Are
you afraid your dream of writing a book will die inside you?
May I be honest? It may, if you don't plan and get it done.
With the right planning and knowledge, you can easily write
your important message into a book.
Read
the tips below and fuel the flame of your book dream again.
This time, stretch yourself; dream a bigger dream. Dream after
writing your book, you receive continuing income that grows
each month.
Dream
you become a sought after expert in your field. You gain the
added respect of your colleagues and peers because of your book.
You receive increased profits leveraged from higher fees charged.
Your clients gladly pay them with book author as one of your
titles.
Are
you ready to revive your dream yet? Here are a few mistakes
to correct and make all your book dreams come true:
Mistake
1 Failure to plan at all.
You
must realize your book is a product and as a product it has
to be marketed. Your plan provides a map for everything you
do afterwards. Your book marketing plan is what I describe as
your map. It describes your book, what you will do after the
book is completed and published. It also describes who you hope
to sell your book to – target audience. In short, you
can say your book marketing plan is your roadmap to success
and profits.
Mistake
2 Failure to plan how your book will be published.
Whether
you choose self-publishing or a traditional publisher, there
are pros and cons to either method of publishing your book.
If you choose to pursue a traditional publisher for your book,
you should know your book proposal is a sales (direct-marketing)
document with a sole purpose. It‘s single purpose is to
convince a publisher that your book will earn a profit, if published.
The proposal should focus on the size and buying power of the
targeted market you will attract, the problem your book solves,
how your book plans to solve the problem, how different your
book is from others already published on the subject and how
you plan to promote your book.
Mistake 3 Failure to include the editor’s cut
in your plan.
Give
yourself a break. You don't have to write a 350 page book like
your colleague to be successful. It doesn't even have to be
150 pages. Simply write a short book approximately 100 pages
long and fill it with your insightful information, your expertise
and/or your experiences. You get to shorten your examples and
stories. With a short book, you have no pressure to add every
piece of information you know about your topic. Instead, if
you have too much information divide your material into two
books. Your customers will love you for it. They’ll buy
both books because they are easy to read and short.
Mistake
4 Failure to add professionalism to your plan.
Plan
to make your manuscript and eventually book the best it can
be. Invest in what it takes to make it look and read professional.
Don’t just get your friends and family to read it for
errors; hire an editor. Your editor will not only help you with
grammar and spelling but she will help you stay in the same
tense. She’ll cut all your passive voice sentences that
make your book hard to read.
Mistake
5 Failure to embrace your audience in your plan.
Not everyone will be interested in reading your book. Even so,
I’m convinced there's a community of people in your field
waiting for you to solve their problem. What problems does your
message solve for them? Develop an audience profile (picture)
and keep it in front of you as you write. That way you can visualize
a real person to solve problems for. Additionally, knowing your
market before you write will help you write focused, compelling
chapters. Writing to a specific person or group of people will
keep your readers reading to the end. Write too general and
your readers may put your book down and never pick it back up
to finish.
Don't
put it off any more. Take your dream off the shelf. If you wait,
you can be this time next year without making your dream of
writing a successful book come true. You have the plan, the
knowledge and the solution. Now write it all down. Your audience
is waiting. Plan, correct the mistakes above and write a book
that sells well. Make it different. Make it count. Make it yours.
More
Book Writing Help
| About The Author
© Earma Brown, 13 year author, business owner, web
developer
helps service business owners, professionals and writers
who want to write their best book now! Earma mentors other
writers and business professionals through her bi-monthly
ezine iScribe Send any email to iscribe@bookwritinghelp.com
for free 7 lesson mini-course Jumpstart Writing Your
Best Book Now or visit her at http://www.bookwritinghelp.com
for more book writing tips.
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This article was posted on July 2, 2007 |