So you’ve written a book. Congratulations! . . . Now what? Being a first-time author is incredibly exciting—but in all fairness, it can also be nerve-racking. You’re likely hoping everything in this new experience will go right—and worrying about how it could all go wrong.
Luckily, you’re not alone. Every author, even the most successful ones, have been debut authors at some point. They’ve blazed the trail and left a roadmap to help you avoid their missteps. And Ballast Books has helped its fair share of first-time authors make it to the finish line, so we know what those common errors are and are prepared to lead you past them.
Here are five mistakes first-time authors make that you can learn from:
Every manuscript needs to be edited. (Even this blog post was edited!) Are you an English teacher? You still need an editor. Are you a professional editor? Yes—you need an editor too. Are you a human being on planet Earth? Yep, you guessed it—you need an editor! Everyone makes mistakes, and when you write a book, you’re so close to the story that you can’t see it clearly. You gloss over that missing word or overlook a glaring hole in the narrative because your brain just fills it in. So regardless of how neurotic you think you are about spelling and grammar, it’s crucial that you have a professional editor review your work.
Besides, an editor isn’t just glorified Spell Check. Editors review the consistency of the timeline, plot, character arc, and more. They fact-check and ensure citations are correct. They make sure your book adheres to The Chicago Manual of Style, the editing manual used for both fiction and nonfiction. An editor is like your first reader—the person who helps you understand from an outside perspective what others will see. They can help you enhance your story to make it truly resonate with your audience while honoring your message and voice. After all, you don’t want someone to start reading and think, Yikes—this isn’t worth my time because it’s sloppy and hard to follow. You want them to fall in love with it from the very first page.
We’ve all used Canva or Photoshop to create party décor or a poster advertising a club. Resources like these are great for helping amateurs with simple projects. But a cover for your book? That’s a whole different ball game. The publishing industry has high standards for what makes a good book cover. You need to take into account things like DPI and PPI (pixels), embossing, CMYK and RGB (color design), and more.
Plus, readers can often tell when an author took a DIY approach. We often say, “Don’t judge a book by its cover,” but when it comes to literal books, that’s the initial and primary way we do judge whether to purchase it or pass it over. If your book cover appears too boring, too busy, or just plain unprofessional, chances are that people won’t choose to spend $20 to $30 dollars on it. Fair or not, you need to make a stellar first impression if you want to gain a reader—and that comes down to having a compelling, dynamic cover created by an industry expert who understands your genre, your vision, and what consumers are looking for in a book cover.
Metadata probably isn’t at the top of your list of things to do when you’re publishing your book. In fact, you may be wondering what metadata even is! Basically, it’s a fancy word for the descriptive information about your book beyond the content itself. Why is it important? Well, your book’s metadata affects its discoverability, distribution to retailers, and even marketing appeal.
Metadata includes everything from the ISBN, publisher, and pub date to genre and target age range—even specifications like page count, format, and trim size as well as any reviews and awards (not to mention the title and author, of course).
One of the most important aspects of metadata is the BISAC subject code. Being as specific as possible can increase your chances of connecting with your target audience—and perhaps even becoming a #1 New Release on Amazon. If you’re publishing a self-help book, do you think you’ll make it to the top spot in the SELF-HELP / General category? Not likely. But if it makes sense to select, say, SELF-HELP / Mood Disorders / Bipolar Disorder, you’re a lot more likely to clinch that best new release status in your category. Of course, be sure to select BISAC codes that are aligned with your content. You can view the full list here.
Another critical piece of metadata is the keywords. If you want your book to pop up in a Google or Amazon search, you need to thoughtful about these; otherwise, your title will be hidden behind thousands (or maybe millions?) of other search results. Being specific about the keywords you choose and keeping SEO in mind can give you a boost in this area.
Picking a retail price can be tough (in fact, it’s something almost all of our authors ask about early on). On the one hand, you want the price to be high enough that you can actually make some royalties on the sales . . . but you don’t want it so high that it deters people from purchasing the book. Of course, you don’t want it so low that people wonder if something is wrong with it. It’s a delicate balance.
Price points in the book industry span a wide range based on a variety of factors, from the format to the genre to printing fees. The average price often changes over time depending on the economy, so it’s important to stay up to date. The best way to choose a price is to find comparable titles. You want to find books that are the same format (hardcover vs. paperback vs. digital), same or related genre, and released recently—ideally within the last six months. This will help you choose a competitive price that is reasonable for buyers and will also result in royalties.
To give you a starting point, as of August 2025, we are typically recommending a retail price between $16.99 and $19.99 for paperback books and between $26.99 and $29.99 for hardcover.
The reality is that becoming a bestseller doesn’t happen by magic. If you publish your book but don’t put any work into spreading the news, how can people know about it to buy it? Your book will only be as successful as you make it by promoting it, so don’t sit back and expect sales to happen without a concerted effort on your part. You need a detailed, dynamic marketing and publicity strategy to get the word out about your book and get it in front of your target audience.
While there’s no silver bullet when it comes to publishing, the biggest differentiator we’ve found that characterizes all our most successful authors is engagement with marketing and PR. Don’t be shy—tell everyone about your book. Plan author events. Do book signings. Connect with the media. Pitch to the local news, regional print publications, relevant podcasts—anything that makes sense—to secure opportunities to promote your title. Build a brand around your book with a website and socials to match. The authors who are willing to be involved in marketing and make appearances, do interviews, and create social posts are more likely to see returns for their hard work.
Whether you’re a first-time author or just looking for ways to improve your process, you can learn a lot from the mistakes others have already made. Publishing can be just as daunting as it is exciting, but with these tips, you can begin with a head start. Visit the Ballast Books website for more information on how to start the publishing process.