5 Lessons I Learned from Self-Publishing
After publishing 14 books, self-publishing taught me 5 valuable lessons
At the beginning of my writing career, I was just a wanna-be writer who had the dream of publishing my young adult dystopian book.
With no idea or plan on how I wanted to proceed, I decided to go the path of self-publishing and it has been a wild ride, to say the least.
Yes, I have considered and been offered traditional publishing deals in the past. But ultimately, I knew what my work was worth and that these deals weren’t going to bring me the joy that self-publishing has. And although my journey has been unconventional, I have learned five valuable lessons along the way.
It takes time to build an audience
I never in a million years would have thought I would have built an audience. Especially since I am a multi-genre author.
Some of my readers call me the superhero lady since I write superhero fiction, while others call me the dandelion lady since I have a children’s book called Dandelion.
But the biggest lesson that I have learned is that your audience doesn’t miraculously appear overnight. It takes time to build this audience and for them to find you. In fact, most authors don’t grow their audience until they have at least 3 to 5 books under their name.
The point is, don’t be discouraged if it takes longer than you expect for your audience to grow.
2. No author’s journey is the same
I have so many authors who message me on X and ask me what I did to sell copies of my book or to have 34k followers on X. And every time I honestly tell them, ‘I can tell you what I did, but in reality, you’ll end up finding what works for you.’
At the beginning of my career, I paid three thousand dollars for a service called CreateSpace to edit, create a cover, write my book description, and upload my book to Amazon. And as wonderful as that was, it took me years to recoup that cost and it almost made me never write another book. Yet, a group of indie authors on X showed me that I could self-publish again for significantly less, and now I have 14 books published.
(See Rushing to Publish Cost Me Three Thousand Dollars)
Some authors will publish traditionally and have a miraculous career if their book manages to take off.
On the other side, some writers will choose to self-publish and do well, while others won’t do well and quit.
Every journey is unique to the writer and won’t be the same for anyone else.
3. Helping others never hurt anyone
The more we learn as authors, the more we can give back (in my opinion).
Had I not met the other indie authors on X all those years ago, I wouldn’t be where I am today. And knowing what I know now, I do my best to tell other people my experiences and any advice I can pass on. Because in the end, helping others will only improve the world of self-publishing.
4. Not all readers will love your work
In my opinion, like pieces of artwork, books are also a subjective business.
One book that I love, my best friend may not love. And that is just the way that it is.
The longer you write and publish books, the higher the chance you come across a reader who doesn’t like your book. Someone who couldn’t connect with your characters or your message. And that is perfectly fine.
In addition to this, there will come a time when you receive a negative review. (It’s okay.)
Look at any popular book and scroll through the comments. Chances are high that you see a healthy number of negative reviews in with all the positive. But the good thing is that having some negative reviews helps some readers see what would work for them and what wouldn’t when they are deciding whether or not to purchase a book.
5. Learn to wear all hats of self-publishing and keep learning
Self-publishing can feel like you’re taking on a rocky mountain hill on a tricycle in the beginning as you learn the ropes.
However, if you are willing, you can learn all the parts of the process and manage to do them well.
In the beginning, I had no knowledge of how to make a cover but I learned. Admittedly, I was terrible in the beginning. But the more I tried, researched, and learned from others, the better I became.
(See Updating My Book Covers Increased My Chance of Sales)
There are tons of seasoned authors out there who are willing to answer your questions or help where they can. And there are tons of resources online or in books to teach you what you need to know. The question is, are you willing to learn it all so that you can keep your costs down and still put out a quality product for readers?
Self-publishing is tough in the beginning, but in the end, it’s all worth it.