Mistakes I made publishing A Thief Among Liars

I am a firm believer that making mistakes is one of the best ways to grow. That being said, I still don't enjoy it. So today, I've made a list of some of the mistakes I made publishing A Thief Among Liars. Hopefully, we'll be able to learn and grow together!

The thing about self-publishing is that there is a lot of information that's easy enough to find through Google. The downside is that there is so much information. And often, it contradicts itself.

I went into publishing my debut with the goal to put something into the world that rivalled a trad pub book. I knew my work was good enough, I just didn't know what I didn't know.

While I spent weeks researching and talking to friends and getting as much info as I could, there were still things I needed to revise once the book was actually published.

Interior formatting

I'll be honest, I didn't put much stock into interior formatting. I knew there were people who listed it as a service, but I was trying to cut back on costs as much as possible. That's where Atticus comes in - it makes it really easy for authors to format their own books.

The downside? I was doing it all myself. And while I did look through the YA fantasy books on my shelf and searched what professionals recommended, this was an area where I was a bit out of my depth.

My opinion has always been so long as it's not distracting, it doesn't really matter.

The mistakes I made were:

• Not justifying the body font

• Not proofreading the final printed copy

Now, not justifying can feel like it's not a big deal, and in the grand scheme of things I certainly didn't care. But it's true that most books out there do have justified formatting; it does make the book look more polished and easier to read.

Not proofreading the final proof copy was also not great. The formatting varied slightly, and I only noticed in hindsight that certain spaces were removed, formatting got a little wonky, etc.

Every book, even trad published books, will have mistakes, but I feel like I could have done more to ensure those snags didn't happen.

Timeline

I didn't realize how many proof copies I would want. There were some snafus with the colour on the cover, and it meant that I needed to print extra proof copies. But each proof takes anywhere from 2-5 weeks to receive.

I got really lucky that my final proof passed my inspection (minus the notes above). If it hadn't, I would have missed my pub date waiting for another copy. Yes, you can make changes post-release, but I would never want the first run of books to have errors. The first buyers are usually your most devoted fans; they deserve the best quality.

Paying for unnecessary marketing

While I was researching, I was finding a ton of information about marketing. I knew my first book would be a bit of a trial, but I wanted to get the release out as wide as I could.

That meant I paid for things I really shouldn't have.

I thought that certain offers sounded pretty good ($50 for a spot in a release newsletter). But in reality, I got two sales from those spots. I didn't make back 5% of what I put into that newsletter.

And I did that a few times.

The moral of the story: be sure you know what you're paying for and what the likely results will be.

In reality, it's really hard to convert sales on a debut novel, especially a self-published one. Moving forward, I think I'll reserve more of my marketing budget for once the series are finalized. I'm fortunate that I can afford to release all the books I need to complete the series without external income - I know not everyone can do that.

But most readers don't love to buy the first book in a series if the full series hasn't been released. I know that now. And I've adjusted my marketing plans accordingly.

Crossover markets

The final, bigger, error I made was that I had built an audience of authors. And while I absolutely love that community, it's not authors that I'm trying to sell my books to, it's readers.

Having to then pivot that audience and build it from scratch a few months before a book release is really hard. It's not impossible, but it's not advised.

For me, it was easier to have just one platform for both my editing services and my author career. However, that does mean splitting my audience. If you have the choice, I would recommend separating those markets.

I hope this little peek behind the curtain has given you some insight into how to structure your own releases! Self-publishing is tricky, but it's not impossible. And while mistakes happen, it's not the end of the world. We can always find a way to grow.

Happy writing,

-E