Marketing yourself or your business through books
Picture this. You’ve just heard the most dynamic speaker. At the conclusion of his talk, you rush to the back of the room to purchase his book. At home, you settle into reinforcing what you learned by opening the book. As you begin to read, you’re appalled that this eloquent speaker didn’t even appear to take time to edit his book. There is no flow to the text and you discover numerous grammatical and spelling errors.
If you want to be taken seriously as a writer, be serious about your writing. At the very least, invest in a good dictionary (minimum 1,500 pages) and a comparable thesaurus. Buy a stylebook (Chicago Manual of Style) and other writing reference books, then use them. Do not, I repeat, do not rely on Spell Check. It doesn’t catch synonyms and many other grammatical or spelling errors.
The quality of your product is reflective of the time and effort you put into it. Most people don’t have a lot of time on their plate. If that’s the case, hire a competent ghostwriter or editor. Grammar plus proofing equals professionalism.
Have something to say
Don’t write a book for the sake of writing a book. If you don’t believe in the message, why should a reader? What experiences can you share that might help or encourage others? What is your expertise? Why would someone be interested in your story?
Find a niche. What do you do that is different from everyone else? What advice do you get asked for all the time? What are you most known for? What are some of the challenges you faced while growing your business? What do you say to those just starting out? What isn’t being said about your industry?
Getting Started
If you have an idea of what you want to write about, take the time to map out a plan before you put your fingers on the keyboard. You need an outline and a business plan. What message do you want to send? What do you want the book to accomplish? Who is your audience? How will you market? What’s your timeline? What will you research? Who will you interview?
Looks are everything
Hire a professional graphic designer to layout the book and create its cover. Save a lot of time and money by having a vision of how you want your book to look. Check out other book covers (front and back) and layouts. Sometimes you’ll have three or four examples of each. Maybe sketch out a rough layout. That, with the samples you provide, will help the designer come up with a something very close in just the first draft.
Next time you visit a bookstore, pay close attention to covers. Stand about ten feet back from an aisle and take note of which book covers jump off the shelf. The cover is more important to the sale of a book than its contents.
You can never spend too much time editing. Read your manuscript at least seven times both onscreen and in printed form. Reproof again after the designer lays it out and again from the digital blue line. Read until the thought of reading it again makes you ill.
Give your book professional credibility by applying for an ISBN number. This is an international book numbering system that costs nothing if you live in Canada and a small fee if you live in the United States. Your book absolutely must have a barcode. Printers that know Book Publishing will insert it at the time of printing upon request. Without it, you limit your marketing efforts severely. You can’t have a barcode without an ISBN.
Your book is your marketing tool. It offers you instant credibility. Taking the time and effort to ensure it looks as good as it reads is something you will never regret.
About the Author
Debbie Elicksen is Canada’s Publishing Expert and the author of the bestselling Self-Publishing 101 (Self-Counsel Press) and offers publishing support to publishers and authors, which includes books and product, training, one-on-one support. You can reach her through her Website: http://www.freelancepublishing.net/.
Making books is fun! (to watch)
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Johannes Gutenberg, German goldsmith and printer Photo Mugs Johannes Gutenberg (Johannes Gensfleisch zur Laden zum Gutenberg), German goldsmith and printer. He invented mechanical movable type and thereby began a revolution in book printing. …. |
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