10 Lessons Learned in 4 Years of Self-Publishing
As of next Tuesday, I will have accomplished a major goal: to write and publish a five-book series!
In four years, I have self-published six books (one is not in the Jovian Universe). A five-book series was not always the goal. The goal began with just one book. It wasn’t until I realized that the story I told in Book 1 needed Book 2 to finish it that it became a duology. By the end of the duology, I had created a much bigger world than the two books could contain, and that's when I decided it would be five books.
I had a pentalogy on my hands! I didn’t even know the word pentalogy before I decided to write one.
Of course, this was not the only thing I learned during my four years of self-publishing. I have learned much, much more, and the most important truths and experiences follow:
1) The insecurity doesn’t go away. Even after publishing six books, I still reach a point in the editorial process where I think the book is awful and I can’t write—that I am, as a matter of fact, a terrible writer.
Thanks to experience, I tell myself that this is my “I am no good” phase. I pass through this phase with every book that I write. It's part of my process, and once I’ve made the 100,000 or so edits required to move on to the next phase, my book will be much improved.
To keep myself going, I try to remember the small successes I’ve had over the years, and the fact that whenever I go back to a book I've written and read a page or two, I can honestly say I’m pleased with the writing. In other words, the process works.
Takeaway: Expect to reach this stage in which nothing seems right about your book, and then continue to power through. It’s not easy. You can’t be lazy. You must determine where the problems are and fix them, find the errors and correct them, and diligently smooth the awkward phrases. You can do it! Once you’re past this difficult, dirty, ugly part that makes you want to pull your hair, you will be over the hump.
2) You’ll do whatever you’re comfortable doing, as far as marketing goes. I wanted to do it all: blogging, article writing, book signings, TikTok, reels … but I do not do all of these things. There simply aren't enough hours in the week.
If you enjoy social media, that’s where you’ll spend your time and money. If you have a knack for advertising, you’ll hone your skills on Facebook, Amazon, or Bookbub. If you’re a social butterfly, you’ll book in-person events where you can make connections and wow everyone with your awesome reading/communication skills. I do what I'm good at and let the rest fall by the wayside.
Takeaway: Do what feels right. Marketing should be somewhat enjoyable, definitely not a drag. But remember that sometimes it’s a good idea to reach beyond your comfort zone; try new things!
3) Writing brings people together, and you will find your tribe. It’s fun to meet other writers via social media, conferences, writing groups, and classes. Writing has brought so many friends to my doorstep, and I’m really grateful for that. Writers have so much in common even if they don’t have a lot in common—and by that I mean the writing life itself endows us with several basic commonalities. We all write by ourselves, we all need beta readers, we all struggle to find the time, and we all want our books to do well. And on and on.
Takeaway: Once you self-publish and put yourself out there, you will naturally meet people who want to connect. Welcome the collaboration. Writing is a solitary endeavor, but you also need a support system.
4) Monitoring KU is a blast. I should say, it’s a blast some of the time, usually after you’ve done a promotion and you’re getting hundreds (or thousands) of page-reads. For those who are not part of KDP Select, KU is the Kindle Unlimited subscription library, where readers can borrow books on their Kindle. Authors in KDP have access to a report that tells them exactly how many page-reads their book receives every day. We are paid by the page-read, and if you’re racking up thousands a day, you’re making some decent money.
The reason I love this opportunity is that I can SEE that people are actually reading my books. I can surmise when someone reads a whole book in one day. I can monitor read-through for the series as a whole. It's amazing to be able to do this! If I wasn’t part of KU, I would have no idea whether anyone was reading the books at all. While it's possible to take note of when a book has been ordered, it's not possible to know that the ordered book was actually read.
Takeaway: If you’re not in KDP because you’ve “gone wide,” consider signing up for KDP for a 90-day time period. I don’t know about you, but I don’t believe anything unless I see it. And KU assures me that people out there are actually reading my books.
5) Moving forward, I need to advertise if I want to speed up the popularity of my series. I must start advertising on Amazon or Bookbub. So far I’ve relied only on organic methods of marketing, and while I’ve been pleased with the results—almost 35,000 copies of my books into readers’ hands via sales and giveaways—I need to go farther. I need to be like Dmitri and head into the “out there.” (Cold Light of Fate readers know what I'm talking about!)
Takeaway: You can market your book any way you like, but paid advertising done right can provide a big boost.
6) The writing life teaches patience, if that’s a lesson you have yet to learn. Children are usually pretty good at teaching their parents patience, but if you don’t have kids, surely your books will do the trick. Most of the time, self-publishing is a marathon, not a sprint, with success coming after several books and much marketing. There’s no forcing your book to be successful, and becoming “known” takes time. We writers dwell in a crowded, very competitive market.
Takeaway: If you want to make authorship a career, plan to write many books.
7) Let your friends/acquaintances show interest in your book. Meaning, don’t push your book on the people you do business with. Wait until they ask for it. Otherwise, you may find yourself engaging in awkward conversations. For instance, I’ve gifted my book to a few people I know, without asking if they enjoy sci-fi or even novels in general. You’d think that would be something nice to do, and it might be, but it may also cause some trouble between you and that person.
Many things can happen after you have given them the book: the person can read and like your book (best-case scenario), the person can read and not like your book, the person can avoid reading your book, the person can wish you never gave them your book and feel guilty for not reading it. Most of those options aren't good.
Do you see how this might create an awkward situation the next time you happen upon this person?
Takeaway: My advice is to tell the people in your life that you’ve written a book and published it. You can tell them it’s doing well or that it has won an award—but do not offer it as a gift unless that person actually say, “I’d love to read it.” Not everyone is a reader, and not everyone appreciates the genre you write in.
8) Health issues due to writing are real. I’ve had so many nagging issues caused by my writing and editorial pursuits. Of course, I’ve been at this for decades now, so what’s happened to me probably does not apply to everyone. I’ve had hip pain, which I believed was caused by a joint issue but ended up being sizable muscle knots due to years of sitting. I went to physical therapy for four months to work the knots out. I’ve had ocular migraines for twenty years, many of them brought on by a drop in barometric pressure combined with too much screen time. My migraines recently became vestibular migraines, which give me dizziness and vertigo. I went to PT for six months and have to do daily eye exercises to fend them off. Overly tight shoulder muscles add to the trouble, which I stretch daily. Throw in some TMJ, and that sums up my writerly woes. All of this in spite of the fact that I am an avid exerciser!
Takeaway: If you’re going to write for a long time, be mindful of your posture and ergonomics. Don’t wait years like I did before seeking help. And be sure to stretch and exercise throughout the week. A little bit of stretching goes a long way!
9) Self-publishing can be overwhelming. We wear so many hats. Seriously, our hat closet is full. We write, edit, proofread, create covers, format page designs, handle marketing and promotion, launching and advertising … Have I forgotten anything? It’s a full-time job and most of us are not able to work on it full-time.
Takeaway: Use whatever budget you have to hire out what you can, not only because you’re not an expert at everything but because you’re going to need help if you want to make all your deadlines and remain mentally healthy. It’s really hard to do it all.
10) Writing books and publishing is the most gratifying way I can spend my life. For me it’s about how I spend my time. I want to pursue and improve my art. I want to contemplate life’s mysteries and explore the what-ifs. I love creating characters that go on adventures that lead to emotional epiphanies. I’m so grateful I discovered writing when I did and that I have been able to pursue my writing dreams.
Takeaway: Write because it expands your inner universe, because it adds color and joyfulness to your life. Write because it’s what you love to do.
Thanks so much for joining me on my self-publishing journey!
The Cold Light of Fate, comes out in one week. Purchase a 99-cent digital copy on Amazon today.
