Book Publishing Tips for Authors

It’s great to have experts on book publishing with us in our think tank. From Jon Malysiak who has experience in book writing, book agenting and book acquisitions to Kerry LaCoste who has extensive background designing books to a team of wordpress and marketing experts who help with integrating the best marketing strategies into the fabric of the book authoring and launch process, we are excited to offer support.

Right now we are only focusing on the non-fiction book–specifically, the business non-fiction book. The following are probably the most important tips to remember when publishing your book that so many don’t follow:

1. For the best book possible, find the patterns of what other readers of the top similar books have liked and what they have disliked. To do this go on Amazon and copy both what other readers like about each book as well as what they don’t like into a word document. Leave the information for a day and then go back and look at the patterns that you see. See what the majority of people like and, also, what they don’t like and what they think is missing. It will be these things that you want to make sure you put into your book so that when your book comes out you will have filled in the gaps and, of course, given them the usual things they want to know more about.
2. Don’t write your whole book! I don’t know how many times authors come to us with what they think is a finished manuscript.  It’s like coming to a builder with a finished house and then asking him to, essentially, rebuild it. Instead, come to us with your first or second draft of an outline, and, if you want a chapter or two. Even if you come with just an outline I believe you have made your job easier for yourself and those who can help you.Now we can all roll up our shirt sleeves and really create an outline that represents both what the market needs and then your response to it. We take the time to do research that will help you make sure you are writing for the market’s needs. Otherwise, you end up with what we call a “ME TOO” book–one that is just like the others and that results in lower sales of your book and a much tougher time marketing it.
3. Go to some book authoring class or get coaching. When you are writing consider a group either face-to-face or on the internet. One to consider is http://www.internetwritingworkshop.org/. Another choice is to try a group like www.youwriteon.com. It’s free. For those of you who want more help, that’s where one of our coaching workshops or online coaching support can help.
4. Learn about the whole range of options for your book. What we mean here is that you really need to explore your options regarding traditional or self publishing and then explore the wide range of options around your choice. Take one of our authors who is just coming out with his new book on wisdom for those just graduating from college. We have spent hours working with Mike to explore everything from the size of his book to the design of his cover to the various social media to use to release his book. It has been great to help him really gain the wisdom he needs to effectively compete in a very competitive market of self-help books.Want to know more? Click here to contact us and we’ll be happy to provide more support.

   What do you think? What are some of the top tips you have found? Share this blog post with others you care about!