Most people think that they have to go through a traditional publisher in order to have any success with their book. But that is no longer the case particularly when you see major authors like Jack Canfield and Stephen King going the self-publishing route. So how can you be successful? Marketing is of course key so try publishing in 3 easy steps.
Step 1 – The Classic e-Book
This step is especially effective if your book is non-fiction filled with useful information and content. It is also the easiest step to take for the writer who is not familiar with the ins and outs of publishing through Kindle or Amazon.
All you have to do is write your book in Word and then convert it to .pdf format for publication. No special formatting required. You can use free converters such as www.doc2pdf.net or www.cutepdf.com to get your book into a .pdf file. Then simply put a sales page up on your website for your book and let buyers download it direct to their computers. Send traffic to your site using your facebook, twitter and linkedin postings.
Step 2 – The Kindle Version
Did you know that Kindle books are outselling hardcovers by a ratio of 3 to 1? Or that according to Nielson, 44% of Kindle owners make more than $80,000 per year and 27% of those have a Master’s degree or Doctorate? The New York Times printed that 83% of parents would allow or encourage their children to read books on an e-reader. Kindle is definitely a publishing arena you want to play in!
Again it’s not too hard to get started. You’ll need an Amazon account and a copy of Word. The hardest part is getting the formatting right. Since Kindle is a digital book, things like page headers and footers, page numbers and weird tabs don’t work well with it. But Kindle has done a good job of putting a manual together that explains what you should and shouldn’t do.
If that sounds like too much work you can always hire someone like me to take your Word document and make it Kindle ready for a reasonable fee. The great thing about Kindle from a marketing perspective is that you are able to embed clickable links within the document. And because the reader is using an online device, they can click on the link as they are reading and go directly to your website or sales page or opt in page for your membership site.
If your info-book is particularly long, with Kindle you can break it up into sections and create a series of books to keep your customers engaged and returning again and again.
Step 3 – Soft Cover through Amazon
When you’ve mastered the art of publishing simple .pdf files on your website and digital books on Kindle you’ll be ready to publish a soft cover, print on-demand book though Amazon. There really is no greater feeling for an author than the first time they see their book in print and can hold it in their hands. I know when I got my first copy of Small Business Marketing Magic delivered I was so proud!
To publish through Amazon you need to create a CreateSpace account. CreateSpace is a subsidiary of Amazon. Formatting for CreateSpace takes quite a bit more time and you want to make sure you devote enough time to it. Here again things can be a bit tricky and here again if you’d like some help getting it done just give me a call or send me an email.
When marketing through Amazon its critical that you have the right keywords and title and you have your book classified in the right category. All of these are necessary for your book to be found. It’s a good idea to type in a few of the keywords that pertain to your subject in the search bar on Amazon even before you settle on a title just to see what else comes up. You may find you need to go in a different direction with your title.
Another great thing with Amazon is that you can become an Amazon affiliate and make additional commissions from your book by sending people to Amazon to purchase it using your special affiliate code.
Well there you have it – 3 progressive steps to becoming a great self-publisher! Happy writing!
