by James L. Rubart, @jameslrubart
As the old adage goes, we don’t know what we don’t know. Or put another way, we often make assumptions because of our lack of experience.
With that in mind, here’s my take on seven deadly assumptions I’ve seen too many indie authors make:
- Thinking they don’t need a professional editor – and by professional editor I don’t mean one that comes cheap because yours is their first book. Or your mom’s pickleball partner edited a few books fifteen years back. I mean one that has a proven track record working with top authors. Yes, it will cost you more to get someone excellent. Yes, it will bring in WAY more book sales in the end.
- Thinking they don’t need Beta readers – they do. Beta readers often give feedback that shift a story from good to great.
- Thinking okay formatting is okay – your reader is going to be looking at your formatting (either consciously or subconsciously) for the entire book. It has to be right. (Personally I use Vellum and love it. Sorry, PCers, only available for Mac as of now and the folks at Vellum say there are no plans to create a PC version in the future.)
- Thinking they can design their own cover – unless you’ve spent years studying graphic design (specifically for books) you can’t. Your cover is your first impression. It’s not the place to save money.
- Thinking they can write their own back cover copy – See above. You think the cover is critical? Your back cover copy is even more important. You can sell a book with a questionable cover with stellar back cover copy. Almost impossible to sell a book with a great cover with atrocious prose on the back. Take the research time to find a pro. Uh, not just a pro. A great pro. One that can show you many examples of what they’ve already written. Spend the money. Get it done right.
- Thinking Amazon is everything – Yes, Amazon was the 900-pound gorilla of publishing and now they’re the 1,900-pound gorilla, but that doesn’t mean they’re the only game in town. There’s Apple books, Barnes and Noble, Kobo … and that’s just e-books.
- Thinking they’ll get their first book done, then relax for a while – Nope. No time to chill. If they like your debut novel, they’re going to want your second book as soon as they finish the first.
If you’re saying, “I think seven is just the tip of the iceberg, Jim,” you’d be right. So next month we’ll explore seven more.
Hmmm, we might not be finished till spring time …
How Do You Stand Up for Yourself When It Means Losing Everything? Allison Moore is making it. Barely. The Seattle architecture firm she started with her best friend is struggling, but at least they’re free from the games played by the corporate world. She’s gotten over her divorce. And while her dad’s recent passing is tough, their relationship had never been easy.
Then the bomb drops. Her dad was living a secret life and left her mom in massive debt.
As Allison scrambles to help her mom find a way out, she’s given a journal, anonymously, during a visit to her favorite coffee shop. The pressure to rescue her mom mounts, and Allison pours her fears and heartache into the journal.
But then the unexplainable happens. The words in the journal, her words, begin to disappear. And new ones fill the empty spaces—words that force her to look at everything she knows about herself in a new light.
Ignoring those words could cost her everything . . . but so could embracing them.
James L. Rubart is 28 years old, but lives trapped inside an older man’s body. He thinks he’s still young enough to water ski like a madman and dirt bike with his two grown sons. He’s the best-selling, Christy BOOK of the YEAR, CAROL, INSPY, and RT Book Reviews award winning author of ten novels and loves to send readers on journeys they’ll remember months after they finish one of his stories. He’s also a branding expert, audiobook narrator, co-host of the Novel Marketing podcast, and co-founder with his son, Taylor, of the Rubart Writing Academy. He lives with his amazing wife on a small lake in Washington state.