Planning to self-publish your book? Read the blog post to get some essential tips for a successful journey!
Paradise Lost, Gallic Wars, A Christmas Carol, The Celestine Prophecy, Legally Blonde, The Martian – these are some great books from different eras. But, they all have one thing in common. Do you know what that is? Make a guess! No?
They’re all self-published books!
You see – not all self-published books are grammatically challenged, poorly formatted, and unedited drafts of someone’s unfiltered ideas and imaginations. Many of them are great works of literature too!
To self-publish, i.e., launching your book on your terms, is a great option, but only if you know how to go about it. Suppose you don’t want to take the traditional book publishing route. In that case, you need to learn the process to self-publish a book, its intricacies, and the common mistakes people make to ensure your book doesn’t get lost in the deep sea of self-published books.
3 Important Self-Publishing Tips Every Writer Should Follow
The self-publishing industry may not have strict sets of rules or protocols like the traditional book publishing industry. Still, there are several factors you need to be careful about if you want your book to be a success(who doesn’t want that?). Whether you’re going to self-publish an eBook or print book, here are a few essential tips and recommendations to make it stand out:
1. Get Your Book Professionally Edited
The importance of getting your book edited by a professional editor cannot be emphasized enough. It’s common for writers, particularly the new ones, to presume that they can edit their work. Self-editing is a long journey on a rough path – one that most writers fail to complete successfully. Eric T. Benoit, the author of Market Yourself, Market Your Book, aptly explained the struggles of self-editing and why you shouldn’t do it. He said, “Self-editing is the path to the dark side. Self-editing leads to self-delusion, self-delusion leads to missed mistakes, missed mistakes lead to bad reviews. Bad reviews are the tools of the dark side.”
Professional editors have an eye for detail and are trained for the task. They review your work from an objective perspective. A professional editor can see the flaws and gaps in the content, grammatical and structural errors, spelling mistakes, and any other fault you overlook or fail to notice.
Many eBook writing service providers offer exclusive book editing services as well. Contact a reliable eBook writing service to get your manuscript professionally proofread and edited before proceeding with the self-publishing process.
2. Make Sure Your Book Has an Impressive Cover
Unless you’re already a big name, you need to find ways to attract, engage, and convert your audience. After all, why would anyone read a book written by someone they never even heard of?
Let the cover of your book do the job!
A thoughtfully-designed and interesting book cover work as the bait for readers. It can capture their attention, spark their interest, and lure them into buying by inciting their curiosity. The cover of your book is the first thing people will see. As the author, it is your responsibility to make sure it creates a strong first impression.
3. Formulate a Solid Marketing Strategy
Your audience will never know about your book unless you tell them. Spread the word by marketing your book on various platforms where your audience is present. Since you’re going to do everything on your own, we recommend creating a marketing plan for your book at the same time when you start to write it. Also, do not wait to market your book until it is ready to be published. Start promoting your book at least four months before the publication date.
You can also start to take pre-orders about a month in advance if you receive a good response from your target audience. However, if you decide to take pre-orders, make sure your book will be released on the promised date.
Be Realistic and Take Help Wherever Needed!
It’s common for writers taking the self-publishing route for the first time to be super excited and keen on doing everything on their own when they’re just starting. However, things often get overwhelming as they proceed.
Writing, editing, formatting, cover design, and marketing are comprehensive and time-consuming tasks requiring your undivided attention. It’s only natural to get tired and feel overwhelmed. However, this cannot be an excuse for publishing poor-quality work. Instead of putting your dream of becoming a published writer on hold or rushing through the process to get your book out on the market on time, take some help. There’s nothing wrong with it.
Whether you need an experienced eBook writer to review or improve your draft, struggling with editing, lack knowledge or creative ideas for cover design, or not being to market your book effectively, a professional eBook writing service can help you. Publishing a book has always been a joint effort. Several people work together to bring a book into the market. Just because you’re self-publishing doesn’t mean you have to do everything on your own. Do what you are best at and let other professionals do their work to ensure your book’s element is on-point.
Rob Davis is a Sr. Editor at Ghost eBook Writers- a renowned eBook writing service provider, helping aspiring writers achieve their dreams of being a published author. From original and ghostwritten content to eBook cover designs and publishing assistance, they can help you throughout the journey of becoming an author.
Self-publish stock photo by Gustavo Frazao/Shutterstock
