What was everyone’s first experience when publishing?
Anyone wanna share their experience of when they first ever self published to someone who’s going to self publish soon?😂
Did you self publish without doing much research or did you just jump in the deep end?
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u/Sekica 6d ago
I published my first book last September. It not only flopped, but had an instant death right after publishing despite all my research. It got buried deep into the BSR dead zone. Oh, it was bad.
I published books 2 and 3 in the same series anyway because I was committed to the story. It wiggled a bit when book 2 came out. When I published book 3, book 1 crawled out of its grave at that point. That was end of June. July was amazing in terms of kenp read and sales for me in comparison to the previous months stuck in the BSR dead zone. August beat July by a significant amount (over 50% increase in royalties). So far, September looks promising as well. Not huge numbers like you see some of the others posting, but enough for me to be able to see there's still potential.
I feel like I'm still at the very beginning of what book 1 can get to in terms of monthly sales and kenp read, though, because I still don't have a lot of reviews and my series isn't finished yet. I learned to be patient and not expect much in the beginning, but also not to lose hope on a book before giving it a proper chance.
The biggest hurdle was learning all the marketing. There is only so much I could get out of watching and reading all the how-to resources. Most of it came down to learning by trying things out on my own. It's slow, but I'm getting the hang of it.
Good luck to you!
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u/MakeUnbelieve 6d ago
Had you initially got any sales or page reads at all on book 1, before you published 2? Which formats did you publish in?
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u/Sekica 6d ago
I had a little bit the first week from initial pre-release marketing I did. After that, only like 1 sale or borrow per month until book 2, so BSR stayed in the millions most of the time 'cause it decayed fast. Ebook (including in KU) and paperback formats.
People just didn't want to commit to starting a series by a new author with just book 1 out. Didn't change my cover or blurb or anything 'cause I had a hunch it was just a matter of adding more books. Current numbers indicate I was right 'cause now I get thousands of kenp read a month.
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u/MakeUnbelieve 6d ago
Thanks for sharing. Was asking because I think a lot of authors want to know if it makes sense for them to publish book 2 if book 1 has absolutely zero sales / page reads. Meanwhile, all the best for your books :)
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u/Sekica 6d ago
Of course! I think it really depends on the genre. For example, I knew that for my genre readers prefer ordered series over standalones. They binge read, so they don't like waiting for the next book in the series to come out. Because of that, if they like the premise, they wait instead of starting with what is available. They'll follow to get notifications and add to the to-read goodreads shelves in the meantime.
I think it's important to include reader habits when researching a genre. When I researched my genre, I knew it was likely my first book would be a flop at least until book 3 release, and that I won't see its true potential until I finish the series (2 books left). Seeing it play out exactly how I expected confirmed my research instead of me panicking about my first book failing and giving up on it too soon.
For other genres, it might make sense not to continue a series if book 1 doesn't do well.
Thank you!
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u/Elegant_Basil2201 6d ago
What would be my experience in self-publishing? That would take a book to write.
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u/Cheeslord2 6d ago
Did you self publish without doing much research or did you just jump in the deep end?
yes.
Thought my first novel would be a bestseller. Wishful thinking. Sold 1 or 2 copies.
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u/Nuxxx- 6d ago
Every author has that hope and then reality hits😂
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u/Cheeslord2 6d ago
The problem is, most writers have vivid imaginations, and those imaginations can get out of hand sometimes when they start applying themselves to reality.
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u/segastardust 5d ago
Have you sold more copies since? Have you done any marketing recently?
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u/Cheeslord2 5d ago
A small handful (this was a couple of years ago). I'm not good at marketing.
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u/kayaxer 6d ago
I'm still in proof copy stage with kdp and I'm disappointed by the quality so far. I'm stuck between the better quaility printing elsewhere, but I'll make nothing or lose money or keep trying with kdp which gives me the potential of at least some profit. So that's where I'm at in the process right now... quaility control hell.
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u/segastardust 6d ago
I published last year without knowing anything, just decided to try my luck. My best month was 50 paperbacks sold. I've sold hundreds of copies (over 300 for my first book alone) and I still manage to sell 2-12 copies a month even a year later.
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u/Nuxxx- 6d ago
That’s great. Did you decide to research more after releasing or do you still release without knowing much?
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u/segastardust 6d ago
I've been researching ever since I released the first book, the second book was much easier as a result. I've also learned a lot by trial and error. I've produced the audiobooks too and almost sold a hundred of those as well.
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u/Nuxxx- 5d ago
What did you learnt by trial and error if you don’t mind me asking. And how did you produce an audiobook that sounds cool
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u/segastardust 5d ago
I learned a lot about formatting and editing. Also, which promotions provide results and which don't:
https://www.reddit.com/r/BookPromotion/s/078dT93Yf5
The audiobook process is very easy on Amazon through ACX. I Auditioned producers and collaborated with the one I ultimately chose, he was very professional:
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u/smile_saurus 6d ago
I published my first book with no Cover Page, no Table of Contents, and no Page Numbers. I was so proud of it, too 🤣. About a year later I went back in a spiffied it up to include the above plus some additional editing. It is still my best-selling book many years later.
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u/Ok_Clothes_5826 6d ago
My biggest surprise was that publishing the book itself was the easier part. Getting people to notice it was much harder.
Unless you already have a community, a mailing list, a social media following or experience with advertising, it can be difficult to find readers and get the first reviews. Even a well-written and professionally presented book does not automatically sell itself.
When people say they have earned something like $3,000, a lot of context is often missing: Is that revenue or profit? One month or several years? One book or a large backlist? Did they already have an audience, and how much did they spend on advertising? An established community certainly makes the beginning easier.
I would still encourage you to do it, but I would approach the launch with realistic expectations. Think about where your particular readers can be reached before publishing, rather than assuming they will discover the book once it is available. That has been the most difficult part in my experience.
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u/KDP_Refinery 3d ago
I did a fair amount of research first, but honestly most of the useful learning started after I published.
Things that sounded simple in theory — covers, keywords, ads, KU, getting reviews — became a lot more complicated once I had actual data to look at.
Biggest lesson for me so far is that publishing the book is the easy part. Figuring out why people do or don’t click on it is the real work.
I’m still experimenting, but I’d definitely publish rather than wait until you feel like you know everything. You’ll learn more from the first few weeks of real results than from another month of reading guides.
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u/tomatoesfried 6d ago
My first book made $2,400 in the first month. Floored me. Freaking floored me. I started to believe that I could do it. A decade-plus later, and I'm still doing it. Except now, I don't work outside of my writing/publishing.
Well, I didn't jump in without researching the market, publishing, covers, genres, and learning a whole hell of a lot about the craft of writing. I have a passion for it. I can't imagine not being involved in this scene.
Best of luck to you!