in marketing (or at least have a fair idea what you’re doing) your money may be wasted on ineffective ads. Be frugal with your money when it comes to advertising! Be smart. Do your research. Set up a marketing plan and follow the steps accordingly.
That being said, your book may not be popular right away. If you’ve gone to professionals as advised, you’ll not likely make a profit on the first book. If your book does well, you may break even with the second. A popular third book may start yielding profits. Proper self-publishing is not a lucrative business plan. It’s for authors who need to get their story out into the world with full control and want to do it right.
That is why you need to be patient. Keep up with marketing and promoting your book to your audience, interacting with returning fans and potential readers.
This process will be quicker if your book has a big launch and a lot of reviews right away. Setting up a launch team is a great strategy, though it’s difficult for new writers to assemble a good team for their first book. Returning fans will be thrilled for subsequent books, so you’ll struggle the most with your first.
[Related Article: What is a Book Launch?]
For some authors, their book is all they can talk about. They don’t struggle with this. For others, they clam up the moment someone asks about their book, or they feel like no one wants to hear about it.
It’s not true. People do want to hear about it. But what to say?
Anything and everything. Updates on your progress. Snags you came across. Activities you’re doing while you write. Sneak peeks at the story. Your personal writing process. Build up your cover reveal. Share what you’ve learned. You can join at least one writing group, online or in person, and chat about some helpful advice one of your peer reviewers has given you. The possibilities are limitless; you just need to work up the courage to share.
Not only online, but in bookstores too. Most local used bookstores will have a section for local authors; it never hurts to ask if they’ll display yours on their shelves. Head to your local library and schools (if kid-friendly) as well; maybe donate a book for their shelves. If your local news station displays books (like mine does) during a segment, see if you can get yours up there.
Always a win. Everyone around you is on the same journey, some further along than others. If you have a question, don’t be afraid to send it out into the sphere to get some answers; it’s likely someone else is wondering the same.
Beyond advice, also support other authors. Buy and review their book. Share your favourites. If you have the time and interest, volunteer to beta read for others and they’ll more than likely return the favour. Not only will you be giving back to the community, but you will be building useful rapport with the authors around you.
As a writer, you may have the urge to hide away like a hermit and just do writing, but if you don’t connect with others, you have very little hope for selling your books—assuming that’s your goal. Online communities, local communities, and more are vital to being well-known. Bestselling authors also do this by going on book tours, hosting events for fans, and communicating with them regularly online.
Doing the same may not be easy. If you struggle speaking in front of a crowd, that’s something that you’ll have to fight through. Start small. Share progress updates, tidbits from your book, and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Connect with people who read and write in your genre.
Attending local and out-of-town writing/book events is an excellent way to establish yourself in the physical community. While it’s all well and good to get into the online communities and groups, face-to-face events help you connect to a whole new pool of potential fans. It also allows you to connect with them on a personal level that can’t be achieved online.
If you struggle speaking to large groups, start with smaller groups. Don’t want to have a table at an event? Attend as a customer to get to know your fellow local authors. Maybe next year you’ll have a table. Maybe the year after that you’ll do a reading. Who knows? Always be pushing the limits.
Not only about the process of writing a book or the steps of self-publishing, but being aware of the scammers out there looking to make a quick buck. Now more than ever, you need to be wary of AI-generated content, of “book promotion” scammers who invade your DMs, and of uncredited editors who promise results but in reality just run your work through editing software and call it done.
[Related Article: Navigating the World of Self-Publishing]
If you want to self-publish your book but you don’t have a lot of money to throw around, you need to instead put in the time. Research the kind of editing your book needs, and spend some time looking for the right editor for the job. There will always be decisions that you make that you’ll regret later, but don’t make those decisions because you were uninformed.
Self-publishing in general is a world of firsts. It’s probably your first time writing a book with the intention of publishing. It’s probably the first time you’ve looked for beta readers, for professional editors and designers. It’s probably even your first time considering: how will my book sell?
The thing to remember is not to be intimidated by these firsts, but to be open to them. Be open to learning new things. It’s likely you’ll make mistakes. Everyone does. Don’t be discouraged if your first book doesn’t do as well as you’d hoped. Keep at it, and don’t give up.
On that note, even if you don’t need to do something, try it anyway. If you want to run an ad and you have the cash for it, make it an experiment. Run an A/B test to see which garners more results. How many views turn to clicks? How many of those clicks actually turn to sales? Everything you do is a new learning experience.
If you’ve never looked for ARC readers before, try it. Try looking in new places for readers too. If you’re not well-versed in social media, try it out. Get onto new platforms and see where your readers are. Try to build a steady fanbase and start interacting with them. If you struggle with posting consistently, try setting up a schedule with ideas of things to post.
Most importantly, always be eager to learn.
Navigating the World of Self-Publishing
10 Tips for Efficient Editing
What is a Book Launch?
Tigerpetal Press is a small book press dedicated to publishing local authors and poets.