Best of: You Need to Know Why You Want To Be Published May 20, 2014
This one is from J.A. Heinlein, in November, 2009. These are still the questions authors must answer.
You need to know 'Why You Want to be Published?'
You must ask yourself and answer the question, “…why do you want to be published?” Some feel called to educate and inspire, while some want to “entertain” and tell a story, either fiction or non-fiction. And, the different callings and writer desires can combine to accomplish both.
What is the objective of your writing? Who will benefit?
I have worked with a lot of very successful professional speakers/ authors, and over the years, the most common mistake has been for them to want to "rush too quickly to write and get published"... and, without having asked and answered those most fundamental of questions:
What is the reason and purpose for me to be a published author?
- it is a calling?
- to help expand my brand?
- to provide lasting value and impression?
- to create an additional income?
- to increase my speaker's fee value?
See Also: How do you write a book or novel
You need to be informed
- Do your homework – “flatten” the learning curve as quickly as possible.
- Do the advance work to understand the “basics”– outline your plan for writing, marketing
- Editing/Formatting
- Packaging: Creative Design: Cover, Layout, Illustration
- Production: print options - POD/Digital, offset, ebooks, ebook platforms
- Registrations
- Considerations of Setting-up Small Business
- Pricing, Distribution, Fulfillment
- Promotion, Sales, Market Placement
- Social Media Marketing - Online Network Management
- Online Presence, Search Engine Visibility Development
- Experience: Do's & Don'ts
- Sell- Marketing yourself and your work, promotion and contests
- Writer’s Digest - 101 Best Websites for Writers
- 100 Free Tools to Write, Publish and Promote Your Own Book
- 5 Advanced Social Media Marketing Strategies for Small Businesses
- If you're serious about your book, hire a book mentor to coach you and to help in coordination of the publishing process.
- Educate yourself, by engaging and asking a lot of questions, and sharing your own experiences with the group.
- Engage with and enlist help by hiring from the variety of related services of the community.
The plan should identify:
- industry professionals and interest "affinity" groups
- spheres of influence, building "word of mouth" viral campaigns
- special sales markets - beyond traditional bookselling/bookseller strategies
- emerging markets to develop new market channel opportunities
- select bookstore markets and current bookseller relationships
- Focused Research of Audience Demographics & Psychographics,
- Indentified Branding Objectives,
- Writing Schedule,
- Production Deadlines
- Package Planning ,
- Tactics for Promotion & Marketing,
- Sales, Market Placement, and Distribution.
...and of course, it is nice to be able to buy groceries... “... authors who survive will be the ones who find ways to authentically grow their platform and meaningfully reach their readership.” “Communities will decide what books are worthwhile, and communities won't have ego-filled judgments. Publishers will always be giving their authors one thing that is hard to come by: a measure of instant credibility. (That is: Someone thought this was good enough to take a financial risk on.) In good scenarios, there is also collaboration: to make a good book a great book. But soon, communities will have as much power as publishers to decide what books deserve attention." - Jane Freidman, My Big Rant on Self-Publishing, Writer's Digest
Best of: You Need to Know Why You Want To Be Published, May 20, 2014 http://t.co/3z85usc5U4