I published my first book in 2013. Since then, I’ve published seven novels, a novella, a handful of non-fiction books, a couple of planners, and even a children’s book. To say I’ve learned a lot since then is an understatement. What are some of the biggest things I’ve learned about the self-publishing industry, and things I wish I had known BEFORE I started publishing? That’s exactly what we’ll be talking about today.
0:00 – Intro
1:22 – Not everyone will like your book
2:26 – Writing the book is the easy part
3:12 – Spending more money on marketing doesn't mean more book sales
4:28 – One book won't make you a best seller
5:28 – You'll never feel like you've made it
6:57 – A good book won't sell itself
Marketing for Authors book series:
Watch my marketing for authors playlist:
→Book Cover Design Courses:
→Book Formatting Course (print & ebook formatting):
→Writing Stickers:
→Merch & signed books:
→Newsletter:
PLANNERS – – – – – – – – – –
→My Writing Planner:
→My Novel Outline Planner:
→My Book Launch Planner:
→2026 Writing Planner (paperback):
→2026 Writing Planner (printable):
NON-FICTION BOOKS – – – – – – – – – –
→How Your Book Sells Itself:
→Grow Your Author Platform:
→Book Sales That Multiply:
→Secrets to Selling Books on Social Media:
→Plan a Profitable Book Launch:
FICTION BOOKS – – – – – – – – – –
→Read a free book, Change of Flight:
→Sparks in Iceland:
→Meet Me at the Summit:
→Let the Rubble Fall:
→The Trail to You & Me:
→Essence:
→I am Mercy:
→She's Not Here:
→Mr. Moon's Big Move:
FIND ME ONLINE- – – – – – – – – –
Content for writers: @mandilynnwrites
Content for readers: @authormandilynnbell
MY FAVORITE TOOLS- – – – – – – – – –
→Find KDP keywords and categories, PublisherRocket:
→Send ARCs on NetGalley:
→eBook Formatting, Kotobee Author:
→Social media graphics, Canva:
→Music in videos, Epidemic Sound:
→Email software, Kit:
Mandi Lynn published her first novel when she was seventeen. The author of multiple books, Mandi spends her days continuing to write and creating YouTube videos to help other writers achieve their dreams of seeing their books published. Mandi is the owner of Stone Ridge Books, a company that works to help authors bring their books to life through cover design and digital book marketing. She is also the creator of The Book Launch Planner, a planner designed to help authors publish and market their books. When she’s not creating, you can find Mandi exploring her backyard or getting lost in the woods.
DISCLAIMER: This video and description contain affiliate links. By purchasing a linked product or service, Mandi Lynn will receive a small commission at no additional fee to you.
#bookpublishing #selfpublishing #novelwriting
Title: What I Wish I Knew Before Self-Publishing My Novel
Search terms: harsh truth of self-publishing, what I wish I knew before self-publishing, how to self-publish a book
These are all fantastic thanks for honesty. I am self publishing for first time ever, book releases next week and what I’ve learned most is: The book doesn’t have to be utter perfection in order to be loved, it’s 100% dependent on finding the right reader..
Absolutely, perfection isn’t necessary, sometimes you have to just go for it!
It’s weird to sort your books after color.
One aspect I think is not talked about enough is the fact that most of us self-published authors don’t have a social media presence and spend most of our days just trying to survive at our jobs and barely have any time or money left to promote and advertise our books. it’s hard enough to be an author, formatter, only reader, designer, etc. to balance personal and professional life on top of that, and to still have anything left to give to your book.
*note: it is especially hard for people for which English is our second language because the market is even smaller for us
What is your first language?
@timtrottproductionsSpanish
This is so true! It’s so hard to fit it all in, especially since most authors don’t enjoy the other aspects of publishing.
Good advice and thank you for your time 😊
The more I learn about actually making money as a self published author, the more I realize that the biggest thing I’m missing is the VOLUME of books. I really need a backlog of about five before I should really expect any kind of sustainability. I could be wrong, and I know it depends on genre, etc, but that’s the conclusion I’ve come to.
💯% numbers game.
I would agree! The bigger your backlist, the better!
You’ve written in multiple genres, so I’m curious how the backlist translates to this. I loved historical fiction for years, published my first book in college, and am about(ish) to publish my second HF novel. However, I have now very much transitioned to writing fantasy. I already don’t consider my debut novel part of my backlist because it’s so far below my current level (I wrote that bad boy at 15, so naturally it wasn’t my best work!). Will I basically be starting over when I switch to fantasy? Do I need to build my backlists independently of each other based on genre? Or is there more potential than I realize for cross-genre readership? If that is the case, it also would deter me from using a penname for my fantasy works.
In my experience, it’s best to have a separate platform for each genre. There is some lap over of readers, but you’ll get the best marketing results when you market each genre separately.
This is why now I don’t jump genres anymore and have a separate pen name for my fiction books.
I hit the publish button on Amazon KDP for my debut novella, Shattered Casings, today. It’s in the review stage as of now. These last few months have been… a learning curve, but I am forever grateful and proud of myself!
Congratulations, that is such a huge milestone! 🎉
What if i want my book to be free so as much people as possible could read it? I am still gonna advertise it though
I’ve done that for my novella. It’s a common marketing strategy. Readers get the book for free if they sign up for your newsletter. This is done in hopes they read the free book, love it, and pay to read the rest of your backlist.
Love that shirt? Where can I get one?
It’s part of my merch! https://stoneridgebooks.com/products/ask-me-about-my-latest-novel-unisex-t-shirt
Finding self published books in the wild can be interesting. They can resell for hundreds of dollars. Or the author has written dozens of books that are worthless. Regardless, I buy them anyways. Live long and prosper.!
Thank you for the video. I am planning on having diversity in the books I write similar to yours in regard to fiction and mid-content books. Do you have an umbrella website you sell or market all under or do you try and keep your fiction separate from your non-fiction? Curious your thoughts on this and any other tip you may have on the subject. Thanks
I try to keep them separate. These days I publish my non-fiction under Mandi Lynn, and my closed door romance fiction under Mandi Lynn Bell. Not a huge difference in name but enough to give each their own platform
I absolutely despise marketing
Haha I think a lot of authors feel the exact same way! 😅
I just published book 9. All of this information is great. Personally speaking I wish I had someone to tell me all of what you said here to me when I published my first book. But another thing I wish someone would have told me was how many hats I would need to wear as a self-published author. Because let’s face it, new authors seldom have the money to hire editors, cover artists, illustrators, and a good marketing team. We have to frequently learn how to do all of that on our own. That is what I wish someone had warned me about when I first started. Nowadays I’m good with most of it. I still suck at marketing though. I just hired bookbaby to do a marketing campaign today. It’s the first time I’ve ever spent money on running ads for a book. Wish me luck.
Congrats on book 9, and good luck with the marketing campaign! 🚀 Would love to hear how it goes!
My fave books – Villette and Mansfield Park – get loads of negative reviews!
It just goes to show you can’t please everyone, no matter how good the book is!
6:55 – *”A good book would NOT sell itself”__Mandi Lynn* 💡