Tag: new book discovery

Advocacy in Self-Publishing, self publishing news, Self-Publishing

Why Discoverability is the Real Battle in Self-Publishing


Self-publishing has never been easier—or more competitive. Advances in technology have empowered writers to bypass traditional gatekeepers, design professional-looking covers, and upload manuscripts with a few clicks. But with that power comes a hidden challenge many authors underestimate: discoverability.

Every day, thousands of new books are added to digital storefronts. That means your masterpiece isn’t just competing with traditionally published bestsellers, but also with a tidal wave of self-published books across every genre imaginable. The question becomes: how will readers find yours?

Strong writing is a good start, but only the foundation. Self-published authors now wear multiple hats—marketer, co-designer (because presumably you’re also using the expert assistance of an actual designer, right?), strategist—all rolled into one!

Understanding how metadata works (title, subtitle, keywords), leveraging categories, building an author platform, and gathering reviews are all crucial to standing out. Every detail matters, even ones you may not initially consider—like your book’s description or cover thumbnail—can impact your visibility and conversions.

Social media, email newsletters, podcast interviews, and Amazon advertising all play a role. But none of them guarantee sales. Discoverability isn’t solved with a single post or promotion; it’s a sustained effort, requiring time, patience, and a willingness to treat your book like a long-term product—not just a launch event.

That’s why the term “self-published author” has evolved—from the lone wolf handling every task solo to the savvy creative who partners with seasoned self-publishing professionals. These experts bring decades of experience to help ensure the book you’ve poured your heart and soul into actually reaches the readers who deserve to read it.

This content was enhanced through collaboration with AI-powered creativity applications.

Elise Speaks, Marketing Your Self-Published Book

The Challenge of New Book Discovery May Not Affect Self-Publishing Authors

As a self-publishing author, one of the biggest challenges you may face is getting new people to learn about you and your book. After all, experience suggests that successfully publishing a book involves 20% of your efforts toward writing and 80% of your efforts toward marketing.

At any rate, on sites such as Paid Content (and even at BEA), book discoverability is a “hot topic” of sorts. In a recent article, they cited statistics from Codex Group to drive home the point that the decline of available brick-and-mortar booksellers has contributed to increased difficulty for authors to get new readers to discover their books. It seems that this mainly applies to traditionally-published authors. Why? Well, the decline of the brick-and-mortar booksellers seems to level the playing field, so to speak. With more readers turning to eBooks and online book shopping/browsing, this allows authors who have self-published to have a reach similar to that of authors who typically enjoy a strong bookstore presence.

How amazing is that? All authors have an equal opportunity for reader attention. Who would imagine such a possibility? Self-publishing authors can now use online book marketing methods — such as virtual book tours, social media, and videos to enhance their online visibility and increase reader interest in their books. Even something as simple as sprucing up their Amazon sales page can help.

At this point, I’m not understanding all of the fuss, unless you don’t want the playing field to be leveled…What are your thoughts?

Elise Connors ABOUT ELISE L. CONNORS:
Elise works as the Manager of Author Support of Outskirts Press.  She also contributes to the Outskirts Press blog at blog.outskirtspress.com. Elise and a group of talented book marketing experts assist not only published Outskirts Press authors, but also all authors and professionals who are interested in getting the best possible exposure for their book.