DIGITAL PUBLISHING AND ME - MISTAKES & ADVICE Part 1 of 3

BOLDLY GO WHERE SOME WRITERS ARE GOING

I’m a firm believer in “nothing ventured; nothing gained.” When markets are drying up, left and right, it’s nice to see something opening up that can directly benefit writers, and that’s digital self-publishing. 

By benefit, I don’t just mean making some bucks. I also mean finding an audience for your work.

I’ve stated before that: “I’ve given up on New York publishing, BUT they gave up on me first.” And, I’m not the only published author who couldn’t fit the square peg of their writing into New York’s round hole. (No pun intended but feel free to laugh.) 

I’m a writer. I want to be read. Many authors are finding readers by becoming indie authors and publishing our own work. If you want to try the indie author route, learn all you can about the process. That’s why I’m here today.

I’ve got 10 Tips for you that I first wrote in that 2011 blog post. You’ll find the first 5 Tips in this post. The others will be in Part 2. 

2011 ADVICE THAT’S STILL VALID – 10 TIPS

1. Learn how to properly format your file for an ebook that looks professional. [Now there are options for the type of file you can upload besides DOCX, MS Word like Atticus, available at a relatively low-cost for a one-time fee, that can create a beautifully formated ebook or print book. 

[When I started, I had to learn how to transform a Word file into an HTML file and how to insert a black and white cover image into that file. It was a time-consuming process. 

3. Make sure you have the legal right for anything you publish. If you plan to publish a book that was previously published elsewhere, you should have a legal reversion of rights letter.

If you’re using images from the internet, you must have a license to use each image so always read the User License on image websites so you know what you can and cannot do with the image you purchase or get for free.

4. Make sure your manuascript is bullet-proof before you upload it. That means getting a good proofreader and/or editor. That also means not doing anything that might get you sued, for instance, using the names of real people who may take exception to your actions.

Some think that as long as you don’t say anything negative, it’s okay to use the name of a real person. That’s not true. I personallly know an author who was sued by the person she mentioned in her book. What she wrote was simply Mrs. So and So, the owner of Name of Business. That got her sued.

5. Be patient and take your time so you don’t make dumb mistakes like uploading the wrong manuscript file. Yes, that’s obvious, but I did that the very first time and didn’t realize it until I started getting bad reviews. I didn’t understand what they complained about in my book until I looked at it on my Kindle. 

TAKEAWAY TRUTH

I hope you’re finding this information educational or at least entertaining. 

Join me on Wednesday, September 9, 2026, for Part 2 of 3: More Advice and Insights learned from my adventures in self-publishing.