by Jenn Gott

My debut novel came out in November 2014. It took me roughly two years to write and edit, and about six months to get together the cover, interior design, and formatting — but like many authors, this was a culmination of a lifelong dream.

We all like to think that our first book is going to be a smash success, but the truth is that for most of us, it turns out to be a learning experience more than anything else. This is true even if you already have a publisher or literary agent to sort out the nitty-gritty details, but it’s especially true if you’re self-publishing and have to do everything yourself.

No matter how much research you do, there’s simply no substitute for experience. And even if you know the best practices in the industry, chances are there’s going to be something you either overlook or arrogantly decide to ignore.

At least, there was for me.

Luckily, a book is just that: a book. One book in what will hopefully be a long and prolific career. The beauty of this is that early wobbles can easily be overcome — and even forgotten — with time. On that note, today I want to pull back the curtain and look at some of the initial mistakes I made, as well as the things I did differently when I launched my second series a few years later.

Lesson 1: Write to a niche market

For my debut novel, I wrote… a fantasy.

Not an urban fantasy, or a paranormal romance. Not a steampunk fantasy, or flintlock, or atompunk. Not a dystopian fantasy. Not grimdark fantasy. Just fantasy. Epic fantasy? That’s debatable, though really that’s not much — if any — narrower.

What’s wrong with this? In terms of story, nothing. The marketing, however, was another matter.

By writing something so broad, my potential audience felt like a vast sea, one I had no control of. It might sound like a great idea to write a book that will appeal to the largest possible group of readers... but in reality, when you’re marketing to everyone, you’re marketing to no one.

On top of that, suddenly the biggest names in the business became my competition. How was I, a brand-new author without a giant publisher behind me, supposed to compete against Tolkien, Sanderson, Martin, and more?

Now, this was the start of a series, so I couldn’t exactly jump ship to a new genre with the sequels. But as soon as I started looking outside that world I’d created, I knew I would be hunting for a true niche. Something that interested me, of course, and something with a broad enough appeal to attract readers. But a genre less vast and overcrowded, so my small voice wouldn’t be completely lost in the din.

Lesson 2: Zero in on the story’s “hook” as soon as possible

The first time I published a novel, my idea came from a snippet of character: I watched a movie where someone wore a particular pair of sunglasses, and I wanted to write a book that captured a similar aesthetic.

While I’m a firm believer that there’s no wrong way to spark and develop an idea, even I have to admit that mine made it a bit harder than it had to be. The plot development alone took a wild ride of twists and turns before landing on a story, but the biggest problem turned out to be describing my book to other people.

For my second series, I was determined not to let that happen. Again, the spark of my idea was pretty vague: I really just wanted to write a superhero story. But this time, I made sure to consider my “hook” even in the early planning stages.

I cannot stress enough the difference this made. From the writing to the marketing, the process was so much smoother and more enjoyable. I was able to create a book description without any hassle, and whenever I wanted to “pitch” my work directly to readers or reviewers, I had a simple line ready to go.

The way I articulated my hook changed, of course, as I wrote more of the book and discovered different angles. But this refining process also meant that I became well-practiced at coming up with different ways to describe the same hook. Turns out, that’s almost more valuable than the hook itself, especially when you need to write ad copy that fits within a certain character limit.

Lesson 3: Market early, market often

In November 2014, I launched with no pre-release marketing. Literally none — I didn’t even have a cover reveal. I hadn’t even announced the title of my book. In part, I figured that I had no fans yet, so who was I announcing things to?

But I was also just unthinkingly optimistic: I had visions of dropping my book on Amazon, having reviews pile in from readers who’d randomly stumbled upon my new release and fallen in love. Fame and fortune would surely follow, because that’s how this works, right?

I mean, maybe back during the Amazon “gold rush,” when Kindles were first coming onto the scene — I wouldn’t really know, because I’d missed that by years. Still, I clung to the delusion I’d gathered from those heady early success stories, as if merely hoping it still worked that way would make it so.

It hurt to have reality slam me so hard in the face, but it also meant that there was no way I would let my second series suffer the same fate: this time, I would market to the max.

Right from the beginning, I started making noise about my book. Telling my fans a bit about what I was up to, offering teasers when it got closer to release. I had a cover reveal and put the first chapter online. I talked about it all the time.

I’m sure there was still more I could have done, and will do the next time around — there’s always more you can do, especially if you set up preorders. But it worked, and I will never wait until release to start marketing again.

Lesson 4: Start with a sale

It took me a while to get over myself and accept the idea of a 99-cent sale, but it wasn’t until the release of my second series that I really embraced it.

I knew I wanted to start strong, but I also knew that I was still a fairly unknown author, branching into a new genre. Readers weren’t necessarily going to take a chance on me, no matter how enticing my book was — not at full price, anyway. But put the book on sale, and suddenly it’s a lot less of a gamble. After all, they’re only spending a dollar.

So I set my new release at 99 cents, and I booked a series of promotion services spanning a two-week window. Not all of these “email blast” services will accept new books or books without a certain number of reviews, but I managed to find a handful, each with different requirements and audiences. I tried to put the ones I thought would perform the best at the beginning and the end of the sale, for an early boost and a last hurrah.

I don’t do this when I release a sequel — there’s already built-in interest in those — but it is absolutely something I will do again when I release my next new work. I cannot stress enough how important it was to get those early reviews, and I would never have gotten there fast enough without launching at a discount.

Lesson 5: Don’t wait on the paperbacks

This one isn’t an absolute must for publishing success, but I thought I’d tack it on to the end anyway, just because it’s important to me personally.

From a business perspective, there’s room to argue that paperbacks don’t matter for self-publishers. They do, after all, incur extra costs to produce, and most indie authors won’t make a significant portion of their sales through paperbacks.

But I want the paperback. For me, as for many of us, the physicality of books has always held a special place in my heart. The accomplishment of becoming a published author doesn’t feel quite real without being able to hold one in my hands and say, “I made this.”

So while I did get paperbacks for my first book, I made sure to have them ready to go at release from the second book on. And you know what? For me, it’s been worth it. My paperbacks sell at a slow but steady clip, and there are always paperback purchases in the first wave of sales from loyal readers (love you guys!). They allow me to participate in signings and other in-person events, as well as just being able to hand a copy to someone else to thumb through.

Besides, if someone loves my work enough to want to display them on their shelves, who am I to tell them they have to wait?

Jenn Gott is an indie author, as well as a writer for Reedsy, where she posts about books, craft, and publishing. So basically, she’s writing all the time. On her few breaks, you can find her snuggling with her cats, watching superhero movies, or designing houses in The Sims.