6 Ways to Jump-Start a Self-Publishing Career
By Charles Bailey
Are you looking to get your book off the ground?
For a few authors, taking that step into self-publishing can be a natural and simple extension associated with their activities in the past. Yet for other authors, this leap can feel overwhelming and unnatural.
Since most of us know that it is difficult to provide your book with the best that it deserves when you are feeling out of sorts, it makes perfect sense that you should be finding the best way forward to achieve success.
If you have made the decision to publish your own book, there are a few different ways to proceed.
Below are 6 useful tips to make sure you start off your career in self-publishing on the right foot.
#1 - Treat It Like A Business
For many authors, writing is often regarded as a hobby. It could be a refuge for private creativity or an escape from the stress and demands of our day-to-day lives.
Yet book publishing happens to be a business, and as a self-publisher, you hold the responsibilities of making sure your business runs efficiently and that you are able to bring in profits.
#2 - Maintain Accurate Records
You are on your way to becoming a successful content provider, or maybe a popular information entrepreneur. Your abilities to make the best choices as the company starts to grow will depend on the quality of your information.
Making sure you keep track of what is going on in your business, gaining a thorough understanding of loss and profit, along with the right way to prepare accurate projections and budgets when it comes to all the publishing projects you work on all form a part of the requirements of a business.
#3 - Maintain Relationships With Your Peers
The act of networking with other people that are self-publishers will expand your existing resources when it comes to resources of your own publishing community.
Social media platforms have made it a much easier task to approach people, while the independent and local publishing groups happen to be a fantastic source for expertise, community, along with cooperative-marketing opportunities. Make sure you join one today.
You can also use relationships with your peers to drive eBooks, which can help you set the stage for traditional self-publishing, explains proofer Russel Betland. He notes “we all have the desire to write the great Australian novel, don’t think you have to start with a traditional format. Having created an eBook for my website I began to see the skill set required for pushing through a longer book, and you can use this method too!”
#4 - Make Your Voice Heard
Many self-publishers have a deep connection to their own subject matter. This is usually the reason that they wrote these books, to begin with.
A few of the most successful self-publishers are opinion leaders or activists that have fierce loyalty when it comes to what they believe in. Your opinions will assist you in defining yourself when it comes to your targeted audience, and provide clarity to others about who you really are.
#5 - Learn About The Marketing Mindset
In the days that you were just an author, chances are you were more focused on the overall developments of your manuscripts. But when you become a publisher, things change.
For example, your local bookstore could become a potential community outreach and signing location. The subjects that your books contain have an influence on how you view the opportunities that the world is presenting to you. While marketing your books will become the new ways in which you interpret what the world has to offer.
Alister Claire from Credit Capital explain that an investment in yourself can also kickstart a career. They explain “with smaller lenders now rivaling traditional lenders for finance, it’s easier than ever to get funding for publishing. This can be used to finance self-publishing costs or to create marketing buzz to get your book off the ground.”
#6 - Learn How To Become A Broadcaster
In the role of an author, you probably already feel at ease when it comes to communicating. With the focus on the development of an “author platform” before the publication date, you create the opportunity to reach your audiences through either email newsletters or a blog, or in any other way that you feel matches up to your specific readership.
Implement dialogues or at the very least develop a dedicated space where the media and fans will have access to information about your books, press materials, and marketing appearances.
Bonus Tip - Get Started On Your Next Book
All the groundwork you have already made from establishing your personal company, finding out ways to market and produce your book, along with all the efforts you have already placed into your peer networking and communication channels is easy to use when it comes to the next book you are about to release.
In the process of planning another book, especially when it relates to the subject contained in your 1st book, it will help you to establish your own publishing business as unique and different when compared to the majority of other self-publishers.
You will find yourself in a role that blends 2 remarkably divergent careers when you become both a publisher and an author.
So make today the day you get started!
MORE ABOUT TODAY'S CONTRIBUTOR
MORE ABOUT TODAY'S CONTRIBUTOR
"Charles Bailey is a freelance writer and university student based in Sydney. Majoring in Computer Science and Technology, Charles is also fond of fishing. When not at his desk creating content, he is outdoors soaking up the sunlight or going fishing with friends."
MORE ABOUT THE BLOGGER
Howard-Johnson is the multi award-wining author of fiction, creative nonfiction, and poetry. She is also a marketing consultant, editor, and author of the multi award-winning HowToDoItFrugally Series of books for writers including the multi award-winning The Frugal Book Promoter (http://bit.ly/FrugalBookPromoIII), now offered by Modern History Press in its third edition. Carolyn's latest is in the #HowToDoItFrugally Series of books for writers is How to Get Great Book Reviews Frugally and Ethically. Learn more on her Amazon profile page (http://bit.ly/CarolynsAmznProfile). Great Little Last Minute Editing Tips for Writers (http://bit.ly/Last-MinuteEditing) is one of her booklets--perfect for inexpensive gift giving--and, another booklet, The Great First Impression Book Proposal (http://bit.ly/BookProposalsII) helps writers who want to be traditionally published. The Frugal Editor (http://bit.ly/FrugalEditor), now in its second edition, is the winningest book in the series. Carolyn also has three frugal books for retailers including one she encourages authors to read because it will help them convince retailers to host their workshops, presentations, and signings. It is A Retailer’s Guide to Frugal In-Store Promotions: How To Increase Profits and Spit in the Eyes of Economic Downturns with Thrifty Events and Sales Techniques (http://bit.ly/RetailersGuide). In addition to this blog, Carolyn helps writers extend the exposure of their favorite reviews at TheNewBookReview.blogspot.com. She also blogs at all things editing--grammar, formatting and more--at The Frugal, Smart, and Tuned-In Editor (http://TheFrugalEditor.blogspot.com)
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