If you are considering self-publishing for the first time, then you should know that there are several things to consider. But also, if you have published a book before, you will still find the following tips helpful.
Read on to learn more.
Make A Plan
You will want to start your self-publishing journey with a plan. You might want to consider this one as a genuine plea for successful self-publishing. You need to have a plan. You cannot make the mistake of blindly going into self-publication without having a plan. Also, you cannot blindly follow someone else’s plan without critically asking yourself whether this will work for your book.
You cannot blindly follow someone else’s plan without asking yourself whether the same will work for you as an author. You should never wait until your book is all done to ask yourself how to get your book online.
You will want to start researching earlier – whether it is watching a YouTube video, checking out a guide on how to self publish, or listening to some podcast about it – the key is to start researching early so that you can make a plan in time.
Make sure that your plan includes the following aspects:
- When are you going to upload?
- Where are you going to upload?
- Have a plan for pre-orders.
All these different aspects need to be addressed, which will lead to more and more questions. If you are self-publishing, then you are the publisher, which is why you need to have the answers to all the questions and craft a plan accordingly. Don’t just rush to get it up and cross your fingers for success.
By having a plan, you will feel confident about what you are doing, and when little hiccups pop up on the road, you are less likely to question anything or get overwhelmed to the point of deleting everything. If this is your first-time self-publishing, you should know that this is a new language to learn.
So, the best thing you can do is to take ownership and learn all of it. The worst thing you can do is to hit upload and cross your fingers with the hope that things will go viral.
Adopt A Learner’s Attitude
If you are planning to become a self-published author in 2024, you need to adopt a learner’s mindset. Stay curious and listen to podcasts. Stay up-to-date on the programs and requirements because there is a lot to learn. You will want to step into the realms of self-publication with an open mind and be amazed at all the things that you can learn and that you never knew about before.
Have a positive mindset as you learn about these new things, and you can figure out how things work. You are certainly going to have a better life if you have a learner’s mindset. You will find loads of information on the platform that you will choose for self-publication. You will also find a lot of help from other authors who have self-published before you.
You can check out social media groups where authors help aspiring authors like you navigate the landscape of self-publication. This way, you can avoid some of the biggest pitfalls. So, it all starts with having a plan and making sure that you have learned what you want to do and what is going to work for your book.
Budgeting is Crucial
You will need to have a budget in place for ISBN, editing, and cover. Yes, you read this right; you will need to pay a down payment for your book cover. As a self-published author, you should know that you will need to invest in the book. Also, you might be intrigued to do it all by yourself, but you will get flamed out.
So, you will want to use your energy mindfully. For instance, you might want to start freelancing and write a few articles to make money. Subsequently, you can use that money to pay for an editor, a book cover designer, a proofreader, etc.
All you need to do is pick a few critical things to pay for and invest in. Keep in mind that you are budgeting for your success.
Don’t forget Marketing
Speaking of budgeting, you should never forget that you are responsible for marketing your book. It all starts with understanding your ideal reader and looking at things from their perspective. Once you know who you are writing for, you can start making a plan for the content that you will be publishing on social media or your website to get the word about your book out.
Also, If you have the budget, you can hire a marketing team exclusively for this task.
Be Friends with Authors
Another tip that will help you immensely on your self-publication journey is to make other authors your friends. You might be introverted, but we recommend that you get out of your comfort zone and make some friends. You will want to make genuine author friends to whom you can reach out when you need some professional advice.
You might also need some accountability partners and some encouragement throughout your writing journey. By making author friends, you will have genuine people who will be there for you during tough times. These are people who can encourage you to keep going.
They might as well share their own stories with you, which can motivate you to get back on track. So, try to be there for each other genuinely, and there is definitely a fine line between networking with other authors at the expense of writing your book and getting it done.
But you do certainly know where your line is as far as trying to make those genuine connections and having those author friends who can help you through. There is a lot of work, and there will be times when you are exhausted, and you feel like nothing is going right.
During such times, having a fellow author friend who is sort of in it with you will make it easier for you.
