Smart self-published authors know...

...a quality product and a marketing strategy matter

Self-publishing, it appears, is having a moment.

The tech at our fingertips makes publishing accessible to the masses. Millions of aspiring authors have found this path to publication, and more are jumping in every day.

Self-publishing has never been easier. If you have a Mac, or even an iPhone, you can write and publish an ebook using their built-in app, Pages. Write the book on your Apple device using Pages. Connect it to your iTunes account, and in a few simple steps (found on Apple’s help pages here) you can release an ebook on Apple Books. That’s right—you can write (and publish) a book on your phone!

Likewise, Amazon’s Kindle Direct Publishing allows you to upload a manuscript and a cover, and publish either an ebook, paperback or hardcover version of your book (or all three!). It assumes you have a good cover and know enough about graphic design to create a cover that fits their exact specs. Its help pages provide a wealth of information.

Photo by Ron Lach : https://www.pexels.com/

Even the New York Times jumped into the conversation with an article on how to self-publish. As if the ordinary person reading the newspaper might be thinking they should write a book.

In the words of Elle Woods, “What, like it’s hard?”

You can. But should you?

So yes, you can write a book and publish it. The question is, just because you can “do it yourself” does that mean you should? Will it be any good, and will anyone read it? Of course, those are the questions that plague every writer. But the answer to both is not completely beyond the writer’s control.

Should you self-publish? The answer is a qualified yes. Or really, it depends. That’s really what we’re exploring this month here on A Powerful Story newsletter.

Smart writers think not just about getting it done, but doing it right. They know, because there are 2.3 million self-published titles released each year, they can’t just throw their book up on the Internet and expect readers to somehow find it. To make their book stand out from the crowd, they need to be intentional about two things: quality, and marketing.

Create a quality product

Your book manuscript will, no matter how careful you are, contain mistakes: unclear or awkward sentences, misspelled or mistyped words, incorrect grammar. Even professional writers need editors. (Why? This blog post explains) So just typing up your book and publishing it without a thorough review is foolish. If you don’t hire an editor to find your mistakes, your readers will!

Having a quality product means having a great cover, which typically means hiring a designer. It means getting the interior pages designed, or at least using a software like Vellum to create a professional looking interior.

This week, I helped a client release her memoir, Unbreakable Crown, as a paperback and ebook on Amazon. (More on that title in the client profile below.) Next week, we’re scheduled to release another client’s book of photos and essays, in both paperback and hardback. As usual, the cover designer and I had to make some last-minute tweaks on both books. These small adjustments to the cover, to fit their exact template, are common. That’s why I have professional graphic designers on my team.

Some writers try to create their own covers. Sometimes, those covers are decent, but sometimes they are disastrous. They can frighten readers away. Because guess what? People do judge books by their cover. And if yours looks amateurish, readers will scroll on. (This Huffington Post article, which I’ve shared before, has some delightfully bad covers to show you what I mean.)

I often compare self-publishing to renovating your house. There are some parts you can do yourself, but some parts you should hire professionals to help you with. How many people you hire depends on how handy you are.

Create a marketing plan

Smart writers think not just about publishing, but about selling their book. They think about how to get it into the hands of readers and develop a specific, actionable plan to do so. Finishing the manuscript, or even hitting “publish” is not the finish line. It’s the beginning of the journey. Those who prepare are more likely to enjoy that adventure.

Their marketing plan might include buying Amazon or Facebook ads, seeking endorsements and reviews from influencers, being a guest on podcasts, offering free excerpts, sending out newsletters, speaking, and more. This recent blog post by book marketing expert Rob Eager has more practical information on this.

So yes, self-publishing has become an easy path to getting your story out there. And maybe, it’s your moment to jump in and publish a book. But be smart and strategic on your self-publishing journey.

At A Powerful Story, we help authors navigate the wilds of self-publishing. In the last year, I’ve collaborated with five different authors to either write, edit, or help publish their book. Read on to learn more about our client Dr. Carla Norris, whose book Unbreakable Crown released this week.

Self-publishing profile: Unbreakable Crown

Dr. Carla Norris came to us with a manuscript for her memoir, Unbreakable Crown. She’d already had a developmental editor go through the book once. We provided copy editing, design, and guidance with self-publishing. I guided her through setting up an account to purchase an ISBN. (This post explains why every book needs an ISBN).

Carla had a cover concept she shared with our team. We also asked her to look at other book covers on amazon and send us a few that appealed to her, so we could get a sense of her style and preferences. Our designer used those as a jumping off point to come up with a cover that fit with Carla’s vision and looked professional. (Writers often have a cover concept that includes just the front—our team creates a back, spine and front file that is required for self-published paperback or hardback books.)

Carla’s cover: back, spine, and front. Design by Tommy Owen Design.

She had a working title, which I helped her fine-tune so that it clearly conveyed the book’s benefits to readers. Once the design and copy editing were complete, I then took her step-by-step through setting up her account on Kindle Direct Publishing, a platform that puts your book on amazon and pays the author royalties for each sale. Once that account was set up, uploaded her final edited manuscript and cover.

Her book is a wide-ranging and compelling memoir of growing up in rural Florida, surviving sexual abuse, trying to find purpose and meaning. It’s real, raw, honest, and ultimately a hopeful and inspiring story.

You can purchase an ebook or paperback on amazon.

Here’s what Carla said about working with A Powerful Story:

“Working with Keri turned out to be the best decision I made during the process of writing my memoir. She was patient, helpful, and very informative. As an inexperienced writer, I felt very comfortable, and I appreciated how honest Keri was in giving feedback. Her expertise improved my book significantly. Thank you Keri!”

Considering self-publishing? Click the button below to contact me for a free consultation.