Changes in Self-Publishing That Authors Should Be Aware Of

Now that 2020 has passed the halfway mark and is about to end, as a self-publisher you should now be looking forward to 2021. Like any industry, self-publishing undergoes a myriad of changes that will affect everyone involved.

So if you are serious about your self-publishing, and you want your work and your marketing to stay relevant, you will need to be aware of these changes.

Here are 5 changes in self-publishing that authors should be aware of:

Audio Books will become even more mainstream

In the past few years, audiobooks have become more and more common. This is good news for self-published authors because it is a lot easier to create and distribute an audiobook, than to have physical copies printed.

Although audiobooks are still not as mainstream as printed books, they are slowly but surely gaining ground. The trick to effectively sell audiobooks, is to distribute them to as many outlets as possible. So if you want to maximize your book sales, it is always a good idea to try out audio books.

Branding will become even more necessary

If you want to market your book as effectively as possible, you will need to makes sure that your author brand will stand out. In this day and age, branding is extremely important. You can’t release a book, and expect people to be clamoring for it. Authors who don’t know how to properly market their brands usually struggle in the long run.

Remember that there are already a multitude of books out there. A good number of them are already established, and if you want your work to be noticed, you will need to make a distinct brand. Make it a priority to set up your very own book marketing platform such as an author website.

Through your website, you can talk about yourself, your reason why you got into writing and examples of your work. You can show excerpts from your book and create other types of content such as poetry, articles and book reviews.

It is important that you take your branding as seriously as possible, because the more effective your branding, the more effective your overall marketing will be.

You’ll need to spread the work around

Back in the early years of self-publishing, you could technically get away with doing most of your self-publishing yourself. However, in this day and age the quality of self-published books have risen greatly.

There are now self-published books that are as good quality as traditionally published books. This is because these self-published authors are working with legit self-publishing companies, and they hire professional publishers who can create high-quality books.

So if you want to stay competitive in the coming year, you should make sure that you have the best help possible. Don’t try to publish your book yourself. Learn to spread your work around, and if it’s possible, have your work published by a self-publishing company.

Online book tours are now a norm

Due to the COVID-19 Pandemic, a lot of book marketing events have either been canceled or rescheduled to next year. This is especially true for physical book tours, and it has affected the marketing capabilities of a large number of marketing campaigns.

Authors are quite ingenious though, and if they can’t go on a physical book tour, they will conduct online book tours instead.

Book tours are surprisingly effective, because they allow you to spread word of your book, without having to leave the comforts of your own home. You won’t have to go on a regional tour just to make contact with your potential readers.

There are various ways you can conduct a book tour. You can conduct webinars, create book trailers, book giveaways, and release book excerpts.

Online book tours may not be the normal way to run a book tour, however remember that we are going through a new normal. We will need to learn how to effectively adapt.

Take some time to test the waters before committing to digital trends

If there is one thing that has gained a lot of traction in the past year, it is the rise of digital trends. TikTok in particular has become extremely popular, and has over 500 million users.

It is quite popular with young people, and some industries have even used the content creators, or tiktokers to advertise their work. As a self-published author, you would want to use TikTok to market your work.

On paper, it may look like a perfect marketing tool. It is hip, it has a multitude of users and it is extremely popular with teenagers. However, you should remember that this digital trend is quite new, and you will need to test the waters first before you take the plunge.

The self-publishing industry constantly changes, and being able to keep track of these changes will enable you to stay competitive. Luckily, you are now aware of these changes, and you will be able to sell your self-published book in the best way possible.

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Become a Self-Published Author in 3 Simple Steps

Changes in Self-Publishing That Authors Should Be Aware Of

Here are 5 changes in self-publishing that authors should be aware of:

Become a Self-Published Author in 3 Simple Steps

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