Would You Buy this Book?

Take a lesson from this self-publishing disaster

Image created by Jacquelyn Lynn using MockupShots

When I talk about mistakes self-publishers make, I often use actual books as examples, but I don’t identify them. I don’t see any reason to embarrass someone who may have been trying but didn’t know what to do, and I don’t want to promote books that aren’t good.

I’m making an exception in this case.

My friend Tim Carter, aka Ask the Builder, brought this book to my attention.

What’s wrong with this cover?

I could talk about the poor choice of font used for the title. I could talk about the awkward subtitle or the use of an ordinal suffix in the date. I could talk about the grammatical errors in the back cover copy. But I won’t.

This is a self-published book written as a tribute to the author’s grandfather about the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. I’m not sharing the link, but I found it on Amazon. And while I haven’t read it, I think it’s probably a sincere effort to share the details of one of the most critical events in U.S. history.

So why is the cover image of German aircraft attacking who knows what?

And why didn’t someone in this author’s network point out this error before he published his book?

Self-publishing should not be a solitary endeavor.

If you don’t want to use your network to help you check your work, hire competent professionals. Mistakes like this should never get to print.

Avoid the Common Mistakes Self-Publishers Make

Thanks for reading! Here’s a little more about me:

I Couldn’t be an Elephant, so I Became a Writer