Steps to
Publishing Success
by:
Zaak
O'Conan
Even if your best friend
owns a top publishing
company, giving you an
immediate "in," this does
not guarantee publishing
success.
First, you have to write
a quality book that has a
clear target audience. And
your book must answer a
common problem or need that
audience shares. Then you
have to develop a marketing
plan, and stick to it for at
least two years.
Let's begin with the
process that should commence
before you write your first
word. Begin by reading A
LOT. Read both books you
passionately love and books
you can't seem to make it
past page five. Then figure
out what the author did in
the book you loved, and what
was wrong with in the book
you couldn't finish. Write
down these points so they
are crystal clear to you.
Read other people's books
for inspiration and to
discover what you should
avoid as a writer.
The next step is to plan
out your book. Narrow down
your subject, and then
divide it into chapters.
Each chapter should address
a specific aspect of the
problem your book is going
to solve. In each chapter,
break the specific aspect
down into several parts.
This will help your readers
take in your information a
bit at a time instead of
overwhelming them with every
bit of information clogging
up the pages until they feel
like they're about to go
blind. It's not quite
spoon-feeding the
information to your readers,
but it's close.
The next two steps are
obvious. Write your book and
then revise it. And then
revise it again. And perhaps
again. Of course, writing is
extremely hard, and writing
a book can seem like an
impossible task. There are
many books out there that
give you guidelines to help
you become familiar - and
even love - the process of
writing and revision. Find a
number of books about
writing. Better yet, find a
number of books about
writing the specific type of
book you aspire to write.
These can serve as roadmaps
on your writing journey.
Once you've written your
ebook and revised it at
least twice, show it to
someone else whose opinion
you respect. If you're lucky
enough to know a good
editor, see if you have
something to barter for him
or her to go through your
manuscript. Or join a
writing group and let the
other members critique your
work.
Then take all these ideas
from other people, and
revise your manuscript one
last time. And then stop!
Put down that pen! Get your
hands off the keyboard!
One of the most important
steps to actually producing
a book is to know when to
stop writing and tinkering
with it.
You've finally written
your ebook! Pop open the
bubbly! Give yourself a
night out on the town!
Okay, now that this
necessary celebration is out
of your system, what do you
do next?
How to turn your ebook
into Profits
Ebooks are a
revolutionary way to publish
your book without incurring
the costs of print
production. All you need is
a relevant and targeted
subject and some inexpensive
software, and you can
transform your manuscript
into a book.
The problem, in terms of
actually seeing any profits
from your ebook, is that the
market is overwhelmed with
ebooks, and many of them are
not worth the time it takes
to download them. Just
because the ability exists
to easily produce an ebook,
doesn't make it good
writing.
Make sure your book does
not simply rehash old
material. You will injure
your credibility as an
author by claiming to offer
valuable new insights and
disappointing your audience
with material they've read a
zillion times before. So
spend enough time writing
and revising your book to
make sure it's of the
highest quality and presents
the most current
information. A good book
will eventually sell itself;
false claims about your book
will make it extremely
difficult to sell any future
books you may write.
Assuming you have
determined that you do
indeed have a quality
product that answers some
question or need of your
target audience with NEW
information, how do you know
how much to charge for it?
Rule number 1: Set a price
for your book equal to its
value. An under-priced book
will only give the
impression that your book
isn't worth very much.
To figure out a fair
price, estimate how much
time you put into creating
it and how difficult it was
to transform the necessary
information into
understandable and engaging
writing. Figure out how much
your time and effort is
worth, and then price it
accordingly. The goal is for
you to be adequately
compensated for your talent,
your time, and your effort.
Once you've figured out a
price that is high enough to
convey the value of the
book, but not so high as to
be out of the reach of your
target audience's mean
budget, then it's time to
offer it for sale on your
website. To attract sales,
you will need to develop a
promotional campaign,
particularly if you are an
unknown author.
There are multitudes of
books about self-promotion
that will guide you in your
efforts. Choose a plan that
is both creative and
professional. Learn how to
write a catchy yet
informative press release,
and send copies of your
ebook to sites that
specialize in ebook reviews.
Learn how to write
powerful sales copy, or hire
someone to write it for you.
This is an essential. You
absolutely need excellent
sales copy to sell your
book. Make sure the copy
includes all the reasons
your target audience needs
your book, and the benefits
they will derive from buying
it.
Use graphics in your
promotional materials.
Beautiful graphics have the
power to instantly convey
the quality and value of
your ebook. Graphics can
also convey the amount of
valuable information the
book contains, and your
careful attention to detail.
Professional graphics sell
professional books. They
reassure the customer that
the product is what it
claims to be.
Consider excerpting
chapters for articles. You
can offer these tidbits for
free on your website as a
sort of demo of your book.
Include an order form for
your ebook at the end of the
excerpted articles.
Finally, when you set-up
your download link, make
sure to simplify the
process. It's a good idea to
offer a few bonuses that
make your book even more
enticing to purchase, but
make sure the bonuses are
valuable and high quality.
Too many bonuses that are
basically a load of useless
stuff will compromise the
impression your audience has
of your ebook. The goal is
to convey to your audience
that they are getting a
quality product for a good
deal. That means applying
restraint, especially when
it comes to adding bonus
items. Too much free stuff
offered diminishes your
credibility.
Make sure your book is a
quality product. Make sure
it is relevant and current.
Develop an effective
marketing plan that includes
excellent sales copy and
excerpted articles. Then
offer your book for sale,
and wait for your audience
to discover you! |
