So You Have a fantastic Idea for a Book... Now What?

My mother was a talented quilter who loved the creative aspects of the art. One day, she asked if I would help her publish a book she wanted to write about her craft.  

The first question I asked her was, “How will you market and promote your book?”   

She mumbled something about not wanting to do marketing or promotion. She just wanted to write and publish her book because it would help other quilters. She asked, “Isn’t selling it on Amazon easy?”  

She flinched when I explained how great content is only 10% of the reason for a successful book and that marketing and promotion are 90%.  

The next question I asked was, “How do you want to publish your book? A traditional publisher or self-publish?”  

At that point, her eyes glazed over.  

After a long conversation about what she would need to do to get the book in front of the right audience, she acknowledged that she hadn’t thought about what would happen AFTER the book was written. She had only imagined writing it and people racing out to buy it.  

She eventually overcame her resistance to any obstacles and started writing her book. But, unfortunately, about halfway through writing it, she died suddenly, and her book was never finished.  

I can’t tell you how many times I have had this same discussion with potential clients. As a result, I have had to turn down clients who have submitted an already-written manuscript because they don’t want to do what’s necessary to make their book a success.  

I refuse to take money from someone if it’s just going to go down the drain because they don’t want to do what is necessary to promote their work.  

Your Publisher Won’t Save You!

Here’s another delusion many authors have: That you’ll have the publisher promote the book.   

Whether you self-publish or find a traditional publisher, you will be doing the leg work. Publishers are not marketers; they expect you to do that for them, not the other way around.  

Also, they will look at your marketing strategy before they even look at your manuscript for consideration to publish! They want to know if you have a plan to sell the book for them.  

How to create your vision and strategy  

Writing a masterpiece won’t get you to the bestseller list. You can write the most fantastic manuscript, but without a strategy and vision to propel you forward, your words will likely never reach the people you think will buy your book. How will they find you if you don’t let them know it exists?! 

A few months ago, I reached out to my audience for feedback on what they would like me to teach in my next course. The overwhelming answer was what to do once their book was written.  

So, I have created a course to help aspiring authors generate a strategy for what happens after they have written their book.  

The course takes you through the process I use in my coaching sessions with clients.  

Here is some of what you’ll learn  

• How to create a compelling vision for your book that inspires you through obstacles and resistances.
• How to find the best strategies for you based on your lifestyle, values, and goals.
• How to build the planks in your message platform that will allow you to do what you love.
• How to outsource what you don’t love to free up your creative energy.  

This is an interactive course where I will review your strategies and give you my comments both on the calls and in written feedback between calls.  

In the end, you will have a marketing strategy that you can use as a blueprint for success as a self-published author or to include in a book proposal for traditional publishers.  

Because I am offering this for the first time, I am keeping the price low. In the future, it will be much more than what you’ll pay today.  

The dates for the class are February 1st and 15th. The investment is $97.  

For you early birds, if you sign up before January 18th, it’s $67.  

Register here and we will see you in class!