Some things I’ve learned on my self-publishing journey!

Originally I posted this on a group supporting indie authors, but ended up writing so much I thought I’d add a slightly reduced version to my Goodreads blog as well just in case any of it is useful to other self-published authors interested in marketing and promotion!

So, my first novel was quite an unusual sci-fi novel that also has a lot of stuff about relationships and mental health in it. I have never had much luck selling it. Do I think it's a bad book? Well, if I was to write it again now I probably would do some things differently, but I don't think it's bad, I just think it doesn't currently have particularly wide appeal and it's hard to get it in front of the people who might like it. Unfortunately, I still don't really know the answer to how to promote that particular book. However, after that book, I switched to writing in a more commercial genre (psychological thrillers). I'm not suggesting this approach is going to be for everyone: I am still extremely passionate about what I write - I'd struggle to have the motivation to do it otherwise. If I was writing absolutely purely to create exactly what I wanted to create, I would possibly write the occasional unusual sci-fi book as well as my psychological thrillers, and I'm not ruling that out for the future, but it has been a lot easier to get the psychological thrillers noticed (not "easy", by any means, but "easier"!)

I think the reason it has been easier is because I can make readers feel it is "safe" to take a chance on my book: I can have book covers that look reassuringly similar to covers of other psychological thrillers, and the storylines seem to appeal to people who like other psychological thrillers, because they have the same kind of themes. There is still lots of room to be creative, but when it comes to book title, subtitle, book description, cover etc I feel more confident how to make it appeal to readers.

I have to say, I've had more luck when, rather than trying to make my book "stand out" I actually try to make it "blend in" with other popular books in my genre. Of course, it's also handy if you can find places where people who like your genre hang out, for example facebook groups. Things like this can help you connect with readers and bloggers (facebook groups like Book Connectors for example have lists of bloggers by genre, if you're interested in doing guest posts or seeking reviews, plus you can get involved in fun and useful discussions too). I've got some reviews from readers by doing giveaways on LibraryThing & Goodreads, and having a message in the back of my e-book politely asking readers to consider leaving a review if they have a few spare minutes.

Oh, and make it easy for people to find your other books once they've got hold of one of them. Add links to your other books at the back of your e-books, and a link to your mailing list, if you have one.

For advice on the more business-y side of being an author you can check out sites like Kindlepreneur - lots of useful stuff on there, or Mark Dawson's Self-Publishing Formula.

I definitely think there's no shame in setting out to make money from writing and being honest with yourself about it if that's your aim. Of course there's also nothing wrong with it being about self-expression, or using it to help during a tough time, or doing it for fun. I do it for all of those reasons :)

Achieving sales can seem impossible, but continue to try things, keep researching new ideas on what to try next, think commercially as well as creatively and you can start selling a few more books. And once you make a bit more money, you have a bit more room to invest in your next books in terms of cover design, editing, advertising budget.