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!
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About Author: Mayur Shah has recently launched a Free Article Search website - http://articles.in which has a colossal collection of some of the finest articles online.
