Mistakes I Made

When self publishing

This really could be a book in itself. I can't decide on the genre; horror, suspense, mystery, or self-help. Hmm. I think since I can't decide, it will stay here as an excellent short story. These are the errors of my ways:

• Lackluster covers

• Tag lines that weren't

• Poor book descriptions

• Not making print copies

• Not using keywords or improper use of keywords

• Too few or no reviews

• Genre (not knowing it)

• Pricing issues (Making them too inexpensive or pricing too high)

• No mailing list (Failure to build one early enough)

Understanding your audience is key. Most people judge a book by its cover, and I made the mistake of going super cheap on the cover. After that, I picked covers that didn't align with my specific genre or audience. To ensure it fits with my genre now, I go to Amazon and check it against the top-selling books in the contemporary gothic genre. If I'm writing suspense, I compare it to those. Now the contemporary gothic genre is all over the place, giving me some flexibility. Still, when I examine the top covers that are leading the pack, they are either dark and contain objects, like bones, clocks, decaying flowers and the like or there's a woman and she's in the woods or standing in front of a house. Her back's away from the viewer, she's dressed in a long dress, and the scene is moody. Realize that the style of these covers can change, so go back and look every six months as you select your covers. Also, check out the style of the text and make sure that it aligns with the genre. If there is any doubt about the illustration on your cover, use a subtitle to help identify it for the reader. You have a fraction of a second to identify your book as being on the right "shelf," for your reader.

Taglines are essential these days. Some readers only look at the cover, read the tagline and a few reviews. Writing a good tagline that hits home can sell your book. I failed to understand the purpose of the tagline at the beginning of my publishing journey. It is nothing but a hook to entice readers to read your story. It's got to be short. Mine were too long, and as a result, they didn't work. It should be a line or two at maximum. This is the tagline for my new book, The Flower Queen, for release on June 12.

It began with a dying husband, and it ended in a dynasty.

Consider your book description and your blurb as a way to sell your book quickly. Keep it as short as possible. People are not going to read a long book description. 70-80 characters, maximum. I learned this the hard way. I still have one book on Amazon that needs its book description re-written. Get the first few lines nailed down so the reader can stop reading because most will. This is what I have so far for The Flower Queen:

It took away her husband's pain on his deathbed, kept her from losing the family farm, gave her the power to build a thriving business, but it's illegal to grow in every state in the country in 1978. It even brings her first love from high school back; the only problem he works for the FBI. Will their occupations implode their romance, or will the opposite happen?

A second chance at love, opposites attract , rags to riches heroine trope story.

Other romance authors said I would never sell enough print copies to make it worth the effort. They said romance readers preferred e-readers because they didn't like people to know what they were reading because of lurid covers. In the back of my mind, I was suspicious because TikTok had romance authors all over the place hawking real print books, so I knew this couldn't be true. I also knew that not all romance covers have bare-chested guys or couples in rapture on the cover. After my first year of self-publishing, I took the leap, tried printing books, and found that it was totally worth my while. Lesson learned—always try things for yourself, if you have the time and the resources.

Continuous learning and improvement are crucial in the world of self-publishing.

Research your keywords, and go back and check on them every few months. If you need clarification on what Keywords are, read this previous newsletter. Publisher Rocket is still worth the cost, and no amount of argument will convince me otherwise. The time it would take me to research all of this, no, thank you. Please read Ellen Y. Mueller's guest author's review of this product. Before using this, I only filled in some of my keywords.

When it comes to reviews, every reader has a different take. But when I started, I failed to realize their importance. Make sure to get ARC readers to review your books before releasing them. Strategies for Finding Arc Readers. Realize the reviews can only get posted once your book is available. Since they are not verified purchases on Amazon, they may only stay on Amazon for a while. However, they will appear on GoodReads if your readers post them there. Be careful if you decide to find ARC readers on GoodReads. Some authors have had great experiences with GoodReads; it has been hit-and-miss for me. I've discovered many want to read the books for free, but some fail to follow through with the reviews. I've had much better luck with ARC groups on FB.

Concerning readers and reviews. Some readers only buy books if they've been reviewed by The NY Times, but how many romance books have been reviewed by the Times? Only a few. I only put a little weight on reviews, but most readers do, and many want books that have a 4.0. or higher rating. In some cases, a book with less than 4.0 can do well if it’s a dark romance and the reviewer is bashing the book because of the non-consent and how bad the male character is. That kind of thing can help sales and do the opposite because those readers want that type of book.

A few times, I've purchased a book that's a new release with no reviews and enjoyed it, but most other readers are not me; they want to see reviews, so get some up on your book as soon as possible. I dawdled around too long, thinking people will find it organically. I also believed in Santa Claus until I was six.

Even after a year of selling hundreds and hundreds of copies of one book, I still have trouble getting people to review them. I think it's essential to have at least one or two new reviews each month for each book to signal potential buyers that it is still relevant and "new." I just started using Pubby to assist me. I don’t guarantee this site is perfect, but it's one way to get reviews quickly. The major problem with this service is that although many authors will read and review your book, other authors only want reviews and are looking for ways to "cheat the system." They'll plagiarize other reviews or write a couple of lines based on what you have written about your book. When you sign up, ask for a verified purchase reviews to ensure you get a more detailed review. This means the person will have to purchase the book from Amazon for them to review. This is still no guarantee you won’t receive a stupid review, but if they paid for the book, they might at least open it and read it. The way Pubby works is that you have to read someone else's book to earn "snaps" to pay for your reviews. In addition, you pay a monthly fee. If you need help with reviews, this may be an answer. Sometime in the next month or two, I may write a more detailed review on this platform, but I'm waiting until I've used it longer.

Genre. This is a crucial aspect that is often underestimated. You say your book is a sweet romance. You had better make sure it is, or you're going to see some negative reviews. Face it, your book can’t be for everyone, so there's no sense saying it is this thing when it isn't. Understanding what your book is will help you connect with the right readers. I know my books have a spiritual thread, but just because they have this thread doesn't mean I would put them in the religious category.

I recommend thinking about your pricing. It does have to do with word count, what the competition is doing, but also what you need to do. Keeping it under $5.99 is paramount if you plan on participating in book promos. Some promo company’s even prefer books under $4.99. Readers expect to buy books for .99, $1.99 and $2.99. However, by setting the right price, we can balance our readers' expectations with our need for profitability, putting us in control of our financial success. There is a lot of encouragement to price a series starter at $2.99, which can work if it's a short book, 30-40K or less. In the past, I've priced mine between $2.99-$3.99 for a book under 50K. I can also discover if there's enough interest to develop a longer book or a series. However, this comes with some complaints from readers. At some point, you will get a review like this: "I feel like the book could have been more than a novella." Yes, it could have been longer if readers like them would pay what they should be paying for the book. If Indie authors would stop being encouraged to give their work away, we would make money and stop getting reviews like this. A few chapters given away for free on Bookfunnel? Sure, why not, because we are not giving it away for free, we are exchanging it for an email address. But should I give a whole book that took me four months to write and cost me money to edit? I think not. Are lawyers encouraged to give their time away for free? Secondly, 70K books priced for less than $4.99 unless it's on a promo or a launch price (a limited sale price) could be a mistake. What is the marketing reason for this? Oh, yes, I remember the promo company said something about selling thousands of copies and readers flocking to my webpage to purchase my other books. It never happened. I wonder if I will even price a book at $2.99 again, even a series starter, because the price is too low. $3.99 is low enough, especially after Amazon takes its cut.

Books cost money to write. It takes time to write one, hours and hours. We have to pay someone to edit it. We have to purchase a cover. We have to format or pay someone if we want a print copy. All of this time and money must be recouped from the reader, and we have yet to discuss marketing costs. The line between profit and loss is thin. It takes the release of a few books to recoup our losses. "I do this because I love it" is something I hear repeatedly from authors, and I say it too. Well, that's all well and good, but the reader has to love us back and buy our books. This is not a hobby or a charity; whether it's our first or second profession, it's our occupation, and we should not diminish it by expecting to fail and not treating our work seriously. Please leave a comment below:

I should have started my mailing list earlier. At the beginning of my publishing journey, I had a publisher, and my mailing list was pathetic. By the time I figured out I wanted to self-publish, I was juggling most of the marketing of my first book, writing my second one, and figuring out how I would handle it all. If I did it again, I would break my first book into two and self-publish them as novellas instead of going with a publisher. I'd have jumped onto Bookfunnel with the first few chapters to give away, enabling me to expand my mailing list much earlier. Your mailing list is your most essential tool as an author. It would have gotten me further, faster.

I am sure there were many other slip-ups, but hey, you know, if you aren't making mistakes, you aren't trying. Thank you for reading, and have a fantastic week writing!