In this article, I will be explaining the dos and don'ts of becoming a successful self-published author!
Although self-publishing does not have the same rules and regulations as traditional publishing, there are still guidelines for those who really want to be successful in the field...
I will also be giving you tried and tested tips on how to get your self-published book to become a best-seller!
Self-Publishing VS Traditional Publishing
Let's take a quick look at how self-publishing differs from traditional publishing.
Self-publishers are writers who get to keep all the rights to their books. You also have the right to take all the royalties. Keeping royalties will, however, depend on the platform you will be using to sell your books.
If you choose to sell through your own author website, 100% of the royalties will belong to you. On the other hand, if you sell your books through third-party websites like Amazon, IngramSpark or Lulu, a certain percentage of the profit will go to those.
With traditional publishing, the writer does not keep the rights to the book.
Also, a certain percentage of the profit will go to the publishing house. One advantage of traditional book publishing is that if the writer has the opportunity of getting the book published by one of the big publishing companies, there is a higher probability that millions of copies of the book will be sold.
Can Self Published Books Become Best Sellers?
Yes, a self-published book can become a Best-seller.
However, for a self-published book to become a best-seller, it takes a lot of hard work and sacrifice.
Here is a list of some best-selling self-published books:
For the remainder of this article, I will be giving out guidelines that will make your self-published book become a best seller. Also, the factors that you need to consider before your book can become a bestseller will be discussed.
Tips and Tricks on Becoming a Best Seller
Why do you want to learn how to self-publish?
Asking yourself this question will go a long way in helping you write a best seller. There are several reasons why people write books and self-publish. Some of the reasons why people write books include;
To share knowledge
One of the primary reasons people decide to write books is to want to share the knowledge they have gathered over the years. People with established businesses also do this to create multiple income streams and advertise their expertise in that field to clients or prospective clients.
To tell your story
Everyone has a story to tell, and we all love good stories, whether it is a personal grass-grace story, a description of a struggle or a book about sacrifice.
To Entertain
Humor is one of the many things we all enjoy. Funny people have a way of attracting people to them. Entertaining books are short; they could be cartoons or include funny photos of animals.
To grow your business
As a business owner, writing a book is one sure way to get across to prospective customers; it doesn't matter whether you sell the book or give it out for free. This type of book connects you with prospective clients. They also get to know how you grew your business, what services your business offers, your level of expertise, and how you can meet their needs.
If you can come up with about eight reasons why you want to write and self-publish a book, then you are good to go.
1. Sit down and write
While writing a book comes very easy for others, for others, this isn't always the case. Many people have to brainstorm for hours before getting started on their book. Well, it doesn't matter if it comes easy to you or it doesn't. Here are some things you need to do to write a good book.
Create a Schedule
You could schedule your writing to be on a daily or weekly basis; it will involve you setting deadlines on your calendar. By the end of each week, you should have achieved your goals for your book. It would help if you also tried to write at the same time every day.
Create a Workspace
A workspace is vital; this space could be a quiet place at home, work, or a spot in the library. Make that corner yours and try to do your writing there. You also need to find yourself someone that you will be accountable to; this person will be able to check that you are meeting your set deadlines and writing goals.
2. Perfection is in your hands
You need to involve good readers and writers as early as possible during your writing; this could be after creating your first draft. You could give and pay someone to read through the book to see if it makes any sense at all and check for undeniable grammatical errors. This person could also give you some writing pointers that they think should be included in your book. Some software enables you to write better and polish your writing, like Hemmingway and Grammarly.
3. Brainstorm on a catchy title
The title of a book is almost as important as the book's content, if not more important. While choosing your book's title, make sure you do it after completing your book's first draft; this way, you won't be writing in the direction of the book's title; this can make you put yourself in a tight corner.
Here are some tips for choosing a perfect title:
Keep it simple, short, and catchy
There is no need to make the title complicated. People will lose interest before they even pick up or decide to read the book if the title is long. You want the title of your book to steal the person's attention from the moment they set their eyes on the book.
It has to be unique. Make sure you pick a title that has not been chosen before or a famous phrase.
It should be relevant to the book's content. Your book's title should not be too far off from what you want the reader to learn. The title shouldn't be A, while the content is B. People pick books based on what they need or what they feel they need, and they can easily decipher if this book will attend to their needs based on the title.
4. It's time to judge a book by its cover
We were taught as kids never to judge a book by its cover; well, these days investing in the exterior of your book will go a long way to making it a best seller, and frankly speaking we all judge things based on the way they look on the outside
A good book cover will have:
A Simple design
The cover shouldn't be full of a lot of content or pictures
Bold Title
You should boldly write the title of your book on the book cover.
Professional Design
Contact a professional book cover designer to design the cover for your book. There are several sites online where you can get someone to work on the cover for your book.
5. Your own Kindle Account
On Amazon, you can create and own your e-book and audiobook. Many self-published authors use it because it also allows you to print books and deliver them to your buyers instantly. Create an amazon kindle account, input your tax information, and you are good to go. The only drawback with this step is that, unfortunately, amazon does not print paperbacks in some countries; India is one. Amazon KDP can also be used to format your book, and, lastly, publish your book. The process is easy.
6. Marketing
Marketing is the most crucial stage in getting your book to becoming a best seller because if your marketing strategy is terrible, people will not buy your book.
Forming a book launch team
Your book launch team should be in place before you publish your book. After your first draft, I'll advise you form your book launch team. This team should consist of a small group of people dedicated to seeing your books succeed. You don't need to know them on a personal level. You can take advantage of several social media and blogging sites. They should be ready to help you with the book's marketing, and you need to ask them questions like why they want to be a part of your book launch team.
Your team could help you with the following tasks;
- Building a website for your book
- Purchase several copies of the book for their friends
- Leave reviews of your book on their YouTube and other social media channels.
- They could also take a line, page, or quote from your book and share it on their social media channels or blogs and reference your book.
Take advantage of reviews.
While marketing your book, you need to take advantage of every positive review you can get your hands on. Tell your friends, fans, and followers on different social media and blogging sites to go on several e-commerce sites and leave positive reviews for your book. You can also contact influencers, book reviewers, and people with a massive follower's base to leave reviews of your book on their social media or blogs.