6 Self-Publishing Tips
6 Self-Publishing Tips for Your First Book
The writing is the part you already know how to do. These six tips cover the decisions around it that first-time self-publishers most often get wrong: money, time, marketing and what to measure once the book is out.
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Tip 1
Set a budget before you set a launch date
When you self-publish, you are the publisher, which means you pay for what a publisher would normally pay for: editing, cover design, formatting, proofreading, ISBNs if you buy your own, and some marketing. None of it is compulsory, but the costs are real, and authors who do not decide a figure up front tend to overspend on the wrong things and run out before the launch.
Write down a total you are comfortable spending without needing the book to earn it back quickly. Then split it across the stages your book actually needs. A heavily edited debut novel and a short how-to guide written by an expert in the field need very different splits. If the total is small, that is fine; it just means choosing carefully where it goes, which is tip 3.
Tip 2
Plan the schedule from the end backwards
The most common first-book mistake is announcing a date before knowing what needs to happen to meet it. Count back from release: advance copies and pre-order setup start one to two months before; the cover and book description must be finished before that; typesetting needs the final edited text; editing needs time for you to revise. Most books need several months between a finished draft and release.
Build in slack. Printed proof copies have to be shipped to you, edits take longer to review than you expect, and life gets in the way. A date you hit quietly is worth more than a date you announced loudly and missed.
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Tip 3
Spend money where readers notice it
Readers judge a self-published book on a few things before they read a word, and on one thing after. Put the budget there first.
Editing
The thing readers notice after buying. Errors and structural problems are what one-star reviews mention, and early reviews follow a book for years.
The cover
The thing readers notice first, usually as a thumbnail in a list of search results. It has to look like it belongs in your genre at that size.
The book description
The text on the retailer page that turns a click into a sale. Short, specific and written to the reader of the genre, not as a plot summary.
Where you can save
Paid ads before you have reviews, expensive launch events, large print runs and extras like trailers can all wait until the basics are right and you know the book sells.
Tip 4
Start marketing before the book exists
A book launched to nobody sells to nobody, however good it is. The work that makes a launch go well happens beforehand: a simple author website, a way for interested readers to give you their email address, a handful of people lined up to read an advance copy and leave an honest review in the first weeks, and a clear idea of where your readers already spend time.
This does not have to be loud. For most first-time authors, a few dozen readers who actually want the book in launch week do more than a large social media following that does not. Start collecting them while the book is being edited, not the week it comes out.
Tip 5
Choose categories and keywords like a reader searches
On Amazon KDP you choose three categories and up to seven keyword slots for each format of the book, and the ebook and paperback are set separately. These decide which searches and which category lists your book can appear in. Most first-time authors fill them with the words they would use to describe the book; readers search with the words they would use to describe what they want.
Look at the recent books most like yours and note which categories they rank in. Use keyword slots for phrases a reader would type that are not already in your title or subtitle, such as a setting, a trope, a problem the book solves or the audience it is for. Avoid other authors' names and claims about sales, which platforms do not allow.
Tip 6
Track what happens after launch, then adjust
Your publishing dashboard shows sales, and in Kindle Unlimited, pages read, by day. Note what you did on the days that moved: a newsletter, a guest post, a price promotion. After a month or two you will know which efforts are worth repeating and which are not, which is information no general advice can give you.
Be ready to change things. A description, keywords, categories and even the cover can be updated after release. If the book is getting views but few sales, the retailer page is usually the problem; if it is getting sales but poor reviews, look at the book itself or at whether it is reaching the wrong readers.
Getting help
Where we fit in
You can self-publish entirely on your own, and many authors do. If you would rather hand over the parts that take specialist skills, our in-house team handles editing, cover design, formatting, platform setup and launch copy such as the book description and author bio. You can use us for one stage or all of them, and you keep the decisions about your book.
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Questions about self-publishing your first book
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Get the book properly edited. A great cover and smart marketing can sell a first copy, but reviews come from people who read it, and a book with obvious problems collects reviews that mention them. Editing is the one expense that improves every later stage, including how well your marketing works.
It depends on length, genre and how much editing the manuscript needs, so any single figure would mislead you. Get quotes for editing and cover design on your actual book first, since those are the largest items, then decide what else fits. We quote each book after seeing the manuscript or a sample.
Ebook only keeps costs and schedule down, and works well in genres where readers mostly buy digitally. A paperback helps if you plan to sell at events, give copies to people or reach readers who prefer print. Adding print later is possible but means a second launch moment.
No. A small number of engaged readers matters more than a large audience. An email list, a handful of advance readers and visibility in the right categories and searches can launch a book without a large following. Build where your readers are, rather than on every platform.
While it is being edited, which for most books is several months before release. That gives you time to build a simple author site, gather email subscribers and line up advance readers. Marketing that starts on launch day usually has to work much harder for the same result.
Yes. Self-publishing platforms let you update the description, keywords, categories, price, cover and interior files after release. Changes go back through review. Paperback title, subtitle and author name changes are more restricted once the book is live, so get those right before publishing, and keep a list of corrections to batch into one update.
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