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So you want to publish a book and don’t know where to start? The good news is this isn’t a problem but means you are completely normal and just like everyone else. How can you possibly know where to start if you are doing something you have never done before and therefore don’t know what you don’t know about it.
As such I decided to write some quick tips to help you out. The key thing you need to know is you must start with the end in mind. In other words line up why you want to publish a book with how you plan to distribute your book and the rest of the process can flow from there.
Why are you publishing a book
I want to fulfil a dream – you must distribute your book yourself as there is no greater way to get satisfaction from publishing books then to be meeting your target market on a regular basis and seeing the changes you book has made in their lives.
I want to earn a passive income – you must distribute your book online as this is the quickest way to get the highest financial returns with the least amount of ongoing work involved.
I want to gain credibility – you must distribute your book via bookstores as this method only works if media attention is involved and if the media is talking about you and your book so is everyone else.
Where to start for each process
Self Distribution – this only involves your time and you can set it up for free. Organise to speak for free anywhere you target market will be in return for being allowed to sell copies of your book afterwards. You can design and print your own order form to be completed by customers on the day and if you promote your events via social media there will be no marketing costs involved either.
Online Distribution – this has the highest set up costs but the lowest ongoing costs. Start with what you can afford eg. a template (customed designed to match the branding of your book), a content managed website (so you can edit it yourself) and a shopping cart (to automate the selling process for you). You can grow the functionalities of your store from the profits it brings in.
Bookstore Distribution – this has no set up costs as such but a low returns on investment so it’s a numbers game. You might only get $1-$2 profit per copy of your book sold but if you move 5,000 do you care? The trick to this choice is to take it slow supplying low volumes of your book to stores so they sell out encouraging them to re-order as re-orders have higher volumes then initial purchases and also have lower return rates.
If you would like more information on the other 6 stages of the publishing process and how to create your customised publishing plan to get your from where you are now to where you want to be click here.
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