As a budding or hopeful author, you’re accustomed to going it alone. You hole up in your home office and write in privacy. Unfortunately, some of you consider publishing to be an extension of your writing. Without shifting gears, you envision submitting your wonderful manuscript to a publisher and collecting royalties for evermore. Frankly, this is an old school mentality.
In case you haven’t noticed, this isn’t your grandmother’s publishing industry. Technology has changed almost everything about the processes and the opportunities. I can predict that, at some point in the process of producing your book, you will discover that you need help; and the sooner you realize this, the better.
When should you seek help? In what way will you most likely need assistance? Consider the following:
Before the Writing Begins
• Attend writing classes, join writers’ critique groups and do a lot of writing in order to perfect your craft. Believe it or not, there are some new rules in grammar and punctuation. And today’s readers have different expectations.
• Consult books, read articles and attend writers’ conferences in order to learn what the publishing industry is all about, how to successfully operate within its confines and how your project might fit into the scheme of things.
• Join publishing organizations such as SPAWN, SPAN and PMA and participate. You’ll learn volumes about the industry you are about to enter.
• Write a book proposal. If you’re unsure about how to do this, follow the instructions in recommended books by Patricia Fry, Jeff Herman and Michael Larsen. Take my online Book Proposal Course. http://www.matilijapress.com/course_bookproposal.htm Hire a professional to walk you through the book proposal process. A well-researched, well-organized, well-written book proposal could keep you from making huge and costly mistakes.
• Consult a professional with regard to the potential of your book idea and how to make it more saleable.
• Discuss publishing options and specific publishers with your consultant and make some preliminary choices. (Conduct exercises to determine which publishing option is a good fit for you and your project.)
• Add to or start establishing your platform (your way of attracting readers). If you’re not sure how to do that, read articles and books on the subject. Read The Right Way to Write, Publish and Sell Your Book http://www.matilijapress.com/rightway.html. Read my former blog entries, visit http://www.matilijapress.com/articles.htm, do a Google search.
When the Writing is Done
• Hire a qualified editor—someone who is accustomed to editing books. This might exclude your friend who teaches English at the local high school, your employer’s college-bound daughter and your neighbor who is a retired professor.
• Work with your consultant on how to approach your choice of publishers or how to begin the publishing process, if you’ve chosen to self-publish or approach a fee-based POD “self-publishing†company.
• Continue building your platform.
After the Book is Published
• Shift into high marketing gear. If you are not sure where to begin or if you have unrealistic expectations related to book promotion, of course, consult a professional who can work with you. I had two gentlemen come to me this week complaining that they couldn’t get their books into bookstores, nor could they get book reviews. I helped them adopt a more realistic expectation for their self-published books and also advised them as to how to get their book into many bookstores and how to get numerous reviews.
• Continue to read books and articles on book promotion and continue to hone your public speaking, article-writing and marketing skills.
• Keep working on your platform.
As you can see, if you desire success as a published author, you really must reach out beyond the privacy of your home office, seek professional advice, study everything you can get your hands on and network among your peers.
An excellent way to start on this journey is to read The Right Way to Write, Publish and Sell Your Book BEFORE you ever start the writing process. Use the Author’s Workbook. Sign up for my Book Proposal and/or Self-Publishing online Courses-on-Demand. And establish a relationship with consultant Patricia Fry or another professional who can guide you through the publishing process. http://www.matilijapress.com Contact me at plfry620@yahoo.com.