KDP vs Me - How to avoid my mistakes :-)

The thing about being an indie author is that you get to make all the decisions - there’s no-one telling you what to do :-)

The other thing about being an indie author is that there’s no-one telling you what NOT to do :-(

So, I thought I’d help out my fellow potential-block-buster-writing pals and give you the benefit of my learnings.

Getting started
Maximise your build-up time - I had good reasons for bringing the original launch date of 9th Dec forward by three weeks and organising my launch in 4 days. But in hindsight, we lost an extra two weeks to build pre-orders for the book. We should have managed the other issues and used those weeks to build excitement, tension and develop a following;

Start consistent use of social media EARLY - so easy to say. I found using social media really difficult to start with. I’ve got with the programme now, but it’s not a natural space for me. Starting early - say 12 months before publication - would have given me time to learn the environment and create a bigger following;

Talk to the industry - Now, I am. I’m talking to book shops, other authors, printers, marketeers, all sorts of professionals in this space. Genuinely, I can’t work out why I didn’t do this earlier?

Don’t waste your cash
You can publish a book by doing everything yourself without spending a penny. There are some expenses though, like professional editing services which are invaluable. I chose editors from recommendations from very successful authors (with sales >10,000 books) because I wanted quality assurance. YOU DON’T HAVE TO SPEND A PENNY but if you want more eyes on your work and assurance that you’re producing something of value, it’s probably worth it.

Having said that, some of my expenditure like buying mugs, (especially mugs with a QR code that didn’t work) was a waste of money.

Breaking Even?Shotley Bridge Murders: A British Crime Mystery featuring DC Heather Hudson
Well, I hope so. I’m about a third of the way there so far. And it’ll be easier to break even for Shotley Bridge Revenge because I’ll halve the expenditure for Shotley Bridge Murders, plus I’ll have a second book which should pull sales through for Book 1.

Whatever you decide to do if you’re writing, please reply to this, let me know your thoughts.

Please also could you share this article with five of your mates? Get their opinions too?

Thank you!

Bobby x

Shotley Bridge Revenge is available on pre-order in case you want to secure your copy!