The Self-Publishing Mistakes I Made That You Can Avoid
When it comes to self-publishing mistakes – or, more accurately, my self-publishing mistakes – I’m not even sure where to start.
If I sat here and listed every single thing I’ve done wrong on this indie author journey, well, you’d be reading this well into next week and I’m still not sure we’d be done!
Okay, maybe that’s an exaggeration. Just a little bit.
But the point is I’ve made a lot of mistakes. Have they hampered me, a few years on from publishing my first book? Have I learned my lesson(s)?
Honestly, for the first question, probably. Some more than others, certainly, but not to the point they stopped me. As for the second question…well, I want to say yes. And I hope I actually have, but I know I’ve repeated mistakes and I’ve really got not excuse other than hope, laziness, or naivety.
So, why am I writing this? I thought it might be helpful to go through the self-publishing mistakes I made, why I made them, and what I’d do differently now (or next time). The plan is to not make mistakes next time – or at the very least, make different mistakes ha.
And maybe you can learn from the dumb things I did and do better than me (whether you’re getting ready to publish your first book or your tenth). To help with this, I include a key lesson at the end of each point, bolded for emphasis.
TL;dr, I made a lot of mistakes along the way. Some stupid, others less so. I’m probably going to make more as I continue this journey, but, hopefully, they won’t be the same mistakes.
Now, if you want to find out what those mistakes were so you can avoid making them yourself, read on.
A word of warning, though. This will take a fair while. Go make a brew, grab a biscuit (or five, maybe ten), and get comfortable.
Ready? Cool. Let’s get stuck in.
Mistakes Made Writing the Book
I figured it was a good idea to break things down a bit, you know, to give this long list of common self-publishing mistakes a bit more structure – and a chance for you to find what’s most relevant to your situation.
And I’m pretty sure they are common mistakes. I have no survey or data to rely on, but when I talk about these things with people in the writing community, a lot of people can relate to one, some, or all of this list.
Validation. Yeah.
Anyway. First up are the mistakes made when writing the book. Remember, these are from my experiences – you may not agree, or you may have slightly different approaches, but the fundamental behind them will be similar.
What’s this got to do with mistakes in self-publishing you ask? With writing the book, you have nothing to publish. You’ve got to start somewhere, after all.
Not Planning Ahead
I’m not sure I can quite call this one a mistake. Looking back now, it definitely feels like a mistake, but it was also the natural evolution of the story.
I had always planned for Reality Check (my first novel) to be a standalone story. That’s how I went into it. I’m definitely more of a plotter than a pantser. I like to plan out my world, characters, arcs, and chapters before writing the first draft. Sure, things change over time, but it gives me something to work with and towards.
It was towards the end of writing Reality Check that I realised there was more to tell. I could wrap it up in one, but there was so much more to explore and tell in the story. That meant some hefty rewrites as I worked out exactly how long the series would be and what needed to be included at each point.
It might not be a big one, but it’s one of the more common self-publishing mistakes I’ve come across.
Even if you’re not a big plotter/planner, working out the broad strokes of your story or series can help you avoid some big rewrites later.
Using Outdated Notes and Details
I had a sporadic approach to everything related to the Weight of the World series outside of the book documents themselves. This made it harder than it had to be to check details as time went on. Sometimes, details changed because I forgot and other times because I realised something worked better.
When I made a change, I didn’t update my notes! Partly it was because I couldn’t remember or find where the right information was, but I also forgot some of the time ha.
It came to a head when working with an editor and they made me a style sheet that included a lot of these details. I had to fix so, so many inconsistencies it was unreal. I needed a solution.
Now, I make a codex for each book or series. It contains important details for the story, such as characters, locations, events, and more. When I make a change in the story, I update the codex. It adds a little time there and then, but it saves me more time later and I’m looking for inconsistencies.
Find a way to keep your details together in an easily accessible place – and update it when you need to make changes.
Overthinking Every Little Thing
One of my many self-publishing mistakes was overthinking everything. I do this a lot in life anyway, and it’s held me back more than a few times.
The most obvious example was wondering if what I’d made was good enough. Would anyone like it? Would anyone buy it? Of course not, I told myself, but if you take another pass at it, you might feel better about it.
Of course, after that redraft, I’d face the same questions and come up with the same answers.
Are my books perfect? Not a chance in hell. Are they enjoyable? I think so. The responses I know about are mostly positive. I can’t say I’ll ever get over this, but I’ve decided to do my best and try and do better next time. So far, that’s working for me.
This overthinking meant my first book took SIX years from writing to publishing. There were other factors, yes, but this was a big one.
Overthinking can trap you in a vicious cycle. Figure out when to break free and move on to your next project.
Finding Excuses to Delay
Beyond the overthinking, there’s finding other reasons not to self-publish, such as:
- Not knowing which platforms to choose
- Not knowing how to format your book
- Struggling with the cover
- Coming up with a good blurb
- And the list goes on.
That list can be huge, and it’s not easy to know where to start. My advice is to tackle each thing one step at a time. You don’t need to do everything at once. Research what you can, act on it, and park it while moving on to the next step. Once you’ve got everything, even if it takes six months longer, you’ll run out of excuses.
Tackle each excuse to delay one at a time to avoid being overwhelmed.
Mistakes Made Publishing the Book
If you think about it, on one level, self-publishing is simple: take your book, pick a platform, and go.
What’s so hard about that, right? What on earth could you do to screw that up?
Well, I’m here to tell you that people do mess it up (and I’m one of them). Not only did I mess it up the first time, I messed it up a different way the second time – and then made different mistakes the third time!
I’m not even kidding. You should have seen me. It was a mouth hanging open moment when I realised what pattern I’d set for myself. Here’s to hoping that fourth time is the charm and the publishing stage of self-publishing mistakes are behind me.
Not Having a Publishing Strategy
I’m definitely guilty of not having a publishing strategy ready for my first book and series.
I didn’t know where to publish my books, what schemes were available, the restrictions on those initiatives, and all the rest. I started with Amazon and went from there. Then I pulled from the rest to go with Kindle Unlimited (with the ebooks).
I could have distributed the paperbacks further, but didn’t. I didn’t think ahead. I just wanted to get it on sale somewhere. Anywhere.
Sure, Amazon is a big name in self-publishing, but one of the biggest self-publishing mistakes you can make is to choose it without at least looking at your options. Are readers in the country you’re marketing to using something else? Does your genre do better elsewhere? Dig into what readers are saying and find out where they’re buying.
It may still be Amazon, but with some genres and books, the choice could be less clear.
Have an idea of what your publishing strategy will be. Choose your platform(s) and plan your marketing efforts around that decision.
Not Researching Sizes and File Types Enough
When I self-published my first books, almost every publishing platform had different requirements.
Ebooks had to be the specified file type – although now most use epub files – and it was even worse with print books. Each platform had different size requirements even if the print size would be the same in the end.
I, naively or stupidly (your choice), assumed there was a standard for this across the board.
Once I started looking at other platforms, I had to get my book files ready for it. If you do this yourself, it’s more time to invest, but if you pay someone, that’s an extra cost.
If you do the research to find out who wants what, and get your publishing strategy together, you can find out what you need early and budget for any costs.
Know the requirements of each publish platform for ebook and print files in advance.
Avoiding Last-Minute Changes
There is always something wrong.
This is an undeniable fact about the book creation and self-publishing processes in my mind. No matter how many times you look through your book files, or how many people are in your team, something will be missed. It could be a harmless typo, but it could also be the wrong name (spoiling a mystery or ruining the immersion). Maybe you put the wrong date in the publishing process, or uploaded the wrong file.
The goal is to eliminate all mistakes beforehand, but I’ve had to make some last-minute changes on all of my books so far. It’s stressful but you can address them all. Sometimes you can fix as you go, but others need a little more work.
While making last-minute changes is a pain, it can be worth it to provide the best reader experience. Mistakes in self-publishing happen. Accept it, take a breath, then decide what to do. Whether now or later, you can fix them.
Minimise last-minute changes where you can, but keep a list of what changes to make when an update is needed.
Mistakes Made Marketing the Book
I could end this list now.
I’ve listed the mistakes I made self-publishing my books, as well as what I did wrong leading up to that point. However, most of my mistakes after the book was published – and having your book published isn’t the end of the journey.
My biggest self-publishing mistakes – and most numerous – came during the marketing stage. Unfortunately, this is the longest stage as it never ends (unless you unpublish the book, I guess).
On its own, self-publishing is the act of publishing your book, but self-publishing as a process also covers what happens once you’ve clicked submit. So, in the interest of transparency (and accountability), here are even more self-publishing mistakes for you to chew on.
Not Planning an Actual Book Launch
Is a book launch essential to success? Some say yes, others say no, but I don’t think it can hurt to plan out exactly what you’re planning to do and when.
Publishing a book is exciting. You’re going to feel all of the emotions, but that whirlwind can make it easy to forget what you want to do and when.
I posted to social media and my small email group of email subscribers…and that’s it. That’s it for a lot of indie authors, but there’s a lot more that could be done. Given how the algorithms work, it might have helped me get a little more traction.
Planning out my social media posts – and having a few of them ready – along with when I want to post and how often could help. Looking for bloggers, reviewers, and even other indie authors to help me spread the word all would have helped. That doesn’t have to cost anything and would have given me a bit more reach outside of my own audience.
Plan your book launch (messaging, content, platforms, and collaborators) to maximise the event of your book being published.
Ignoring ARCs
Getting reviews for your books is hard. Just because someone reads them doesn’t mean they’ll leave a review. That’s where ARCs come in.
ARCs, or advance reader copy, are sent out before publishing to readers who will leave a review. You can’t guarantee what kind of review you’ll get (nor should you try and fix this in your favour) and you can’t make people leave a review for the chance to read your book early or for free, but even a handful of reviews at the start can help convince readers to give your book a shot.
I didn’t really get this when I self-published my first book, making it one of my biggest self-publishing mistakes. It took a lot of work to get my first reviews and this is something I already have plans to address in the future.
There are services you can use to help with ARC distribution, or you can do it all manually and build a list yourself. Whichever way you go, give yourself plenty of time for people to read and agree where and when the reviews should be published.
If you plan to distribute ARCs, do so early and be clear about the agreement you’re making with recipients (but remember you can’t force them to do anything).
Bad Pricing
Where to even begin with this. I had no idea what to price my books, and I started by trying to undercut others in my genre in the hopes this would make people take a chance on my story.
But here’s the thing; there’s a whole psychology and strategy to book pricing (which I’ll go into more detail on in a dedicated post) and just being cheap doesn’t mean you’ll get sales.
Discounts or cheap entries to a series are a different approach, and both can work, but my cheap approach didn’t pay off – literally. I did a lot of research and found a balance that worked for me.
I was definitely worried about being too expensive but I found no drop off in sales once the prices went up. In some cases, that move may have helped.
I’m not a believer in advance discounting for pre-orders, but I know that’s a strategy some indie authors take. Again, it can work, but you’ll take a hit in royalties. If you can sell enough, it might not be so noticeable.
Research and set prices that are fair for your book – and then be consistent with them.
Everything Social Media
I’ll be honest with you; I’m not the biggest fan of social media.
I don’t want to spend the time on it to get the momentum and engagement that I want. I end up resorting to the same old approach of “hey, here’s my books” – and that’s not enough. The problem? I didn’t learn. Even now, years after self-publish my first book, it’s still my default social media post.
Every so often, I try to come up with new ideas but dedicating the time to doing so, and finding the energy to keep it up, is hard for me. Maybe one day something will click for me and I’ll understand social media better as well as knowing what to do.
I think the biggest lesson here is remembering my book isn’t the only thing I have to offer. The clue is in the name, but be social. Engage with others, respect the sharing posts, and contribute to discussions beyond plugging your book.
Understand how social works and what people want from the platform when developing your content.
Relying on the “Publish and People Will Read” Approach
No one wants to admit this, but every writer who has published a book has thought, even for just a moment, that now it’s out there the work is done. Now the book is published, readers will find it and enjoy it.
I’m no different.
And while I didn’t sit back and do nothing, there were moments where I hoped it would happen. Of course, it didn’t.
There are so many books out there that people have plenty of choice. Your job, once you’ve self-published, is to make them choose your book. That means finding the selling points, the tropes, the themes, the hooks – whatever you can do to convince people your book is worth their time and money.
I struggled with this – not because my book is unmarketable, but because I overthought everything (see the earlier section). The end result? I had times of sitting back and waiting for people to do the work for me. It didn’t happen and sales dropped. Only by putting the work in to find new readers did sales pick up again.
Put in the work to find readers or no one will read your book.
Not Setting a Budget
Contentious, I know, but hear me out first.
I’m not saying you have to set a budget, but I am saying not setting one definitely tied my hands a little. It doesn’t have to be a big budget, either. £5 a month to spend on a boosted post could have increased my reach – and when tied to a promotion, competition, or event, could have helped build some momentum. Buying character art and merch should also be budgeted for.
Simply put, track what you spend and don’t just throw money at something without a plan. If self-publishing is something you want to do long-term and you want to make money from your books, you’ll need to track what you spend and what kind of return you get – start treating it a bit like a business (because, in essence, that’s what you’re making it).
I didn’t do this. I spent on ads without tracking. Sometimes it was effective, others not. Then my situation changed and I couldn’t afford character art even though I wanted it. A budget I could stick to would have given me a bit more structure, even if it had to change for various reasons.
Again, you don’t need to set a budget (I know not everyone can), but if you can and do, be responsible with it.
Set a budget and stick to it, whether it’s for art, ads, merch, or something else.
Being Too Impatient
One of the more common self-publishing mistakes I see, and one I’ve been guilty of myself many times, is getting impatient.
I want to sell books. I want to reach the top of my genre list. I want to grow my newsletter list. And I want to do it all now.
The problem is, so does everyone else!
Everyone’s self-publishing journey is different, and you may see on social media people posting about their successes and milestones. Someone selling 100 books in a week will instantly make you want the same (and then 200, 500 etc) but they may have released their 10th book to your first – making it unrealistic to compare yourself to them.
Except I did. A lot. It was frustrating, and made me question why I’m doing this. Then I see someone psyched to sell one book a month and I realised I was once there. It doesn’t make them bad, just at a different stage of their indie author journey.
It still stings at times, seeing the great successes of others, but I try to celebrate with them now instead of moping. After all, what does moping get me?
Remember to take a breather every so often. Reflect on what you’ve achieved when things slow down to keep motivated.
Did I Do Anything Right When Publishing My Books?
Thinking about it now, this is a really humbling list. I’ve basically shared with you all that I had no idea what I was doing (maybe I still don’t know what I’m doing ha).
Self-publishing isn’t a one-and-done for me. I have many more books in the works – with more than that in my head still to put the page – so the sooner I learn from what I did wrong and improve, the better my future books will go.
At least I’m not alone in making some of these common self-publishing mistakes. Misery loves company after all!
That all said, it wasn’t a complete disaster. I got some things wrong, sure, but I was prepared for other things that happened and took them in my stride. In the interest of balance (and to massage my bruised ego), here are a few things I did get right.
Working with an Editor who ‘Got’ Me
Once upon a time, I thought I could write a great book on my own – and I did, until I realised I needed an extra set of eyes trained to look for things I kept missing.
That’s where an editor comes in. My books may not be perfect but they’re pretty good (if I do say so) and the only reason they’re as good as they are is because I started working with an editor that I know has the experience in the genres I write in and who works well with me (if you want to know more, you can visit Rachel’s website).
From timelines to feedback to services offered, everything fit so well for me and that made the editing and revision process easier. It’s never easy facing up to the shortcomings in your story but you have to if you want to make it better – and that’s what a good editor will help you do.
Editors charge different prices based on their skills and experience, so finding one you can afford is usually possible – and I’d definitely recommend it. I know it’s a cost, sometimes a big one, but the end result can make a huge difference to your book.
Take your time to find an editor you work well with – and is within your budget.
Being Realistic with Timeframes
Especially with my first book, I wanted to give myself plenty of time between each step of the self-publishing process. I wanted time to overthink (as I tend to do) and make sure I could prepare for each stage well in advance.
With each book having various drafts, time spent on edits and revisions, proofing, cover design, and more to complete, I built in buffers for each stage. If I got things done early, great. I could take a break or start the next stage early – or work on something different to clear my mind.
With book two, I was able to reduce the buffer – and again for book three. Each book let me refine the process and timeframe. Life can always throw a spanner in the works, though, so building in extra time was one of my better ideas.
Set realistic deadlines by building in buffers for things that may go wrong or set you back.
Preparing for Costs
You can self-publish a book without spending any money, and plenty of indie authors do so.
That said, working with an editor costs money. Working with a book cover designer was another cost. Each part of the process done by someone else can bring a cost. I could learn all of it but I know where my skills and strengths lie. While I do want to learn more and do more parts myself, I want my books to be the best they can be in all aspects – and that means finding people who can do things I can’t.
Knowing this let me set expectations. I wanted to have the money behind me to cover the different services I knew would be included. I spoke to different people to find out what kind of costs I’d face and was able to build that amount up over time.
Again, I know not everyone is in a position to do that, but if you are, know that doing so really helped me.
Research what costs may arise and budget for them – or find alternatives if you need to.
Leaning on friends and Other Indie Authors
Writing a book isn’t the most social challenge. A lot of people write on their own in whatever time they have, wherever they have a chance to do so. It’s so, so easy to fall into the world you’re creating and feel a bit cut off from other people.
I made sure to confide in my friends, even if they weren’t too interested in my writing journey, but I also talked a lot to other writers. We were able to talk about our highs and lows, bounce ideas off each other, keep us all focused. They knew. They understood. It helped immensely.
I’ve been a part of writing groups over the years, too, and while some were really good fun, they didn’t give me what I wanted versus smaller groups or chats.
Without those people, I’m not sure I’d have made it through getting my first series published.
Writing can feel very isolated. Find people you can confide in, who can keep your spirits high when needed.
Listening to Feedback
No writer is perfect. We always have more to learn and ways to improve. What readers want change with each year, and if our books reflect that they will be more likely to resonate. That can make a big difference.
When feedback comes, whether from reviewers, editors, friends, writers, strangers – whoever – you should listen.
I was eager to hear people’s thoughts. I didn’t agree with everything people said, which is fine, but some things I did and I took note of that and made sure to remember those words when working on my next books.
Even when I don’t agree with the feedback, I don’t throw it back in the person’s face. They’ve been respectful enough to be honest with me and I appreciate that. Sometimes it’s because they’re not my ideal audience, or they wanted something different from the story, but I thank them without turning it into an argument.
They gave me a chance. That’s what matters, and it always means a lot.
Use feedback to improve your writing where it makes sense.
Not Criticising Reviewers
Following on from above, and I can’t believe I actually have to say this, but its important to be respectful with reviewers.
Even if the review isn’t a glowing 5*, that doesn’t give me the right to give them grief. They read the book and provided an honest opinion. Yes, low scores hurt, but those reviews can be detailed and tell people what’s involved in the story. That can help the people who will love the book find it.
I’ve made a point to thank people when I know they’ve left a review of my book. They’re so hard to get in the first place and most will have something positive or constructive to say. If it doesn’t, I’ll ignore it.
Don’t criticise reviewers if they don’t like your book. Someone else will and that review will help you find your readers.
Don’t Worry About Mistakes in Self-Publishing
Find me an indie author who hasn’t made self-publishing mistakes and I’ll show you a horse with a fake horn glued to its head.
Okay, okay. I admit there could be a few people out there who make no mistakes at all during self-publishing. Anything is possible, I guess, but I’m sceptical. If those people exist, share your magic with me. It’d make my life so much easier, ta.
Seriously, though. Mistakes are a part of life. They’re one of the best teachers we have. Some of the most important and valuable lessons have come from mistakes (and as an overthinker, you can be damned sure I have thought through each and every possibility that led to the mistake {multiple times} before, finally, facing the mistake itself.
Don’t get me wrong. I don’t look to make mistakes to learn. There are other, less embarrassing and cringe-worthy, ways to learn, but when they do happen, I’m glad I can learn from them.
Sometimes, though, no matter how much you research, plan, and think about doing something, you’ll screw it up. You can see from the list above there are plenty of ways to make mistakes in self-publishing – and this isn’t even a comprehensive list, it’s just my list – but very rarely will there be nothing you can do about it.
Take a breath and look at the problem again. IF that doesn’t work, go and put the kettle on and then look at it again.
I promise you; you got this.