on Writers Helping Writers:

I’ve been a freelance book editor for over fifteen years, and I’ve had the privilege of editing hundreds of books. Unfortunately, I’ve seen authors invest serious money only to make publishing mistakes that cost them visibility, sales, and hope.

If you’re self-publishing, you’re wrangling a lot of tasks. After spending so much time on your manuscript, you might feel like you just want to get the thing out there already. But please, fight the urge to skip any of these important steps—any one of them could make or break your chances of success.

In part one of this two-part series, I’ll highlight the biggest book production mistakes I’ve seen new authors make. Next week, I’ll touch on some of the publication mistakes that can tank your chances of succeeding as an independent author.