Are you eager to write and publish a book? If you have minimal writing ability, hate sales, lack marketing savvy, have few professional skills, are seriously afraid to speak in public and/or are chronically ill, you’d better reconsider. Unless you have a strong desire to learn and grow, you won’t do well in the publishing world.
I’ve met many hopeful authors who failed because of their own excuses. Oh, they manage to write and publish a book—there are numerous companies that make this part of the process easy. But they fail to sell more than a few copies of their books. In fact, the latest figure I heard was that nearly seventy-eight percent of authors today sell fewer than 100 copies of their books—total. Why? Because of their excuses.
“I don’t know how to promote my book.” “I don’t like to promotion.” “I’m homebound—can’t get out to promote my book.” “No one has offered to review my book.” “I don’t know how to get a website.” “I can’t think of anything to blog about.” “I don’t have time to market my book.”
What these authors don’t understand is that publishing is a fiercely competitive business. It is not an extension of your writing. You can’t go into publishing with the same mindset and skills as you used when writing the book and expect to succeed.
So what is a hopeful author to do?
- Study the publishing industry so you understand what it takes to participate, what your options are and what your responsibilities as a published author are.
- Take it upon yourself to discern whether or not your book idea is a good idea. Is there a market for this book? Can you write a viable or entertaining book on this topic or in this genre? Exactly what will it take to promote your book? Are you willing to do what it takes?
Excuses have no place in successful publishing. If you know you have potential justification for NOT writing a good book and for NOT fully representing it in the marketplace, you might as well save your time, energy and money. Get involved in something you can handle well.
To learn more about the publishing industry, please read “Publish Your Book, Proven Strategies and Resources for the Enterprising Author.” This book prepares you for the business of publishing and book promotion. I tell authors they must consider themselves the CEO of their books. From start to finish, it is the author’s responsibility and obligation to guide his/her book through all of the proper channels toward success.
Publish Your Book is at amazon.com in print, Kindle and audio. Or order it here: http://www.matilijapress.com/PublishYourBook