Hello, Writers!

#2. Your Book Will Suck

I realise this seems a little harsh but, as you look back over your first book, you won’t remember it as your best book. I’ve heard a few successful Independent Authors explain, they went back and re-edited their first book. The reason for this is, they were in a rush to publish. I’m currently, re-editing my book SMARTER Goal setting for a similar reason and I want to make sure this book is evergreen. So, don’t be in a rush to publish your first book. 

Take the time to perfect it. When I say perfect, I’m using the term very lightly. When you think you’ve done editing, I recommend to put your book aside and pick it up again a week later and look at it again. It’s important that you spend time self-editing and revising your book. Invest in a structural edit by a professional editor, then make the necessary revisions. After this enlist the help of beta readers to help you improve your book. It’s important to get your book in front of many eyes as possible.

#3. You’ll Struggle to Make Sales

Many first-time authors don’t understand book marketing. They have a build it, and they will come mindset when it comes to book marketing. When I published SMARTER Goal setting my idea of marketing was using long-tail keywords and talking about my book on social media. As I soon realised, this was not enough. I also made a huge mistake. This mistake was starting with one book in a new series. I recommend starting your author journey with at least two books. One book to give away as a lead magnet so you can, collect email address and build an author platform. And the second book to sell on Amazon. It’s important to publish both books and release them on Amazon. But, never lower the price or offer the first book for free.

Why?

Seeing the book, you’re giving away for free will encourage people to sign up to your email list. This growing email list will become your author platform. As you release more books, you will have people waiting to read your next book.

Author Platform

If you want your first book to reach more readers, you will need to build your author platform before you release your book. You can build your platform by starting a blog that’s aligned with your books genre or niche. Hosting giveaways where people enter the competition by subscribing to your list. Building an author platform is about positioning yourself in front of your ideal readers and giving them an exciting reason to sign up to your list. It’s important to that you don’t expect to hit the bestseller charts with your first book unless you’ve been writing for years and have built up a huge platform before you release your book.

Concluding Thoughts

As always, I have an important question to ask you. Are you an aspiring author who is dreaming of writing a non-fiction book? How are you going to use these truths to ensure you have a better experience publishing your first book? I want to hear from you. Let me know by sharing your actionable steps in the comments section below.

Your coach,

Amelia xx