If Your Book or Blog Isn’t Selling, This May Be Why

Many titles fail, and that’s how the writing/publising business works. Let’s consider self-publishing authors’ biggest mistakes. There is a right and wrong way to publish books; many authors just don’t get it.

Self-publishing is challenging work that requires commitment but can be done successfully. Every day, I see self-published authors who sell a healthy number of books in print or digitally. Be willing to walk the walk, and you can be among them.

Checklist of self-publishing authors’ biggest mistakes

1. Rushing to publish
2. Neglecting to build a platform
3. Poor formatting, editing, and design
4. No marketing plan
5. Ignoring reader feedback
6. Lack of professionalism and failure to understand the business
7. Not fueling your visibility long before you’re ready to write or publish

It makes sense to become visible long before you publish, right? Develop a following online, in your community, on social media. Consider building a website that showcases your opinions or your personality. Think about an e-commerce site on a micro business platform where you can sell products. Many self-published authors discover too late that if you write a book, but it’s invisible, sales will not happen. Buying an audience or building a list of followers who aren’t engaged wastes your time.

For example, many social media groups exist only for members to hawk their books. Does it make sense to you that posting a blurb in a group of 40,000 strangers who have no interest in your topic or plot will spur sales?

It’s unlikely that people focused on expanding their own audience will hire you or support your side hustle. The theory is “a follow for a follow.” In other words, if you click “follow” or “like” on my page, I’ll reciprocate. With that model, you may get 100 followers a day, but no sales or conversions will result.

I’ll tell you, few of these ghosts will actually read or buy your work. A large number of those people will unfollow you within seven days.

Before you hit that “publish” button for the book or project you’ve labored over, having an established social media following is the ticket.

Social media disconnect--it's never too early

It takes months to grow a social media audience enough to fuel sales. Meanwhile, you’ll establish your niche so readers learn what you're about and where your expertise is.

Open one or two social media accounts, or supercharge those you have. You’ll establish relationships. It’s fun to open conversations with people by posting interesting questions.

If you write romantic fiction, offer tips for sustaining relationships. Post memes and jokes about romance. Repost experts’ comments about romance, and add what you know from experience. People will respond with their experiences. If you write about fishing, then fishing should be part of your social media focus.

Do you watch who reads your posts or answers them? You need to. Follow and engage with people who interest you.

Social media trendsetters follow the 10:4:1 ratio. Plan 15 posts. Create 10 posts around other experts’ ideas. Four should come from your original ideas; only one should promote your work with a strong call to action.

This strategy ensures content variety to attract followers without annoying them. However, changing the ratio to half your own ideas and half other experts’ advice makes sense if you are particularly skilled at content development.

Getting sucked up in your digital persona and ignoring the real world is also a big mistake. There are opportunities at parties, school events, or work. Introduce yourself. Share your business card. Print bookmarks with your social media, website, or the title of your coming book.

Handing out treats to your kid’s class? Stick a bookmark in the goodie bag. You’re a mile ahead of most people if you can get testimonials or pre-publication reviews.

Publishing your book or project

You have to identify the right launching platform for your needs. Follow the platform’s directions to the letter. Work carefully and cut no corners. Whatever you create, do it flawlessly.

Your book must be well-designed, outstandingly written, and drafted with no typos, clumsy language, and no badly spelled or used words. A compelling cover design is essential. If you publish digital downloads like coloring books or greeting cards, make them clean and perfect. You will have a better opportunity for success if your end-user experience is A++.

Price your book or project competitively for the marketplace. We all want to make money quickly, but a high price does not guarantee profit. Basic research can identify the price point that makes your book a great value.

Notice pricing trends when you browse bookstores and bookseller websites and pay attention to your niche. Well-known authors command a higher price than burgeoning writers might get. One effective strategy is to price a new release on the low end and increase the price as the book gains traction.

No marketing strategy

If you know nothing about marketing, bite the bullet and get professional help. Consider an affordable, ethical marketing professional or student to help you write a marketing plan. We’ve worked with authors who asked an AI platform like Chat GPT to write a marketing plan for a project. One expert offers a free marketing cheat sheet for subscribers to his newsletter. Explore the web to see what can help you figure the marketing piece out.

As your book gains traction, write another book or create another project. Often, self-published authors’ biggest mistakes involve launching a project and stopping. Even with the best marketing plan on earth, as Shark Tank tells us, you have to scale your business.

Think about companion products or promotions that can draw attention to your book. If you want to make money as a writer, keep writing. No manufacturer would survive if the company produced one kick-ass product, made one production run, and stopped.

“Good business leaders create a vision, articulate the vision, passionately own the vision, and relentlessly drive it to completion.” -Jack Welch.

The value of readers or end-users

It’s normal to read a negative review about work we’ve labored over and want to throttle the reviewer. But wait! There is more benefit to being open to constructive criticism and using feedback to improve future works. An author told me a story:

“Someone reviewed my book on a reader website. She complained about two crummy typos, but worse, she said one character was too flat, whatever that means. And she thought my book was slow, but she admitted the genre wasn’t one she usually reads, and in fact, she avoids it. So isn’t that on her? Why would she read something she knew she’d hate and then tell everyone she hated it?”

I’ll admit, if that review was about my work, I’d bristle. But I know I’d also settle down and reread the review, objectively paying attention to what the reader was saying.

Typos? No excuse. That’s part of rushing to publication without scrutinizing craftsmanship. Characters? I’d revisit parts of the book to see if any character could have been fleshed out. Pacing? We can all improve how we move the story along. Even if 1000 reviews are five stars, the most valuable might be the one three-star review.

If that reader took the time to buy my book, something attracted her. If she took the time to review it, something caused her to react. I can learn from that and make myself a more robust author. Every reader is valuable.

Your bottom line

There is no such thing as a free lunch. We all have to work, plan, and pay our dues. If you are lucky enough to write a million-seller that flies off the shelf and makes you rich, God bless you. Enjoy it.

The rest of us will continue to move ever forward, one step at a time because we love what we do. If I were as rich as Warren Buffet, I would still write because I love the process. It might be time to begin a new journey if you’re doing something that doesn’t make you feel that love.

Entrepreneurship isn’t for everyone.

If you’re like me, feeling driven and self-motivated, you may be a born entrepreneur. If you love what you're doing, you'll sustain your momentum and be able to stick to it until you achieve success. If you are skilled and understand the craft, how can you fail?

Keep going. Write that book. Complete whatever project is on your desk, and make it perfect. Map out your strategy so you can make some effective marketing noise. Enjoy the freedom of working for yourself.

Finally, if you want to avoid self-published authors’ biggest mistakes and achieve success as you live your dream, consider this:

“Overnight success is almost always a myth. Half of this industry is luck, and half is the refusal to quit.” Victoria Schwab