The Blank Page Is Just Half The Battle
Yes, it is true that everyone has a book in them, but getting that book out of your head and onto paper is a whole other battle. In short, writing a book is one of the toughest tasks anyone can do. Even if you are good with words, it is a matter of planning, determination, editing and patience. It can take years to perfect and, even then, you are not guaranteed to get a book deal.
In fact, literary agents and publishers are taking fewer risks than they were twenty – even ten – years ago. The scope has narrowed to commercial literature and not a lot else. As such, many aspiring authors are turning to self-publishing, and why not.
But before you do. There are certain things you need to know, certain pieces of advice you need to adhere to. And here they are:
Digital And Print
There is no denying that ebooks are making a big impact on the way people soak up books, and so that should be your first option. The main ones are obvious: the Amazon Kindle store and iTunes. But don’t stop there. Like marketing, you should use a strategy that integrates as many avenues as possible and, let’s be honest, a lot of people still prefer picking up an actual book. A lot of people. As such, you should take advantage of services such as CreateSpace, which will pay all the costs of printing and just take it out of the amount you get paid for each book. This also gives you access to a worldwide market. As such, it is just a matter of getting your book to stand out from the white noise.
People Always Judge A Book By Its Cover
It’s a fact, whether you like it or not. The phrase came about in an era where all books looked the same; they were leather-bound and had a title, that was it. But not anymore. As such, you need to make a book cover that will leap out and grab a person’s attention. You’ll want them to be stopped in their tracks and read the blurb and you’ll want the reader to be intrigued. You’ll want your cover to sell your story, whether it be a part of it, the genre, a character or even the place it is set. That doesn’t matter, just make sure it does the job it is meant to do.
Market And Promote
The reason why agents and publishers are worth their weight in gold is because they are experts in exposure. They deal with the marketing, the posters, the front-cover quotes and getting your book into stores. What’s more, they are your competition. So work on your online profile, join book clubs, see if you can get a celebrity to send a tweet about your book. That is William Hunter Howell did. He got his debut book in front of Stephen Fry, who not only read it and loved it but sent a tweet about it. This helped it become a Number 1 Best Seller on Amazon, and it was a book about bereavement. That’s hardly a sexy topic now, is it?
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Image credits.
Main. Book.
