(Updated from a previous post)
Are you writing your first book?
Do you plan to indie-publish or seek an agent and traditional publisher?
Have you started building your author platform? Maybe you’re not sure what an author platform is.
I’ve heard many first-time writers say they want to finish their book first before they think about anything else. But if you do that, you are already behind in getting your book launched.
And often once the book is done, they don’t know what comes next.
If you’re planning on publishing a book, keep reading to discover what it takes to get that book from your head to the virtual bookshelf.
Planning Your Book
Herein lies a major problem for beginning writers. They fail to plan because they don’t know everything involved in publishing a book.
Whether you indie or traditionally publish, plan for:
- Writing
- Professional Editing
- Building a Platform
- Website Development
- Marketing
Let’s take a deeper look.
Creating the Book
Whether you indie publish or publish traditionally, there are expenses you need to save for as you write.
- Professional editing represents the biggest investment you’ll make in your book. Prices vary greatly and word count matters.
- Book formatting and cover design (if you plan to indie publish)
What formats do you want to publish
- Kindle (a .mobi file proprietary to Amazon)
- EPub (used by digital platforms outside of Amazon)
- Interactive
While many of these things can be accomplished for free, ask yourself this question, “Will it produce a quality book and a professional presence on the Web?”
What tasks does writing the book encompass?
- Research
- Plotting (for fiction)
- Structure (for nonfiction)
- Writing the draft
- Revising, revising, revising, and revising again. Rework that novel or nonfiction until you’ve made it the best you know how.
- Professional editing. I recommend starting with a developmental edit, especially if you have no other writing experience or no input from a critique group or beta readers.
- Making the developmental changes recommended by the editors.
- A second round of professional editing, this time a copy edit, aka line edit.
- Make revisions recommended on the copy edit.
You can skip hiring a professional editor, but you run the risk of writing an unpublishable book—one that traditional publishers won’t take, or if you indie publish, a book that readers trash in their reviews. That’s why I recommend saving for editing the moment you begin writing. Editing is the biggest investment you’ll make in your book.
There are websites/programs that do work similar to an editor. Sites like Grammarly and ProWritingAid. The difficulty is they don’t check for plot and character development or story structure. They may suffice for a copy edit, but not a developmental edit.
Be realistic about how much time you have each day/week/month to sit down and do the actual writing. Set some goals, but if you need to adjust them, allow yourself that grace. Writing a 70,000 word novel in 30 days might be doable if you have 8 hours/day to dedicate, but not if you have only 1. Schedule that time just like you would schedule a doctor appointment and do your best to stick to it!
Be reasonable in the amount of time it will take your editor to edit. Ask up front how long they anticipate to edit your book.
Marketing
By definition, market means to “expose for sale in a market; sell” (Merriam-Webster online dictionary). So technically, when you put your book on Amazon and your website, you are marketing your book. But unless you are a well-established expert in your field (i.e. a celebrity), you’ve got to let people know your book is available.
Your Website serves as the hub of all your outreach. It’s where people can go to learn about who you are and what you offer.
Your options include…
- Free or hosted. Free options often mean ads on your site, and no personal domain name. The site can have an unprofessional look and feel to it.
- Domain name (this is purchased). I recommend using your author name for your author website. If you plan to use a pen name, then purchase that domain if possible.
Building your platform is establishing a presence on social media and the Web, and growing an email subscriber list. With many people closing down their social media accounts these days, having your own mailing list has become even more important.
Your marketing strategy might include…
- Hiring a publicist to help market your book prior to and after it launches.
- Selling books at speaking events
- Doing booksignings/readings
- Selling at a local or regional events
- Posting to social media
- Emailing your subscriber list?
Write Down Your Plan
Planning your book can be done any number of ways. No matter what tools you use, make sure you write it down.
You can aim for date to have your book on the virtual shelf even if you intend to traditionally publish. That date will keep you motivated and moving forward. But give yourself grace if that date comes and goes. Gaining a traditional publisher takes time.
You can submit nonfiction book proposals to traditional publishers without having completed your book, but where fiction is concerned, you need to have that book finished before you submit it.
If you are independently publishing a book, go ahead and set a launch date to aim for. But be realistic. Account for time spent writing, editing, formatting, and cover design, and set dates to submit your work to the appropriate outsourcers if needed.
(Learn the differences between traditional, self- and indie-publishing, view my Publishing Basics video.)
Where platform building is concerned, having that established before you launch your book is critical. These are your potential buyers, and traditional publishers want to know your numbers and where you show up in the social media realm. Build into your plan 1 day/week or 2 days/month to learn about platform and start getting yourself out there.
Use those same days to learn about marketing.
Review your written plan daily or weekly to keep you on track. Otherwise, it’s all too easy to let things slide (or forget them like I do).
Even if you already have your draft written and have begun other parts of this process, it’s not too late to apply these steps to your existing book—and most definitely to your next book project.
A Final Word
Publishing a book may seem overwhelming, and it would be if you tried to do everything once you finished your book. What I’m advocating here is planning your book so you can work on each element a little at a time as your are also writing your book.
By building a plan and setting goals/dates for each step, you will chip away at each of these in a way that works for you and fits the time you have available.
There are people in the industry who can help you with every step. You don’t have to do it all alone. Look for online or local critique groups, FB writers groups, writer organizations like American Christian Fiction Writers or Word Weavers and many others.
You can do this! Break it down into chewable bites and before you know it, you’ll be holding that published book in your hands.
Thanks so much for all the helpful information and reminders. It is definitely more than scratching out a few thousand words. Sheriena
This information is noteworthy. I learned it the hard way. But thanks to CrossRiver, the painful process of editing, platform,and marketing, I did realize the reality of seeing my books into print!
A lot of writers have learned hard way. Don’t know why I haven’t posted this kind of info sooner. Sure hope it helps my readers.