Making it as a self-published author is not the easiest row to hoe. There is no doubt about that, however there are some substantial rewards to it as well. For starts it’s all passive income. Meaning that once your book is written, edited, formatted, and published you don’t have to do anything else and it’s making money for you. Simple as that. Also you have no boss to report to. Well technically your customers are your boss but as long as you are helping them out and giving them value then they’ll gladly return the favor. Unlike real life bosses who can be power hungry sadists.
Self-publishing has been pushed as being some sort of goldmine. And there is certainly good money to be made in it (just look at kindle sales someone is making that money even if it’s not you). But the key is (like with everything in life) you have to know what the hell you’re doing, otherwise you won’t end up with much. And nothing is more frustrating then busting you behind on something to have nothing to show for it. Though that is a risk all entrepreneurs take and not just in book publishing but in all ventures. But with great risk also comes great reward (potentially). Alright so let’s dig into three tips to make it as a self-published author.
Tip #1 – Just Keep Writing
That’s right just keep writing. Look if you’re looking to publish one book and then be flooded with customers and cash then you’re out of your mind. Try fifty for starters. You see to make it as a self-published author (at least to make a living you can live a halfway decent life off of) you have to write and publish…and then do it over and over again. You’re not going to write the next Think & Grow Rich, the next Harry Potter, or the next 50 Shades Of Grey. Understand this and be alright with it. Most of your books aren’t going to make you a whole lot of money. This is a fact.
You have to keep publishing to make your living off of self-publishing. Then if you’re lucky maybe you’ll get a spike here and there but it’s certainly not something that I would count on. Every book you write helps market your other books as well. Be prepared to hit at least double digit in books published before making any halfway decent money off of them (and that’s assuming they’re well written with good covers in a hungry market). Making it as a self-published requires you to keep putting up books. Not just to keep things moving but because as I said one book just isn’t going to cut it. Hell five books isn’t going to cut it plain and simple.
Tip #2 – Keywords & Descriptions Matter
You’re book is going to generally be found through someone typing something into the search bar and then your book popping up. To make sure that your book has a chance of popping up you have to make sure that you are using right keywords. For starters make sure you are using a title that has the main keyword you want to rank for in it. So for example if it was “success” then “success” better be somewhere in the title as well as the books description. Don’t be vague or “cutesy” or whatever many authors try to be. All that will do is ensure you never make a dime from your hard work.
Titles are written to sell the book content is written to inform or entertain. Let me repeat that. The books title is written to sell the book, it’s the content of the book that informs or entertains. “How To” is the best way to start a title that I can think of. Learn basic copywriting it’ll help you a ton in this area (as well as with writing in general). Write titles that are engaging (most important part other than how the cover looks). Use tried and true headline templates don’t try to get all fancy that’s a great way to end up broke.
Tip #3 – Advertise
All the big names advertise, no exceptions. And honestly why wouldn’t they? Advertising is a great way to get your book out there and in front of more people. Sure it costs money but the truth of the matter is you have to spend money to make money (well at least big money). Those who are at the top of the charts all advertise. You are not special to get the top of the charts you are going to have to advertise as well. The good news is advertising can take your book to entire new levels.
A good advertising campaign can completely change how your book was selling, it can take an obscure book and make it one of your highest performers. Plus one someone buys the advertised book and likes it then they’re going to be coming around for more of what you have to offer. A win win situation. You have to advertise. I should also note that the best advertisement you can do is write another book. Like I said each book helps the others out. The more books that you can put into your collection (granted that they’re not complete trash) the better off you’ll be. They work exponentially better together.
Summary
Alright so there you have it three tips to make it as a self-published author. As I said in the intro this isn’t the easiest way to make money but it does have it’s perks. Namely being your own boss and passive income. To make it you have to love to write. Thankfully something that most who want to be self-published authors like to do. You have to write and then write some more. Keep writing and keep publishing and you’ll make it. Don’t give up and just keep going. Simple but not easy.
If you have any questions you would like to see answered in a future post send them to me at charlessledge001 (at) gmail (dot) com. If you found value in this post then I would encourage you to share this site with someone who may need it as well as check out my books here. I appreciate it. You can follow me on Twitter here.
-Charles Sledge
