Self-publishing your own eBooks is empowering. It’s exciting. You’re going to get your work out to the world, whether its nonfiction or fiction, and you’re doing it using your own mettle.
Congratulations to you!
While on the self-publishing journey, there are a number of actions that you as a writer-entrepreneur need to do to get your eBooks onto those digital bookstores. On the flipside, there are also a number of practices that are best to avoid. Below are 5 things not to do when self-publishing eBooks:
1. Don’t Allow Others to Put You Off
Writing takes time. Self-publishing takes even more time. Essentially, you’re running a eBook writing and publishing business. There will be people you know, some that will be close to you, who will try and put you off your dreams.
Proceed to thank them for their concerns and ignore them. Remember, you’re leading your own life, and a part of your destiny is to write and sell eBooks. You don’t want to reach a point in your life, where you realise that you have ended up living the life others wanted you to, and in the process sacrificed your desires to be a renowned writer.
2. Don’t Neglect Those Close to You
With your eBook writing and publishing business there is a work-life balance to be achieved. Running a business is hard work. If you’re currently working a day job, you’ll be writing and selling your eBooks in the evenings, and weekends. Remember to not get too carried away with your business, and make plenty of time for your family and friends. Your business is important. However, people are more important than ‘things’.
3. Don’t Quit When Its Get Tough
If you’re self-publishing your first eBook, it can be tough. The end might not be immediately in sight. You might feel like quitting at a number of points, be it during the actual writing process, or perhaps giving up on the marketing if you’re struggling to make sales.
Remember, this is business. And in business, many times it’s those writers who persist with the journey who will go onto become huge successes. Also, once you’ve self-published your first eBook and made sales successfully, you now know how to do it. Use the same process with your next title, and the one after that.
4. Don’t Avoid The Hard Tasks
As a writer, you probably enjoy the writing process of self-publishing the most. However, self-publishing by its very nature is far more than just writing. You need to take charge of telling the world about your eBooks in order to find potential customers and readers, and maximise the sales potential of your work.
Perhaps you don’t see yourself as a salesperson or someone who likes to talk yourself up. Well, if you don’t, no one else well. You can learn such behaviours to help you increase your self-confidence. Public speaking and improvisational comedy are excellent ways to help increase your confidence, so that you can effectively communicate your background and your eBooks.
5. Don’t Think Like An Adult
What does ‘don’t think like an adult mean’? Well, it means not thinking like adults who fear failure and takes things too seriously, which is many unfortunately. Rather than this, adopt the mind-set of a young child who learns through trial and error, isn’t judgmental of himself/herself and enjoys having new experiences. Treat your eBook business as a learning process, where you will practice and develop with every mistake you make, and every success you have.
Image credit: Horia Varlan on flickr and reproduced under Creative Commons 2.0