Steps to publishing success

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Steps to Publishing Success

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Even if your best friend owns a top publishing

company, giving you an immediate "in," this does not

guarantee publishing success.

First, you have to write a quality book that has a

clear target audience. And your book must answer a

common problem or need that audience shares. Then you

have to develop a marketing plan, and stick to it for

at least two years.

Let's begin with the process that should commence

before you write your first word. Begin by reading A

LOT. Read both books you passionately love and books

you can't seem to make it past page five. Then figure

out what the author did in the book you loved, and

what was wrong with in the book you couldn't finish.

Write down these points so they are crystal clear to

you. Read other people's books for inspiration and to

discover what you should avoid as a writer.

The next step is to plan out your book. Narrow down

your subject, and then divide it into chapters. Each

chapter should address a specific aspect of the

problem your book is going to solve. In each chapter,

break the specific aspect down into several parts.

This will help your readers take in your information a

bit at a time instead of overwhelming them with every

bit of information clogging up the pages until they

feel like they're about to go blind. It's not quite

spoon-feeding the information to your readers, but

it's close.

The next two steps are obvious. Write your book and

then revise it. And then revise it again. And perhaps

again. Of course, writing is extremely hard, and

writing a book can seem like an impossible task. There

are many books out there that give you guidelines to

help you become familiar - and even love - the process

of writing and revision. Find a number of books about

writing. Better yet, find a number of books about

writing the specific type of book you aspire to write.

These can serve as roadmaps on your writing journey.

Once you've written your ebook and revised it at least

twice, show it to someone else whose opinion you

respect. If you're lucky enough to know a good editor,

see if you have something to barter for him or her to

go through your manuscript. Or join a writing group

and let the other members critique your work.

Then take all these ideas from other people, and

revise your manuscript one last time. And then stop!

Put down that pen! Get your hands off the keyboard!

One of the most important steps to actually producing

a book is to know when to stop writing and tinkering

with it.

You've finally written your ebook! Pop open the

bubbly! Give yourself a night out on the town!

Okay, now that this necessary celebration is out of

your system, what do you do next?

How to turn your ebook into Profits

Ebooks are a revolutionary way to publish your book

without incurring the costs of print production. All

you need is a relevant and targeted subject and some

inexpensive software, and you can transform your

manuscript into a book.

The problem, in terms of actually seeing any profits

from your ebook, is that the market is overwhelmed

with ebooks, and many of them are not worth the time

it takes to download them. Just because the ability

exists to easily produce an ebook, doesn't make it

good writing.

Make sure your book does not simply rehash old

material. You will injure your credibility as an

author by claiming to offer valuable new insights and

disappointing your audience with material they've read

a zillion times before. So spend enough time writing

and revising your book to make sure it's of the

highest quality and presents the most current

information. A good book will eventually sell itself;

false claims about your book will make it extremely

difficult to sell any future books you may write.

Assuming you have determined that you do indeed have a

quality product that answers some question or need of

your target audience with NEW information, how do you

know how much to charge for it? Rule number 1: Set a

price for your book equal to its value. An

under-priced book will only give the impression that

your book isn't worth very much.

To figure out a fair price, estimate how much time you

put into creating it and how difficult it was to

transform the necessary information into

understandable and engaging writing. Figure out how

much your time and effort is worth, and then price it

accordingly. The goal is for you to be adequately

compensated for your talent, your time, and your

effort.

Once you've figured out a price that is high enough to

convey the value of the book, but not so high as to be

out of the reach of your target audience's mean

budget, then it's time to offer it for sale on your

website. To attract sales, you will need to develop a

promotional campaign, particularly if you are an

unknown author.

There are multitudes of books about self-promotion

that will guide you in your efforts. Choose a plan

that is both creative and professional. Learn how to

write a catchy yet informative press release, and send

copies of your ebook to sites that specialize in ebook

reviews.

Learn how to write powerful sales copy, or hire

someone to write it for you. This is an essential. You

absolutely need excellent sales copy to sell your

book. Make sure the copy includes all the reasons your

target audience needs your book, and the benefits they

will derive from buying it.

Use graphics in your promotional materials. Beautiful

graphics have the power to instantly convey the

quality and value of your ebook. Graphics can also

convey the amount of valuable information the book

contains, and your careful attention to detail.

Professional graphics sell professional books. They

reassure the customer that the product is what it

claims to be.

Consider excerpting chapters for articles. You can

offer these tidbits for free on your website as a sort

of demo of your book. Include an order form for your

ebook at the end of the excerpted articles.

Finally, when you set-up your download link, make sure

to simplify the process. It's a good idea to offer a

few bonuses that make your book even more enticing to

purchase, but make sure the bonuses are valuable and

high quality. Too many bonuses that are basically a

load of useless stuff will compromise the impression

your audience has of your ebook. The goal is to convey

to your audience that they are getting a quality

product for a good deal. That means applying

restraint, especially when it comes to adding bonus

items. Too much free stuff offered diminishes your

credibility.

Make sure your book is a quality product. Make sure it

is relevant and current. Develop an effective

marketing plan that includes excellent sales copy and

excerpted articles. Then offer your book for sale, and

wait for your audience to discover you!