When I published my first book in December 2022, I didn’t know much about self-publishing: how to organize everything, how to prepare for publication, and which specialists to hire. As a result, I received not very good reviews and few sales.
Here’s what I would have done differently (and will do for the next book) and what I advise you to do.
Hire an editor
You can publish a book without an editor only if you have worked as an editor yourself for several years. Even in my native language, I began to write well only after a couple of years of purposeful work with my texts.
And even if you are an editor yourself, you will still need a proofreader to correct errors and typos that you may have missed.
If you still want to do it on your own, use applications that check your text for spelling and grammatical errors, for example, ProWriting Aid (affiliate link). And be sure to give the book to a few people who can point out typos and mistakes.
Prepare your social media
Some authors prepare their readers for publication within 9 months! I started Instagram when the book was already published.
Engage with the audience, reveal the cover, and share the process and fragments from the book to whet interest.
Try to do this regularly: every 1-2 days, and use Reels, stories and carousels. Also, interact with other authors and reviewers.
Most often, authors use Instagram, TikTok, and Facebook, and LinkedIn and X (Twitter) are suitable for non-fiction books.
Hire Beta readers and ARC readers
The beta reader will help you find plot gaps and finalize the book, and ARC readers will give you their first feedback and reviews. All this should be done before publication so that there is time to correct what the first readers noticed.
Without them, you will not know what is wrong with the book, it may be difficult to read it or it will reveal inconsistencies that will have to be corrected after publication, which reduces the overall rating of the book, and therefore sales.
Also, these readers will give you the first ratings, and if they are good, it will boost your sales.
These are the three most important steps that should not be skipped—and I have seen this from my own experience.