Publishing a book is a great career opportunity for any entrepreneur. It helps to improve your reputation, deepens your connection with your audience, teaches you skills that you can’t get any other way and if you do it right, provides you with another income stream.
If you’re reasonably well known it might be possible to get a deal with a publisher, which is a good option because they will do a lot of the promotional work for you. However, if you want to keep all of the profits for yourself and you’re up for a challenge, then self-publishing can be a highly effective approach.
Write the book
Those three words make the job seem much simpler than it actually is, but the truth of it is if you’re going to, then you’ll need to write it! If you’re wondering, but how do I write a book? Then don’t worry! It’s a skill that can be learned.
The most important thing to do is get started, and strangely enough, that’s actually the hardest part, too. Writing is more difficult than most people think, and if you’re going to stick at it for long enough to write an entire book, then you need to create a writing routine for yourself.
Some things that may help are:
- Writing at the same time and in the same place each day. This helps you to form a routine and eventually makes writing a habit.
- Set yourself a small daily writing goal. Setting a small goal (250 words is a good amount) is important because you can achieve it even on really bad days. A lot of the time, you will probably exceed the goal, but it’s important that you have it there so that you feel as though you are building momentum.
- Create deadlines and stick to them. Similarly to the daily writing goal, this helps you to feel motivated and feel as though you are making progress.
Editing
If you were to get your book published by traditional means, your publisher would insist on several edits to ensure that your book makes sense and is enjoyable to read.
You should hold yourself to this same standard when you self publish a book. It’s worth hiring a professional editor, as well as doing several rounds of editing yourself.
Design your cover and layout
Although books are about words, first impressions are often made from the cover and the design of the book.
Find a professional book cover designer to help you to create a cover that says what you want it to. They will have a good knowledge of the impact that different cover designs have and will be able to advise you on how best to impress your intended audience.
Distribution
It’s a good idea to release both a print and an e-book version of your book. E-books are cheaper to publish, but there are some people who prefer a real book that they can hold in their hands.
A lot of authors who self publish choose to use print on-demand printing services, which means that you send your manuscript to the printers and they only print as many copies as you need. This is generally slightly more expensive than printing a bulk of your book, but it’s an excellent method if you aren’t sure of how many sales you will make.
