Anytime is a great time for you to reassess the success you have already achieved with self-publishing. If you’re not doing great, it’s about time you hear some good advice and tips from successful self-published authors. Here are a few of those tips gathered from the Internet.
Everything will be for naught if you don’t do this step first. Make sure you write every day. Never stop writing.
Form a habit of dedicating a set amount of time for this task or writing a set amount of words every day. Everything will come after that.
2. Write What You and People Love
Find the perfect balance. It’s inspiring to write about what you love, but it might alienate readers. You might find success in writing what people love, but when will you ever finish it?
How can you exactly do that? Here are my tips for you to become one of those successful self-published authors. First, know the people you want to be your readers. Surely, they are people who already gravitate to the genre you like and stories you read and write.
Second, be aware of mainstream stories and books in your selected genre. Third, reevaluate yourself. Know what you want to write. Know the story that you want people to know.
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Combine all the elements you gathered and form a single convergence point. Make an outline. Review it. If it sounds bad or awkward, put aside the outline and create a new one. Rinse and repeat until you find that sweet story.
Keep the outlines you set aside. Review them from time to time. They might not be as bad as you thought they were.
3. Get Inspiration
You wouldn’t want to encounter writer’s block and stop writing. Remember, skipping a day of work means delaying your success a day and it's one of the tips from successful self-published authors.
Before you say anything, you shouldn’t debate if writer’s block is just a myth. Whether it’s real or not, you should prevent it before it happens. You can prevent it by continuously being inspired.
Inspiration comes in different forms. It can be in the form of daily life experiences. It can be advice from your mentor, words of people you look up to, or even a stupid conversation with your significant other. It can also be an epiphany while you’re in the toilet.
4. Turn It Into A Series
You believe you wrote a best-seller, but why stop there? Turn it into a series! This may sound bad, but you should make sure you milk your cow hard and dry.
From a marketing, practical, and industrial standpoint, turning a novel into a series is more profitable, doable, and enjoyable than writing standalone novels and that would be one of best tips.
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Of course, it’s completely up to you. But be reminded that readers easily become loyal to you through a book series. Why?
Because the characters they love come back for another adventure. The world they want to be in will be explored again. And the answers to the questions left hanging can be revealed.
5. Get a Proofreader, Editor, and Cover Designer
Writing books isn’t an exact science. You’ll make mistakes time and time again, and you’ll not spot them at all. Even successful self-published authors made a lot of mistakes before they became successful.
It doesn’t matter how many times you read your manuscript; a few errors will slip by your eye. Not to mention that what’s right for you, might be wrong to the rest of the world.
Because of that, you definitely need someone to proofread and edit your work. It’s true that they can be costly, but compare that cost to the amount of disgrace you’ll be in once people read your error-ridden work.
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Regarding the cover designer, it’s a must-have for a self-publisher. If editors will decide that your ebook is trash after reading the first few paragraphs, readers will “think” it’s trash by looking at its cover art. You wouldn’t want people to turn the other way around and judge your book by its cover.
6. Write Free Books
Writing a free ebook might seem counterintuitive. But there are a lot of reasons why writing a free book or two is crucial to your self-publishing journey.
Free books are great customer hooks. When amassing followers and potential readers, you need to lure them first. And you can’t do that with an unknown thick book with a hefty price tag written by an unknown author.
Yes, you start as a nobody in this industry but later on, you will be among successful self-published authors.
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Remember: People love free stuff. Go to Amazon and Kobo and check out the free books offered there. Know how often they are being downloaded. Put yourself in one of the authors' shoes.
Imagine that within a short span of time, people got to know your name and story. If they liked what they read, they’ll follow you and wait for your next masterpiece. Even if you charge them for your next ebook, they’ll buy it.
Aside from hooking followers and readers, you can use free books as a means to get their email addresses or make them do simple things like liking your Facebook page, following your Twitter account, or sharing your Instagram photos.
7. Interact With Fans and the Community
Your followers and readers will become your avid fans in due time. Fans are people who market your work through word of mouth, improve your online presence by talking about you on the Web, and defend you whenever rude and fallacious words are thrown your way.
They are valuable assets, and you should treasure them. One way to do that is to answer their messages, comments, and fan letters. Doing so will not only maintain their loyalty, but also will bring you joy.
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When it comes to the writing community, be sure to mingle with other writers and if possible keep in touch with successful self-published authors. They might become helpful resources one day.
They might introduce you to their connections, which can be a kind publisher, fair distributor, or a good and inexpensive editor or proofreader.
Conclusion
With due diligence, you will find your success. Make sure that you follow each and every one of those tips from successful self-published authors. They’re not that hard to follow, and there’s nothing to lose. Good luck with your book and career.
~ Chris Baird