Why you should act like you’re traditionally publishing when you’re self-publishing

Self-publishing has really taken over the publishing space. Whether that’s good or not remains to be seen.

Self-publishing currently doesn’t have a set of hard-and-fast rules. There is really nothing stopping you from self-publishing literally anything other than the small set of requirements of the various platforms one can publish on. For instance, Amazon requires things to be formatted in a specific way, and you must have a description to go along with your book.

This can be great news for many people.

Typically, it can be tough to jump through all of the hoops of traditional publishers. If your pitch doesn’t catch them within the first few lines, it really doesn’t matter how great your actual book is. Heck, even Harry Potter was rejected numerous times before someone took a chance, and then it became one of the best-selling franchises of all time.

And even if you are accepted, your book has to go through stringent editing and acceptance’s before it ever hits the market. This can take a toll on people. Having to appease the various editors and publishers can often change a lot of details in your story that you hold near and dear.

Self-publishing, on the other hand, means that you are guaranteed to get your book published and on the market, and typically you get to keep every detail that you envision. No one is holding your book hostage until you make those changes.

Self-publishing has been very successful for so many people… But here’s the thing:

Without there being a strict set of guidelines, there’s honestly a lot of garbage out there.

Now, I know that sounds harsh, but that’s the reality of it. Most people who self-publish skip all of the important steps (including getting their book edited) and just put it up on Amazon KDP and call it a day. Then, they wonder why they haven’t sold anything, or they’re getting bad reviews.

I took a self-publishing workshop with someone, bought her book and was so excited to dive in. But the book was only maybe 30-40 pages long, and it was riddled with typos. Like basic spelling and grammar mistakes. That’s not even mentioning the issues with the overall flow, structure, and presentation. I think I lasted maybe 10 pages before I literally got rid of the book… Yes, I didn’t even just DNF it… I actually got rid of it.

Here’s the big problem with self-publishing:

People aren’t valuing the process of making a good book. They value quick, cheap, and immediate rewards.

And don’t get me started on this whole AI business. Less and less people are valuing human work. They are using AI to write their book instead of hiring a ghostwriter; they’re running their book through an AI grammar checker instead of hiring a book editor. Honestly, some aren’t even doing that. They’re getting something written really quickly and just throwing it up. Then, they wonder why it’s not flying off the shelves.

I hate to be this person… But a good idea doesn’t always make a good book.

The best books really are the books that are edited the best.

And no, that’s not a sales pitch, and no, I’m not being biased. The best-selling books right now are well edited. Think about Fourth Wing, Atomic Habits, and even any Dr Seuss books. Those books aren’t best-sellers by chance. Those authors had fantastic editors who helped bring those books to life, so they would fly off the shelves.

When you treat your book like it’s an afterthought, like it’s a marketing tool, like it doesn’t matter, then it won’t. It won’t become a best-seller. You’ll be lucky to get 3-star reviews from your friend.

But self-published books are destined to fail. It’s not a guarantee that your book won’t do well.

The secret to success with a self-published book is…

To treat your self-published book like it’s being traditionally published.

How do you do that?

1. Write a pitch

Seriously. It might seem useless and really unnecessary, but pitches have details that are so helpful. The idea of them is to convince a publisher that your book is something they want to back. You have to be creative, you have to sell it, you have to include details about every aspect of it. It’s such a great way to get really familiar with your book instead of simply winging it.

It’s also a great resource to pass on to the people who will be working on your book. Your developmental editor especially will get some really good background on your book from this. It’s also a great resource for you once your book is ready to be published because it will include details such as who your target audience is and your marketing plan. Having these planned out before you get there will help you get your book flying off the shelves. Essentially, your marketing copy will already be written, making what you share on your own platforms or to bookstores/sellers a piece of cake.

At the end of the day, writing the pitch will boost your confidence in your own book. It will help take away the nerves of telling people about your book. It becomes less of a sales pitch and more of a conversation. You won’t have to worry about the conversations with potential sellers or your own pre-established followers because you’ll have done a lot of this prep ahead of time. Get into the shoes of the literary agent. What would it take to convince them that your book is exactly the kind of project they’re looking for?

2. Don’t skip the editor!

And I am not being biased with this one. Everyone who has ever written a successful, traditionally published book has had an editor — actually, multiple editors. If you are publishing literally any kind of book, you cannot skip hiring an editor(s). When you write a book, you are too close to it to be objective. There is no author in the entire world who can get by without an editor.

Studies actually show that when we write something, we are more likely to miss mistakes and typos because we know what our work is supposed to say. Our brain literally skips the mistake and fills in the word. Also, just because you are a good writer does not mean that you write perfectly. Honestly, I’m an editor, and I can bet people would find mistakes in this blog post.

If you’d like to sell your book and make money from it, then you need to be professional. Don’t try to take the cheap way out. Line editing and developmental editing cannot be done by you. Editors know what they’re looking for, and their job is to look for issues with flow, sentence structure, plot holes, character development, narrative arc, and even spelling and grammar. Your job is to write the story how it appears in your head. If you focus on constantly editing, you will never get your book finished or off the ground.

I could rant about this all day long, but I already wrote a blog post about the importance of editing and how to know when your manuscript is ready to head to your editor. Check it out here.

3. Get a professionally made cover

Don’t make one on a free Canva account, or heaven forbid, using AI. This is the real deal. If you want to be taken seriously and have a good shot at selling your book properly, get your cover professionally created. There are tons of incredible artists out there. Remember, your book should not be something you throw together. It shouldn’t be something you create quickly and cheaply. The goal is to be a real author, not something that someone takes one look at their cover and laughs it off.

Honestly, people judge books by their covers. If they see your cheap cover or AI cover, they’ll assume that the book isn’t worth their time. They likely won’t even bother buying it. Who wants to read a book they know isn’t going to be good? There are millions of books they could be reading; your cover will tell them if yours is worth their time out of the millions of books in publication.

Take your book seriously. Get a professionally designed, unique cover by an incredible artist.

4. Get Beta readers, ARC readers and promotional readers

Traditional publishers include beta readers and ARC readers in their marketing plan. These are advanced copies of the book that people will read to get reviews and feedback before a book is published. Many ARC readers can also become part of your promotional plan. If you treat your launch like a campaign instead of just a single day or the occasional post about your book, it will definitely do better. ARC readers who have agreed to help with your promotion become part of your marketing plan.

You can provide them with instructions on launch days and even send them ARC gifts they can use to help with your launch. Beta and ARC readers are often really creative, so they’ll be able to create a lot of really great materials that you’ll be able to share and promote. Cross-promotion like this helps your book reach bigger audiences too.

Having your marketing be a top priority will help you look like a serious author that others want to work with and buy from.

5. Get an ISBN

This is something that traditional publishers take very seriously. They take their time and set this up right, knowing the power it has on the success of a book. Self-publishing authors typically skip this (often not knowing that they need to do this) or they do it a little willy-nilly. At the end of the day, this can severely limit the reach your book has.

To publish on Amazon, you have to have an ISBN. They have a feature where they can create one for you, but I’d suggest looking a little further into things and making sure you do this the way that is best for your book. Not every option is made equal. Doing this haphazardly will impact your distribution options and retail presence.

Remember, this is a real book that you are publishing. Don’t skip steps and make decisions that will cost you all of the work you’ve put into this.

If you don’t take yourself and your book seriously, why would anyone else?

As a self-publishing author, the entire process will be your responsibility. When you traditionally publish a book, your publisher and team are in charge of many of the technical components that go into the success of a book. They’re professionals; they know what they’re doing. As a self-publishing author, you have to learn all of those jobs and do them as best as you can.

Many people choose the self-publishing route because they think it’s easier… Realistically, it’s not. Yes, anyone can publish because there is no one telling you no. But if you want to publish a highly successful book the right way, that requires you to become an expert in a lot of things (or hire people who are already experts).

Self-publishing makes becoming an author a lot more accessible, and when you act like you’re traditionally publishing your book, that sets you up for far more success than skipping all of the steps and throwing something up.

It is possible to have wild success through self-publishing. You just have to take yourself and your book seriously.