How -NOT- To Publish Your Own Book: 5 Of The Most-Common Mistakes
There are many pitfalls and problems associated with becoming a self-published author, so as a service to all would be self-publishers, we present this concise list of things that you should not do, as you seek to publish your own book. 1. Perhaps the greatest mistake that anyone can make in trying to publish their own book is to fail to investigate a self-publishing printing or distribution firm thoroughly. Remember that if you choose to publish your own book via self-publishing, you as the author will bear 100% of the cost, and consequently 100% of the risk, associated with the production of your book. Unfortunately, there are unscrupulous companies out there who are more than willing to take you for everything they can get, so make sure you research your publishing partner (for that's what they are, in essence) thoroughly before selecting them. 2. The second most popular route to failure in self-publishing is the failure to create a book that is sellable. Don't blame your publishing partner if the sales of your book are low -- if you have decided to write on a subject which is of little interest. Before you publish your own book, do a little checking around: if you don't find that anyone else has written on this subject or topic, perhaps it's because most people find that subject uninteresting! If so, then after you have published your own book you will find it next to impossible to get people to buy it. 3. A third reason why many people fail in a self-publishing effort is due to their failure to develop a comprehensive marketing plan for their book. Publishing your own book is one thing, getting them sold -- getting them into the hands of your readers (or potential readers) -- is another matter altogether. What will you do to market your own book? Do you even know how to market a book? If you have no information, or no background in this area, and are unwilling to learn, then perhaps self-publishing is not for you. 4. Another big reason why many self-published books fail to sell is because they have not been adequately edited or proofread. If you wish to be successful in publishing your own book then you must make sure that your manuscript is comprehensively edited and proofread. As well, once your self-published book has actually been typeset, but before it has been printed, the book should be comprehensively proofread again in order to ensure that mistakes were not made during this typesetting and layout process. 5. One final reason why many people who publish their own books fail in this effort is due to a lack of finances. You will need adequate finances -- not only to get your book edited and proofread, typeset, and printed and bound -- you will also need money to buy additional copies of your own book to give to reviewers, to buy postage and mailers to send out promotional and review copies, and perhaps even for travel expenses -- to go to book fairs and to author book signings. These post-publication expenses can easily add hundreds of dollars to the final cost of publishing your own book. |
