Can you make a living out of self-publishing? How hard is it to promote your own book? How many copies should you ideally sell to become successful? There’s a volley of questions churning in every author’s mind when they’re considering taking the self-publishing route. Here are some surefire ways to get a grip on it all:
1. Write a good book: Is your book useful, resourceful or helpful to readers in some way? You may have lofty goals for yourself, about selling a certain number of copies a month, but are your words worth that much? Ask yourself why anyone would want to buy your book, and answer it. If your answer is honest and positive, you have every chance to make it work. People need to know how much of an influence your book will have on their lives. If you are clueless about the benefits that people can get from your book, you won’t be anywhere near successful.
2. Be nice:Just because you have published a book, it doesn’t make you a celebrity, or even if you become one on account of having made it to the bestseller list, you still can’t throw starry tantrums. Readers want to communicate with authors. It can be time-consuming to reply to every message that you get on all the social media platforms, but it is worth it. If you are not up for investing your time and interest in your readers, don’t expect them to invest any time or interest in you or your book.
3. Get help, make your book look and read better: You may have a good taste for art and words, but if you want to make your book the best, or stand out in a sea of bests, you should walk the extra mile and get professional help. Hire a cover designer even if you are on a string budget, you can always find a freelancer who’d work within those limits. Also, getting your manuscript copy-edited could go a long way in making it sound and read better. No one likes to have to sift through typos to get through a page or several pages, they steal from the essence of the storyline. There’s a way to get rid of these eyesores just hire a pro to proofread and copy-edit your manuscript.
4. Don’t overprice your book just because you like your writing: Do you think your writing is fantastic? Sure, you do, and you probably should, to be able to sell it to others. But just because you do, you can’t sell it at a princely price. Further, if it’s an eBook, it has to be cheaper than the print version. Don’t think of how much you can earn, think of how much you can give. Also, bear in mind that readers have the freedom to compare the price of your book with that of books in a similar category and they can tell if they’re being ripped off.
5. Don’t push too hard: Sure, you’re hyper excited about your book, but don’t assume everyone on your list to be too. Harping on and on about your book on all the online platforms like blog, Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Goodreads etc., could only beget bad vibes. It’s only okay to talk about your book closer to the release date, and saying it once should suffice. Repetitions on online platforms are like verbal nagging in the offline world. Also, saying too little can hurt you too remember to talk about free giveaways if you’re planning on any, to send requests for reviews, and more importantly, to thank people who send you comments and wishes.