11 Tips to Avoid Self-Publishing Traps
Sankofa Literary Society Posting Home
by Marilyn and Tom Ross
Self-publishing used to be the Rodney Dangerfield of book
publishing. It didn't get "no respect." Today that's all changed.
With originally self-published books like The Celestine Prophecy,
Butter Busters, The Christmas Box, and What Color is Your Parachute?
monopolizing bestseller lists-do-it-yourself publishing is very much
in vogue.
To be successful, however, it's mandatory that you adhere to certain
guidelines. By following the tips below, you'll avoid the pitfalls
and enhance your chances of flourishing.
1. Educate yourself. Self-publishing is a business. Approach it as
such. There are informative books on the subject, seminars offered,
and associations where you can learn the ropes and network with the
more experienced. This can be very lucrative if properly approached.
Conversely, you can waste thousands of dollars by blundering along
without knowledge or a plan.
2. Study the competition. Don't add more to a subject that's already
glutted. Be sure the topic hasn't been overdone. Just checking a
local library or bookstore is not adequate research. Look in Books
in Print Subject Guide and Forthcoming Books in Print Subject Guide.
You'll be amazed at how many books there are on the topic. Yours
must be better than what's already available. Make it shorter,
longer, easier to use, more informative, funnier, richer in content,
or better organized. For fiction, try to tie into a hot topic so you
have a "hook" for publicity.
3. Write what other people want. Catering to your personal desires
often makes for lackluster books nobody buys. The fact is, few care
about your life history or your deep-felt opinions. Personal
journals and impassioned tirades are best saved for family and
friends, not foist upon the general public.
4. Think "marketing" from the very beginning. The time to generate
marketing ideas is before you write the book, not after you have
3,000 copies in your garage. Identify and target your market. How
can you reach them? Start folders of ideas: what catalogs might be
interested, which associations reach your potential readers, what
magazines and newsletters are relevant? Can you sell the book as a
premium to companies that would give it away as a gift to entice new
customers-or use it internally for training? Think about who else
reaches your potential customer and how you can partner with them.
Do you have contacts who have national name recognition and might
write an advance endorsement?
5. Get professional editing. No, we repeat no, author should edit or
proofread his or her own work. You'll miss the forest for the trees,
overlooking things that are obvious to you, but unclear to your
reader. And it's so easy to pass by the same typo time after time.
6. Create a snappy title. The right title can make a book, just like
an uninspired one can be a death peal. Short is best. While clever
is nice, don't sacrifice clarity. For nonfiction, be sure to include
a subtitle as it gives you extra mileage in helping readers know
what the book is about.
7. Include all the vital components. Just as a cake falls flat if
you don't add the right ingredients, so do books. Yours needs an
ISBN, LCCN, EAN Bookland Scanning Symbol, subject categories on the
back cover, etc. (If you don't know what these are, refer back to
#1!)
8. Have a dynamite cover. The cover is your book's salesperson in
bookstores. Get it designed by a professional who understands cover
design . . . not just somebody who does nice logos or pretty
brochures. You have enormous competition-and a wonderful opportunity
to stand out.
9. Make the interior inviting. Go to a bookstore and study the
insides of books. Find one with clean, "user-friendly" pages. Use
this as your model. It may not make sense to purchase and learn
typesetting software if you're only doing one book, however. In that
case, consider hiring an outside vendor.
10. Use a book manufacturer for printing. Don't expect your corner
print shop to have the knowledge or technical capabilities to turn
out a quality book. Book manufacturers specialize in this type of
printing and can save you enormous grief and considerable money.
11. Publicize, promote, publicize, promote. Eat, sleep, and talk
your book. Nobody cares about it as much as you do. Ongoing,
enthusiastic marketing is the real key to success. Never quit. Keep
your antenna out for new review opportunities, freelancers who write
articles on your topic, etc. We have books that have been in print
since 1979 because we're tireless promoters.
© copyright 2004 Marilyn Ross
Marilyn and Tom Ross are the coauthors of 13 books including the
best-selling Complete Guide to Self-Publishing and the award-winning
Jump Start Your Book Sales. Through phone consultations and ongoing
coaching/mentoring, Marilyn empowers authors and self-publishers to
realize their dreams. She can be reached at 719-395-8659 or
Mar...@MarilynRoss.com.
Visit http://www.SelfPublishingResources.com and sign up for their
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