1) Use the same reason why you write as the reason why use publish and sell books

2) Fail to determine your measure of success

3) Not identify your intentions and being intentional in your efforts

4) Wanting to "make a living as a writer" without determining what "making a living" means to you

5) Only focusing on packaging your book and not packaging yourself

6) Not creating a plan (business or marketing)

7) Not creating a budget (for both their literary business and marketing efforts)

8) Putting into the atmosphere that you'd write even if you didn't get paid

9) Listening to other authors tell you not to get into the business of writing for the money (who goes into business NOT to make money)

10) Failing to realize your intellectual property is priceless and then putting a price-tag on it

BONUS: Spending more time getting people to visit your social media accounts than your website