My First Self-Pub Projects: What Went Wrong?

Aiming to publish my best book at the third time of asking

photo by Philip Charter

You’ve published a book! 🎉

But so have about 1 million other people this year. 😟

That’s not an exaggeration. Figures vary, but my research tells me that your product is likely competing with a million other books launched in the same year.

And what about all the other books on offer? Buyers have over 300 million to choose from. How the hell do we know what to buy?

4 scenarios for book buying in 2024 (in order of likelihood):

1. Buyer walks into a store (or browses online) for a present or something to read on holiday. They don’t have a specific book in mind. They leave with the latest bestseller or a heavily promoted title from a Big Five publisher.
2. Buyer knows exactly what they want and find it online through Google or Amazon. A friend has been raving about a new book and they want to read it too.
3. Buyer follows a link from a friend or family member who is promoting their book on social media.
4. Buyer (who is a keen reader) follows a genre author who writes trilogies or series. They see advertisements, posts or email marketing and…