The report is in - we canvassed our team of authors and writers (and members) to learn what barriers to independent publishing they found most daunting. If you've encountered some of the following issues as well, this blog series on "The Secrets of Indie Publishing" offers some viable solutions. In this second post, we'll identify the problem areas.
Question 1: What have been the biggest challenges and/or headaches involved in getting your book formatted, uploaded and published at major online retailers?
John Winchell (poet, writer, and editor) says authors often have problems getting their manuscripts uploaded at different retailers. The same print manuscript that works on a Barnes & Noble upload might get rejected for errors on KDP (Amazon). Often it's the book cover upload that goes amiss. The spine dimension is off or the overall cover dimensions are inadequate. Also, there may be hidden formatting commands in your PDF that conflict with the book printer's software. Sometimes, an independently produced ePub file (for eBook production) is fine for one retailer and has non-publishable errors on another platform.
Question 2: What annoyed you the most about the process?
Erica Shay (mystery romance writer) told us her biggest frustration was "all of it!" "I love the entire process of writing. You know, plotting and character development. I even enjoy researching accuracy and mocking up a scene in real time. What gave me the biggest headache was dealing with KDP. Forget uploading to other retailers, I was ready to throw in the towel. Formatting was a nightmare. Give me a plot twist to solve, anytime!"
Question 3: What element of "bringing your book to market" was the most frustrating?
Most of our authors (and others who responded to the poll) stated their biggest frustrations were formatting/uploading manuscripts, finding BETA readers, getting book reviews, and navigating book launches/promotions.
Question 4: What word processing app do you prefer using?
John Winchell, Erica Shay, Janet Doucette (self-help, mind-body medicine) and Constance Wilkinson (poet, playwright, blogger) all use Microsoft Word, while Anneka Lowrie (Mystery & Suspense) uses Apple Pages for manuscript writing. Most of the writers/authors who responded to our poll said they ran into problems when saving their work as PDF.
Question 5: Are you aware of the algorithm Amazon (and others) use to rank your book onto their best seller list and how it works? (ABSL, for example)
Most writers who responded to our poll said they knew Amazon had an algorithm that helped identify best sellers, but didn't know it was based on a specific criteria and not just sales.
Question 6: Did you know that category and keyword search terms are very competitive for all online book retailers?
Our writers use Stormview Mountain Press' Science of Categories service to find keywords and categories that fit both their genre and book descriptions. This service also analyzes to determine which of those keyword/category combinations offer a competitive edge (more about this in Secrets on Indie Publishing - Part Three).
Question 7: Do you know how potential readers choose books to purchase?
Answers included researching best seller lists, recommendations from book clubs and other readers who follow Goodreads. Tiktok's Booktok posts are also popular, plus email ads from Amazon, Bookbub, etc.
Question 8: Do you know how to obtain reviews which meet online book retailer requirements?
For example, Amazon will remove reviews that aren't "verified." This means the review was written by someone who didn't buy the book on Amazon, which is a perplexing issue. Anneka Lowrie suggested asking BETA and advance release readers to post reviews before a promotional book launch. One can offer books to BETA and advance release readers at a reduced price prior to sales promotions. However, it's against Amazon policy to offer a gift certificate in exchange for a review. Some of our authors found a way to thank the reader without incurring an Amazon "penalty." Another poll responder said, "it's like fishing in a trout pond hoping to land a bass...discouraging."
We will discuss this art of landing reviews in the next blog post.
Question 9: Are you aware of AI search terms in your book description that can be used as a marketing advantage?
Simply stated, the majority response was: "No, how does that work?"
Question 10: How would you describe the overall experience of formatting, uploading and publishing your finished manuscript online?
"Annoyingly frustrating, time-consuming and a marathon effort...."
The literary team at Stormview Mountain is comprised of authors, poets, and writers who have faced these publishing obstacles and succeeded in retaining creative control of their work. Some are new voices in the indie publishing world, while others are more well established. Either way, they're adept at navigating the challenges of independent publishing. Moreover, they want to utilize every available tool in producing their best work to be successfully published to a receptive audience of readers who appreciate their style and creative voices.
If you've experienced some of the same challenges and frustrations our poll responders reported, Secrets of Indie Publishing - Part Three will offer strategies, tools and recommendations for successful self-publishing.
Feel free to comment down below - we are listening! :)
Comments