Author a Book
Writing a book in 14 days
If found a free Mini-Course: “How to Write A Book On Anything in 14 Days or Less!” Fiction or Non-fiction, get an agent in 36 hours, blueprint your entire book in 2-hours, create ‘technologies’ no one else has, buy a best-selling plot for 75 cents, create a non-stop client magnet, create demand for your book without ever leaving home, get an editor FREE, and much more! Learn More.
Getting Help
Need help getting your book written. Here are great editors I know:
Editor Bob Kelly. Here’s a great editor and writer who will help you fine-tune your manuscript so it’s ready for print (or ready to submit to a traditional or small publisher). He will even ghost-write your book for you. Bob Kelly.
Editor Barbara McNichol. Another great editor and ghost writer. Barbara McNichol.
Getting your book into print
Setting up your own publishing company makes a lot of sense today, because you’re going to have to market your book anyway. Consider these resources:
Book Project Coordinator Gwen Henson. As you enter the world of publishing, there are lots of confusing details. Gwen is more than a designer, she’s a project manager who will take on your project and see that it gets done. Outsourcing to Gwen makes your job a lot easier. Let her worry about cover design, interior design, ISBN numbers, etc. Call Gwen Henson at Sagebrush Productions in Phoenix (480-777-9250).
Lisa Liddy does interior design. She will layout your book’s interior. Call her at The Printed Page, 480-460-1707.
Vicky Mullen is a graphic artist who can design your cover and promotional pieces. (480-941-8202).
Jim Weems at Ad Graphics in Tulsa (800-368-6196).
Publishers Marketing Association is a great resource for publishers. If you’re based in Arizona, join the ABPA first, and your PMA dues are discounted.
A lot of internet sales “experts” suggest selling ebooks online. The advantage is instant delivery and no fulfillment costs. Still, there’s nothing more substantial than a printed book or manual.
When you’ve got your book written, the next challenge is getting it into print without it costing an arm and a leg. I have two resources that will help you with that.
If you want your book to be available through bookstores, you must follow certain rules, including binding, barcodes, etc. Even if you aren’t interested in bookstore sales to supplement your own website sales, Dan Poynter’s book will be valuable. It’s called The Self Publishing Manual. Get it at Amazon.
Most printing firms will quickly jump at the opportunity to print your book, but it’s better to use a book manufacturer who specializes in this kind of work.
Start by printing a small number of copies…
Instant Publisher will print as few as 25 of your books at a time, and you can do it all from your computer, using software you probably already have. It’s a great way to get a book rolling without investing a lot of money. They will print your book in 10 days or less. (These folks, like many printers, will offer to supply you with an ISBN number for bookstore sales. Do not do that. As far as the “book trade” is concerned, it makes it their book, not yours. Get your own number, as explained in the Self publishing Manual. You won’t even need an ISBN number if you’re not planning to sell the book through bookstores.) Check Instant Publisher.
After your book is proven profitable, print higher quantities…
When you’re ready to print higher quantities (over 500 at a time), you need to have a designer who will format your book, put it into proper form for a book manufacturer, and get the cover designed. (Don’t use your printer for this.) It’s handy to use one firm for that, even if they farm out parts of it to other specialists.
Inside design and cover creation will typically run anywhere from 500 to 2500 dollars. This will vary depending on your book size and how “creatively demanding” you are.
Finding a good “book manufacturer” is vital. I recommend you contact Book Producer. Phone Sharon Tully at 480-961-5456. Be sure to tell her Rich Hamilton sent you. She can also get your books printed with a print on demand system in quantities under 500, even just one book. You’ll still have to have your cover designed and pages laid out in pdf format by a designer.
Book Marketing and Publicity
Once your manuscript is ready to go to the editor or to the designer (or even before that time), it’s time to start thinking about marketing.
Marketability. If you’re interested in bookstore distribution, there’s a specific process you need to follow. You need a distributor, and you need the publicity (magazine and newspaper reviews) that will interest bookstores in stocking your book.
To make that happen, you need to design and implement a Marketing Plan.
I recommend Marketability, a book publicity firm located in Colorado that specializes in cost-effective, results-driven PR Campaigns. The MarketAbility partners are Tami DePalma and Kim Dushinski.
The best way to find out what they do and get specific information about what they will do for your project is to fill out the free Request for Proposal on MarketAbility.com. Feel free to tell theim I recommended you contact them.
They can take on your publicity campaign, or you can use their “MX” do-it-yourself training package. It’s low cost, and amazing. Check Marketability.
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