Ten Indie Publishing Mistakes I’ve Made and What I’d Do Differently

How to get started as a new indie writer

Being an indie is not for the faint of heart. There’s plenty of room at the top, but the gators are plenty on the way up. The bottom is where most writers compete for scraps — writing first and wishing for readers later.

I’ve made every mistake at least three times before I learned my lesson. Some lessons I have yet to learn. Maybe you can avoid a few of my errors before you start.

I get a similar email daily, “I’m not sure where to start. I’ve got no idea.”

Starting is hard. Starting takes the most energy — physics and all. Once we get the publishing flywheel going, the process is easier to navigate, but the starting — damn.

Instead of writing a story about how to get started, I figured I share what NOT to do. There are a lot of ways to get started, with just as many mistakes to make. I made every one. I’m a freaking mistake magnet.

Ten things I wish I did differently — sooner:

1. Dug my well long before I was thirsty —

When I launched my first fiction book, my email list was tiny. I got tiny results. Amazon won’t push a new book unless it has a proven track record. Chicken and egg sorta thing. I would’ve built my list a year in a advance, had I done it all over. Maybe two. It’s a long time to wait before you’ve got something to sell, but once you do you’ll have a full auditorium to sell to.

2. Wrote three books before launching the first —

Somehow many of my readers are book-a-day folks. I only had one book on launch day. I had nothing else to offer my readers once they read the first book. It was easy to lose them to another author. They had 364 reading days left.

3. Finished what I’d started —

I was a chronic manuscript writer. I’ve written about this before. I had a hard time finishing any writing project. I’m sure there was all kinds of inner-issues there. But I’d start project after project. I’ve got dozens of half-written books. I wrote five full manuscripts before I published the first book.

4. Learned the framework method earlier —

This is a structured way for pantsers like myself to write without an outline, yet avoid writing ourselves into a corner. We keep a framework of all the important genre elements, and write to meet that framework.

5. Learned loop-writing earlier —

This is a pantsing method of writing and editing as you write. You keep looping-back over your work. All the re-writing happens in real time. Once you type The End, you’re done. This was the exact solution I needed to cure my finishing-phobia. If it worked for Mark Twain, it works for me.

6. Got help —

I’m a grinder. I do everything on my own. I’m hard-wired to take the hard way. It’s stupid, but that’s how I am. I would’ve hired help earlier — using freelancers for cover design and early edits. My path was much longer, because I refused to ask for qualified help.

7. Stuck with one path until it was a success —

I’ve diverted in two directions, fiction and non. I can’t do both at once, but I keep trying. If I’d stuck with one linear path I’d be in a different place right now. I’m happy with my progress, but there’s a lot to be said about establishing one part of a business before jumping into another. I repeat this mistake often.

8. Ignored the trolls —

I spent a lot of time worrying about trolls. I get trolls on Medium too. Most of the time I’m able to catch myself. Sometimes I let them in and bother me. Trolls don’t matter. Most of the trolls here haven’t written anything. It’s easy to criticize others when you’ve got nothing criticizable yourself. For every hundred amazing comments, there’s one a-hole. And it’s the a-hole that ruins your day. Trolls are best left in their cages, under bridges, and in their mother’s basements.

9. Wrote more, sooner —

I wish I would’ve failed faster. I spent three years learning everything I could about writing fiction, before I wrote one word. I should’ve written day one. Writing is free. There’s plenty of room to screw up, but we’ve got to actually write to be writers.

10. Allowed myself open to criticism earlier —

Part of being a grinder is the need for control. Part of wanting to be in control is the avoidance of criticism. When we avoid constructive criticism we don’t grow as artists. You aren’t your book. It’s hard to believe, because people may attack your work as if you are, but I like the analogy that good writers are nothing but note-takers. We let our subconscious do all the heavy-lifting and all we do is write what we see as the movie plays in our mind. We must allow others to criticize the work as its own entity. It’s got nothing to do with us, as people.

Starting is hard

When you’re an indie author, everything is your responsibility. This both a great feeling and an overwhelming feeling. Hundreds of thousands have done it before you. You can do it too.

But you’ve got to start.

I recommend you start two things. Start your platform (i.e. your basic website and email list), and start your first offer (the Easy Invite you’ll give in exchange for your reader’s attention via email).

Some authors start with that first book. The first book feels so good to write, but if there’s no reader on the other end, why are we writing it? If you can’t function without getting the story out of your head, I get it. But for everyone else — those folks who want to be commercial authors — get your house in order first. You don’t want to lose a single reader once you get them.

This goes against many authors’ advice, I know. But I think you’ll be happier once you launch that first book to a full house. Amazon sure won’t promote your work unless you do it first.

We’re waiting for you.

(Enroll in My Free Email Masterclass: Get Your First 1,000 Subscribers)

August Birch (AKA the Book Mechanic) is both a fiction and non-fiction author from Michigan, USA. A self-proclaimed guardian of writers and creators, August teaches indie authors to write books that sell and sell more of those books once they’re written. When he’s not writing or thinking about writing August carries a pocket knife and shaves his head with a safety razor.

You just read another exciting post from the Book Mechanic: the writer’s source for creating books that work and selling those books once they’re written.

If you’d like to read more stories just like this one tap here to visit our page.