We live in an age where everything, even the most arduous of tasks, is romanticized; self-publishing is but one of those jobs. The idea that writing a book is all you need to sell it in volumes is as misleading as it is illusory.

Below are some mistakes indie authors make as presented by AgoraBooks.ca -- And it shows in book sales, reviews and popularity.

1. Make Time to Write

This is a sure fact: there will never be time to write. Of course, there’s time to write but indie authors who look for time the most appropriate time to write, will never get any headway when writing their book. It’s harder if you have a full-time job and other responsibilities such as family.

According to Ryan Hanley, author of Content Warfare, and a full-time managing editor of Agency Nation- an online and digital publication in the insurance niche, “One of the first questions I receive about writing is always, “How did you find the time?”

“All writers have a troubled relationship with time. The reality is, you have to make time, or there will never be time to write. It’s that simple.”

“Writing Content Warfare, (did I mention a one-year old son) [sic], meant writing till I passed out, then turning around 4:00 am writing sessions.”

2. Overlooking Professionals

As already mentioned, a good book still needs the right professionals working on it to make a success. It is hugely important that spend money on a designer, editors and proofreaders.

Reiterating this point Ryan Haley writes to his Quora followers, “My recommendation is you don’t go budget. Pay professionals to help display your message in a format worthy of the time you’ve put into crafting it.

“In particular I’d say an interior designer is money well spent. This is the person who’s going to make sure your book is easy to read and fits the various publishing formats.”

3. Working on Multiple Projects

Having a full-time job while balancing responsibilities such as relationships and family is already hard enough; doing them while working on your book is tedious.

Naturally, side-projects will have to be side-lined and priorities will be shifted.

A natural solution to this, as Ryan puts it, is to: “think about stockpiling content for your other projects. This way you don’t feel the pressure to take time away from your book to publish content elsewhere.”

4. TV Time

Once you start the journey to self-publishing, there’s no more time for TV, video games, reading for leisure and any other hobbies you have: there are no two ways about it.

5. Failure to Anticipate Failure

Ryan couldn’t have put this better, “A file will get corrupted. Your cover design won’t fit the Create Space template. Your editor will miss a deadline.”

“Things will go wrong and you’ll have to carry on. You are the only person who is going to make your self-published book happen.”

Signing Off

Traditional media houses pump money and time in editing and proofreading your manuscript, designing an attractive cover and an easily readable font, all in an effort to make it worth the while for readers.

Beyond that, they will promote the book, market it across different media, social and traditional, pay for book reading across different states and countries so that it gets maximum reach to potential readers.

While asking indie authors to do as traditional publishers do is a big ask, indie authors can learn invaluable lessons.