Top 3 Mistakes People Make Self-Publishing a Book

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The top three self-publishing mistakes are never publishing the book, not optimizing it, and not putting it in every format. Each one costs money. I made most of them in 2015. Here is each one and what to do instead.

What mistakes did I make at the start?

When I started in 2015, I paid too much for the cover and for editing. I had others format the book and then redid it myself, which cost more. I waited too long to put the book on the market, wasn’t publishing or writing enough, and thought I had to write everything myself. I put books in several genres under my name, which cut my authority in any of them. I was going it alone with a book that didn’t tell me the big mistakes.

Mistake 1: Why do people never publish?

They are too busy (but have time for Netflix) or they are perfectionists who think the book must be flawless first. A book that isn’t on the market won’t sell. See releasing a good vs perfect book.

Mistake 2: What does it mean to not optimize my book?

This one is pricey. Common signs:

1. You didn’t choose the right market in the first place.
2. The formatting is poor and the table of contents doesn’t sell the book. Use chapter headings as selling points.
3. The editing is awful.
4. The title and keywords are wrong, so people don’t find you when they search.
5. The description just says what the book is about instead of selling.
6. The price is off. My rule of thumb, not an Amazon figure: aim for about $2 profit on each ebook sale and about $5 on print, and raise the price when you get about six to ten sales in a month. KDP pays a 70% royalty on Amazon.com ebooks priced from $2.99 to $12.99.
7. Then, once it is live, you don’t market it or run the ads you need.

Mistake 3: Why should I put my book in every format?

Because most people don’t, and it can cost a large share of your income. I have seen this time and again with people. Put the paperback on KDP Print and IngramSpark, hardcovers on Lulu, an audiobook, and ebooks through Draft2Digital. Ebooks too on Barnes & Noble. You can also read what is the correct format for Kindle books.

Add formats one at a time, because KDP caps how fast you can add them. It allows up to 2 new titles per book format each week to create and to submit, and ebook, paperback and hardcover count as separate formats. Titles saved earlier as drafts count the first time you submit them, updates to submitted titles do not, and the week resets every Sunday at 12:00 AM UTC (KDP create a book).

Be careful about one trade-off. KDP Select is a free 90-day program for Kindle ebooks that gives you Free Book Promotions and Kindle Countdown Deals, and you can cancel within three days of the start of an enrollment period (KDP Select). Read the current terms before you enroll a book, and check what they mean for selling the same ebook in other stores.

But do not let this cause mistake number one. Get it out on Kindle Direct Publishing first, then move from there through all the formats and markets. I have not found a source to give exact numbers on how much extra income each format adds, so treat this as my experience.

What do other authors do about formats?

The Written Word Media 2025 survey of 1,346 indie authors found that 98% had an ebook and 97% a paperback, while 51% had an audiobook and 36% a hardback. So the audiobook and hardback are where most authors still have room to add. The same survey found Amazon was the top revenue source for 83% of respondents, which is a good reason to start there and add the other formats one at a time.

The survey also found that 38% had all their books in KDP Select and 30% had none in it, so authors split on this. Choose by what you can do for each book, not by what is popular.

Which mistakes have you made? If you want to avoid the rest, book a free 25-minute discovery call with me. Coaching is available too: group coaching is $47 a month and 1-on-1 coaching starts at $147 a month, both monthly, cancel any time, with a 7-day money-back guarantee.

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