Learning from your mistakes!
Lessons I've learned (the roundabout way) in indie book publishing
What have I learned after 4 years in the indie book publishing business? Lots! As I’m sure you have—or will have—too. It isn’t easy, especially in that first year, when everything is brand-new and you feel like you’re flying by the seat of your pants. There are so many parts to self-publishing that it can be hard to keep track of it all and build a seamless system for yourself.
Well, today I’d like to candidly share some of the learning mistakes I’ve made along the way, perhaps to help you avoid them too, but mostly to let you know that mistakes are inevitable and that’s okay! Mistakes humble and remind us that we need others (and God most of all!) to guide and strengthen us when we biff it or just honestly don’t know what the heck we’re doing! Part of the process is learning and growing through the journey. And oftentimes, the learning can be even more impactful than the destination: book publication.
Today, I’ll be sharing two of my major mistakes. More mistakes to come next week! If you feel comfortable and want the camaraderie, feel free to share any of your own book publishing mistakes/lessons below in the comments!
Let’s find support from one another. :)
Bite the bullet and buy the bulk ISBNs!
I learned the hard way that as tempting as the free Amazon ISBNs may seem, buying your own from Bowker is the way to go. There are a lot of expenses when indie publishing your books, and avoiding the $100-$500 ISBN fees can seem like a smart move when Amazon says they will offer you one for free.
In fact, this is the approach I took for my first THREE books. I spent $0 on ISBNs, and I accepted that I would only be able to sell my books through Amazon and my personal website.
However, what I didn’t intend for or even consider at that time was that I would be building a business around my books (as all authors should do if they intend to write and publish more than one book). 4 years ago, when I first began, I didn’t anticipate that I would one day have Trinity Tree Publishing, my legal book publishing business, and thus the “publisher” for my books. I also didn’t anticipate wanting to broaden my marketing approach to Ingram Spark, Draft 2 Digital, Christian bookstores, libraries, and schools.
UGH, I finally realized a few months ago, as I was setting up my fourth book on Amazon—I really should have just bought my own ISBNs! But, take heart, dear friends, it isn’t too late!
Even though my first three books are published with the free Amazon ISBN and thus the publisher name of Amazon and “independently published,” Amazon DOES let you unpublish your book and republish it with your own ISBN and thus (in my case) the publishing name “Trinity Tree Publishing”. They will even transfer over any reviews you had on the first publication; the only thing I’m not sure about is whether you can retain your original release date. I am still in the process of transferring everything over for my first three books, so we’ll see what happens!
On Bowker, where you purchase the ISBNs, you can buy one ISBN number for about $100, 10 for about $250, and 100 for about $570. Keep in mind, each version of your book (paperback, ebook, hardback, audio, etc.) needs a separate ISBN number. Meaning, one book could potentially need 4 different ISBN numbers! So, I opted for the 100 ISBN package, and after cringing at the price tag, I haven’t looked back since!
My fourth book is coming out on TUESDAY, and this is my first book where I’m using my own ISBN numbers for the first time around. Better late than never!
Carefully consult your cover designer!
The second biggest mistake that cost me time and money was my choice of a cover designer. For my debut book, I found someone on Fiverr who designed an amateur-looking cover for me for I think less than $50. Of course, I thought it looked great at the time because it was the first time I had ever seen a cover designed for my book.
However, as you can see from the original cover (bottom left) and redesigned cover (bottom right), the first cover left much to be desired.
When it came time to work on my next book (this time fiction), I reached out to a professional cover designer, hoping for better results. I paid her about $300, so I figured I was doing my due diligence this time. However, she was not familiar with the sci-fi/dystopian genre, and the cover she designed, while not terrible, really didn’t reflect the tones and themes of the series or genre.
You can see the original cover (bottom left) and the redesigned cover (bottom right).
Thankfully, I am thrilled with all four of my current book covers, but it definitely took trial and error, and some loss of money, in order to get the sorts of covers that are not only professional but truly reflect the content of the books. Even now, I have two different cover designers, one for my fiction books and the other for my nonfiction books.
The overall lesson I’ve learned is that even when mistakes are made in indie publishing, it’s usually not too late to right the wrongs because the beauty is that you can update covers, content, and even republish your books as needed in order to present the best product you can for your readers. :)
Prayer Requests!
As always, I would love to keep you in my prayers, be those prayers for your writing, other creative work, business, or any personal intentions. I believe in the power of prayer and interceding for one another. If you have a particular prayer request, please reply to this post, and I promise I will pray personally for your request!