The 5 mistakes that make your book look self-published

The biggest shake-up the publishing industry has experienced in the last 20 years isn’t ebooks or audio—it’s the rise in self-publishing.

And it’s great, isn't it? For years the only options available were to try to get a traditional publishing deal or pay thousands of pounds to a vanity publisher. Now, anyone can successfully self-publish with next to no investment and few technical skills.

Or can they?

To paraphrase Jeff Goldblum in Jurassic Park, we’ve been so preoccupied with whether we could self-publish that we didn’t stop to think if we should. The freedom self-publishing has given us comes at a cost: the market is now flooded with poorly produced books that aren’t doing their subjects or their authors any favours, simply because they don’t look professional.

So how do you make sure your self-published book doesn't look... self-published? Here are five mistakes that can give you away as a self-published author, and how to make sure they don’t trip you up.

1 COVER DESIGN

I cannot stress how much this matters. In house, cover designs go back and forth between designers, editors and sales & marketing teams for a reason: covers sell books. However fascinating your book is inside, if your cover is bad then your reader won’t even pick it up. It's your very first marketing tool.

And it’s easy to get it wrong:

You'll agree this is a pretty extreme example. But it does show how wrong things can go when you try to design a cover yourself. At the very least, this author should have used a template from a design website, but ideally they would have paid for a professional cover designer. Try the publishing platform Reedsy (www.reedsy.com), where you can search for professional designers with in-house experience. Just make sure you view samples of previous designs so you know they have a style you like. A professional cover designer should cost a few hundred pounds, but the value they will give your book is immeasurable.

2 TITLE

Your title is your first message to your reader. Most non-fiction books have a main title and a subtitle, and they do different things. A main title should be catchy and memorable—it should draw your reader in and make them want to know more. Try to use positive words, preferably ones that speak to your reader’s main fear or desire.

If the purpose of your main title is to catch your reader's attention, your subtitle should show what the book is about. Use it to explain what your reader is going to get from your book and how it's going to help them. If your book has a clear structure, e.g. a 10-step plan or system, it's a good idea to include that in your subtitle, as it will show your reader there's a process they can follow.

Above all, use common sense. Here’s someone who didn’t:

The main problem here is that the title is ambiguous—is this a book for beginners or a book about websites for beginners? It's simply not clear.

Here’s someone else who didn’t think much about their title:

The problem here is grammar. As a reader, I find the -ing verb in the main title ('being') at odds with the infinitive verb in the subtitle ('be'). It feels clumsy and unprofessional, and that’s because it’s inconsistent.

And then there’s just the plain crazy:

This is an example of the author failing to think about what their reader is going to get out of their book and simply using their subtitle to make a statement. At best this is unhelpful; at worst it makes you sound odd.

Instead, make your title clear, catchy and informative. Here’s a great example:

The title is catchy, uses a keyword people are likely to search for (mindfulness) and inspires the reader by offering them something they’d like (mindful kids). Then the subtitle shows how the book is structured (50 activities) and what the benefit of reading it will be (kind, focused and calm kids). If I were the target market for this book, I'd be in.

3 BLURB

A blurb is a brief description of the book, and it’s usually found on the back page of a paperback or the inside flap of a hardback. On Amazon it appears to the right of the cover image and below the purchasing details. It’s the first piece of proper writing your reader will read and because of this you need to think of it as the sales pitch for your book.

If your blurb is over the top ('Dive inside to discover the secrets of success!'), poorly written or the wrong length, you'll never get a second chance to make that first impression.

Remember: a good blurb doesn’t just describe the book. It hooks the reader in so they want to know more. I like to structure blurbs using my 4H method: the Hell, the Heaven, the How and the Hook. Here’s what they mean:

The Hell is the problem your reader is experiencing—their ‘pain point’. They might not have articulated it (no one says “My children aren’t mindful enough”) but it’s there all the same. Your blurb should tap into whatever it is that’s driving your reader. That’s the problem your book will solve.

The Heaven is of course the opposite. It’s the solution to the Hell in the first part of your blurb. It might be kind, focused, calm kids, or a more productive leadership team. Ask yourself what will happen if your reader reads your book. What does their solution look like? Describing this briefly in your blurb will encourage them to find out more.

The How speaks for itself. It’s the method by which you’re going to solve your reader’s problem. You don’t have to go into detail—that’s what the book is for—but you should outline it so your reader knows you offer practical information. “In ten practical steps…” “This foolproof method will…” By revealing what’s in your book you’ll build trust and credibility.

The Hook is how you should finish your blurb. What can you say to your reader that will make them think they can’t live without your book? If you’re stuck on this, think of a promise you can make them. What can you offer if they’ll just turn to the first chapter?

4 TYPESETTING

Contrary to popular belief, typesetting is nothing to do with typing. It’s simply the way a book is designed inside. Good typesetting should be almost invisible—it should never distract from the reading experience. It includes everything from chapter headings, page numbers and margins to paragraphs, boxed-out sections and lists. A typesetter will also take care of strange hyphenation and the positioning of images. Needless to say, poor typesetting will make your book look self-published.

Simple mistakes like margins that are too narrow so you have to crack the spine of the book to read it or inconsistently positioned page numbers all contribute to the subtle feeling that a book wasn’t published professionally. The choice of font can also be a problem. Wacky fonts or a poor choice of serif/sans serif will make your book look amateurish.

If possible, invest in a professional typesetter (I have some recommendations), but if you really can’t afford this then at least use a formatting tool to get the best possible finish. The Reedsy Book Editor is a good one, and you can see what your book will look like as you go along.

5 STRUCTURE

It sometimes surprises people when I talk about book structure. Do books have to have a structure? Well—yes. The truth is that, a bit like typesetting, a good structure is almost invisible, but a bad structure stands out a mile. The way your contents page looks can reveal a lack of structure, and even if it doesn’t it will soon become apparent when the reader starts the book.

Aim for a one-page contents page that has a consistent layout. Use consistent parts of speech in your chapter titles too (all verbs or all nouns) and avoid rambling headings. The structure of your book should be logical and transparent (think of it as a progression from A to B, and show the reader this in the contents page), and as simple as possible. Even professional writers get the structure wrong sometimes, so if you need help with this ask me about my Book Planning Days.

Publishing a book yourself might be easy these days—but that doesn't mean it's simple. Knowing where to invest your budget and taking care of the details will make sure your book sits alongside its traditionally published counterparts with confidence.

If you need more advice just book one of my publishing consultation calls, and, for reference, here are a couple of successful authors who self-publish well. Remember: it can be done, and it can be done well.

Dan Norris – The 7-Day Startup; Content Machine; Create or Hate

Stephen Pressfield – The War of Art; The Artist’s Journey; Do the Work

What's better: traditional or self-publishing?

What’s the best way to publish a non-fiction book?

As with many things, there isn’t a ‘best’ way—just the best way for you. How you choose to publish your book will depend on many factors, not least what your book is about. But although one option isn’t ‘better’ than the other, you do need to know the pros and cons of traditional and self-publishing before you decide which route to go down.

What is traditional publishing?

In traditional publishing, you write the manuscript and then license the rights to that manuscript to a publisher. You retain the copyright to your book, but you sign it over to them to publish it for a set period of time and in certain territories/languages. The publisher then produces your book and publishes it, paying you a royalty for each copy sold. You never pay a traditional publisher—they pay you.

The pros of traditional publishing

1. You’ll have the kudos of being a published author. When a traditional publisher believes in your book it shows others that you’re an expert in your field. If you can get accepted by a large publisher, you’ll really start to be taken seriously in your subject area.

2. It doesn’t cost anything. Traditional publishers don’t ask you to pay to publish your book, and you might even get royalties up front (called an advance). If you’re lucky enough to land a big publisher, this could run into thousands.

3. It’s not as difficult as you think to get a publishing deal. If you’ve got a good platform such as a large social media following or professional qualifications, getting a publisher’s attention could be easier than you think. If you’ve also got an idea that fills a gap in the market, you could be well on your way to getting an offer for your book.

4. The publishing company will help you to market your book. Publishing is a business just like any other, so publishers want to make sure your book makes money and will have dedicated marketers to get your book in front of its audience. But remember: published authors are still required to do a lot of the marketing, as the best person to sell your book is you.

5. Your book will look professional. Publishers use professional typesetters and cover designers who understand the industry and will make your book look as good as it can—right down to the last detail.

6. The publisher will take care of the entire production process. Once you submit your manuscript in its best possible shape, you’ll be guided through every step of the publishing process by your editor. Copyeditors, designers, proofreaders and project managers are there to make sure everything runs smoothly and the only thing you may have to arrange yourself is an index (contact me here if you need a professional indexer).

7. You’re likely to sell more copies. Publishers only invest in books they think will sell and it’s in their best interests to get behind you, so you’re likely to sell more books if you can get a traditional deal.

8. Your book will be available in high street bookstores. Bookshops like WH Smith and Waterstones buy directly from the publisher, so traditional publishing is usually the only way to get your book distributed on the high street.

The cons of traditional publishing

1. You won’t have as much artistic or editorial control over your book. When you sign a contract with a publisher you usually hand over your right to control how the book looks. Although a good publisher will always take your views into account, they’ll have the final say on things like title, cover design and retail price.

2. You’ll keep a lower percentage of your book sales. Traditional publishing usually pays you a royalty of around 10% from the sale of each copy of your book, although this can vary. This is a lot less than self-publishing, so try to work out how many more books you think you’ll sell.

3. It takes longer. Because your book has to fit into a wider publishing schedule and publishers have to sell in to bookshops months in advance, it usually takes around 9 months for a book to be published traditionally.

4. Not everyone will get a publishing deal! You need have a great idea, be a credible author, write a great book proposal, know which publishers to approach and, if you’re going after the big ones, how to get an agent to represent you. (If you’re at this stage, I can help you with writing your book proposal.)

5. You may be restricted by your contract on what material you can reuse. Because you’re licensing your book to the publisher, they won’t want you to make that material available elsewhere. This might restrict you from publishing extracts on your blog, or giving away free samples.

What is self-publishing?

Self-publishing is when you produce your book yourself. Although it sounds daunting, it’s much easier to do than you think, and many authors successfully self-publish using Amazon. There are lots of talented freelance professionals who specialise in offering editorial, design and proofreading services to authors who want to self-publish.

The pros of self-publishing

1. You keep control over every aspect of your book. From what goes in it to how the cover looks to the retail price and where it’s sold, if you self-publish you can do exactly what you like.

2. You keep more of your royalties. Self-publishing allows you to keep up to 80% of the price your book sells for, compared to only around 10% for traditional publishing.

3. You can publish as soon as your manuscript is ready. In theory you can self-publish a book in just a few clicks, but in reality there are quite a few processes to go through. However, if you want to react to a zeitgeist or you’ve got a deadline to meet, self-publishing is by far the quickest option.

4. You can print on demand. Print on Demand (POD) means that a book is only printed when an order is placed. So self-publishing no longer involves buying and storing a large print run. POD also means the cost is low and you don’t have to take up space in your garage.

5. You can make changes to your book and republish it at any time. Self-publishing using POD means that, if there’s a mistake in your book or you just want to update it, you can make changes to the file and re-upload it whenever you like.

6. You can reuse your material exactly as you want. As there’s no commercial partner involved, you can publish the content from your book in any way you like, e.g. as a blog, free chapters, downloads or on social media.

The cons of self-publishing

1. You have to project manage everything yourself. From editing, typesetting and cover design to proofreading, indexing and ebook conversion, you’ll have to do everything yourself if you self-publish. So, unless you happen to be an expert in all these areas, you’ll need to employ professionals to do these tasks for you. This can run into thousands of pounds if you want to use high-quality professionals.

2. You’ll need to print copies if you want to sell them yourself. POD is great, but if you give talks or conferences you might want copies of your book to sell in real life. In this case you’ll need to print, pay for and store your books yourself.

3. It’s harder to get a professional finish. Traditional publishers know exactly what a book should look and feel like to catch the eye of your reader. On the other hand, you’re unlikely to know what details like running heads, front and end matter, formatting and font choice should look like. Cover design is also vital. There are many freelance cover designers out there, but it’s not always easy to find a good one.

4. Bookshops rarely stock self-published books. You can pop down to your local bookshop and try to persuade them to stock your book, but in general bookstores only buy from sales reps for traditional publishers.

5. You’ll have to do all the marketing and promotion yourself. Without a publisher behind you, everything’s up to you. You’ll need to promote your book on social media whichever option you choose, but if you self-publish you won’t have the backing of a marketing and PR department. You can employ a book publicist, but this could cost hundreds of pounds.

So what’s the conclusion?

As you can see, there are plenty of pros and cons of both self- and traditional publishing. Making a final decision will depend on what’s right for you and the constraints placed upon you by things like time and budget.

Here are some final questions to ask before you choose which route to go down:

· Who am I writing my book for and how are they likely to find it?

· What do I want to get out of writing a book? (money, more business, expert status…)

· Do I have any money to invest?

· How much expertise do I have in publishing processes?

· How much time do I have to dedicate to publishing my book?

· Is there a deadline to meet or an optimum time to publish my book?

· How commercial is my idea and what is the competition?

If you have any more questions or would like some advice on preparing your book for publication, just get in touch and I’d love to help.

How to research the market for your book - and why it's so important

How do you know you’ve got the right idea for your book?

How do you know people will want to read it?

In most industries product developers do vigorous market research to make sure they create a product that’s going to appeal to their audience. And yet so many authors fail to do the same.

If you view your book as a product, before you write it you should be finding out how to make your reader want to read it. And that means researching the competition.

Learning as much as you can about other books on your subject will not only help you find your unique selling point but will show you exactly what your reader wants. And the more you know about your reader, the better your book will be.

So here’s a 6-step plan for how to research the market for your book.

1. Find other books on your subject

Browsing a bookshop is great when researching your book, but there’s one place you can start from the comfort of your own home: Amazon.

Whatever your thoughts about the online supergiant, it has something you need, and that’s data. Within its pages Amazon has details of virtually every book published. That means it will show you exactly what other people have written about your subject—whether it’s a Sunday Times bestseller or a self-published ebook.

Start by typing the word or phrase that best describes the idea behind your book. That could be ‘web design for beginners’, ‘snakes as pets’ or ‘creative social media’. You’ll soon see whether you’re on the right track, as books like the one you want to write will populate the search. Now scroll down until you find a book that’s similar to your own. Expand your search by looking at the ‘Customers who viewed this item also viewed’ and ‘Customers who bought this item also bought’ recommendations. This will take you down a rabbit hole of books until you come up with a list of four or five that are closely related to your own idea.

2. Look at the package

Now click on one of the books you’ve found and bring up its book page. Hidden on this page is a wealth of information you may never have noticed, but it’s all valuable data when it comes to refining your book idea. The first thing to look at is the cover. What’s the title and subtitle of the book? Which key words does it contain? What does this tell us about the focus of the book? Is this the same as your own?

3. Read the blurb

Now read the book’s blurb—the description on the main book page that tells you what it’s about. Who has the author aimed this book at? Is that the same person as your reader or a different one? Can you pick any holes in their approach?

4. Look at the detail

Now scroll down again to the ‘Product details’ section. How many pages does the book have? When was it published? If all the books on your subject are 400 pages long, you might be able to offer a simpler solution. If all the books are ten years old, it might be time for something new. Keep looking for anything you can offer that the other books don’t.

5. Look inside

Most books on Amazon have a ‘Look inside’ function, at least on the Kindle version. Open the book and look at the contents page. What’s in the book? What aspects of your subject are covered? Is there anything missing? Would you do things differently?

6. Read the reviews

Now look at the reviews for the book. What positive things do readers say? What did they like? The more you read, the more you’ll know what your audience appreciates and the better able you’ll be to deliver those things yourself. What did readers criticise about the book? You may be able to identify a gap in the market by seeing what readers felt was missing.

And that’s what this process is all about—finding a gap in the market. The more you know about your reader and what they want, the better you’ll be able to deliver it. And the better your book is at solving your reader’s problem, the more likely you are to win in the fight against your competition.

Conducting market research is about learning from others’ mistakes, honing your idea and understanding your reader. If knowledge is power, you’ll never regret knowing how to make your book better than the rest.

If you’d like more help with researching your book, find out about my one-to-one Book Planning Day or my Book Proposal Service.