TOP 3 MISTAKES I'VE MADE SELF-PUBLISHING!

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In this video, I discuss mistakes I made the first year of self-publishing. Granted, this was back in 2014-2015 time period, so it's important to keep that in mind, but while the industry has changed, I still believe these things are relevant today.
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If you have any questions, please feel free to post them below!
Looking forward to chatting with you in the comments section.
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//A B O U T M E//
Pen names: Lyra Parish & Kennedy Fox (we're an author duo!)
I've been in the indie scene since 2011. I published my first romance novel in 2014 (Weak for Him). Under Kennedy Fox, we've made USA Today 4 times since 2017. With Lyra Parish, I've made top 100 several times on Amazon.
I'm currently a co-host for the monthly youtube show Publishable (Self-publishing versus Traditional Publishing) You can watch our videos on this playlist:
• Playlist
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Want to learn more about my books?
Lyra Parish - amzn.to/2rOHn9D
Kennedy Fox - amzn.to/2BEbpfG
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//2019 R E L E A S E S C H E D U L E//
My Week with the Cowboy - Jan 2019 - RELEASED
Baby Mine - April 2019 - RELEASED
Baby Yours - May 2019 - RELEASED
Roping the Cowboy - June 2019 - RELEASED
Truly Mine - August 2019
Truly Yours - September 2019
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//2 0 1 9 U P C O M I N G S I G N I N G S & T R A V E L//
Romance Author Mastermind - Houston, Texas - November
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//S O C I A L M E D I A//
→ instagram:
lyraparish
kennedyfoxbooks
→facebook:
/ lyraparishauthor
→ twitter:
lyraparish
kennedyfoxbooks
→ email: lyraparish@gmail.com
→ newsletter: www.subscribepage.com/lyraparish
#authortube #writingtips #selfpublishing

Опубликовано:

6 авг 2024

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Комментарии : 75

@TheCourtneyProject 5 лет назад

What mistakes have you made self-publishing? I’d like to know!

@jessicabaldwin5 5 лет назад

A lot of mistakes. I should have not started out with a series unless all the books were done and ready to publish. That was my number one mistake I think.

@TheCourtneyProject 5 лет назад

Jessica Baldwin oh girl. It’s hard as a newbie.

@jessicabaldwin5 5 лет назад

Exactly! And even being nearly 4 years into this world, I still consider myself a newbie. Lol.

@EricDeVaughnn 5 лет назад

I did everything myself so I never spent any money. My mistake was not talking enough time to learn the details of modern cover design/editing/format. Also, mine was a poetry collection. My poetry wasn't where it should have been to justify publishing a book.

@TheCourtneyProject 5 лет назад

Eric DeVaughnn ah yes. I think cover design is something many new authors struggle with. 😊

@kiterafrey 4 года назад

One of my publishing professors told me something that stuck so well for me, “If you are afraid you’ll let your readers down. Write it but hold onto it. Keep the dates you agree too. Finish your series. You don’t have to put out a piece the moment you finish it, time it.” - I paraphrase

@joannaholden943 5 лет назад

"Fifty videos on marketing" - I'm here for it! 😁

@TheCourtneyProject 5 лет назад

Joanna Holden Hahahaha!! 😬😬

@bytheBrooke 5 лет назад

Thank you for being the guinea pig to us newbie indies haha. The genre-jumping is something is definitely something I'm making note of!

@TheCourtneyProject 5 лет назад

bytheBrooke LOL!! Learn from my mistakes. Bwhahaha. It took yearsssss for me to understand all of that. It’s not a bad idea to write in different genres, but use different names. There are several people I know who write romance, as for example only, Lyra Parish then write super hard core suspense under L. Parish. It’s still a reiteration, but then they can be branded differently and still linked on amazon. Otherwise readers are confused what you have to offer and when they think about a certain genre, your name doesn’t specifically come to mind. If that makes sense. Stick to a genre and get really great at that THEN branch out. ❤️ I think it’s what made KF so successful.

@harveythepooka 5 лет назад

I think you can write fantasy romance, sci fi romance, urban fantasy romance and paranormal all with 1 pen name. But you have to have the romance to hold it together. I think writing contemporary and historical would be harder to make work because a lot of people only like one, but imo romances with fantasy elements, like aliens and vampires can go together. I could be wrong though. ;)

@TheCourtneyProject 5 лет назад

harveythepooka I think those could all fall under the same umbrella because they have that “not real life” element to them. But trying to write romcom and alien romance? I wouldn’t do it.

@corruptauthor 2 года назад

The first example helped me so much. Brand each series different enough to set them apart.

@TheCourtneyProject 2 года назад

Glad it was helpful! ❤️❤️

@kiterafrey 4 года назад

When you said try to set dates all I could think was, “Yes. Stick to your dates, we’re not game developers.” LOL My hubby is a game dev student and games are ALWAYS late

@ParanormalRomanceBooks 4 года назад

Thank you Courtney! The cover/branding tip in particular was really helpful

@TheCourtneyProject 4 года назад

You’re welcome! Glad I could help! ❤️

@kiterafrey 3 года назад

I think paranormal romance could possibly do Sci-Fi and Fantasy Romance, since readers who like paranormal often also liked either Sci Fi or Fantasy. But Contemporary would be a 180 turn.

@TheCourtneyProject 3 года назад

I agree, if you have those fantasy elements, it would mesh fine. But establishing yourself in one genre and then breaking out is so beneficial!

@Katlyn_Duncan 5 лет назад

So many things change from year to year! Thanks so much for posting this, I'm sure a lot of aspiring self-published authors will learn from it. :0)

@TheCourtneyProject 5 лет назад

Katlyn Duncan Author Oh man, they do. But thankfully the basics will always stay the same. ❤️❤️ Thank you!!!

@SAVYWRITESBOOKS 4 года назад

Thanks so much for sharing your experiences!! :) I definitely am planning a few cover re-designs... when I first entered this industry, I underestimated the power of a cover to convey tone and genre!

@TheCourtneyProject 4 года назад

I think cover redesign is one of my favorite things to do!! You’re going to have so much fun!

@djwarrior1421 4 года назад

Informative and engaging in one video. Looking forward to more.

@catherinecowles1462 5 лет назад

Yay!!! Thank you for making my video! Love it! 💖💖💖

@TheCourtneyProject 5 лет назад

Catherine Cowles aww yay!!! Thanks for reminding me! LOL!

@kylasgarden2493 4 года назад

That is such good advice. Thank you for sharing for those of us just starting out.

@TheCourtneyProject 4 года назад

You’re welcome!! Don’t be like me! 😂😂😂

@laurelelizabethhasara6209 4 года назад

You have the best personality! Thank you for the advice :)

@dawn-coramead9536 5 лет назад

Fantastic as always! I’ll be that one crazy girl slipping in a psychological horror to her list of romances 🤣 It was one of those stories I had to write (long story) and get out of my system. But... I plan to release it just before Halloween 2020 and have already prepared my audience. If only a handful of people read it 🤷🏻‍♀️ It was a project written for fun.

@TheCourtneyProject 5 лет назад

Dawn-Cora Mead I’d almost consider doing a reiteration of your name. So use initials instead of the full thing. It really confuses people. But ultimately your decision. Check our Willow Winters, she’s a boss at writing in two different genres but having them all show up under her names.

@dawn-coramead9536 5 лет назад

The Courtney Project I have definitely considered that. I have a year plus to figure out how to tweak my pseudonym (this is my actual name), but I have an idea of how. I appreciate your input, as always ☺️

@j1jh002 4 года назад

Thank you so much for this wisdom. So helpful

@TheCourtneyProject 4 года назад

You’re welcome!

@CharlesWarrenOnline 5 лет назад

Love your videos. You really care about your career as an author.

@TheCourtneyProject 5 лет назад

Thank you so much!

@mickeymiles9394 5 лет назад

Thanks for sharing! Can you do a video on how to research branding? Do you have one? I have made a similar mistake with promising a book and not delivering- yep I realized that my books weren’t written well so I am now working with a mentor to learn more abt the craft of writing. Its so helpful and I feel my book is so much better!! Great video!!

@TheCourtneyProject 5 лет назад

Mickey Miles ahh that’s a good one! I’ll add it to my list for sure! I probably should do a branding series because it’s soooo much. ❤️ Ahh yes, promising and not delivering, I think it’s one of those things a lot of us get hung up in. It gets better and congrats on bettering yourself and your skills! Future you will thank you for it!

@ceo911 4 года назад

Great advice and you're very entertaining... thanks !

@TheCourtneyProject 4 года назад

Thank you!!

@stephenosheaauthor7211 5 лет назад

awesome video many thanks i do hope i will be be a number 1 author in time .

@TheCourtneyProject 4 года назад

stephen o'shea [ author ] you can do anything you put your mind to!

@megankirrmann6624 2 года назад

Self publishing is not for the timid .....not for the weak either!!!

@TheCourtneyProject 2 года назад

This is so true!!

@thedashes6854 5 лет назад

Thanks Courtney. I have made these mistakes too.

@TheCourtneyProject 5 лет назад

Glad to know it wasn't just me! :)

@consistentlychristy2991 4 года назад

Point 2 is so interesting. There’s an indie who’s recently full time who missed the release of her third book in a series. That’s a good point though

@TheCourtneyProject 4 года назад

It’s easy to just be like 🤷‍♀️ but if you’re taking this seriously, moving release dates is the last thing you want to do. Considering as indies we set our own dates, it’s important to be realistic.

@shadylady0225 5 лет назад

wow great help, I have several genres I want to write so knowing I can't use the same pen name for all is helpful, now I have to figure out which names to use for each kind of books. I have yet to indie publish, I'm just writing the books I want to write, will decide once they are written in which order to publish them. fairly new subscriber

@TheCourtneyProject 5 лет назад

Nancie Walker-Pirner thanks for being here! Writing for fun IS fun! :) You’ll totally figure it out! ❤️

@kimberlymullins5971 3 года назад

would love more marketing

@MrsPaulaTorres 3 года назад

that potter collection on the shelf :))

@TheCourtneyProject 3 года назад

🥰🥰

@Nate1975 4 года назад

Nice covers

@TheCourtneyProject 4 года назад

Thank you!!

@unbiasedconversations7076 4 года назад

Hi courtney, I am vaibhav from Mumbai. I finished writing a novel recently. Is it worth to go for KDP select to gather audience initially?

@10feralratsinacoat76 5 лет назад

How do you do teasers now? Is there people you’re supposed to hire? Are book teasers beneficial if it isn’t part of a series?

@TheCourtneyProject 5 лет назад

I have a video showing how I do teasers now in photoshop. :) I still do them for all of our books. You can hire someone absolutely, but usually I need them like right then. LOL.

@10feralratsinacoat76 5 лет назад

The Courtney Project how far back is the video? I’m going through and binging all your videos now so it seems like a good one to start with :)

@TheCourtneyProject 5 лет назад

January 29th. :) And yay!! Happy watching...lol!

@dorapandoraxx8138 Год назад

Dear Courtney, where did you publish your first book as a newbie?

@Kelly-Martin 5 лет назад

Ah yes, self-publishing makes. I've made many.... many.

@TheCourtneyProject 5 лет назад

Kelly Martin Books haha you and me both! 😱😂

@williamhawk393 5 лет назад

Are Indie Publishing houses self publishing houses? Can Indie Publishers send their novels for Booker Prize, Hugo Award or Orange Prize? Are small publishing houses called Indie or traditional? Please help me...

@TheCourtneyProject 5 лет назад

Q1: Are indie publishing houses self publishing houses? I don’t think so. Typically indie publishing is a small press. They have some connections and pay for the costs, but they’re not like the big 4 traditional publishing. I’ve found most typically stick with ebook and audio, and don’t really offer much paperback distribution. Self published authors front the cost for everything. They can create an LLC or a “publishing house” but it’s typically just themselves and they use it for tax and business protection. Q2: Can indie publishers send their novels for.... For Hugo I believe you just have to attend that convention they have annually and vote for your book. I believe it’s all done by members but I’m not THAT familiar with it. Booker prize is for books published in the UK so I’m not that familiar with it. To me it seems like something that’s more for tradition published authors. Orange prize is the same thing, another UK award. Q3: Are small publishing houses called indie or traditional? They’re typically called traditional because you’re signing a contract and getting paid a percentage of your royalties by then. Indie presses are small publishing houses, because they don’t have the reach or the larger publishers, the top 4. Indie authors or self-published authors pay for everything themselves to publish. No contracts because you’re doing it yourself. Hopefully that helps!!

@shadabkhan-ng5xe 3 года назад

Hi, I had a question. When we pick a pen name to publish our book. Is there any legal process for that? Or we can just pick a pen name and go with it.

@TheCourtneyProject 3 года назад

It becomes an issue if the name is trademarked. You can search that, but for the most part, people search sites like Amazon/Apple Book/Goodreads for author names and try to choose something that someone else isn’t already using that’s easy to spell.

@shadabkhan-ng5xe 3 года назад

@@TheCourtneyProject Thank you.