Self-Publishing Pitfalls to Avoid

You’ve decided to self-publish your book! Congrats! Self-publishing can be an amazing and rewarding path. It allows you more freedom and creativity to do what you want with your book, make your own decisions on how fast and/or how often you publish, and possibly make more money due to higher royalty percentages.

There are a lot of benefits to self-publishing, but what are some things self-published authors should avoid? In today’s post, we’ll look at three common pitfalls self-published authors make and how to overcome them.

Common pitfalls to self-publishing (and what to do instead!)

Pitfall 1: Neglecting the revision process

There are four common mistakes authors can make in the editing phase of the publication process.

Rushing through revisions: New or first time writers sometimes underestimate how long it takes to revise a manuscript or how many rounds of edits they need. If you’re not used to how long this part of the process takes, it’s easy to not give yourself the adequate time you may need to get through it well. Depending on the genre and the type of story you’re trying to tell, some books may take longer than others and require heavier edits than others. Whether your story requires three rounds of edits or ten, be patient and don’t rush the process.

Not hiring a professional editor: Writing and editing are two different skills and no matter how good your spelling and grammar skills may be, we all need a fresh pair of eyes for our work. Sometimes we are just too close to our stories to tell what changes are needed or would benefit the story best. Professional editors can spot certain issues in your story and help you fix them, elevating the story to another level.

Not choosing the right editor/editing service: there are three types of editing services you can hire an editor for—developmental, line/copy editing, and proofreading. Check out our post on How to Find an Editor for more info on the different types of editing and finding the right editor for you. It’s important to know what type of editing you need before you hire an editor. It’ll be a waste of time and money to hire a copy or line editor if your story still has a lot of developmental issues that need to be fixed. Keep in mind, not all editors will be the right fit for you and your story. It’s ok to move on and find someone else if they’re not.

Hiring one editor for everything: while some editors may offer all three types of editing services, it’s recommended that you at least hire a different editor to proofread your manuscript. If you worked with an editor during the developmental and/or line editing stage, chances are they’ve probably done a couple of rounds working with you on the manuscript. Sometimes, the longer we’ve worked on something, the harder it is to catch small typos and errors because our brains know how it should read and automatically make the correction for us in our heads. Therefore, the more fresh eyes you can have on your story, the better.

What to do: Hire professional editors, and don’t rush!

If you’re new to writing and publishing a book, whatever timeline you’ve given yourself for this stage, consider doubling it. Life rarely goes according to plans. People get sick, emergencies come up, and we don’t always factor in how much these things can push back our timelines. Allotting yourself more time than you think you may need can help ensure you don’t rush through this process, especially when life throws you a curveball.

Another way to avoid rushing through this stage is to look for and hire a professional editor a couple of months before you’re ready for this stage. A lot of editors’ schedules fill up quickly, and sometimes are booked months in advance. The last thing you want is to wait months for an editor’s schedule to open up. If you find an editor you want to work with, let them know your timeline and when you plan to begin edits, and try to get on their schedule early.

Pitfall 2: Creating your own book cover

Another common pitfall new self-published authors make is trying to design your book cover yourself. There’s much more to designing book covers than just a cover that looks appealing to you. Your cover is the most important part of your marketing strategy. It’s the first thing people will look at and despite the advice, people do and will judge a book by its cover. You need a cover that accurately portrays the genre or subgenre of your book, the tone, and/or the feel/mood of the story, otherwise readers will be unlikely to pick it up or worse, you’ll attract the “wrong readers”–those who are not your target audience–who will then be disappointed with your book. When creating a book cover, keep in mind common trends and patterns for your genre and the reader’s expectations.

What to do: Hire a professional cover designer

It’s a good idea for you to do research and familiarize yourself with books in your genre and how their cover looks. What common themes, styles, or colors do you notice? What are the current trends? Trends for book covers change pretty quickly, so what might have worked a few years ago may not do so well now. Also, be sure to look at other self-published books in your genre. The covers for traditionally published books–like fantasy, for instance–are going to look much different from self-published books in the same genre.

Find a professional cover designer and look through their portfolio. You can find cover designers from places like Reedsy, referrals from other writers, or just by looking inside the book of a cover you like. Many times, authors or publishers will have the name of the cover artist listed in the book. Once you’ve found some designers, ask yourself these questions: have they designed covers in the genre your book is in? Do you like their designs? What stands out or is unique about their designs?

Pitfall 3: Trying to do everything other authors are doing

Another common pitfall new self-published authors make is not creating a publishing or marketing plan that works for them, but trying to replicate other authors’ strategies. There will always be some strategies or marketing advice others give that will work for some writers, but might not work for you.

Also, don’t feel you have to do everything or be on every platform. Some marketing “gurus” may make you think you have to be on all the platforms (FB, Twitter, YouTube, etc.), but this is unrealistic and unsustainable, unless you have an entire marketing team at your disposal.

What to do: Find a marketing strategy that works for you

Self-care is essential to your career. You will not be successful if you spread yourself too thin trying to market on every platform. Pick one or two platforms to focus on and go all in on those platforms. Be sure to choose ones that you actually like spending time on and you know your readers are on there as well. Don’t be afraid to switch platforms either. If you choose Twitter as one of your main platforms, but realize you’d rather be on TikTok, then make the switch. You’re never locked in to the platform you choose in the beginning.

As mentioned above, you don’t have to copy another author’s strategies, but that doesn’t mean you can’t try something they’ve done and make some tweaks and changes to it until you find what works for you. For instance, some writers have created a YouTube channel where they talk about their writing and publishing journey and may even give writing advice. If creating videos on YouTube is something you would be interested in, but you’re uncomfortable giving writing advice or talking about your own writing until closer to the publication date, then you might talk about other books instead.

Last, don’t forget that marketing is more than just social media. Don’t forget about your author website or blog, newsletters for your subscriber list, and virtual or in-person events where you can connect with readers (and other writers).

Remember, you can avoid these common pitfalls by hiring professional editors for your book and not rushing through the editing stage, getting a professional cover design that fits the genre of your book, and finding the right marketing or publishing strategy that works for you. If you want to learn more about self-publishing, check out the Secrets to Self-Publishing Success course in the Writing Mastery Academy.