ONE:

I made my own covers.

Big, big mistake. Even with the best of intentions, we judge books by covers. It is human nature. The cover is the first thing to catch a reader’s eye, it does a lot of the heavy lifting.

Covers don’t need to be crazily expensive to be fit for purpose. A lot of cover designers offer different tiers of service, and pre-made covers are always a great shout!

TWO:

I self-rec’d at every opportunity.

I cringe now, looking back. The hardest bit about being self-published, in my opinion, is making readers aware that your book exists. Self-recs are not the way to do that (unless a reader asks for a specific rec and your book meets ALL their criteria).

I’m not saying that you can’t post on your own page about your books (I do it all the time). But there’s an unspoken etiquette to it. On your own page, readers can choose not to engage with your content, but if you’re encroaching on reader spaces (review groups, etc) that’s not okay.

THREE:

I took reviews to heart.

I’ve mostly become immune to ‘bad’ reviews. I don’t take them personally. Reviews (good and ‘bad’) help your book find the right audience. What I love in a book, you might hate. That’s life. It would be boring if we all loved the same things.

It can be hard to see negative reviews of something you worked so hard to create, but that’s the nature of the beast. One of my favourite bits of advice is to go and read 1-star reviews of your favourite books. You’ll see just how subjective it is.

FOUR:

I used to respond to reviews on Goodreads.

Oh, the horror!

The general rule of publishing is not to respond to reviews. Review spaces are reader spaces and therefore not for authors. If I’m tagged in a review, I’ll assume a reader wants me to see it and I’ll still respond. Otherwise, I keep clear. Please know, I truly appreciate every single review (good and bad) even if I don’t respond. I’m trying to be respectful.

I would like to point out that my interactions were basically: ‘Hey, thanks for taking the time to read my book and leave a review.’ I never argued or pleaded my case. I do, however, still read reviews. I can’t help myself!

FIVE:

I didn’t have any ARC readers.

The rookiest of rookie mistakes. ARC readers are given copies of the book pre-release with the understanding that they’ll share their honest reviews. It helps to drum up some interest and get the book out there. ARC readers are ANGELS (especially those who read self-pub’d books).

You can find ARC readers on FB groups or you can use websites such as BookSirens or Netgalley. Alternatively, you can post on your socials or use newletters to recruit. The number of advanced copies I’ve gifted has increased with each book. For You Need To Leave, I sent out around 200 ARCs.

SIX:

I felt embarrassed about being self-published.

This feeling only lasted until I connected with other self-pub authors online (some of whom are WILDLY successful). I felt like I had to qualify ‘I’m an author’ with ‘but I’m self-published’. Some of my favourite books I’ve ever read have been self-published or published through small independent presses. I’m so proud of my self-published books.

Yes, some self-published books suck, but if you tar every self-published book with the same cloth you’re going to miss out on some INCREDIBLE books written by insanely taleted people). There are many reasons a person might choose to self-pub. Don’t assume it was their last choice.

SEVEN:

I ‘winged’ it.

Basically, I just did what I thought I should do. I’d been ghostwriting a few years before I published my first book so I just assumed I knew enough to ‘get by’. I wish I’d done more research. I wish I’d sought out other self-published authors and learned from them. I knew my books were good quality, and I expected that to be enough to carry them. Spoiler: It did not. I learned a lot of things through making mistakes I could have avoided if I’d done my research.

There are so many facets of self-publishing that you don’t realise until you’re in the thick of it. ISBNs, websites, key words, author etiquette, advertising… You save a lot of time by researching before you start.

If I could start again there are a lot of things I would do differently.

However, I’m so grateful that my ‘mistakes’ still led me to the place I am right now. I am always learning new things about writing and publishing. I’m surrounded by so many talented and inspiring human beings. I’m genuinely excited to see what comes next.

You don’t have to be perfect, you just have to do it.

Sarah Jules XOXO