As a professional Book coach, ghostwriter, and editor, I talk with self-published authors weekly who complain about low sales. But there are very specific reasons why most self-published books fail to sell.

Authors need to do more than just write a book and put it out there. They need to learn about the publishing industry. That’s the only way to not only compete with traditionally published books, but also the self-published authors who have taken the time to learn about the requirements of the marketplace.

Here are the top 5 reasons, at least in my opinion, that a self-published book fails:

1. The book is disorganized or hard to follow. Whether fiction or nonfiction, it’s difficult to write a book that flows well and is crystal clear for the reader. As soon as your reader is confused, however, they’ll put the book down. (This even includes a mystery if it’s so convoluted that it becomes more trouble than it’s worth.) While you might have made a sale to that one person, you won’t make another sale to any of their friends. And word of mouth is a great way to get sales.
2. The author didn’t get professional help. It’s a bad idea for anyone to publish a book that hasn’t been reviewed by an industry pro. I know this can be expensive, but it’s the cost of doing business in publishing. All it takes is one poorly edited book to make it difficult for you to sell subsequent books. And when I say “pro,” I mean someone who has experience editing books, preferably for traditional publishers. Editing a book requires more than simply fixing misspellings and knowing how to follow grammar and punctuation rules. (With professional help, by the way, you’re likely to avoid reasons #1 and #4.)
3. The book cover design is unprofessional. In many ways, you really can judge a book by its cover. I can tell with about 85% accuracy if a book has been self-published based solely on the cover. That’s because most authors don’t bother to get a professional design. Again, this requires money, but continued sales always require a quality product, including the way it looks.
4. The book isn’t reader-focused. Every author should be true to their art and their voice, but books still need to appeal to others. There’s no point in putting something on the market that’s meant to communicate if it doesn’t … communicate. So it’s important to try to strike a balance between being true to yourself and true to your targeted readers.
5. The author hasn’t marketed the book. There are a number of ways to market a book, none of which are easy. But you can’t just put a book on Amazon and expect it to sell itself. Publishing a book requires learning about marketing and taking action to get the word out. There’s plenty of marketing advice available online, even specifically for book authors. But guard against tactics that are intrusive and desperate, such as sending random sales messages to your followers on Instagram.

Writing and publishing a book takes work, but I never want to discourage anyone from doing it. My Instagram feed is all about encouraging people to finally write the book they’ve always wanted to write. But it’s painful to then watch people publish in a way that doesn’t serve them. If you’re going to publish your book, go all the way, giving yourself the best possible chance for success.

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