If you are a new author and you are new to publishing then this is the perfect blog for you because we are going to talk about common self-publishing mistakes to avoid.

We all make mistakes but mistakes can get costly when it comes to self-publishing because they will increase the publishing time by a lot and simply be more work for the publishers.

That is why you should know what mistakes to avoid when submitting your book so that you can not make those major publishing mistakes.

We won’t actually call these self-publishing blunders because mistakes can happen because you might not know it and it is very easy avoiding self-publishing pitfalls.

Having said that, author mistakes in self-publishing are not that common because authors generally do the research and that is exactly why this blog will help you with that research.

So, here are the most common self-publishing mistakes and how to avoid them. If you do not avoid them now then these will become common self-publishing problems.

Common Self-Publishing Mistakes and Solutions

Lack Of Proper Research

One of the most common self-published book mistakes is when the author does not do proper research before submitting the manuscript.

We understand that you might be excited about submitting your manuscript but in that excitement, people submit it too soon without understanding the submission guidelines.

There are certain things that authors should know and these can be even called self-publishing best practices because they are followed by everyone in the industry.

You can get to know the best practices if you look at any tips for successful self-publishing online because these are universal.

They will help you create the perfect book proposal and even the perfect manuscript submission.

But if you submit it too soon then while it might not get rejected like in the case of traditional publishing but you will have to go back and forth with the self-publisher a lot of times.

This will ultimately cost you a lot of time. That is why if you ask any author about self-publishing advice then they will tell you to sit down and just breathe in and breathe out and read the guidelines.

Not Understanding the Audience

One of the other mistakes authors make is that they make wrong decisions when they are submitting the manuscript.

We are not talking about anything related to the submission but we are talking about a few decisions that authors usually have to take when they finalize the deal with the self-publisher.

The thing is that it is not just as simple as submitting your manuscript and letting the self-publisher do the rest.

You will have to have your say on different matters and one of the most important matters is going to be the type of medium you want for your book.

There are so many mediums out there such as paper as well as ebooks and even audiobooks.  But in order to do this you should have a thorough understanding of your audience.

If your audience consists of tech-savvy professionals who simply do not have the time to read a physical book then you should publish your book in audiobook format.

If your readers like to stay classic then you should publish your book in paperback as well as hardcover versions.

And if you do not want to spend a lot of money in the production process then you should invest in ebook versions.

It all depends on your situation and what is going to work for you. This is a prime example of common self-publishing challenges.

Fast Incomplete Editing

If you want to know important self-publishing errors to avoid then this is going to be the number one error that you should not make.

You should never take shortcuts when it comes to the editing of the book because editing is one of the most crucial steps before submitting a manuscript.

This is because it can be a blunder for your book and we will help you understand why.

You should either not edit the manuscript and then ask the publisher to do it for you, or you should completely edit the manuscript.  There should be nothing in between.

This is because if you tell the publisher that you have edited the manuscript but in actuality, you haven’t spent time on it then the publisher will not sit down with you for editing and it will get published.

That is why you should take extra time in doing the editing process. Editing is not just about checking for punctuation errors which can be done with simple software.

Editing is much more deep and it is about deciding important elements of the manuscript. If you decide to skip this part then you will have a faulty published copy in your hands and it will take twice the amount to recall copies and destroy them.

Then again it is impossible to delete print books after publishing.

Skipping Book Cover Design

When you are planning on self-publishing your book, you can choose between two kinds of approaches, the hands-on approach or the hands-off approach.

In the hands-on approach, you are the one who is going to decide everything and the publishing company will be there to fulfil all your wishes. It is when you will do the editing or you will sit with the editor during the editing process.

It is also when you decide on the book cover design and have your own artist create it for you or even create it yourself. This is a very good way of doing things but it is not usually done in self-publishing.

This is because when people self-publish, they simply do not have the time for all this and they want the publisher to take care of everything.

That is why if you plan on having a book cover design of your own but do not add it to the submission then you will have to rely on the publishing company.

Maybe they will get the book cover design correct but if you really want your design to be on the book then you should not skip it.

We would suggest you to do it yourself because the book cover is one of the most crucial parts of your book and it is the first thing that readers are going to see.

Don’t Take Shortcuts with The Synopsis

There are some things you should not skip when it comes to submitting your book and one of the most important things is going to be the synopsis.

The mistake new authors make is that they do not spend time writing the synopsis or what is commonly known as the blurb.

Sometimes new authors get reminded by the publishing company to write the synopsis and that is where the problem happens.

Authors try to do it quickly and they mess up writing the synopsis. That is why whenever you are planning on submitting your manuscript you should not do it without the synopsis.

You should make sure to read other blurbs before writing yours so that you can get a better idea about it because it is the first thing people will read after they open the book.

You should also keep in mind important things such as the hook because without the hook there is no need for a synopsis. You should also not take up a lot of space because synopsis is not something that should be big.

Not Setting the Stage

You should not get confused when we tell you about setting the stage because it is one of the other important things you should do before you plan on submitting the book or even publishing it.

We are talking about setting the stage so that your book performs well in the market. The only way you can do that is to build a brand behind your name before the book even goes into publication.

If you decide to publish a book without any market demand then your books will not sell as many copies as you want.

That is why you should start building your online brand months or even years before publishing the book. You should create a community and you should build a fan base.

You should make sure that you are present on all relevant social media platforms and that you are active on all those platforms.

You should also invest in a professional website that will help your fans get all the details and even get exclusive discounts.

After you have set the stage you can then move on to submitting your manuscript and eventually publishing your book.

This will be the most favourable way of publishing your book and you can have an assurance of success.

Here Is Why We Are the Best for New Authors.

There are a lot of things you must keep in mind before you submit your book for publishing and it might be very overwhelming for someone who is doing this for the first time.

If you are a new author you might find it quite difficult to keep track of everything that we just said and much more.

That is why we are here for you because we are Orange Publishers and we are one of the most reputed publishing companies in India. We bring you the quality of traditional publishing and the convenience of self-publishing together.

That is why you simply have to contact us and we will walk you through the entire process of submitting your manuscript.

We will perform the entire checklist with you and will ask you about everything from the editing to the book cover design and note down your decisions.

We will include you in every creative decision whether it is the quality of the paper or the book promotion strategy. We do everything in-house and that includes the book cover designing as well as the printing and publishing and even the copyright and much more.

We welcome you to check out everything we do on our website and we would love to publish your dream project.