Historically, if you wanted to know how to publish a book, you needed an agent to get a traditional publisher to look at your manuscript. Before you jump and dwell into writing and publishing your own book, here are some tips to make sure you set your book up for success.
1. Decide Why You Want to Publish a Book
I encourage everyone to go into a brainstorming process to ensure that you are committed to writing a book and you are doing it for the right reason. Few questions to ask yourself:
Do you have a larger number of book ideas you need to start writing?
Do you have your table of contents in balance?
Do you know the structure of your book?
Do you want to leverage your skills and knowledge to inspire others?
2. Write Your Book
I know sometimes, it gets frustrating and you get stuck in a few of your pages for hours, this is normal. Writing a book is hard work. You need commitment, dedication and persistence.
It is sometimes tricky to come up with a book idea. You must develop a writing process. A few tips that I recommend:
Make sure to schedule your calendar for weekly writing goals.
Create an outline. It is like a map of your book that provides you with the guideline and direction.
Develop a writing habit. Set goals and objectives daily.
Get an accountable partner. Once you draft your book make sure that you hold the other person accountable for her review and feedback.
3. Get Feedback Before Publishing Your Book
When writing a book, it is important to get as much feedback as possible from a beta reader. They will give you a great review/ evaluation of your book. Make sure to pick the audience from different geographical/ gender and ethnicity. You will get a fresh set of eyes to help catch typo and grammatical errors.
4. Choose A Book Title
Don’t make this more complicated than it needs to be. The simpler the title, the better. Simplicity is key here. Make sure to brainstorm a couple of book title ideas with friends, family and peers, and I am sure you will just find the right book title. A few book title checklist
Is your title going to teach a high demand skill?
Can your book make an impact on someone’s life?
Will your book reach a wider audience?
Can your book solve a difficult problem?
5. Hire a Great Book Editor
Hiring a great book editor can make the difference between becoming a bestselling author, or self-publishing a mediocre book. Therefore, it’s important to take as much time as necessary during this stage of the process. Reach out to your personal network to find an editor for your book. It all depends on your budget, you can either hire a professional book editor or hire a more budget editor from Upwork. The choice is yours.
6. Design a Book Cover that Converts
A high-quality book cover is one of the most important elements to get your book to convert into sales. It is the brand image that the book carries with you and the reason that determines readers whether they will buy the book or not. Make sure to hire a professional creative designer to create your book covers. Here is what makes a good book cover stand out?
Simplistic styling
Professionally designed and convey the book title and message
Clear title and subtitle
A design that fit your intended audience
My book “Pathways to Business Success” answers the question: How Do I Become an Entrepreneur? with valuable lessons. I wrote this book to help aspiring entrepreneurs start their own businesses. Here, I also share my life experiences as words of wisdom and motivation to help people make a change and build something beautiful towards a life of freedom and value.
Please grab a copy and feel free to share your valuable reviews and comments.
It is now available for purchase on different platforms (Amazon, Kindle and Google Playbook).