If you think being the author of a book would be a good business strategy then there are some things you need to consider first.
Why you?
- What qualifies you to write about this subject?
- Have you got a following for this area of expertise either on your blog, social media or as a speaker/presenter?
- Do you know what other books on your subject already exist? Why is yours different?
Get focused:
- What is the core subject of the book?
- What kind of book are you planning to write? (Autobiography, business handbook, self-development, etc)
Planning and writing:
- How many chapters and/or sections will your book have?
- Have you organised your information into chapters and sections along with any supporting material?
- Will you need to read other books to inform your writing? Do you have a reading list?
- Do you know how long it takes you to write 1000 words?
- Have you put writing time into your diary to achieve your first draft by a specific date?
- Will you use any quotes or other material that requires permission? Do you know how to obtain the necessary permission?
- Are you planning to have your book professionally edited? Do you know the costs of this?
- Your book will need proof-reading do you know how long this will take and the cost?
- Have you got a title – or a list of possible titles? Also a subtitle?
- Do you have a list of people who would be willing to read the final draft and provide a review to include either on the cover or inside the final book?
Publishing:
- Do you want it to be an ebook or a hard copy book – or both?
- Are you planning to get a publishing house interested in publishing your book or will you be self-publishing?
- Are you aware of the financial aspects of publishing?
- For traditional publishing what do you know about advances, royalties and expected returns?
- For self-publishing are you prepared for the costs up-front for editing, graphic design, page layout, print-on-demand, etc?
- Do you know how long it takes for a book to get from finished manuscript to in the bookshop – for traditional publishing and for self-publishing?
Marketing:
- Books don’t sell themselves so how will you promote your book to the people who will find it most useful?
- What gives your book that ‘WOW’ factor?
- Which genre does it fit into? Where would you find it in a bookstore?
- Who will buy your book?
- How big a market do you have – i.e. how many potential buyers?
- Where will you find your readers?
- Apart from social media how else might you promote your book?
- Who do you know who is famous or an expert in your field or an allied field and would either write a foreword for your book or provide a review to be used on the cover?
- Which publications might be interested in featuring your book?
- Do you intend to have your book featured on Amazon? If so, do you have a strategy for encouraging people to write reviews?
There are no guarantees of success with a book, some really well-written books don’t do very well and others that aren’t so well-written go viral. However, whether you go down the conventional or self-publishing routes, you WILL need to do your own marketing. The more effort you put in the better your book will do!
