Practical Advice for Self-Published Writers
That’s me receiving the author copies of my latest self-published book—always an exciting moment for any writer!
I’m frequently asked whether I have any advice for self-published authors, especially writers who are just starting out. I’ve been at this for nearly five years now, not that long, but long enough that I no longer consider myself a newbie, and I’ve made my share of mistakes. Hopefully, I’ve learned from them and picked up some practical wisdom along the way. I don’t claim to have all the answers, but here’s some advice I consider worth considering.
Thinking about self-publishing a book but don’t know how to begin? I learned a lot about self-publishing from Jane Friedman. I don’t know her, and she doesn’t know me, but I found her on-line site to be extremely helpful and a great place to introduce yourself to the self-publishing process. Check it out here: https://janefriedman.com/self-publish-your-book/
Covers are important. While it may be true that you can’t judge a book by its cover, an appealing cover nonetheless sells books. A lot of designers are willing to make professional book covers for you, and not all of them are expensive. Take some time to research cover designers and find one that’s right for you. (IMPORTANT NOTE: Avoid anyone who uses AI to make their covers. Ask, and make sure. AI has its applications, but replacing artists shouldn’t be one of them.)
Once you start writing, you’re going to be faced with an almost overwhelming number of writing “rules.” They will be presented to you as absolutes, that is, rules you MUST follow if you expect to be taken seriously as a writer. “Write what you know!” “Show, don’t tell!” “Avoid using exclamation marks, semi-colons, m-dashes, and ellipses!” Blah, blah, blah. My rule of thumb when it comes to so-called “rules for writing” is to treat them as advice rather than rules. Follow them or ignore them as you see fit, even when they come from well-known established writers.
One piece of advice I see frequently is to identify a target audience and write for them. That’s fine, but only if you identify the one target audience that really matters: yourself. You are your target audience, which means you should write the book you want to read. Forget about trying to guess what will resonate with the greatest number of readers. Trends change constantly and are nearly impossible to predict. Instead, write a book that you will enjoy and trust that others will enjoy it, too. Remember: writing to your own tastes is fun, but writing in a vain attempt to please others is toil.
Every writer has their own way of working and their own pace. Don’t let anyone try to saddle you with a daily word count or convince you that everyone must conform to a standard working modality. Many well-meaning people will tell you that you must, without fail, write every single day. That’s terrible advice. If you need a break, take it and come back strong. That said, be persistent. Never quit. If you fall, get back up. Power through. Persistence is far more important to a writer than talent or intelligence. But persistence doesn’t mean working yourself to death or into a coma. It means to keep moving forward, even if the going is slow and includes plenty of rest.
Editing is VITAL! (NOTE: Some writers need to write a very rough first draft to a conclusion before they start editing, and others like to edit as they go. Neither process is more correct than the other. Do what works best for you.) Edit your own work as much as you are able, but then GET SOMEONE ELSE to give it a good going-over. Professional editors are worth their weight in gold, but they tend to be expensive. Maybe you have a talented friend, or a spouse, or a family member who might be willing to edit your work for free (or for something you can afford). Regardless of how you do it, it is essential that you put another set of eyes on your work. No matter how skilled you are, it is extremely difficult for an author to edit their own work. That’s because your brain sees what SHOULD be on the page, rather than what is actually there.
An editing tip: At some point, either read your work out loud, or (better) get someone else to read it aloud while you follow along. Hearing your work read aloud is an excellent way of making improvements to pacing, word choices, clunky sounding language, and a whole host of other easily fixable problems with your work before your book is published. Once your work has been thoroughly edited and is in something close to a finished form (usually referred to as a beta draft), get a few other people to beta-read it. Many talented readers on social media will volunteer their services if you ask them nicely. Don’t publish your book until your beta-readers have provided you with their advice (which you can take or leave according to your best judgment).
When you’ve finished your book and put it on the market, promote it. Marketing a book is hard, and most writers find it to be a disagreeable task. You probably will, too. After all, you’re an artist, not a salesperson, damnit! Nonetheless, people are unlikely to trip over your book by chance. If you want people to find it, you’re going to have to tell them about it. Get on social media and promote your work. Find creative and fun ways to let the world know you’ve written a book they’ll enjoy. Don’t be afraid to strut your stuff. Are you proud of your book? Then you shouldn’t be afraid to show it off.
More about social media: Social media can be a quagmire, but if you do it right it can be a rewarding experience. Don’t simply post to promote your work. Engage with people. Build relationships. Make friends. Block anyone you wouldn’t let into your living room. With few exceptions, other authors are friendly folks who are happy to include you in their community and to help you grow and shine. Let them help you. And, every once in a while, vigorously promote your own work.
What about other forms of marketing? You’re going to need to do some research and do some experimenting. Some people recommend the advertising services provided by Amazon, BookBub, and Facebook. Personally, I have NOT had any success with advertising, but others have. I had some success with a service called Freebooksy (https://www.freebooksy.com/), which offers books for free through a newsletter. I’ve been using Voracious Readers Only (https://voraciousreadersonly.com/) for more than a year. It offers free books to readers who agree to subscribe to the author’s mailing list. It’s definitely worth checking out.
In my experience, the single BEST way to increase your book sales is to write and publish another book in a series. Sales of my books didn’t start to pick up until I’d published the third book in my series, and they increased steadily with the launch of each new book after that.
IMPORTANT NOTE: Once you’ve published your book, you’re going to hear from “professional marketers” offering to market or rate your book for a fee. Almost all of these people are scamming you, and even the more reputable marketers provide little in the way of return for what they charge you. My advice is to reject all of these offers out-of-hand.
Okay, you’ve published your book, promoted it, and people are reading it and reviewing it. At some point, someone is going to give you a bad review. Someone is going to give your precious baby a lowly two stars, or even—gasp!—one star! Someone is going to say something mean about your book. Don’t take it personally. Every writer gets bad reviews. Shakespeare gets bad reviews. Stephen King gets bad reviews. Doctor freakin’ Suess gets bad reviews! It’s part of the business. No one is obligated to like your book, and many people won’t. The good news is that there are more than eight billion people living on this planet, and you only need a tiny fraction of them to buy and enjoy your books in order for you to be successful. Take bad reviews in stride, like a professional. Above all, don’t engage with anyone who gives your book a bad review, no matter how unfair you think they’ve been. It’s a bad look for you and will likely have consequences. I have more advice regarding bad reviews in a previous blog:
Read as much fiction as you can. Be inspired by other writers. Learn from them. But don’t compare your own work to the works of others. Most authors are poor judges of their own work, and they are prone to second-guess their own writing choices, especially after they’ve read a great book written by someone else. Avoid that trap as if it were a pit filled with deadly cobras. Remember: OTHER AUTHORS ARE NOT YOUR COMPETITORS. There’s a lot of readers out there, and they all read lots of books.
Once you’ve published a book, whether it’s published by one of the “Big Five” publishing houses, or an indie press, or if it’s self-published—you’re an author! That means you belong to a community of authors. Most authors are happy to support and promote fellow members of the writing community whose works they have enjoyed. Get to know them and know that they are going to enjoy getting to know you.
One final piece of advice: If you have a passion for writing, then keep writing! Keep writing for the simple joy of writing, and don’t allow anything or anyone to get in your way. Write because you’re a writer, and let it be as simple as that.
Good, sensible stuff, Douglas. Years ago, a friend told me I should write romance. There was (and still is) a huge demand. I didn't have to think about it for long. I absolutely could not write a bodice-ripper, my mind doesn't work that way. I knew without a doubt that it would turn into something else, probably funny, maybe slightly horrific, definitely what "the market" wanted... as if the market ever knew what it wanted!
Another good editing tip is to print out the book, and use a red pen. There’s some evolutionary story about how red makes one more critical (I don’t know—my dissertation advisor told me this and it seems to work).