What Questions Do You Have About Writing And Publishing a Book?

I’m asked these questions and more about writing and publishing a book almost every day. People email me, DM me on LinkedIn, or fill out our contact form to set up a meeting to discuss their questions.

I remember 20 years ago when I had questions, too. I was the wide-eyed woman with a story to tell but not sure how to tell it to the world. When I wrote my first book and self-published it, the experience left me sad, worried, and determined to help other writers avoid what I’d gone through.

Today, you can choose Indie Publishing and work with folks like us, Small Press Publishing, or Traditional Publishing. The options are many and varied, and writers are often lost in the weeds, wondering how to 'get this book project done.'

I’m going to answer 5 of the more compelling questions that come my way here, today. These are the questions I hear over and over. These are the questions I had, too, back when I was just beginning as a writer. These are the questions that led me to start my own print-on-demand publishing company in 2005, where I worked with superb authors, making sure their books were the works of art they imagined them to be as they wrote them. (You can read the rest by visiting the Master Book Builders blog).

(1) How Do I Protect My Work from Being Stolen?

This has held many a writer back from talking about their work before it’s finished and copyrighted. Truth is, it’s copyrighted the moment you begin. Today, with computers, you can prove this so much more easily than back in the day when there was no time stamp on your work as you typed away.

My advice is to stop worrying about this. Your work is protected from day one. Trust in the system.

(2) Can I really make money from writing a book?

Well, yes. And no. If you’re writing to get rich, that’s not likely to happen from book sales. Yes, yes, I know. I hear someone in the back of the room mumbling, “But Peter so and so sent me an email about making $50k on his book.”

I don’t know who Peter so and so is. There’s a good chance he’s a member of a group of promoters who make those promises willy-nilly. What they don’t tell you is how hard it is, how much work is involved, nor how costly it is, in those advertisements.

Maybe those folks have the answer to making large sums in royalties on your book. I don’t know. What I do know is that you should plan on other ways to make money from your book. Your book is your introduction to a masterclass. Or a workshop. It’s your introduction to speaking engagements.

The key is to understand that book sales rarely pad your bank account. (Until you get famous from all that other stuff, and people flock to attend your $5000 retreats!)

(3) People won’t take me seriously if I Indie Publish. Will they?

Of course they will. Why wouldn’t they? Do they take you seriously now? If they know you, the fact that you’re Indie published may make them think more highly of you. After all, it’s a big project, writing a book. It takes courage. And vulnerability. And time. And people know that waiting 2-3 years to get a book published the ‘other’ way, isn’t going to work. People want and need your story now!

Indie Publishing is actually growing by leaps and bounds. Our friends at WordsRated tell us,

The market for self-published books300 million self-published books are sold each year.The number of self-published books has increased by 264% in the last five years.$1.25 billion worth of self-published books is sold each year.

There is good reason for this. It’s because, first, no one looks to see who published a book before they buy it. Second, professionals who want a book as a tool in their business don’t want to give away their copyright to one of the Big 5 Publishers.

(4) What’s a developmental editor? Can’t I just get a ‘real’ editor and be fine?

Trust me, you need a developmental editor. Why? Because they will make your book better. More polished.

I turned to writer and business strategist Jane Friedman to see if I could get a good definition of developmental editor and here’s what I discovered:

…when it came to “developmental editing,” it was nearly impossible to come to a consensus. Some saw developmental editing as a partnership between a writer and editor to “develop” a manuscript; others suggested that such an exchange of ideas would be considered “coaching” or “consulting.” Some insisted that “line editing” is a part of developmental editing; others were adamant that line editing is an entirely separate service. Most people in our volunteer group were not fans of the term “substantive editing” since all editing is, arguably, substantive.

There you have it. Your developmental editor does many or all of those things. I do them all. I participate in the writing to make sure you’re serving your audience, using the right language and the right words, and I work with you to choose the best title and subtitle of your book.

Developmental editors are here to make sure your book lives up to expectations. Yours and your readers.

(5) What kind of marketing works best for a novel…a business book…a memoir…a self-help book?

You need to do things like a press release. - yes, for any kind of book. Use a relative, timely hook. You need to get in front of folks at bookstores (ask if you can arrange a book signing - they will love it if you can bring people to the store), and then, there's social media. That’s the one that makes people’s eyes roll. As writers, they just want to write. They don’t want to ‘waste time’ on social media.

What if that is where your peeps hang out? What if that is where your audience is? On social media. Yes, I see some of you shaking your head because you saw an ad on Facebook about selling lots of books without using social media.

I suspect there is a lot of promotion in the background of those ads. The brands selling that might be able to help, but it will cost you. And, truth is, social media is a proven way to meet the people you want to buy your book.

Social media help isn’t free, don’t get me wrong. You need to budget for it. But when you do, you will have a dedicated team with your interests at heart working on your platforms, growing your audience faster than you can on your own. That is how you create book sales and fan clubs.

Think of Taylor Swift. She’s active everywhere. She’s actively involved in her fan clubs. Why? Because she sees them as people first. People who are interested in her, her work, her next album, her next show.

We created the “Taylor Swift Model of Book Marketing,” designed after the superstar’s own work. You can be like Taylor and grow your fan club – using social media.

There are other marketing avenues you should explore. I talk about them on the blog a good bit. There are dedicated PR professionals who do nothing but work with authors. There are professional marketers who have been in media for years and know how to promote an author better than you can do so yourself.

On the blog post linked above, I talk about what NOT to do as a writer, also. And I discuss book covers and author platforms. Click over and check it out.

Need more information on writing, publishing, and marketing a book? DM me. We should talk.