You've finished your book! Congratulations! The hard part is finished...or is it?

As you begin the publication part of the writing process, it is bound to be overwhelming, especially for new authors. You need to think more about getting the book on your chosen online platform, from editing, book covers, typesetting...
the list goes on.

It’s a lot.

I've been working with new authors for 3 years now and I come across the same misconceptions or hang-ups time and time again so I wanted to share exactly what new authors need to know in 2023.

01

You Have to Realize How Emotionally Attached You Are.

Let's just start here. Your book is your baby. I know that. You know that. And neither of us would have it any other way.

You have spent countless hours crafting his beautiful narrative and you absolutely should be emotionally attached to your work. It's to be expected.

The problems arise though, when new authors fail to realize how emotionally attached they are to their work.

Let's talk a bit of marketing/psychology right now.

In business, it's rarely a good idea to make emotion-driven decisions. What you see and feel as a creator is rarely the same thing as what your client/customer/reader will be looking for. And the whole thing about marketing a book (or anything really) is that you want to connect with your ideal reader—and you aren't going to be able to connect if you are looking inwards rather than looking outwards at your perspective reader.

In short, emotions cloud decision-making. And when you are so tightly connected to your book, it can be hard to disengage and make good decisions for the marketing of your book (which is why hiring good professionals is so important!).

I find that most of the issues that new authors face are almost all due to decisions that are made when emotions are high and you are having a hard time disconnecting from your work.

And I'm not even saying you should be able to disconnect completely. But I do wish all new authors understood how emotional the publishing process is... it would help them be able to step back a bit and re-examine their motives and decisions.

02
You Need to Understand What a Cover’s Purpose Is

As a cover designer, I am an expert in, well, covers.

And I find a lot of authors do not understand the purpose of a cover.

A cover isn't a visual summary of the book.

It isn’t an exact replication of your main characters.

It's a marketing tool.

A cover is what gets people to stop scrolling if online or to stop browsing in the store.

A cover is what tells your reader what genre your book is, if it is what they are looking for, and if they want to read it.

And you have about half a second to communicate all of this.

A common thing I get asked to do is to recreate a pivotal scene on the cover of books.

Maybe there is a picnic scene where the heroine is in a beautiful red dress or a mountain top scene that changes the course of your couple's future.

This is all great. But you don't need to necessarily put those on the cover. In fact, designers, as a whole, are fundamentally against putting specific scenes on the cover.

In that half of a second, readers will not be looking at the cover, deciphering what the scene is. Instead, they are asking themselves if this is the type of book that they like. Is this what they are looking for?

And recreating a specific scene has nothing to do with good marketing.

The hard truth is – nobody cares if the scene on the cover is an exact representation of what happens in the book.

Covers are designed based on genre, trends, and good marketing.

03
You Need to Know Your Genre

I find a lot of new authors suffer from genre-confusion. They may think they are writing a certain genre but are really writing something else. OR they may be inter-weaving too many genres. It happens a lot but understanding your genre will help the publication process go much smoother and give you a better chance of successfully marketing your book.

This isn't to say you can't mix genres but you do need to have a focus and do your research on what is marketable and popular.

The widely-accepted advice is that you can have one primary genre and one subgenre. Any more and all it does is dilute the marketing.... and if one thing is universal it is that you can't market to everyone. You need to have a niche and an audience in order to successfully market.

Knowing your main genre is going to help when creating a cover because your readers will immediately know what type of book it is. Generally, we focus on one main genre for the cover to avoid any confusion.

My best advice on how to overcome genre-confusion is to take some time to explore Amazon's best sellers in your assumed genre. Are you seeing a lot of titles? Take a look at their genres and subgenres and see if they match yours. If not, you probably need to reconsider your genre…because if you aren’t finding it on Amazon, people aren’t searching for it.

04
You Need to Be Prepared to Invest in Professionals

Even if you are self-publishing a book, hiring a few professionals to help you can make a huge difference in your book’s overall reception.

I suggest, at minimum, that all authors invest in a cover designer and an editor. The quality of the cover and the editing of a book both play huge parts in how often it is purchased and how it is reviewed.

As we discussed earlier, a good cover is fundamental to marketing your book. It is what gets people interested in buying. If you have a poor cover design, your book is more likely to be passed over.

The other top priority is to invest in a good editor.

Editors aren't cheap (although there are resources out there that can fit lower budgets) but the value that they bring to your writing is invaluable.

Nobody wants to read a disjointed book. Editors are the resource that brings a second set of eyes to your work and helps you identify weak or unclear areas. They will also work with you to correct any grammatical and punctuation mistakes.

An editor is what makes your book go from amateur status to professional-level quality.

In this age of self-publishing, you really can do a lot on your own; but that doesn’t mean you always should do it alone. You really should consider investing in some professionals to help make the process easier and your success greater.

05
You Need to Trust the Professionals.

Ok, so you’ve decided to hire professionals—Great!

Now you need to trust them.

This is where my first point, understanding you are emotionally connected to your book, and the previous point, hire professionals, can come to a head.

You need to trust the professionals you have hired.

You are the writer. You know the craft and you have the skill.

And guess what, so do the professionals you hire to help you publish your book! They are trained and experienced in their area and they are there to set you up for success.

From cover designers to editors to publishers, it's important that you trust the professionals in other areas of your publication process, even if it deviates from what you initially thought.

It's absolutely ok to ask questions. In fact, I encourage it! I want you to understand why I make the decisions that I make. But fundamentally, I need you to trust me to do what is best for you and your publication… and so does every book professional out there.

Remember - your success is our success. We are in this relationship together—
and all relationships are built on trust.

So, What’s Next?

There you have it - my top 5 things new authors need to know in 2023. Most of the points are actually pretty simple but can be hard to put into practice without a bit of encouragement.

As an experienced cover designer, I know how overwhelming the publication process can be but I also know how rewarding it can be. I only wish the best for you in the success of your book.

If you have any questions about what was covered here, I’d love to help.
Please email me at sarahkilcreative@gmail.com.