Two mistakes indie authors should avoid

The other day, I had coffee with Jennifer Wilkov, an award-winning writer and host of the popular "Your Book Is Your Hook"radio show. She also runs a successful business helping authors navigate the writing and publishing process. I told her about the blog I've been writing for aspiring authors and asked her what advice she'd give specifically to self-published authors.

She said hands down the two most common mistakes she sees indie authors make are the following:

1) Lack of professional editing

2) Lack of a marketing plan

Professional Editing

If your book is full of errors or isn't well constructed, readers won't recommend it to others - period. No matter who we are, we all need an editor! You'd be surprised at how affordable some services are, both on the copy editing and creative/developmental editing side. In a previous post, I discussed the difference between these two functions, but here's a quick recap:

Copy editors have eagle eyes for typos, missing words, punctuation, grammar, repetition, consistency, etc.

Creative editors (also called developmental editors) help identify and fix problems with the major elements of your book, such as plot, character development, pacing, and style.

Marketing

If you don't have a plan for reaching people who aren't your friends and family, the harsh reality is that you probably won't sell very many books. Having a "marketing plan" doesn't necessarily mean spending lots of money on advertising. There are tons of things you can do on your own that cost little more than your time. The key is to write a good book first, then be creative and persistent in getting the word out.

Remember, it won't happen overnight!

-Maria

Maria Murnane writes romantic comedies and provides consulting services on book publishing and marketing. Learn more at www.mariamurnane.com.

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Comment by Laura Brennan on February 15, 2012 at 12:58pm: @Ardyth, thanks for the recommendation! I love free, and it looks really good. Can't wait to read the course e-mails.

@Barbara, have you tried the Marketing live chats? http://www.shewrites.com/page/live-chats I haven't yet, my book's not done, but it sounds like a great idea. Also, I have been following a lot of the Countdown to Publication blogs, and they're fascinating and useful: http://www.shewrites.com/page/countdown-to-publication

Comment by Ardyth DeBruyn on February 11, 2012 at 11:44pm: I'm sort of flailing through the process of marketing, but it seems everyone agrees social media is essential. If you want something free to read on what the heck to actually do with social media to make it work, you could try the Taleist Social Media Check-up series. http://content.taleist.com/guides/social-media-check-up-2/

Comment by Maria Murnane on February 10, 2012 at 8:01am: @Barbara I offer a webinar on creative, grassroots book marketing right here on SheWrites if you'd like to check it out: http://media.beaconlive.com/viewitem?repr=1202

Comment by Barbara Hales, M.D. on February 10, 2012 at 3:25am: I would love to see an article on an actual marketing plan for promoting a book (beside social media)

This would be quite helpful to many of us.

Thanks

Comment by Grace Peterson on February 9, 2012 at 12:09pm: I think my memoir manuscript looks great, until I look at it a few days later and see all kinds of things I should change. Editors rock.

Comment by Adela Crandell Durkee on February 8, 2012 at 6:48am: I'm still in the process of writing my book(s). I am keeping a file of fine advice like this, for my next step.