I had the pleasure to speaking to the Apex Writers Guild this week, and it reminded me once again about how important it is to discuss book publishing on a face-to-face basis with authors that are still straddling the self-publishing fence. Although it may eventually be very rewarding, self-publishing can often be an unfamiliar and confusing world for new authors.

We had a diverse group in attendance–two were poets, but several other genres were represented. One person was a graphic artist, another was looking to write a series of novels, and one author was writing a self-improvement book. Another author had previously self-published a humorous grammar book but was looking to republish to achieve better efficiencies and lower costs. One of my author clients, Carolynn Woods, was also there to share her experiences as a first-time published author.

It’s important to note, however, that the authors above wouldn’t necessarily have identical self-publishing and marketing paths ahead of them. Not only do their books represent different genres and markets, but each person has their own unique skill set that they bring to the table. Some will have an easier time than seeing this through than others, because in the world of self-publishing one size definitely doesn’t fit all.

I’ve had the fortunate privilege of working with hundreds of successful self-published authors over the last nine years, and I have seen some consistencies in their attitudes and approaches that contributed to their success.  After highlighting these “Self-Publishing Rules” in person with the writers group, and as I prepare for tomorrow’s talk at the Southern Entrepreneurship Spring Conference, it has occurred to me that you might find some of these ideas useful as you begin your publishing journey.

Rule #1: You must be aggressive. Before you decide to self-publish you must be fully determined to aggressively write, publish and market your book–don’t jump into the process halfway or you won’t succeed.

I’ve met too many authors that, after five years, still haven’t finished their book, and I’ve also met too many authors that are afraid to even ask a potential buyer to read their book. That won’t cut it in self-publishing, where you are solely responsible for your publishing and marketing success.  You have to give it all you’ve got.

Rule #2: Be realistic about traditional publishing. These days, traditional publishing contracts are getting harder to come by, not easier. If you’re trying to publish your first book, look around and ask other more established authors (self-published or traditional published) about how often new authors are being picked up by the major publishers. As I mentioned to the Apex Writers Guild, getting picked up by a major publisher these days is akin to winning the lottery. Yes, it may happen, but the odds are working against you.

What is often happening, however, is that successful self-published authors are being picked up by the traditional publishers. Why? Because a) you had the guts to do it on your own, and b) you’ve achieved some success–sales, sales ranking, reviews, etc. That makes you a better bet for the big boys (when compared to some untested author).

Rule #3: Don’t wait too long to self-publish. If you’re dead set about pursuing traditional publishing prior to going the self-publishing route, I say go for it. Anyone can win the lottery, or maybe you have some inside connections, or maybe you just want to prove something to yourself. And who can blame you for trying? However, give yourself a date–such as six months–when you’ll re-evaluate your results and consider a self-publishing alternative.

Also, don’t drag on your traditional publishing query-writing longer than necessary if all the signs point to continued rejection. Do some soul-searching and be honest with yourself. When I was with Lulu, I once met an 85 year old author at a book conference outside of London. She told me she had written four manuscripts over the last thirty years and had received over fifty rejection letters, but still held out hope that she would be published one day.

She made it clear that in her opinion self-publishing had a negative stigma that would taint her credibility. I tried to persuade her that she should let her readers decide whether she was credible–not the book industry–and that self-publishing would at least afford her that opportunity. She wasn’t convinced, and my fear is that her work even now hasn’t seen the light of day.

Is that you? Will you commit to not letting it become you?

Rule #4: Get help if you need it. As I mentioned in my last post, self-published authors might wear a lot of hats during the pre-publishing, publishing and marketing activities for their book. However, trust your instincts when it comes to your strengths and weaknesses, and know when you’ll a) need to better educate yourself, or b) need to find an expert to do the work for you.

For example, if you’ve had your manuscript 90% completed for a long period of time–like six months or longer– then you most likely need help finishing it (That’s ok, too, for we all know that finishing your book is much harder than starting it). However, most books–yes, even yours–can be finished. Ghost writers live in this world, and are well worth the expense of quickly getting your manuscript in acceptable publishing condition.

Also, you’re a writer, not a publisher. If you don’t want to bother with the self-publishing process then hire an expert to do it for you (cough, cough). If, however, you’re willing to learn about self-publishing there are a vast number of books and classes–another cough–available for you to educate yourself. Thousands of authors are doing this every day, so it’s not rocket science. Furthermore, if you learn how to do it yourself you’ll become much more proficient over time. Publishing is definitely a “learn by doing” discipline.

The same theory applies to the most important activity, book marketing–especially online marketing. In order to achieve even the slightest publishing success you must either learn this new, exciting world of social marketing or hire someone to teach you. And please don’t hire them to do the marketing for you. They’ll never know your book or your book’s audience as well as you will. That’s because you wrote it, and you know who you wrote it for!

There you go–four self-publishing rules to live by, at least at first. There are a few other more specific items that I’ll talk about next. I hope you find this helpful, and if you have any questions you know how to contact me–I’m at hhutton@publishandsell.com, or you can call me at the number below.

Until next time–keep publishing!

Henry Hutton
PublishandSell.com
hhutton@publishandsell.com
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