Don't Write That Book

Publishing Pitfalls

Feb 12, 2026
They swap cringe stories about awkward in-person pitches and why showing up can backfire. They dig into cover and metadata blunders that haunt listings for months. Print production problems, finishes, and inventory mistakes get hashed out. Timing traps, bad title choices that kill discoverability, and translation and rights headaches are highlighted.
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ADVICE

Lock Covers And Metadata Before Listing

  • Lock in your cover and metadata before listing your book because changes ripple slowly across retailers and may not update uniformly.
  • AJ Harper warns that wrong covers or titles can persist on some platforms for weeks or never fully sync.
ADVICE

Use A Specialist For Cover Design

  • Hire a specialized cover designer, not a general graphic designer, because book covers require genre knowledge and printing specs.
  • AJ Harper explains cover designers know trends, spine specs, barcode placement, and space for endorsements.
INSIGHT

Search Engines Can Bust Your Title

  • Test proposed titles on retailer search engines because non-book products can bury your ranking and reduce discoverability.
  • Mike Michalowicz discovered his title Surge ranked below unrelated items like soda and surge protectors on Amazon.
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