Writing that first book is extremely exciting for most authors. But, no matter how well you think you’ve planned it, all kinds of things can greatly alter your perception of writing a masterpiece. Today, I’m sharing some of the things I wish I knew when writing my first book.
Perhaps one of the biggest things to keep in mind is that your first book is not going to be a New York Times Best Seller. Nearly everyone’s first book is going to be a bit cringey compared to where they will be 10 books from now.
That’s OK, though. That first manuscript is a stepping stone to something greater. Just don’t get hung up on the idea of becoming rich and famous overnight.
What I Wish I Knew When Writing That First Book
I’m basing this list on my book, Kingmaker. Technically, it was my second book – but the first, A Freelancer’s Tale, was more of an autobiography about how I got started writing in the first place.
It was meant more as a means to learn more about self-publishing and how to set up the book on sites like Amazon and Barnes & Noble. It wasn’t meant to be a best-selling novella.
Kingmaker is my first fictional Dark Fantasy book, which I take far more seriously.
1. Needed More Editing
Admittedly, there wasn’t as much editing in Kingmaker as there was in my next book, Shadows of Atlantic City. I was still in the mindset of using the book to experiment and figure things out as I wrote.
Don’t get me wrong, it’s still a good book in my opinion. But there is quite a bit more I could have done with the manuscript during the editing phase.
Despite having several people help with several elements of editing, I know it would be a far better book if I pushed for more fine-tuning and polishing of the text. That’s partly why I’ve decided to eventually publish a remastered version of the book once the series is complete.
Never underestimate the power of editing. While it’s true that most people won’t pay attention to certain edits because they are too engrossed in a story, bad editing creates an unavoidable stain on a good plot.
As long as readers are still flipping the pages, they’ll most likely gloss over grammatical errors or proofreading problems. That is, unless they are blatantly obvious.
2. A Better Understanding of Story Development
It takes more than slapping words up on paper when it comes to writing a good story. Although “good” is a subjective term, you can still implement elements that enhance a story or a character’s development.
Sure, you can have the basics down as an avid reader. But there is so much nuance you can add that makes the story pop out in someone’s mind.
For instance, Tom Bromley demonstrated so many techniques and basic elements of a story during the Reedsy masterclass for How to Write a Novel that I would never have thought to Google. It’s one of the reasons that I’m convinced that my next book is far better written overall.
In fact, I was writing Shadows of Atlantic City while I was taking the masterclass…and it shows.
The bottom line is that there is more to writing a book than just having some raw talent and a good idea. There are all kinds of rules, guidelines, and pieces to put into place to publish something that is well-received.
Sure, the term “good” is subjective. However, there are a lot of things that accentuate a good story when it comes to writing that first book.
3. A Clear Plan for the Cover
Initially, my daughter was supposed to make the cover for Kingmaker. I waited several months before I decided to do it myself as a cosplay on the side of Lookout Mountain. I wanted to publish the book, and the cover was holding up progress.
In this case, I waited until the last minute to start planning out what I wanted for the cover design. All kinds of things can happen at the last moment that can easily derail when you publish a book. In this case, it was not having a concept of an idea of what to publish.
Now, you don’t have to start working on the cover the day you start writing. However, it’s exceptionally helpful to have an idea of the image. Then, as you’re nearing completion of the book, you can start looking for cover art or working with an artist.
The plan is not to have to shelve your book indefinitely while waiting for someone to finish the artwork. If you start toying with some concepts before you finish the first draft, you or your artists will have plenty of time.
Luckily, there are all kinds of artists and art available for book covers nowadays. I enjoy using Photoshop for my own, but you also have pre-made art covers that you can use (that are not AI-generated), ranging from $50 to $1200, depending on the design and the artist.
4. Marketing is a Royal Pain!
I had a feeling that marketing the book was going to be a bit of a pain, but I didn’t realize how much of one until I published Kingmaker. There is a lot more involved than simply posting the Amazon link to a few posts on social media.
Besides, most social media sites aren’t the best for marketing a book, as they tend not to show external links as often as other forms of content. In other words, you’re more likely to get a few hundred views from a cat meme than you would with a link to your book.
That’s because companies like Meta and Twitter focus on keeping people on their platforms as long as possible. And a link takes the attention away from the social app.
Anyway, I discovered that marketing is probably one of the most difficult aspects of self-publishing a book. Unless you spend money to hire a professional, you need to advertise the book yourself. And it’s not always the easiest or cheapest aspect of publishing.
In reality, I would rather be responsible for editing than trying to market the book to make a few sales each month.
5. More of an Online Celebration
Your first book should have a grand celebration. Roughly 3% of people who start will finish writing the book. That’s just finishing the first draft, let alone publishing it.
This means you’re in a very small minority, generally speaking. So, yes, you should be celebrating the fact that you walked this manuscript from start to finish.
The reason I say an “online celebration” is because of the fact that you should be working on your social profile. I’m not just talking about Twitter, Threads, or BlueSky. I’m talking about the platforms that matter most to writers, such as YouTube, TikTok, and Instagram.
Involving your community in a live release celebration keeps them engaged. They feel like they are part of the journey, and many of them will wind up buying copies of your book the moment it is available.
I didn’t do much with Kingmaker, and it saddens me quite a bit. I feel like I missed out on a great opportunity to include my audience as well as make a few more sales on release day.
Think about this: I did more for A Freelancer’s Tale when it was published, and I sold far more copies to my regular viewers on YouTube and Facebook than I did with Kingmaker.
Changes I’ve Made from the First Book
There are a lot of things I’ve done differently between Kingmaker and Shadows of Atlantic City. But here are the major changes I’ve made while producing the next book.
They may not work for everyone, but so far, they have made a profound difference for me as a self-published author.
Editing with AutoCrit
I still can’t afford a human editor. They range between $2000 and $8000, depending on the types of edits and the length of the book. So, I figured I would test out AutoCrit to help me polish up the manuscript this time around.
AutoCrit is an AI-assisted editing app that highlights what it thinks is incorrect in the manuscript. Then, you can go through and fix those sections. It doesn’t write a single line of text for you and works like a grammar checker on steroids.
It’s one of the very few AI tools I feel comfortable using. The entire creative process is still under my complete control, and it only shows what it believes are problematic areas of the manuscript.
Creative Writing Studies
I mentioned earlier that I attended the first Reedsy masterclass for How to Write a Novel, and it was one of the best three months I’ve spent honing my skills as an author. I learned all kinds of great things from Tom Bromley, which is why I feel comfortable being an affiliate of Reedsy.
But I also know that there is still so much more to learn, which is why I enrolled at the University of Colorado to earn my bachelor’s degree in Creative Writing in 2025. Then, I plan on continuing for my master’s as well as a PhD.
My point is that you can never know too much about your craft. Any education, whether it’s an online masterclass or a degree from a university, is always worth exploring. Even if you just spend an hour per day Googling everything you can about writing that first book, it’s still better than going in blind.
Working on the Cover Sooner
For Shadows of Atlantic City, I began toying with cover ideas before I was done with the first draft. And although the cover now looks nothing like the original concept, it’s done except for print testing to ensure it’s not too dark.
I didn’t want the same thing to happen this time and was already planning and designing the cover before the beta readers had finished reading the new changes.
That means the cover is virtually ready for when I publish the book. I’m not waiting for three months for someone to tell me that they just can’t finish the cover.
Diving Into More Marketing Practices
As I pointed out above, social media is probably one of the worst ways to market a book. Sure, it’s free to post links on Threads or Twitter. But most of those algorithms are going to place external links as a lower priority.
Unless you have thousands of followers on those apps, you’re not going to make a lot in sales. That’s why you have to explore other marketing methods with your first book.
In my case, I’ve attended more book events in 2025 than I did in 2024. In-person events are fun, and you make more per sale than you would online through a retailer. Plus, you get to meet your readers face-to-face, which goes a long way to becoming someone’s favorite.
Try everything and stick to what works best for you, but do something more than share a link on Threads.
Planning Online Events for Each Book
Each book is going to have some kind of celebratory angle for my online audience. So far, I’m planning a special live stream in addition to partying here at the house.
Not only do I think it’ll be fun for everyone, but I believe every book should come with a celebration of some sort. It takes a great deal of time and effort to be a self-published author (not an AI prompt jockey), and those things should be celebrated.
I’m not 100% sure how these online parties will look, but I am debating things like giveaways. We’ll have to see how the finances hold up before then.
I Love My First Book, But…
Kingmaker could have been produced much better than it was. There were a lot of factors I didn’t consider when publishing, and most of them are too late to implement. That is another reason why I want to publish a remastered version: to give it the hoopla it deserved.
I learned a lot after publishing my first book, and I’ve tried to implement everything I’ve learned since then. In fact, your first novel should be considered as more of a dry run into publishing. Don’t expect it to become an instant best-selling novel on any platform.
Every book you write will continue to get better as you learn and grow into the author you want to become. So, don’t fret if it feels like you’re spinning your wheels only after a handful of books. There could be a lot of reasons why you’re not selling copies.
The primary reason why books don’t sell is marketing. If they don’t know it exists, no one will buy it. You have to target marketing and ads where your readers are. Sadly, that doesn’t include social media.
Yes, some authors will make social media work for them quite well. But most of the successful ones already have thousands of followers. An account with fewer than 500 isn’t going to make a dent in the social world.
Nonetheless, be proud of that first book. Remember, a very small fraction of people who start a book will actually publish one. Relish in the idea that you were able to see it through to the end.
Being an author isn’t about making that mad Amazon money. It’s about sharing stories you want to tell, embracing your readers, and helping people see a world that you created in your mind.
And if you become a best-selling author, then all the better. That’s just the cherry on top of the icing on the cake.
What Is the Hardest Part of Writing Your First Book?
Every author has their Achilles’ Heel when it comes to writing that first book. Some people struggle with motivation, and others will have difficulty scraping up enough time to finish the first draft.
In my case, it’s definitely the marketing. Everything else was a fun adventure that helped me put together a great tale. Well, aside from the mishap of trying to get a book cover.
The marketing, on the other hand, is a different beast altogether. I’m still working on taming it, but until then, I’ll have to settle for getting scratched and mauled periodically.
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