Check out the essential tips every first-time self-published author needs to know!
Thanks to technology, self-publishing a book is easier than ever for new authors, but here are 8 tips for self-publishing your first book to help you avoid some of the common pitfalls new Australian authors encounter.
Self-publishing is a cost-effective and easy way to publish your book while retaining 100% of the copyright, royalties, and design aspects. Regardless of whether you plan on self publishing an ebook or paperback, below are 8 tips for self-publishing every author needs to know.
In the following article, we’ll cover the following self-publishing tips including:
If you have written a book and need assistance with any self-publishing services such as editing, ebook formatting, paperback formatting, or cover design, send us a message via the Contact Us page.
We’ll help you self-publish your book on popular self-publishing platforms such as Amazon Kindle Direct Publishing (KDP), IngramSpark Publishing, Smashwords Publishing, Apple Books, and many more.
8 Tips for Self-Publishing Your First Book
1. Get Your Book Edited
Professional editing of your book is an absolute must. Even the most experienced authors utilize teams of editors for copyediting, developmental editing or structural editing, and proofreading.
No author or writer is perfect, and once you’ve done a few rounds of self-editing, it’s time to hand your book over to a professional editor.
Basic editing is copyediting and proofing for grammar, spelling, and punctuation. A more advanced edit, known as structural or developmental editing, looks at flow, consistency, character development, and story arc and then suggests revisions to help you, as the author, correct the issues.
Check out What Is Book Editing? The Book Editing Process! Learn more about the editing process and how it helps you as an author.
2. Professional Book Covers Sell Books
Your book cover is undeniably the most significant selling point of your book. Whether you sell a paperback or ebook, it’s the first thing any reader will see on a bookshelf or a self-publishing platform such as Amazon KDP.
Not only does your book cover consistently do its job selling your book, but it’s also a powerful marketing tool as you promote your book. Getting your book cover right is vital. However, it’s never too late to change your book cover and get a new design. In fact, it’s well worth considering a cover upgrade if you feel as if your current cover design isn’t doing your book justice.
The biggest pitfalls many self-published authors face is cutting corners by doing certain things themselves because they’re working on a tight budget, and the easiest way to identify many self-published books is the cover.
Did you know you can get a professional book cover design at an affordable price? Our book cover design packages include two design concepts, an ebook cover, a paperback cover, and two promotional book images that you can use for social media and marketing. Best of all, they’re affordable for Australian authors looking to publish their books, and an essential part of this article on tips for self-publishing.
Check out 4 Tips for Working with A Book Cover Designer! Learn more about the book cover design process and how to get the most out of your book cover design package.
3. Avoid Offers That Sound too Good to be True!
It would be incorrect to assume that the most expensive self-publishing services are the best, and likewise, the cheapest are the worst. While price is often a good indicator, if your gut instinct tells you something is ‘not quite right,’ there’s a good chance you’re right.
Most respectable self-publishing service providers won’t approach you with offers. Getting offers via email or phone call to publish your book, along with hybrid and vanity publishers, which offer to ‘publish’ your book for a small commission and ongoing royalties while retaining the rights to your book, should be carefully considered before making any commitment.
At Author Services Australia, we offer a full suite of affordable self-publishing services, all the way up to and including uploading your ebook or paperback to self-publishing platforms for you, but we don’t publish your book. You retain 100% of your royalties and all rights to your work.
Before signing any contracts with hybrid and vanity publishers, read the contract, reread it, and if you have to, seek professional legal advice. Understanding what you’re paying for, what services they provide, and what you’re giving away when you sign the contract is essential. Getting advice is always essential, and our tips for self-publishing article wouldn’t be complete without it.
Check out their reviews online and on social media. Do a Google search about the company, and if possible, seek out other authors who have used their services and ask them for their personal experiences.
4. Purchase Your ISBNs
Publishing sites such as Amazon KDP offer authors free versions of an ISBN known as an ASIN. However, an ASIN is only used on Amazon KDP. You won’t be able to self-publish your book on other self-publishing platforms using that number.
Take control of your content and purchase an ISBN, which you own and control for each version of your book, ebook, paperback, hardcover, or audiobook.
In Australia, authors can purchase their ISBNs via Thorpe-Bowker Australia. They have a 10-pack of ISBNs, which is excellent value if you’re considering publishing multiple books.
Check out Do I Need An ISBN In Australia? To learn more about ISBNs and purchasing ISBNs in Australia.
5. Choosing A Self-Publishing Platform
Easily two of the biggest self-publishing platforms available to Australian authors planning on self-publishing their book are Amazon KDP and IngramSpark, but they’re not the only two options.
Below are just some of the most popular self-publishing platforms available to Australian authors:
To make choosing a self-publishing platform, or platforms, a little easier, check out this article, The Best Self-Publishing Platforms to Self-Publish Your Books!
One of the biggest advantages platforms such as IngramSpark Publishing and Amazon KDP offer self-published authors is Print On Demand. Print On Demand (POD) allows customers to purchase your book, with the platforms selling, printing, and shipping the book directly to the customer on your behalf.
It’s a completely hands-free experience for authors. Once your book is uploaded and available for purchase, you don’t have to worry about anything. They handle it all for you, and you receive a royalty for your hard work.
To learn more about Print On Demand, check out What Is Print On Demand for Authors?
6. Book Marketing
Unless you’re famous or infamous or have a substantial pre-built audience waiting for your book to be published, it’s unlikely that the world will just stumble upon your book when you hit the publish button. Our tips for self-publishing wouldn’t be complete without covering marketing and social media.
However, there are a few things that you can do that don’t involve spending substantial amounts of money as a new author just entering the self-publishing world.
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- Build your social media audience as you work on the book – Start creating your social media accounts as you write the book so that when you publish, you have somewhat of an audience ready. Instead of posting a little on a lot of different platforms, pick two or three of the main ones and invest your time there creating high-quality content. Spreading yourself too thin means you’ll just burn out on social media before you start. Create content suited to each platform. Check out Why Every Author Needs An Author Marketing Plan!
- Book description, keywords, and book links – Polish your book description, grab appropriate keywords, and use clean book links when advertising or sharing your book. Not many new authors know this, but you should always use clean book links when you share your book. We wrote an article that explains it all here – Always Use A Clean Book Link when Sharing Your Book!
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7. Be Realistic About Your Book
Many new authors hit that magical ‘Publish Now’ button, sit back, and expect the sales and reviews to come flooding in. However, it’s not that easy, and for most authors, especially new Australian self published authors, publishing a book is just the start of the hard work, and that’s where some tips for self-publishing come in handy.
On top of all the traditionally published books, there are thousands of self-published books released each week. In fact, over 4 million books are published each year, which means that every day, over 1,500 books are published. Whatever way you look at it, that’s a lot of competition.
For most self-published authors, being an author will never be their full-time career. An article published in Publishers Weekly, based on a survey conducted by the Alliance of Independent Authors (Alli), found of 2,200 authors surveyed, the average annual income from their books was $12,749.
Other key findings from the survey include:
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- Almost ¼ of authors hadn’t earned any money from their books.
- Half of the authors surveyed earned over $20,000 in revenue.
- In 2022, more than 2,000 authors made over $100k in royalties from Amazon KDP.
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Being a self-published author, especially a successful one, involves wearing many hats. You’re the project manager, assistant, manager, point of contact, marketer, and accountant.
8. Connect with Other Authors – Make Friends
Just because you write alone, and being an author is typically a pretty solitary occupation, it doesn’t mean you can’t be social and make friends, particularly with other authors.
Not only is it good for your mental health and well-being to make friends, but it will also help you with building your professional network. Authors, editors, graphic designers, reviewers, bloggers, librarians, and bookstore managers and owners will all be extremely beneficial to know and build a relationship with, especially when you first get started as a new Australian author.
8 Tips for Self-Publishing Your First Book | Conclusion
Being a first-time author can be exciting, daunting, and gut-wrenchingly painful, but if you ask most self-published authors, they won’t change a thing. If you take the time to do some research, plan each step along the way, and be open to suggestions, and ready to pivot and change directions when needed, you’ll have the best chance of success, and we wish you all the best on your journey into the exciting world of publishing.
At Author Services Australia, we support Australian, New Zealand, and International self-published authors and writers with a full range of affordable self-publishing services, including ghostwriting, copyediting, developmental editing, proofreading, ebook and paperback formatting, book cover design, children’s book illustrations, graphic design services, manuscript uploading assistance, and social media and marketing.
If you have written a memoir and need assistance with self-publishing services such as editing, ebook formatting, paperback formatting, or cover design, send us a message via the Contact Us page.
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If you’re new to self-publishing, check out The Best Self-Publishing Platforms to Self-Publish Your Books!