What I Learned from Publishing My First Book

Publishing my first book was a ton of work, and I had a steep learning curve as I steadily marched towards the launch date. Not only did I have to write, edit, and proofread the manuscript, but I had to figure out how to get the physical book out there into the world. I learned all about ISBNs (the unique identifying number for each version of each book), printers, page and cover design, and even the mail system to make my first book a success.

Here are my top 10 lessons learned from this first publishing journey:

1) Font matters. The most frustrating part of the entire publishing process was getting the font right. I wanted to use Minion Pro. It looks beautiful in books, and the first printing with Lulu with this font was amazing. Unfortunately, Minion Pro doesn't embed, which makes using Amazon, IngramSpark, and Barnes & Noble a pain on a good day and nearly impossible without Adobe Acrobat Pro. From the beginning, use Times New Roman. It is one of the fourteen standard fonts, always embeds, and looks fine. It also shaves off a lot of pages compared to Minion Pro. I could probably cut even more down if I used Calibri, but that will never happen. As a former military officer, I am sworn enemies with that weak font.

2) Use Lulu's cover margins. Every printer has its own margins requirements for the cover. Lulu's were probably the most frustrating up front, because they really narrow down your printable field. However, the trade-off on the back end is there is rarely an issue with alignment due to a poor cut job at the manufacturer. While Amazon and IngramSpark have more generous (i.e., narrow) outside margins, if the cover isn't cut exactly where it should be, the error becomes extremely pronounced and, frankly, downright unprofessional. So, moving forward, I will be using Lulu's margins for every outlet.

3) Hit "publish" on Barnes & Noble first. Barnes & Noble made nothing easy. Most frustrating was their requirement for me to use a unique ISBN for their outlet. Even though I owned the ISBN (it wasn't a free one offered by Amazon or others), Barnes & Noble forced me to use one dedicated exclusively to them. In reality, this is just an intellectual property grab on their part. They offer a free ISBN to authors, but that ISBN is registered to Barnes & Noble, giving them exclusive printing rights with it. If I hit the publish button on Barnes & Noble first (instead of Amazon or IngramSpark), then there will be no system conflict, and I can use the ISBN I own on other platforms as long as I don't enable Barnes & Noble's global distribution offer.

Jack navigating issues with printers while writing his book in Tulum, Mexico

 4) Use Amazon for pre-orders. Amazon's books are pretty nice, so I have no compunction against using them as my main supplier for author copies. If I use them for pre-orders instead of filling pre-orders myself, my books will get bumped up in the rankings and push me towards my goal of being number one on the Amazon travel best-seller list.

5) Use the postal service's media mail. Media mail is slower, but it is trackable and less expensive than priority mail. It allows me to send out signed copies at a cheaper rate (at least when I get author copies from Amazon).

6) Edit metadata in pictures to increase the dots per square inch. Technology is tricky. Our phone cameras default images to print 96 DPI. For the digital world, this is no problem, because DPI only applies to printers. For covers, though, the metadata needs to read at least 300 (if not 600) DPI. This tells the physical printer to print more detailed images. It's an easy fix; I just have to remember to actually do it.

7) Pictures are necessary, but expensive. One of the biggest pieces of feedback I received from my first book was how people wished there were pictures. I looked into that, and let me tell you, pictures are expensive for self-published authors. But I totally understand the feedback, and I agree with it. So, moving forward, I need to find a workaround to enable readers to view pictures while reading without driving up the costs.

8) Not everyone who says they will order will. I made a lot of decisions based on those who said they would order a book. Unfortunately, most of those didn't. Books cost money, and I understand the world economy, inflation, stagnant wages, housing crisis, and all of that, but I was sorely disappointed in the lack of interest by certain people once push came to shove. To this day, people tell me in person that they want a signed copy, but when I tell them I have them in my car and can accept cash or card, their interest turns into excuses. Note to self: plan for half the interest people exhibit.

9) Using a publisher is tricky. The best way to publish a book is by far to use a brick-and-mortar publisher. They have the editing teams, marketing professionals, and industry contacts to really make your book take off. What I learned, though, was that getting a book deal with a publisher is about 75% who you know, 20% luck, 3% divine intervention, and 2% the actual book. I've even heard published authors who are household names complain about the publishers' processes. The trade-off is you get a guaranteed payment in the form of the advance and don't have to put any money forward on the front end. For some, the money bit alone is a big deal. For me, I'd rather do the research and effort to put out a quality, self-published book rather than wait around a year or two or three for a publisher to pick it up.

10) Be authentic. This is true in so many aspects of life. The need for authenticity has never been higher in the digital age of carefully curated social media posts, YouTube video, dating profiles, political talking points, you name it. The best feedback I have received from my first book is that it feels like I am sitting with the reader and telling a story. No fancy literary techniques, no highly-sophisticated verbiage, and no copying the voice and style of other famous writers. Do I love Hemingway's and Levison Wood's books? Yes, absolutely, but they are not me and I am not them. Better to be myself in my books rather than try to be someone or something else.

There are a lot more lessons where these come from, but as I get more comfortable in the process, I'm learning the tips and tricks in getting the best possible product out to readers across the world. While some of the growing pains have been absolutely painful, at the end of the day, they have all been fun.

So, here's to many more lessons and even many more books!