Publishing a Book? Here Are The 9 Biggest Mistakes To Avoid
To say that Patrick Snow loves working with aspiring new authors is an understatement. From his home base in Hawaii, he supports entrepreneurs in writing and publishing books as a lead generation tool for attracting more clients.
And honestly, I have to say that his model is beyond impressive.
Patrick believes that there are literally 100 decisions to make as a part of writing and publishing a book. And most people, he says, make only 20-30 of these decisions correctly.
He cites publishing guru Dan Poynter who once reported that the average author only sells 250 copies in their lifetime. He also points to a study years ago by the Publishers Marketing Association (PMA) which found that 98% of authors will never sell more than 2,000 books in their lifetime.
Says Patrick:
“I am of the belief that this is largely the result of authors having failed on 70-80 of the key decisions one needs to make during the publishing process. As a result, their book has little chance for success.”
In my recent conversation with Patrick, he discussed 9 of the most common mistakes authors make when publishing and promoting a book. Below is the list that he shared in no particular order:
Having No Niche or Purposeful Direction
Patrick is a huge advocate of the following: “If you are a speaker, then your book is your speech and your speech is your book. In the same light, if you are a coach, your book is your coaching practice and your coaching practice is your book.”
The key takeaway here: He exhorts his clients to write a book tied to their speaking, coaching, or even consulting practice. Failure to do this says Patrick is a huge mistake.
Failing To Secure a Proper Domain Name For Your Book
Patrick counts this as a huge misstep that authors miss, often with major long-term implications.
“It is incredibly important and powerful to secure your (book title. com). And the same with (yourname.com). I’d say that 3/4ths of the publishing community has no idea of the importance of this critical branding strategy.”
Focusing On Major Publishers That Offer a Fat Advance
“These days it’s nearly impossible to get published this way. So a lot of people end up going the self-publishing route. Unfortunately, there are a lot of poorly done self-published books out there, many of which have the author’s name as the publishing company. The latter is a particularly big no-no.”
Patrick adds that he has worked with scores of authors over the years in exploring creative ways to ensure that their self-published book holds equivalent weight and credibility as those from major publishers.
Selecting a Publisher With High Printing Costs
“Many publishers will charge anywhere from $2,000 to $20,000 in advance to take you on as a client. But at the end of the day when the book is done, they almost never give the PDF files back to you the author. So the key here is to take control of the print run. Because whoever controls this controls the book profits.”
Using A Poorly Crafted Book Title
“I spent $3,000, 25 years ago learning three award-winning title formulas. What I discovered is that a title should be five words or less (that speaks to your head) followed by a subtitle of 10 words or less (that speaks to your heart.) This combination between title and subtitle should be fifteen words or less.”
“Then comes the 1# award winning title formula which I affectionately refer to as the “ing” rule. Which says that you take a verb and you add an “ing” to it to make it an action verb. The beautiful thing is when you do this, readers know what the book title is about. My own book “Creating Your Own Destiny” which became a bestseller is a good example of this formula at work.”
Putting Your Photo On The Front Cover
Patrick sees this as a common mistake that authors make. The only exception is if you’re a prominent movie star, a musician, or a sports celebrity like Tom Brady who has won multiple Super Bowl rings. He adds:
“When people see your photo on the front of your book, they are just going to think that this is some no-name person who’s writing his/her own autobiography.”
“So I always tell my clients to keep the front cover of the book for the reader. Put a beautiful image of a mountaintop, an ocean scene, a sunrise, a rainbow, a flower —- something that draws a prospective reader in. You want them to say, “oh, I should get this book because it really speaks to my soul.”
Securing a Book Foreword From Some Obscure Person
“Don’t allow someone to do a forward in your book unless they’re famous or have a huge sphere of influence. Personally, I sold hundreds of thousands of books before I ever got a foreword. And then I met bestselling author Brian Tracy who has sold over a hundred million copies of his 85 books. That’s when I thought, ‘yep, he’s a big enough name. I’ll ask him to do my forward.’”
Skipping The Proofreading/Editing Step
“I’ve worked with authors who are English professors and teachers do their own edits. And yet they still end up with fifty mistakes in their book.”
Patrick goes on to say that according to one study, the average book coming out has 20 grammar and spelling errors.
“The goal should be zero. But we are all human so we may end up with a very small handful. Nevertheless, it’s important to have a world-class editor other than yourself or your uncle Jimmy edit the book. Additionally, you need to have a world-class proofreader who reviews the editor’s work. If you do these things you’ll prevent yourself from being embarrassed later on by a book that’s littered with errors.”
Turning The PR For Your Book Over To Someone Else
“Generally speaking, the most successful authors do their own promotion. Because at the end of the day, no one is going to be able to market and promote your book better than you. It’s important to commit to doing this at least 15-minutes a day for the rest of your life.”
Patrick says that he learned this secret by way of a bestselling author he met many years ago.
“I went up to this guy and asked him, ‘what’s your secret? How did you sell a quarter of a million books.’ And he responded, ‘how many books have you given away?’ I said, ‘I know where you are going with this. I proudly give away one book a day. He looked at me and said, ‘Patrick, that’s your mistake.’ I said, ‘what are you talking about?’ He said, ‘you need to give 5,7, 10 books away every single day.”
“So if you’re a new author, my advice is to give away lots of your books. I’ve given away upwards of 5,000 books. And in giving away my books, I’ve been my own publicist, promoter, and marketer now for over twenty years. Bottom line - we need to spend the rest of our lives marketing our book. There is no such thing as a 30 or 90-day marketing campaign. We should be doing this for a lifetime.”
In terms of a bonus point, Patrick offers this:
“Publishing guru Dan Poynter said that it is better to have one book that sells millions of copies than it is to have twenty different titles and only average five hundred books per title. This nugget of wisdom has been one of the biggest keys to my success as a published author.”