Allen Ding shares his hard-learned lessons as an indie developer in the App Store:

The thing is this: I see where I have sucked. I’ve gained valuable knowledge about the business. And the mistakes I’ve made are correctable. The app needs a kick-ass design. I need a concerted, smart marketing approach. I need the product to truly make even more of difference in my user’s lives. None of this is easy mind you, but each is definitely doable and quantifiable. My future work will be better.

Being aware of the problem is always the first step towards the solution.