The rake
One of the biggest self-publishing mistakes I made happened before the book even launched.
I was late to learning about Advance Review Copies (ARCs).
For those unfamiliar, ARCs are early copies of a book sent out before launch so reviewers, bloggers, podcasters, and readers have time to actually read the book and post reviews around release day.
I…did not do that.
The Problem-First Method has been out for a couple of months now, and only recently have editorial reviews started rolling in. In hindsight, this seems incredibly obvious. Of course people need time to read. Of course outreach should happen before launch day. Of course there’s an entire ecosystem around this stuff.
But as with most things in my life, I tend to learn by doing first and researching second.
The funny part is I spent so much time obsessing over the writing, structure, cover design, formatting, EPUB exports, print proofs, metadata, etc., that I completely underestimated the review side of publishing.
That said, getting these reviews now has been surreal.
A few lines that genuinely meant a lot to me:
“One of the most useful books a product builder could read right now.”
“Dias writes with humor, humility, and sharp observation.”
“an insightful and highly practical business book that cuts through much of the noise surrounding product development.”
“a sharp, funny, and unusually honest product-building book”
“Timely, exceptional, informative, and groundbreakingly original”
“Dias’s book is the one I wish I’d had 10 years ago.”
“the kind of book you keep open on your desk, not just read once and shelve.”
As someone who published independently without a publisher, marketing team, or really knowing what I was doing half the time, those words made my week.
Anyway, if you’re thinking about self-publishing:
- Start ARC outreach early
- Give reviewers more time than you think
- Learn from people smarter than you
- But also…don’t let not knowing everything stop you from shipping the thing
A lot of this process you only truly understand after you’ve already stepped on the rake yourself.
I wrote this book to be timeless, not trendy. If people are still finding value in it years from now I’ll be happy.