If you’ve written a book, you can publish it. 

It’s a freeing statement. As an author, it makes you feel like anything is possible! You can put any piece of your imagination out there for the world to see. 

But self-publishing is not an easy journey. In our excitement to “get published,” we often overlook the “self” in “self-publishing.” “Self” means that it’s all on us. We have control over our work, yes, but that also means we’re responsible for every part of it. When you first dive into self-publishing, it’s a natural impulse to skip over the details and dive straight into clicking the “publish” button. 

I know—I’ve been there. And I want to help you avoid the mistakes I made. 

The Tragic Tale of an Over-Eager Indie Author

It’s spring of 2020. I’ve been spending lockdown in the spare bedroom of my boyfriend’s parents’ house. I spend most of the day shut up in the room on my laptop, trying to manage the suddenly booming freelance writing business I started less than a year before. I have a lot of time on my hands. We all do. And so, I think: Why not publish a book? 

I didn’t have a purpose in publishing other than to do something with the heaps of stories I’d written over the years that were scattered around in notebooks and files. I figured it would be easy; all I had to do was compile the stories into an anthology. So, I did. And by June, there it was: The Drabbles of a Dreamer. 

Don’t get me wrong; it felt amazing to get my works out there. But I realised too late that just “getting it out there” wasn’t my ultimate goal. And now, several years later, I’m having to backtrack and rework all of my published books—something I could have avoided by doing it right in the first place. 

Clear Goals Are Key to Self-Publishing

Before you run off with your shiny new book, consider why you’re publishing. What are your long-term goals? If I would have stopped to think about it, I would have realised that my goal was, and always had been, to become a full-time author. But to do that, I needed to make money off my books. . . which meant paying close attention to several key aspects of self-publishing that I overlooked. 

Your goal can simply be to publish something, and that’s completely fine! But many people get into self-publishing to make a profit off of their books—and make a difference in the world, hopefully—but they don’t realise there’s a step-by-step process to get there. Publishing and hoping for the best just doesn’t work. 

And that’s why executing these following aspects is essential for a successful self-published book.

Formatting Matters 

When I self-published, I learned how to work Amazon KDP. . . and pretty much nothing else. I used Kindle Create to format my books because I wasn’t sure how else to do it and it was the fastest and cheapest way. But Kindle Create is so limited that it offers only a few outdated formatting styles with no customisation whatsoever. At the time, I didn’t think it mattered.

But formatting does matter. If you want people to buy your self-published book, you need to make it look professional—as professional as a book put together by people who are experts in design. This means you should pay a pro to do it for you, meticulously set up your formatting in your word processor of choice, or look into formatting software.

Formatting can be the difference between an amateur and professional book; don’t skip out on it! 

The Cover Matters 

Since I was trying to publish my first book without spending a dime, I made the cover myself. I’m decent at design, and with a handy picture from Pexels, the cover turned out pretty good. But it’s not the right cover. 

When creating ideas for cover art, you have to research your genre. See what the covers of bestselling books look like in your genre. My cover might be cool, but it doesn’t attract the right readers. 

You can take a shot at designing your own cover, but unless you really know what you’re doing, it’s best to pay someone to do it. Fiverr can help you out a lot there! And don’t forget to put in the research first. 

Marketplace Matters 

Just because KDP Select gives you a higher royalty rate doesn’t mean that it’s the best option. KDP Select is an option that allows Amazon to add your ebook to Kindle Unlimited, making your book free to Kindle Unlimited subscribers (although you still get paid based on pages read). You get better royalties overall, too. But it means that you can only sell your ebook on Amazon. 

To me, it seemed like a good idea. Pretty much everyone shops on Amazon anyway, right? But I’ve since realised that by selling my book solely on Amazon, I excluded millions of potential customers. What about Barnes and Noble, Kobo, and Apple Books? What about international customers who don’t have easy access to Amazon?

You might earn less royalties on Amazon, but it pays better overall to spread your book’s reach as wide as possible by publishing in different marketplaces. 

Marketing Matters 

Don’t make the mistake I did in thinking that a good book will sell itself. Sadly, it will not. Marketing is still not my forte, but I know now that I need to put a lot more effort into it to get my books in front of people. This will cost money, but you’ll be making more money because of it!

Do your research and don’t shirk marketing. Hire a marketing expert to help you, launch strategic ads, and make a plan for your book to get out into the world. It’s the only way it will sell. 

Make Your Own Mistakes 

While I wholeheartedly support self-publishing over traditional these days, it’s important to know what you’re getting into. These are some of the most crucial elements to ensure you self-publish successfully. Above all, do your research! It’s tempting to skip ahead, but just take your time. You’ll thank yourself later.

Got questions about self-publishing? Want to share your publishing journey? I’d love to hear about it in the comments!

Happy writing!
—E.J.

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Photo by Brando Makes Branding on Unsplash