Resilience
In publishing, things will go wrong. You’ll have ordered a batch of books for a signing and some will turn up imperfectly printed. You’ll have announced your launch and spot a typo or inconsistency you’d thought you’d eradicated. One day you’ll pull up your product page and spot a one-star rating.
Take a deep breath and remember it is all par for the course. Send photos of the damaged or poor-quality stock and wait for your replacements. Fix that typo and re-upload the files, glad that print-on-demand makes this possible. Offer some review copies to some readers who seem a good fit for your book and then look up the low-star reviews for famous authors or your favourite restaurant; you’re in good company.
You can build resilience into your publishing schedule by ensuring you’ve allowed a good margin of error. Unless for an exceptional reason such as tying in with a seasonal event, avoid rushing your book launch. You need time to iron out any little issues – such as making sure the book is available via all distribution networks, all appears as you would expect it to on the book’s product pages, and you’ve had time to check several versions of the text so you’re as sure as you can be that the text is in good shape.
You can also make sure your publishing workflow doesn’t cause additional work or cost you money if mistakes are spotted later in the process. For example, Amazon doesn’t charge for re-uploading files so you can do this multiple times and print proofs before uploading to Ingram Sparks, where there is a fee for file revision. (Though if you do find yourself needing to revise a file already available on Ingram Sparks, do check for a discount code on the company’s social media etc. and investigate organisations such as the Alliance of Independent Authors, which often offer a free Ingram Sparks revision code with their membership.) Getting a ‘perfect’ version on Amazon and then uploading on Ingram Sparks also avoids unnecessary admin time, ensuring you are not making changes on two platforms where possible.
Adaptability
What worked for one book or author or for you publishing five years ago may not work today. Keep learning. Keep trying new things.
In terms of the publishing process, if something is not working as you expect do get in touch with the help desk on Amazon or Ingram Sparks and leave time in the process for this communication.
When marketing your books, tune in to what is bringing success to other authors and be sure to monitor the impact of any action you take, so you can build on what is working well and realise when you need to test a new strategy.
Vigilance
We can so want our books to be successful that we can take unwise action or be susceptible to companies offering a quick fix for our book- marketing or production needs. It takes time to create a quality product and the professionals you work with will have a turnaround time and the processes to reflect this. It isn’t possible to build an author brand overnight and large sums of marketing spend is generally unwise. I’ve seen examples of authors I’ve worked with landing an article in a suitable publication (fantastic!) but then being sold an advertising slot to accompany it at a cost highly likely to exceed any potential earnings from books sold (not so good). Or invest a substantial amount of money in a single book review, when no single piece of promotion is likely to have enough impact to make the cost financially sensible.
Ideally, starting out with marketing action that is low-cost and low risk will allow you to assess how your book sales can be impacted – and to see that no one action will carry your book so far that the work of promoting it is done. Promoting your book(s) will always be an ongoing task – and one requiring a multi-pronged approach. A radio interview, ongoing Amazon ads, author events and a relatable author newsletter can all work together as part of a low-cost, low-risk strategy. Larger marketing spend such as inclusion in a Bookbub promotion can come once the book is established – with strong reviews, optimised product page and a clear readership.
Patient persistence
It takes time to see trends in how your books are selling. Knowledge is power and adding new books and formats to see what works best over time is the key to building a successful author career. One book can be multiple products: standard print, large print, ebook, hardback, audiobook, box set. Different formats can find different audiences – and once you see which are most successful, you can see where to focus any advertising spend. More books in more formats increase the chances of your books being discovered by new readers and also add to your authority as an author. A reader can feel in safer hands when they see an author new to them has a catalogue of books and formats. In practice, this can mean balancing time to create new work as an author with time to ensure you are exploiting all the formats available in the works already published.
If you’d like expert support in publishing your books, contact Claire Wingfield and her team.
or find out more about Claire Wingfield’s Self-Publishing Assistant Services.