How to Publish Your First Book
Publishing your first book? Today it’s easier than ever! Yep, I took the plunge. I stretched my goals and decided it was time to publish my first book. Going into it, publishing and actually experiencing success can seem like a monumental undertaking, with unseen pitfalls along the way. If you have always wanted to publish a book, or have one swimming around in your head, I’ve got good news…It’s easier than you think!
Book Publishing Statistics
According to the most recent estimates, the number of new books published annually has passed the 1 million mark, and here’s a shocker… Over 3/4 of those books are self-published.
Self-publishing is the new trend, and it’s here to stay. The traditional role of the stuffy publisher that you’ll have to sell your idea to in hopes that he will approve and give you a chance at success are long gone. Now, it’s all on you. If you’ve got a book idea that you just know will rock the world, there’s nothing holding you back but the face you see in the mirror every day.
Do You Have What it Takes?
If you want to rock the house and really take your idea of publishing a book to the next level, there are certain questions you are going to have to ask yourself first:
- Do you have a winning idea? Writing a book is much like starting a business. Without the right business plan, you may tread water for a while, but eventually you are going to sink. For this reason, you’ve got to write down your plan of action.
When questioning your new book idea, ask yourself: What is it about? Who does it appeal to? How can I market this? Is it really needed in the market today? If you can confidently answer those questions, you should be able to put together an action plan that has success written all over it.
- Are you able to complete this project? Many of us have stellar ideas but lack the determination needed to bring those ideas from conception to fruition. If you really don’t have what it takes to complete the ‘writing portion’ of the project, you may want to outsource or partner with a strong writer who can take your ideas and run with them. Bottom line, you’ve obviously got to have a book before worrying about publishing.
Publishing 101…From Concept to Fruition
My book idea didn’t actually come to fruition with the intent of me publishing a book. I saw the need to get information out to Internet entrepreneurs and decided to interview some of the most successful people in the industry.
Originally, I was going to offer the information on my blog but after tossing some ideas around, I quickly realized that publishing a book was the best way to offer the information I had gathered to the largest possible audience.
After investigating all of the options available for self-publishing, Createspace was pretty much a no-brainer. Owned by Amazon and extremely user friendly, Createspace allows you to set up a free account, easily select the measurements of your book, upload the content, and basically hit the submit button. Is it really that simple? Yes, it really is.
Createspace will even assign you an ISBN number instead of having to purchase one on your own. From that point, all you’ll need to do is order a proof for final approval and you’re done. You can either offer the book in electronic format, printed form, or both. This is perfect for total market saturation, since some individuals will want to read your book on Kindle or from their computer, while others may choose the old school, printed version.
If you have any trouble along the way, Createspace has great customer service as well. From start to finish, they make the process of self-publishing a breeze.
Do you have a book swimming around in your head? Maybe you’ve got one already written but have never known how to offer it or where. Now you do. If you make the decision now, you can realistically see your dream come to fruition before the end of the year.
If you’d like an additional jolt of inspiration, check out my book, #Code Bytes – Conversations with Internet Entrepreneurs. It’s packed with market secrets and inside information from the top Internet entrepreneurs and business leaders of our time.
This guest post was written by Donny Gamble, a blogger, entrepreneur and now a published author with his new book “Code Bytes; Conversations with Internet Entrepreneurs”. You can visit Donny’s blog at DonnyGamble.com.
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Thanks,
I actually co-authored the book with Tommie Powers. It is a great read because you insights on what worked and what did not work to for that entrepreneur.
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I find this idea interesting because nothing can build authority faster than being published. You do not mention in this particular article the costs that are involved. It seems like to get hard copies available to be sold that there would be some cost there. I will take a look at their web site and see if I can more information.
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If you do it through Createspace you don't have to have any copies in stock because it is print on demand. So every time someone buys a book, Amazon takes care of the entire process and just gives you your share. I think it is a no brainer for anyone wanting to publish a book.
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Very inspiring post. You did it very well. Thanks for sharing this information. I will try to follow the shadow of your tips.
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Nice insight!
I'm in the planning stages of writing an ebook for my readers which is going to be free. The reason being I want to offer as much free quality content as possible but also using this as more of a stepping stone for a future ebook/book. The first book is always the most difficult one.
When my brother wanted to publish his book, he had a lot of problems to find a sponsor and good publisher.
Its good how technologies are emerging each and everyday. Before, you have to partner a publishing network if you want your books to sell or be a good hit to the market but now its all on you. It is much easier to publish a book nowadays.
my friend wrote wonderful book 2 years ago and he has still some problems and can't publish itanyway 🙁
Good post Donny! Currently i have written 5 ebooks, could i send in the ebooks content to make it as a hard copy book?
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How timely! I was just telling my wife tonight I should write a book but I had no clue where to get started. I knew you could "easily" get something up for the Kindle but I didn't realize it was just as easy to have a printed book as well. Thanks for sharing your tips and this resource.
Travis
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Thanks for sharing this information
I will try to follow the shadow of your tips
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publishing book isn’t that easy actually, but your post tell mi that it can be happen on moderate ways. It also need seo if you publish it on internet