1. It’s never been easier to write and publish a book.
The good news for prospective authors is that, thanks to the publishing technology we have today, one can easily write, edit, illustrate format, and publish a book.
The bad news for prospective authors is that, because it’s so easy to create books, people do so without taking the time to prepare quality work. There’s a lot of junk out there. If you intend to write a book, don’t put your work in that category.
2. You must begin with a model book.
One simple but effective way to ensure that you create a good book is to find a model book. Readers have certain expectations of books in a specific genre. Your book must meet these basic standards.
For example, if you plan to write a cookbook, look to see what other cookbooks are out there and plan to model your work after those. You want them to look similar in terms of binding, size, color, and general appearance.
3. The more you plan, the better your book.
Another way to ensure that you create a good book is to make a plan for its creation, production, and distribution. Some basic questions to consider when creating your plan include:
- Audience: What are they looking for that your book can address? Where do they buy their books (just at a bookstore, or just online, or both)?
- Production: What are the deadlines for finishing the manuscript, editing the manuscript, and submitting the manuscript for design and production?
- Distribution: Will this be an e-book, a printed book, or both? Where will it be sold?
4. Writing a book is an exercise in persistence.
A typical nonfiction book is approximately 200 or more pages, while e-books may be any length. Plan to spend some time each day writing a few pages until you complete your manuscript. Then edit and revise it as necessary.
Slow and steady wins the race.
5. You likely won’t make much money from your book.
Not to sound discouraging, but most authors don’t make big money from their books. To be sure, some do (Sandra Brown and James Patterson come to mind), but this is the exception and not the rule.
Focus instead on creating your best work, then selling it, and you should be fine.
6. You have many options for publishing your book.
Today’s technology gives you several options for publishing your book. After you prepare your manuscript, you can choose any of these basic options:
- Traditional publishing, in which you submit your manuscript to a publisher, who then edits, designs, publishes, and distributes the book. You’d get royalties for books sold.
- Self-publishing, in which you have full control of the project, yet you also assume full financial and legal risk.
- Working with a book packager, in which you select the specific services you’d need (editing, illustrating, design, printing, and so on). Amazon offers a limited version of this in that it provides publishing services (through its CreateSpace and Kindle), but you’d be responsible for editing, illustrating, and designing your book.
- Subsidy, or vanity, publishing, in which you submit your manuscript to a publisher, whom you pay to publish the book under its label.
7. You are responsible for promoting your book.
Regardless of how you publish your book, you have responsibility for promoting it. Activities include:
- Creating an author’s web site.
- Preparing and distributing a news release about the book.
- Creating and posting book and author-related podcasts.
- Developing and executing a virtual book tour.
- Developing and executing a physical book tour.
As with developing the book itself, look for model web sites, news releases, and podcasts. You don’t have to reinvent the wheel, and it’s easier to follow the already-established model, just tailored to your audience’s needs and your needs.
