If we publish our book with a traditional publisher, there are no out-of-pocket expenses. The publisher even pays us an advance. Although it might not be much, at least we receive some money at the beginning of the publishing process. Not so with self-publishing. Self-publishing costs money, Self Publishing Costs Money This is not the […]
For the past two months, I’ve blogged about the nine self-publishing errors. My list isn’t comprehensive, but it’s a great starting point. Nine Self-Publishing Errors When you self-publish your next book, be sure to review these items. I know I will.
There are certain standards established publishers follow. Though these conventions may seem arbitrary, a failure to follow them could make your book stand out in a bad way. For example: Aside from issues of spelling for the last two items, I don’t know why or how these things became expected—or who decided on them in […]
To address the seventh of eight self-publishing errors, let’s take a step back. Let’s look at the bigger picture, that is, the book as a whole. Don’t self-published a book that looks homemade. In years past, this may have included photocopied pages, a simplistic cover, spiral binding (or three-hole punched for a binder), 8 1/2 […]
I call the sixth error of self-publishing, font abuse. That not as prevalent and it once was, font abuse is using multiple font styles, with varying point sizes throughout a manuscript. The author may view this as creative formatting, but the only thing it accomplishes is irritating the reader. At best, this barrage of fonts […]
If we avoid the first four errors of self-publishing (poor content, cover, title, and editing), we can still ruin our hard work with formatting errors. Just because a book looks good in Microsoft Word, doesn’t mean it’s going to convert nicely to an e-book. Even one conversion error will lower a reader’s esteem for our […]
After poor content, cover, and title, the fourth error is skipping or scrimping on the editing. Our books deserve quality editing. I’ve never met anyone who could self-edit with complete success. Yes, some writers are better than others. And, with time, we can all improve our self-editing skills, but we will never catch every error […]
In past posts, we’ve covered the importance of content and cover. The next element is the book title. People browsing books (be it online or in a bookstore) generally look at the cover first. If the cover grabs their attention, then they’ll read the title. If the title reinforces the cover or further interests them, […]
Last week, I said that the primary error of self-publishing is poor content. The second error, almost as critical, is a lousy book cover. People do, quite literally, judge a book by its cover—and even more so when buying online. Don’t Make Your Own Book Cover Unless you make a living designing book covers—or have […]
I read a lot of books, but I start more then I complete. Some books just aren’t worth finishing. With so many books waiting for my attention, it makes no sense to waste time reading a book I’ve lost interest in. Here are six reactions I have when I read a book: 1. Give Up […]