This list is written with my tears. When you put your soul and heart into a project and this project never gets the success it deserves. Sometimes it happens for no reason; sure, not every book is destined to be a bestseller. But there are 10 mistakes I've personally found most common among the self-publishing community, and they can be easily avoided or fixed on the go.
Lack of Market Research
No matter how original, fresh, personal, and unique your story is, it still needs its place on the bookshelf. And to define this place, you need to understand the market. What's out there, what's selling, what's being published. What are the standards and rules of the market you're about to enter? Maybe you want to break them all; it's okay, but you need to be prepared.
It can take some time, but it's not rocket science; it's literally picture books. You won't waste a lot of your time if you take a closer look at the kidlit bookshelf at your local store.
Poor Editing and Proofreading
Even if your book is great, it can become better.
Finding the editor can be intimidating because we get attached to our texts and stories, scared of losing our voice. It's okay. Just think about how EVERY successful book out there has been edited!
Maybe you think, "Nah, it's just a personal project for my family." You proceed with illustrations, your book is coming together, you're getting excited about bringing it to many readers... and then you realize you don't love some excerpts as you used to love them before.
You talk to an editor. They advise you to change something, but you already have your illustrations tailored to your initial text. Now you have to explain it to your illustrator and pay extra for new pages.
Or even worse, you get your book published, getting your first feedback, and readers complain about the inconsistency of your story or some plot holes. This will be embarrassing, right?
So to avoid these situations and many more, get an editor! There are many industry professionals who work in traditional publishing and have great knowledge of the market.
Delayed Decision on Format and Printer
I've been asked to reformat a square book into a portrait one. More than once, unfortunately. Choosing a format is one of the first decisions you need to make on your publishing journey. It's like picking a piece of paper when you decide to draw. You can't change it later; it is what it is! Find a perfect trim size for your story and stick to it.
Ignoring Target Age Group
It's easy to get caught up in the excitement of creating a story and overlook a crucial aspect: your target age group. Many self-publishers make the mistake of assuming that their book will appeal to a broad range of ages, but this can lead to missed opportunities for connecting with the right audience.
Understanding your target age group is essential for several reasons. First and foremost, it helps you tailor your content to suit the developmental stage and interests of your readers. A story that resonates with a six-year-old may not captivate a ten-year-old audience, and vice versa. By ignoring the target age group, you risk creating a book that fails to engage or connect with its intended audience.
Moreover, knowing your target age group is crucial for marketing and positioning your book in the market. Different age groups have distinct preferences, reading habits, and purchasing behaviors. By understanding who your book is for, you can effectively tailor your marketing efforts to reach and appeal to that specific demographic.
Ignoring the target age group can also impact the design and formatting decisions of your book. From font size and layout to vocabulary and themes, every aspect of your book should be aligned with the age group you're targeting. Failing to consider these factors can result in a book that feels out of sync with its intended readership.
Underestimating the Importance of Illustrations
It's so obvious, but I need to repeat it - illustrations play a crucial role in your book sales. It doesn't mean they need to be extra-mega-highly detailed or realistic; it doesn't mean they need to be wonderful masterpieces that belong to a gallery art show. No. They need to be adequate for your story and coherent throughout the book. And if you want to make sales with your book - they need to meet market standards.
That's what people see, that's what kids see. Why children's books have pictures at all? They help little readers to understand your story. If your illustrations aren't good - your story can be ruined.
I've been holding onto this story for so long, but I need to share it with the world! So I stumbled across this Reddit post about someone who had a bad experience with publishing their children's book. You read the post; it describes a great approach to marketing, this person knows what they're selling and how they're gonna do it. They even mention some results they managed to achieve! But these results are unimpressive and don't cover the marketing budget. I felt so discouraged - this is exactly what I was telling my clients to do for all these years, why this strategy didn't work for them? And then I saw the link to the book. Oh well. Now I get it. I don't want to spoil this for you, so just go and check it out by yourself.
Neglecting Typesetting and Book Design
You've probably seen many indie books out there that scream "amateur!" from the first sight. What is screaming? Their design. If you have zero experience in graphic & book design, don't attempt to learn everything in a week and format your own book.
A well-designed book can compensate for the quality of your illustration, become a wow-factor when people decide to buy it because it just looks great and promises a great experience. It is especially true for the book cover, but don't neglect the interior. "Hey, but I've seen traditionally published books with very poor design and typography!" Maybe. Big publishers can afford to experiment and deliver whatever they want; they're covered by arrangements with the biggest bookstore chains and will have their titles presented there anyway. We don't have this luxury; we need to make sure our books are the best version of themselves.
No Marketing Strategy
Words "marketing" and "strategy" have been widely misused by new publishers and entrepreneurs in general. People make sad faces and say something "ugh, I've done so much marketing!" and all they did was to post a few stories to Instagram.
A good marketing strategy means you build a cohesive scheme of HOW you're going to bring your book to the right customers. And then you need a plan of WHAT you're going to do to achieve it. Ideally, it should be tailored to your abilities, your values, and your resources.
Making good research of your niche and creating an amazing high-quality book is the foundation of your future success. Then you need to take a close and honest look at the resources you have: time, money, energy, following, subscribers. Now look at your skills - what are you good at? During your life, you probably gained some valuable skills that can serve you in publishing - maybe you've organized some events. Or worked in cold sales. Or you're great at managing a big group of people. Maybe you enjoyed school fairs in high school or know how to animate a short video in Canva. Anyway, there's always something!
Ideally, each step of your plan should bring you to another one. You got some followers? Turn them into email subscribers. You've gained momentum with some influencer marketing? Double down on Amazon ads to get this momentum going. And so on. So many creatives hate marketing, but it can actually let your creativity thrive! Of course, there are some boring tasks. Find a designated time for it in your schedule and take it as brushing teeth or doing exercises - it just should be done.
Not Working on Author's Brand
No matter what your main sales sources are, you want your readers to easily find you. People buy from people; we need to know who this person is who is selling us their book.
Again, your author's brand is not the number of followers you have. It is... Well, it is everything you do online as an author. Your pictures, your voice, your messages.
For many, this part seems intimidating, maybe you don't want to expose your personal life and feel threatened by public attention. In reality, all you need is a very basic website with an "about me" section and a place to take a look at your books. You choose how much you want to talk about yourself, but you need to say something.
You don't need to invest a lot of time or money into building your online persona, but you need to have some basic foundation that will help you communicate with your readers and other people who can be crucial in bringing you sales (bloggers, journalists, indie bookstore owners, etc., etc.)
Invest some time in writing your biography; you can have it on your website and use parts of it in promo materials. Do a couple of good headshots - you can achieve it with an iPhone camera and good outside lighting. Build a basic website on Wix or Squarespace, and you're good to go!
Not Thinking About Distribution
Authors tend to fall into one of the extremes - "no one will want my book" or "everybody will want to buy my book!" None of it is true, obviously. But the thing is, some books can be a bestseller on Amazon, some books are thriving in brick-and-mortar stores, some books are just perfect to sell at markets and seasonal fairs.
You need to know where you want to sell your book and how it arrives there.
For Amazon - if you publish with KDP, your paperback and e-book will be automatically listed and connected. If you want to publish your hardcover and connect it as well - you need to publish it with Ingram Spark and connect it to your existing Amazon page. Bookstores can order their Ingram copies, but they can't buy KDP copies. Do you want them to have your paperbacks as well?
If you print offset, you need to decide how it will be distributed by Amazon; maybe Amazon Advantage will be a good choice. When you go to bookstores, you need to have a very clear idea of how and at what price they can get your books.
For markets and fairs - you will need to think about how many copies you will need to print or buy in advance to have enough supply.
It all may seem complicated, but when you figure this out, you will see which channel brings you the most sales and which one you enjoy the most. But when you don't find time to investigate and try different options - your book may not arrive to all the potential readers it could have had.
Not Organizing a Launch Campaign
When you have your final files ready, the first thing you have an urge to do is to publish it immediately. Been there, done that, totally understandable! It's an amazing feeling to hold your baby-book for the first time! But by not preparing a proper launch campaign, you take from your book a potential boost in sales it can help it in the future.
I always tell the story about the Spanish market. I live in Spain, but all my books are in English. I never targeted the Spanish market specifically, or had the intention to do it. However, during the launch event, some of my friends wanted to support me and ordered a few batches of my newly released books to give them to libraries and schools. Amazon's algorithms decided this book was somehow interested to Spanish readers and to this day I have a few sales every month. In total, it made me maybe a thousand dollars in Spain, but these are the money I didn't expect and didn't market for. Free money! This case confirmed my thoughts about the importance of a launch.
Just like your general strategy, your launch should be specific to your needs, plans, comfort zone, and so on. It can be a tiny event at the local library, or you can arrange it in the biggest bookstore available in your zone. It can be online only and it will still benefit you greatly! Besides the initial sales boost, a launch campaign is an amazing way to get your reviews. Send a copy to your launch group in advance, encourage them to prepare their reviews. Use free Kindle promotion when your book is published so they can download it at no cost leave you a "Verified Purchase" review.
Making mistakes is a natural part of the learning process. Sometimes, it's a deliberate choice to neglect something due to lack of time or enthusiasm. We tend to ignore some important steps that can help us reach our target audience and make our book arrive to the readers.
Nobody is perfect, and every author's path is different. Keep going, do your best, and I'm sure your book will have the success you wish for it!