Send to KindleWelcome to Top 10 Tuesdays! In this extra post each week, my goal is to introduce you to some of the finest bloggers around, my fellow winners of a 2011 Top 10 Blogs for Writers award.
This week, meet Joanna Penn from TheCreativePenn.com: Adventures in Writing, Publishing and Book Marketing.
It’s said that 80% of people want to write a book, but very few of these actually achieve that goal. As a small business owner, your time is precious but producing a book is definitely worthwhile and there are ways to speed up the process.
(1) Understand why you’re writing a book. It’s critical to look at why you’re doing this and what you want to achieve. Do you want printed material to give to existing clients locally or sell at the back of the room when speaking? Do you want to sell your book on Amazon.com? Do you want people to read it on the iPad or Kindle? Is it to boost your credibility within the industry? Is it to raise your profile internationally? Are you writing it for extra income or for marketing purposes?
These answers will help you determine your criteria for success and also guide decisions around topics and publishing options.
(2) Decide on your topic.
It’s time to brainstorm book titles as well as sub-titles for your book. For example, you might have a business in real estate but that’s too generic to write a book on. Be specific about your niche, for example, “How To Buy Your First Apartment in San Diego”. This book title identifies the ideal reader and will also come up in specific search rankings on Amazon and Google.
You might have several possible book topics in mind, but it’s important to start with one or you’ll be overwhelmed.
(3) Gather your materials and structure the book.
Most business owners will find they already have reams of material that they want to be included in a book. This might include notes from seminars they’ve taught, workbooks, handouts, ecourses or other material. Also consider audios of sessions you have spoken at as these can be transcribed and used as part of the mix. Collect all your materials and decide which fit your specific book topic. Come up with chapter titles for each section.
For example, our real estate book might have a chapter on the best locations, getting finance, mortgages, legalities etc. Structure the book so it’s a journey through the material and put any extra aside for another project. This is where you’ll identify the extra chapters that need writing and what just needs editing.
(4) Create the book.
You don’t have to write the book, you just have to create it. Some very successful authors actually speak their books. They record their thoughts and then have a transcriber create a document for them to edit. You can also hire a ghostwriter to work with you if you have more money than time.
When I wrote my first non-fiction book, I collated all the material into one master Word document under the chapter headings and then filled in the blanks. Then I printed, read, edited and rewrote several times. It’s important to use a professional editor if you want a quality finished product. You’d be surprised how much you’ll miss if you do it all yourself!
(5) Publish the book.
If you want physical books to give to clients or sell at the back of the room, you’ll need to do a small print run. You can use a freelance book designer to create a professional cover and layout, or you can do it yourself if you are happy with a more amateur product. I’ve used both options and it depends on your aim for the book.
These days you can use a print on demand publisher like CreateSpace which will mean lower upfront costs and also enable distribution through Amazon.com and other online sales. You might also consider producing an ebook that is available for sale on Amazon.com and the iPad. These options are all available to the independent publisher and will mean your book is more widely read.
So don’t be daunted by the process for creating and publishing your book. If you break down the steps you can achieve your goal in less time than you expect!
For more help with your first non-fiction book,click here for your free How To Be An Author workbook. (no signup needed)
Joanna Penn is the author of Pentecost, a thriller novel, out now on Amazon.com. as well as three non-fiction books. Joanna is also a blogger at TheCreativePenn.com : Adventures in Writing, Publishing and Book Marketing. Connect on Twitter @thecreativepenn
Image: Flickr CC Athena
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Hi Joanna! Thanks for the lovely step-by-step. I’m a fiction writer, so I wasn’t sure what a post on non-fiction publishing could do for me… But then I skimmed your article, saw the bolded subheadings, and thought, “Hey! Those five steps describe the fiction publishing process, too!”
I especially appreciate your first point about understanding why I want to write a book. As a fiction writer, I could offer all sorts of reasons (I’m driven to write, I have to write or it drives me crazy, etc, etc)…but my real reason is a simple love of storytelling. There’s a childlike awe in there that I don’t find anywhere else, and it makes me feel alive. When I remember to understand why I’m doing this, it fires up my creativity and makes me a better writer.
Thanks for inspiring these thoughts!
Courtney Cantrell recently posted..5 Reasons Why Your Novel’s Getting Nowhere
Courtney,
Joanna is one of the amazing writers I’ve met through the Top 10 awards program. She is an accomplished author and gives back so much to beginning and continuing authors on her blog.
And you are right, these steps apply to both fiction and nonfiction ventures.
I marvel over and over again at how today’s technology enables connections between writers and other artistic people — connections that never would have happened otherwise. It’s fantastic!
Courtney Cantrell recently posted..Mess Me Up! Or Straighten Me Out
Thank you Judy and Joanna! Great post!
The only other step I would add is that you need to look for the tools that will MOTIVATE you to write, especially if motivation is a hard for you to cultivate. Don’t think that JUST your love for your book will get you through it, you need tools, you need support from family and friends, you need some lifelines.
Oh, and learn to ENJOY the process. Because it’s going to a long and hard one.
Good luck to you all!
Ollin,
You are right. Joanna has outlined a helpful process here. So appreciate her sharing her wisdom.
And, absolutely, the motivation part is key. Because it creates the discipline that sits you in that chair for 1-2 or however many hours a day, whether you feel like writing or not.
Thanks for stopping by, Ollin! : )
Hi Joanna,
Thanks for these simple tips. I’m in the early stages of my non-fiction project (just realized something… feels too small to call it a book – it’s a book, a message, a community, a catalyst, a crusade!!) and I especially appreciate the reminder that much of our book is already written in the form of blogs, presentations and the like. We just have to compile, organize and fine tune/flesh it out, then let a professional editor take it from there. That’s much less intimidating than thinking we’ll be starting with a blank screen, the cursor blinking menacingly with miles of emptiness after it.
Thanks for the free workbook on your site, too; I look forward to making my way through it.
Beth Buelow, ACC, The Introvert Entrepreneur recently posted..You Wanna Piece of Me!- The Fierce Introvert
Oops – didn’t mean to hit submit! Wanted to add how much I love this quote you have in the workbook:
“Begin at the beginning and go on til you come to the end then stop” ~Lewis Carroll
We humans love to make things complicated, don’t we!? I think of this parallel: How do you lose weight? Eat less, move more. How do you write a book? Butt in seat, fingers on keyboard.
Thanks again!
Beth Buelow, ACC, The Introvert Entrepreneur recently posted..You Wanna Piece of Me!- The Fierce Introvert
Beth,
Thanks for stopping by. I also like the simplicity of Joanna’s steps. Makes us think we can do it, too! Glad you checked out Joann’a site. She has some good stuff there.
I love the 5 step process outlined here. I read this and I realize that I have made things way too difficult in my own projects. Thanks for sharing this post. It is a great help.
David Willis recently posted..Learning to be consistent In cooking and in life
David,
Thanks for visiting and glad Joann’s post was helpful. Always nice to hear from someone who has so successfully navigated the process, isn’t it.
Great post. I am playing with the idea of a non-fiction book right now and will be bookmarking this (and downloading the free book – always love a freebie!) Thanks & I look forward to future top ten Tuesdays.
Karen recently posted..Becoming a Natural Writer
Karen,
Glad Joanna’s post was helpful and that you are taking advantage of her generous workbook offer.
Thanks, Joanna! This is particularly helpful advice as I’m embarking on my first non-fiction book (Outlining Your Novel: Plan Your Way to Success). Love that picture of you, BTW!
K.M. Weiland recently posted..Three Places Where You Should Tell Instead of Show
Thank you so much for pointing out the importance of a good editor, Joanna! What was once done routinely by publishers is more necessary than ever now, especially for the self-publishing crowd. A single sale of a book is nice—but it’s the fan base following a really good writer that builds your permanent audience.
And thank you, also, for your companion guest post on my blog today: 7 Ways to Attract Attention to Your Book Sales Site.
Judy, this is a little off the topic but I wanted to say what an amazing example you are of a blogger who is committed to engaging with her readers.
Even though this is a guest post, one you did not author, you actively connect and respond to all of the people who comment.
Thank you for being awesome!
Tshombe,
Thanks. I appreciate the compliment. : )
Thanks Joanna and Judy for making the process more understandable. Knowing how I work (I like things in one big document, not many separate parts), I can see myself using the giant document method ONCE I make an outline. Whether my product is large or small, these clear steps will help me pull together my many ideas and pieces of content to make one whole something.
Barbara Breckenfeld recently posted..Marketing toolkit
Barbara,
Thanks.
Joanna did a nice job here. (I had nothing to do with this post, except for hitting “publish”!) Glad it was helpful.
Thanks for sharing this. And yes, editing has become more important especially with writer’s going the self-publishing way! “Writing is an exploration. You start from nothing and learn as you go.”
<a href=”http://www.authorator.com/?linker=yes&from=catseyewriter.com” >Create, Collaborate, Publish</a>
Hello $author, thanks for giving me some new money making ideas. I’ll have to bookmark this page now
– Steve