Have A Self-Published Book You Can Be Proud Of!

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To have a self-published book you can be proud of, write about something you’re excited about, pay for a good cover and proper editing, and accept that you will make mistakes you can fix after you publish. That’s the short answer from my first book, which started with a terrible cover.

Why was my first cover so bad?

Many authors are afraid their self-published book will be laughed at. If people already laughed when you said you would write one, read what to do when they laugh at your book plans. The goal is a book you can stand behind and say, “I wrote that, and I’m proud of it.” Before you start, take my free 12-step self-publishing checklist so you don’t skip a step.

My very first book was my first experience of publishing at all. I followed advice to pay for a premium cover, and I paid someone on a freelance marketplace to put one together in a Photoshop-type program. It looked terrible and it was embarrassing. I have no background in graphic design, so it looked okay to me at first.

Editing was the second challenge. I sent the manuscript to several editors, and each time they found a pile of things to change. These weren’t spelling problems but structure and how things fit together. At some point I called it quits on editing because I wanted to get the book on the market, and I ordered a high-quality cover through Upwork for about a hundred dollars.

When I held the paperback in my hands I’d achieved my goal. My first book was Achieve Your Goals Now With Power Lists, and the goal was to get a book on the market. I was surprised by the print quality from CreateSpace (today KDP Print). You format your ideas, order the cover, and the result looks like it came from a bookstore. I had thought self-publishing would end up as garbage, and I was wrong. It was still a book I needed to learn to sell, which I cover in here’s a quick way to get your book out fast.

How do I have a book I can be proud of?

1. Write about something you’re excited about. If you aren’t enthusiastic, how can your readers be? The most powerful marketing is to keep coming out with more books in the same niche, as I told a coaching client recently. It can get boring, but that’s how you build an audience. I focus on self-publishing, not puppy training, because I love it. Don’t write about something you don’t care about just because the keyword looks profitable. You can pay a ghostwriter, but that isn’t a book you wrote and are proud of. See have more book sales with less pain.
2. Get a high-quality cover and pay for editing. For covers, order from a freelance marketplace, hire a higher-end designer, or use a design contest site. About a hundred dollars for a cover worked for me, and you can order a couple and see which you like. If something looks wrong, ask the designer to change it until you’re proud of it. For editing, look for someone whose native language is the language of your book and who has editing experience. You don’t need to pay thousands: a high school teacher who edits papers can find simple mistakes. More advanced editors charge more and give better service. The Alliance of Independent Authors says it’s always a mistake to forego the editing (11-Dec-20).
3. Expect to mess things up, then fix them. You’ll make mistakes in your first book. Learn and move on. You can fix a lot after publishing. KDP says an ISBN cannot be changed on a published book, and the title, subtitle and author name are locked on a published ebook. On a paperback or hardcover you can edit them within 72 hours of first publication, then you need a new edition. Content and cover updates have their own KDP help pages, so check them. On the Kindle version you can add sections, remove irrelevant ones and fix grammar mistakes readers mention in reviews. That’s another reason to get the book out: readers can tell you “we love this part, but this part was confusing.”

What happens if readers report typos in my ebook?

KDP’s Guide to Kindle Content Quality says “Typos are among the most common quality issues customers report”, and that if readers report a problem, “we’ll make sure you know about it.” A moderate number of distracting issues can leave the book on sale with a temporary quality warning on its detail page. A critical issue removes the book from sale until it is corrected.

KDP’s advice for a typo is to search for the word throughout the text so every copy of it gets fixed, and to check the whole book in Kindle Previewer, because formatting errors tend to repeat. So a report is not the end of your book. It is a list of things to fix, which is why I still say you should pay for editing before you publish.

Does a self-published book have to be taken less seriously?

No. Andy Weir posted The Martian chapter by chapter on his own website (Wisconsin Public Radio, 6-Oct-15), then published it on Amazon, and a publisher and an agent found it. Read self-published books better than traditional publishing? for more. When your readers are excited and you keep putting out new books, that’s a winning combination.

Have you written a book you’re proud of? Write “yes” or “no” in the comments.

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