Michael Grant Smith is on Semi-Neo-Quasi-Hiatus

Brent Crude is actually my wrestler alter ego

14 Brutal Mistakes New Authors Make in 2026 1. A bad book cover. It will kill your sales before anyone even reads the first sentence. 2. A bad first sentence. Or first paragraph. Or first page. Or last page. Or any page. Don't write shit. 3. Trying to find an agent. Don't waste the time and energy. I had 500 rejections before I found my agent. This was in 1997, ten years before Amazon created the Kindle. If it's a good book, self-publish it on Amazon. Sell a ton and agents will seek you out. 4. Entering writing contests. Don't. Just don't. You should never spend money to be read, especially by folks who make money running contests. I say this as a former Writer's Digest judge. 5. Signing deals with vanity presses. A real publisher doesn't charge you for anything. If a publisher wants money, run. Which circles back to: 6. Don't pay for help. Self-pubbing on Amazon is free. Formatting can be challenging, so pay for that if needed, or take a day and learn how to do it yourself. Exception; unless you are a graphic artist, you should find a pro to do your cover art. Everything else is a slippery slope. Editors for hire? Join a local writers' group instead. Proofreaders? They're helpful, but AI is free. Manuscript doctors? If they were good, they'd be making money selling books, not charging authors. 7. Reading your reviews. I've had thousands of bad reviews. Everyone has an opinion. Don't take it personally. But if you aren't averaging at least 3.5 stars on Amazon and Goodreads, then maybe your book isn't ready for readers and you need to work on getting better. 8. Going wide. You should stick with Amazon KDP and enroll in KDP Select. You earn more than selling on all the other platforms combined. It's annoying that Amazon KU requires exclusivity, but that's the way it goes. 9. Going to writing conventions and conferences and expecting to sell enough books to pay for the trip. If you want to travel and get on some panels and hang out with peers, have at it. They're fun. But unless you are already a name author, you're not going to move many books. 10. Book signings. They are soul crushing. If fans want an autograph, offer signed books for sale on eBay. I signed at over 700 bookstores. It was great to meet readers and booksellers, but it was brutally hard and did not move the sales needle much. 11. Hoping for awards. You don't need the approval of your peers. Respect the fans you make, treat everyone with kindness, but don't worry if the cool kids clique doesn't accept you. They actually aren't that cool. They are frightened, needy, and riddled with self-doubt; just like you. 12. Making bookmarks. No one wants your bookmark. Have you ever bought a book because the author gave you a bookmark? No. Stop spending money on bookmarks and postcards and business cards and giveaways. They don't work. 13. Comparing yourself to other authors. Envy is the enemy of self-worth. You are unique in the world, and your journey is yours alone. The only one you should compare yourself to is the person you were a year ago. Are you a better writer? Have you gotten more words on the page? Are you working even harder? Compete with that person, not your peers. 14. Giving up. Life is hard. Everyone has been telling you that your whole life, because it's true. Writing is a brutal career, and it has ups and downs... mostly downs. You only lose if you stop trying. Don't be a loser. Work like this shit matters, because it does. You can't expect readers, and the world, to care if you don't care. Fight like hell.