![\"Self-Publishing](\"https:\/\/blogger.googleusercontent.com\/img\/b\/R29vZ2xl\/AVvXsEgKYJ4BPJdTuB8bZ6u0PTMdoqr7Om_MJsa4ajd672OcXOlwmZYZ49ec7MPP5eMuLsdJGubVKQpIHOGfJCRO2wq27r70hxOA6gTqyGV3C0OCLJ4NNg57N406Q1gDdF_FQopEkhowbzW1eQ\/s648\/8+Ready.jpg\" "\\"Ready")
<\/a><\/div>\nSelf-publishing Too Most How Your First When Amazon, for example, only shows When When
\nis not as \u2018easy\u2019 as it’s cracked up to be. Sure, theoretically anyone can do
\nit. But, just because it’s easy<\/span>\u00a0to<\/span>\u00a0put your book online does not mean that you
\nshould or even that it will make you any money. The reality of self-publishing
\nis that it is a very tough business, especially on Amazon. You are going
\nagainst big publishers who have a ton of experience putting their books on the
\nmarket.\u00a0<\/span>How will<\/span>\u00a0you ma<\/span>ke<\/span>\u00a0sure that your book stands out?<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/div>\n8 Things I\u00a0<\/span><\/b>Have Learned
\nSelf-Publishing<\/span><\/b><\/h2>\n
<\/span><\/b><\/h3>\n1.
\nHave Reasonable Expectations<\/span><\/b><\/h3>\n
\nmany people make the mistake of thinking that if you put a book on Amazon it
\nwill sell itself. The reality is that your book is one book in a vast library
\nof over 8,000,000 books. If you do not advertise your book, you will not sell a
\nsingle copy and no one will know it exists. Just because you sneaked your book
\ninto the largest public library in the world, does not mean that anyone will
\nfind it. If you are not worried about sales, go to point two. If you would like
\nto make some actual cash, then you will need to make an advertising plan and
\nconsider how much money you want to spend. Most newbies do not sell more than a
\nfew hundred books. If you would like to make more than that, you will need to
\ndo a lot of work researching the best ways to market your book to your niche<\/span><\/p>\n2.
\nDon’t Rush It<\/span><\/b><\/h3>\n
\nauthors spend months to years perfecting a book before they bring it to press.
\nIf you have only spent a couple of weeks, your book is nowhere near finished.
\nJoin a critique group, have other authors read your work, or pay for an editor
\nto help you out.\u00a0 Even bestselling authors send their texts to editors to
\nbe improved and this process often takes longer than writing itself. My tip.
\nEdit. Edit. Edit.<\/span><\/p>\n3.
\nReflect on Your Illustrations<\/span><\/b><\/h3>\n
\ndo your illustrations compare to other books on the market? When your washing
\nmachine breaks down, you hire a repair person who is an expert to fix it. Your
\nillustrator should be an expert, too. Illustrators work hard at their craft and
\nshould be paid for their expertise. If you think minimum wage is reasonable,
\nyour book will look minimum, too. This is why traditional publishers have their
\nown in house illustrators who they know are experts in their field. If you want
\nto sell lots of books and you are not an artist, do not do your own
\nillustrations. Also, finish all of your editing before you find an
\nillustrator.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n3.
\nShow Your Book to Strangers<\/span><\/b><\/h3>\n
\nfamily and friends will always say your book is great. They love you and don’t
\nwant to hurt your feelings. You need to find people who do not know you who are
\nwilling to read your book. Join a local writers group. Go to your local library
\nand ask your librarian if she knows of any people who would be willing to
\nanonymously critique your book or mentor you. Ask if you can read your book for
\nstory-time and see how children react to your book.<\/span><\/p>\n4.\u00a0
\nSpend Time Coming Up with a Superb Title<\/span><\/b><\/h3>\n
\nand foremost, your book needs a good title. This should not just sound good,
\nbut should also explain to those who do not know you or your book what they are
\ngoing to expect when they read it. Also, make sure that your title does not
\nsound scary, does not have any negative connotations, and is free from anything
\nthat could be considered controversial. A good title stands alone. In addition,
\nlook up your title on Google and Amazon and see what other books and products
\nhave similar names. This is an important step that shouldn’t be forgotten as
\nonce your title is uploaded, it is almost impossible to change.<\/span><\/p>\n5.
\nYour Cover is More Important Than Your Book<\/span><\/b><\/h3>\n
\npeople see a link or advertisement to your book, the first thing they will do
\nis look at the cover and read the title. Often this is only a tiny thumbnail
\nimage on a mobile phone. If the title is illegible or does not catch their
\nattention, they will not even read your blurb and they will definitely not buy
\nyour book. Your cover should tell us about what we will expect in the book. If
\nyou are doing your own cover, take time to look at other popular books in your
\ngenre to see how a good cover looks. A cover is not just an image and a title,
\nits layout, typeface, and understanding industry standards. Zoom out until your
\nimage is very small and see if it still works. My advice is to only do your own
\ncover if you have experience in book or graphic design. Unfortunately, you can
\nusually always spot a first time author by the cover of their book. A good
\ncover sells a book because you only get one chance to make a first impression.<\/span>\u00a0<\/p>\n6.
\nWrite a Great Blurb<\/span><\/b><\/h3>\n
\nthe first 2-3 sentences of your blurb and then writes ‘more…’ You need to
\ncatch people’s attention in those first few sentences so that they click on
\neither the ‘more’ button or buy your book. Hook your reader. Tell them why your
\nbook is so great and give them a taste as to what your book is about. While
\nputting together my\u00a0Best Coronavirus Children’s Books<\/span><\/a><\/b>\u00a0blog
\npost, I looked at hundreds of product pages and the majority of pages I saw
\nwere from first time authors.\u00a0 Many, were teachers, parents, and medical
\nworkers who decided to try to break into the children’s book market for the
\nfirst time. Although some of the newcomers surprised me with their concepts,
\ningenuity, and talent, others had absolutely no idea what they were doing.
\nNowhere in your blurb, for example, should you put yourself down and say that
\nyou are not a professional writer or illustrator. This may be true, but keep
\nthat information to yourself. If you are a teacher, than promote yourself with
\nyour experience working with children. If you are a parent, use that. And,
\ndon’t forget to write in the third person.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n6.
\nResearch Your Categories<\/span><\/b><\/h3>\n
\nyou upload to KDP you are allowed to pick two categories for your book.
\nNormally, these are general categories. If you want your book to be a
\nbestseller, you will need to do some research. Most of the ‘bestselling new
\nreleases’ are in categories you probably didn’t even know exist. Find other
\nbooks in your market, see what categories they are in, and add your book to the
\ncategories with the least amount of competition (that of course still represent
\nyour book).\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/p>\n7.
\nUse the Look Inside Function<\/span><\/b><\/h3>\n
\nI went researching coronavirus children’s books, I was amazed at how little
\ninformation authors give about their books. I rarely buy a book just based on
\nthe cover. Although I will buy a fiction book based on the blurb, for a
\nchildren’s book I need to be able to look inside. If I don’t know what your
\nbook is about, why should I buy it? Write to Amazon and have them set the ‘Look
\nInside’ feature to at least 50%. You want people to read your book and get
\nhooked. Tell people in the blurb what your book is about and why you wrote it.
\nThe more info, the better. My bestselling book\u00a0The Day the Lines Changed<\/span><\/a><\/b>\u00a0can
\nactually be read in its entirety on my website. So far this transparency has
\nactually improved my sales.<\/span>\u00a0<\/p>\n8.
\nDon’t Stop Now<\/span><\/b><\/h3>\n