As most of you know, I’ve been writing for publication for nearly forty years. I have 35 published books to my credit. So I hope you hear me when I advise the following:
Before you write a word—or, perhaps, while you are outlining or conducting research for your book:
Study the publishing industry. How? Read my latest book, Publish Your Book, Proven Strategies and Resources for the Enterprising Author. What can this book do for you and your project? It can put you within the 21 percent of authors who produce successful books. No kidding, folks. Nearly 80 percent of all books fail and one major, major reason is the fact that the author entered into the fiercely competitive publishing arena without enough knowledge about the publishing industry, their options, the possible consequences of their choices and knowledge of their responsibility as a published author. PUBLISHING IS A BUSINESS. And authors, in order to succeed, MUST approach it as such.
The second thing I want you to do is the write a book proposal and this is true whether you plan to write a book of fiction, a collection of your poetry, a children’s book or a nonfiction book. You will learn volumes about your project and whether it is actually a good idea through the process of writing a book proposal. Many an author has, at some point, discovered that they are writing or have written the wrong book for the wrong audience. If this is the case with your book, you want to know BEFORE it is published.
What does this mean? That the book idea should be scratched? Not necessarily. Maybe it just need to be tweaked. A reality check before your book is a book can save you tons of money and tons of heartache.
One more thing I’d like to recommend. Start now setting aside money for an editor. A good book editor could cost you anywhere from $800 to $3,000—depending on the condition, size and complexity of your manuscript. Work this into your plan. You will have a much more successful publishing experience if you do.
I’ve known authors to skip this step—to just bring out their book as soon as they could without that extra set of professional eyes—some of them knowing that their book had numerous errors. They figured they would make some money on the book and THEN hire an editor for the reprint.
Guess what? These authors never get to the place where they can afford to do a reprint. These authors are among the nearly 80 percent who fail in the marketplace. A few people might buy their book, but they won’t recommend it. Reviewers either won’t review it or they give it an honest (and brutal) review. Booksellers aren’t interested in it.
So, before we get too far into March, let’s get your book project up and running. What are you going to do first?
• Evaluate your reason for writing this book and the book’s purpose.
• Study the publishing industry. Consider reading Publish Your Book by Patricia Fry.
• Write a book proposal.
Order Publish Your Book at Amazon.com or here:
http://www.matilijapress.com/PublishYourBook.html