Christina KayeThe 5 Steps You Cannot Skip If You Want To Succeed in Self-Publishing!
Self-publishing a book on Amazon has become one of the most accessible and profitable ways to share your expertise, stories, and/or ideas with the world.
Whether you’re a budding author, a business owner looking to boost your brand, or someone with a passion project waiting to come to life, Amazon’s Kindle Direct Publishing (KDP) makes it easy to go from dream to reality.
In this post, I’ll walk you through the basics of self-publishing for beginners—no jargon, no overwhelming tech talk—just straightforward steps to get your book published and in front of readers.
Let’s dive in and make your author dream a reality!
Table of Contents
Approach Self-Publishing Like a Business!
One of the biggest mistakes I see authors make on a broader scale is not recognizing that being an author means that you are the founder, CEO, CFO, marketing director, and creative mind behind your new business – self-publishing books.
Therefore, you absolutely must start your self-publishing business the way you would any other business.
First, you need two types of plans: a macro plan (your 2 – 5-year plan and beyond) and a micro plan (your 1-year plan).
Start with your macro plan, meaning, decide how many books you can and should publish each year to reach and maintain profitability (HINT: the answer is 2 – 4 books minimum per year!).
Then, move on to your micro plan, which is where you’ll have to figure out how to reach that goal and how long it will reasonably take you to publish that many books each year.
You’ll also need a budget, so find a basic spreadsheet online you can duplicate and make your own or simply create a basic spreadsheet yourself in Google Sheets.
The key is to know your numbers for both out-of-pocket recurring expenses and startup costs, as well as what you can reasonably expect to earn with book one, book two, and beyond.
Pro Tip: If you want to learn how you can easily write any book in 60 days or less, CLICK HERE to get my FREE resource that outlines this totally effective and proven writing session schedule!
Plan & Write Your Best Possible Book!
Another huge mistake I see authors making every day is diving in and just writing their books (aka “pantsing it”).
I can tell you from both personal and professional experience that this never works, and I’ve never met a successful author who dove in without at least a basic plan or outline for their first book.
If you’re writing nonfiction, like a business niche book, self-help, or memoir, you should start with a basic structure and outline for that type of book.
There are tons of great resources online to help you with this, but my current favorite info on writing a non-fiction book can be found by CLICKING HERE.
If you’re writing a fiction book, once you are positive you know in which genre you’ll be writing, I recommend that you take one week prior to starting the writing process to develop your characters, build your world, and create a basic chapter outline.
Pro Tip: This is a process I help all my clients through before we even begin coaching, but if you want to try to DIY this step, you can CLICK HERE to find my bestselling Ultimate Novel Outlining Method spreadsheet!
Hire Professionals for Editing & Book Cover Design!
Let’s get real for just a minute, shall we?
You are most likely new to being an author, but you’re learning, and eventually, you will become a pro at this whole writing thing.
But unless you happen to lead a double life wherein you also have been working for years as a professional book editor or book cover designer, you have enough to learn and perfect, so leave these two crucial elements of your self-publishing journey to those who are skilled at and trained in these methods.
I totally understand why so many authors want to bypass hiring professionals, like editors and cover designers, but here’s the thing…
Readers make crucial decisions on whether to buy a book based on a handful of things, chief among them being your book’s cover design.
If it’s clearly not done by a professional, not on trend for your genre, and/or not fitting for your story, you are risking countless readers skipping past your book, whether that is fair or not.
And if they do buy your book and read it, but then, the lack of professional editing is clear as day (and it will be…trust me), then, you’re risking a big fat “DNF” being stamped on your book, or worse yet, a string of nasty, negative book reviews.
Sure, you may save money on the front end by doing these two super important things yourself.
But trust me when I say, in the long run, you’ll lose so much more money on the backend when sales are non-existent and/or your reviews are less than flattering.
Pro Tip: Hiring professional editors, designers, and even coaches is an investment in you, your book, and your career, but you don’t have to pay ginormous prices for professional services! There are plenty of professional service providers like me who offer reasonable fees and even accept payment plans, so do your research! Or CLICK HERE to request a FREE sample edit and quote for AFFORDABLE professional editing now!)
Master the Amazon Algorithms!
Yes, I used the plural form of the word “algorithm.”
That’s because there are technically two distinctly different algorithms on Amazon: one is reader-facing (consumers) and the other is author facing (businesses).
Learning and mastering the Amazon algorithms took me well over a year, and this is not something you can or should try to piece together with online searches.
My clients get the benefit of my years of research and even discussions with Amazon’s people behind-the-scenes, but for now, there are a few things you absolutely must know whether you ever hire me to guide you through this process or not.
The Amazon algorithm that faces business owners essentially gives each product ONE WEEK to “prove itself” worthy of their first-page results feed.
During this one crucial week, their system monitors dozens of touchpoints, such as click rates, clickthrough rates, purchases, and yes, reviews (and much more)!
If your book (or any product) essentially sees little to no activity during this crucial week, Amazon views that product as one that people just frankly do not want, so after that, you are going to have an impossible time ever crawling out of the “dead zone.”
But you can avoid this by not diving into the publishing process, learning everything you can about self-publishing, and making sure all your ducks are in a row when it comes to your compelling title, your stunning and trending cover, your kickass blurb, your price points, and especially the keywords you spend plenty of time researching prior to uploading your book.
Pro Tip: The easiest way to guarantee your book not only makes it through this critical first week but thrives long after that is to let me guide you through every step of the successful self-publishing process. You can book your FREE session with me now by CLICKING HERE.
Grow Your Reader Fanbase Before You Launch!
Ask any Tom, Dick, or Harry So-Called-Expert in this industry, and each of them will give you a different “secret” to succeeding as an indie author.
But the truth and the only tried, true, and proven way to succeed in self-publishing is to spend a minimum of three months building your fanbase and filling it with the right people before you even think about publishing your book!
Most online and social media apps will tell you that it takes as much as 90 days to grow on their platforms.
And it takes at least that long to grow your fanbase with the correct people – those who are actively out there seeking books like yours – before you launch if you want your book to succeed!
To make this happen, you need a complete and effective marketing strategy that includes not just social media but email/newsletters, publicity, and so much more.
This should begin the day you start working on your book, meaning…it’s never too early to start growing your fanbase and connecting with your target audience of readers, but it absolutely can be too late if you wait until your launch week to then start trying to promote your book.
Pro Tip: This is the fundamental basis of my entire coaching program, so I highly recommend you at least set up your FREE consultation now by CLICKING HERE, and I’ll spill all the tea in a short 30 min, no obligation call! Or if you’d still rather DIY the process, you should at least take my mini course, “Finding Your Target Audience of Readers” now by CLICKING HERE.
And in Conclusion...
There is no way to quickly and/or easily self-publish books…not if you want them to be successful, that is.
And especially if you dream of having a career where you write books for a living!
All you are doing if you try to rely on Google to teach you how to self-publish successfully is wasting time and delaying the inevitable.
So, stop spinning your wheels and dreaming of the day you see your book in print and that thousands of readers swarm to buy your book, read it, fall in love with it (and you) and tell all their friends about it!
Instead, let me teach you how to do it all successfully one time and how to publish your book and start turning a profit immediately!
Let’s hop on a FREE quick call as early as today, and I’ll make sure you walk away with at least one piece of actionable advice, even if we aren’t a good match.
And if we are a good match, I’ll send you a written proposal to review, compare with your budget, and consider before you even answer.
Sound good? Click the button below now!
