As a first time self-published author, you want to avoid making as many costly
mistakes as possible. Based on research and over two years of publishing
experience, I’d like to share some of the mistakes that I’ve made and show you
how to avoid making them. Please proceed with caution.
1) Publishing books with unattractive covers and spending too much money on
them. Hire someone to design an attractive front book cover. Or you can save
money by developing the book cover drafts yourself. Simply download
royalty-free pictures and add your own text.
2) They print their book in large quantities because it’s the most economical
value. With print-on-demand (POD) printers, you no longer have to print large
quantities of books to receive a good return on your investment. You can print
as few or as many as you need at one time.
3) They pay large amounts for website development and maintenance. Find a web
hosting company, download a template, upload your book information, and
maintain the site yourself for a low monthly or yearly fee. Most of these
companies provide 24/7 customer support.
4) They work without an action plan or any means of accountability. Writing may
be your passion, but publishing is a business. Therefore, you have to develop a
business plan to follow and show accountability for your funds.
5) Not testing their cover design or the titles before publishing. The key to
avoiding this mistake is developing more than one book cover draft and testing
them on potential buyers. You can also develop more than one title and test
them too.
6) They wait until the book is published before they start marketing it. Start
marketing your book the first day that you start writing it. Tell everyone that
you know and/or meet about your new project.
7) Pricing the book too high or too low based on the market. Be sure to
research the price of other books on the market that are similar to yours and
price your book accordingly.
8) Not identifying their target market for the publication. The first rule of
publishing is to know your target market and how to reach them. Where do they
live and shop? How will they learn about your book?
9) Not pre-selling copies of their book or taking pre-orders. You can set-up
your website to take credit cards and start taking pre-orders months before the
book is ever printed.
10) They rely solely on one marketing model to sell their book. Develop several
marketing strategies before your book is published. Communicate with other
authors to find out what has and hasn’t worked for them.
11) Writing books they think people should read instead of what the market
demands. The publishing business is also a matter of supply and demand. You may
enjoy writing fiction, but a non-fiction project that serves a desire or need,
will be more profitable.
12) Paying for expensive advertising, marketing/promotional ideas. Marketing
doesn’t have to be an expensive venture. Look for strategies that will provide
you with free publicity such as library workshops and radio interviews.
13) They write the book without developing a timeline for completion. Once you
start writing your book, set some realistic goals for completing it and stick
to it. Don’t let down your target market after you’ve announced the book to
them.
14) Not having a reader’s or audience database. You can start developing a
reader’s database as soon as you start working on your book by contacting local
book club members and attending library events.
15) Not being open to the editing or revising process. Find an editor that you
feel comfortable with and trust. This will make it easier to accept criticism
and make recommended revisions.
16) They miss deadlines for writing and publishing. It’s very important to the
success of your writing career that you meet the realistic deadlines that
you’ve already set. Once you set a book release date, readers will be expecting
the book at that time.
17) They don’t read enough from the competition. Make sure you know what the
competition has to offer and be able to explain how your book is different. You
want your project to stand out from every other book on your chosen subject.
18) They waste time trying to make the copy perfect the first time. Focus on
completing the manuscript and getting it to the editor instead of trying to
make sure that it’s perfect. You’ll have plenty of time to go back and make
revisions later.
19) Not being able to verbalize the content of your book in a concise manner.
You should be able to summarize you entire manuscript in a few sentences upon
request. Most readers want to know what the heart of the book is about in
one-minute or less.
20) They don’t join writer’s group or read writer’s magazines, or attend
conferences. Joining a writer’s group is a way to learn from other authors or
aspiring authors. Reading Writer’s Digest each month will provide you with
valuable information and attending conferences will give you an opportunity to
meet major publishers and agents. 21) They rely solely on bookstores to sell
their books to make a profit. According to the Publisher’s Marketing
Association, approximately 52 percent of published books are not sold in
bookstores. This means that you must find more creative ways of selling your
product.
22) They concentrate too much on sales and not enough on publicity. Of course,
your publishing goal is to make money, but some events should just be about
publicity and then the money will follow.
23) They don’t reinvest money back into their book business. This is a valuable
lesson to learn. If you spend all your profits on personal expenses, it’s
impossible to keep producing books to keep your business growing.
About the Author:
Barbara Joe-Williams is a freelance author and an independent publisher living
in Tallahassee, Florida. She has written three romance novels and a non-fiction
e-book titled “A Writer’s Guide to Self-Publishing & Marketing.” As the
sole owner of Amani Publishing, she has published
non-fiction books for other aspiring authors. In addition, she has composed an
anthology featuring eighteen multicultural authors to be released in February
2007 titled “How I Met My Sweetheart.” For more information about this
author/publisher, please visit her website.
