I’m flying out to North Carolina today to the Carolina’s Writers’ Conference in Wadesboro. I will luck out—the weather, it appears—is the same there as it will be here this week—mid to high 70s during the day. So there will be no need to carry a heavy coat. Of course, there is often a chill inside during these events because of the air conditioning. So a jacket or sweater will be part of my ensemble.
I’m speaking tomorrow on how to take charge of your book’s success. I hope to instill in attendees the importance of heads-up attention to their projects throughout the writing process and beyond. I will talk about how to produce a viable product rather than simply a nice little book. I will urge them to study the publishing industry and to learn more about their project and how it will fit in with the competition by writing a book proposal.
I can only hope that the authors and hopeful authors will hear me when I say that publishing is not an extension of their writing—it is a fiercely competitive business and should be approached as such.
Here is my tip list reflecting an author’s responsibilities. I recommend that you take time with each tip so that you fully understand their significance.
1: Write the right book for the right audience.
2: Keep your audience in mind as you write.
3: Study the publishing industry so you know how to approach it with your project.
4: Write a book proposal. This is your business plan for your book.
5: Study your publishing options and choose the one that is best for you and for your book.
6: Establish your author’s platform and continue building on it.
7: Understand that you are responsible for promoting your book no matter which publishing option you choose. And that your book will sell for as long as you continue promoting it.
Each of these ideas could be expanded into articles—in some cases, complete books. If you would like more information about any one of these 7 points, let me know and I’ll design a blog post around that topic.
In the meantime, there will be no blog post here for the next two days. I will resume my daily blogging on Monday, April 4.