What Are the Steps to Making a Book? – Part 2 of 4, page 2

Step 5 –Plan your marketing. Publishers no longer have the resources to market your book for you. Consider this ‘typical’ payout scenario on 5,000 to 10,000 copies of a $20 book:

• Printing costs – $2 per book
• Bookstores – $10 per book
• Distributors – $3 per book
• Co-op displays- $2 per book
• Author royalties – $3 per book

It doesn’t take a math whiz to realize that leaves essentially nothing for the publisher. No wonder the standard publishing house turns down 95% of the submissions they receive. Market forces do not afford them the luxury of hiring publicists and launching massive advertising campaigns. Survival means reserving these resources for books they are confident will sell enough copies to produce an income and support future books. What does all this mean to you? It means in addition to being the author, you must also be your own marketing manager. At a minimum, a good book marketing plan addresses the following questions—–

• Who is your target audience?
• How will you reach them?
• What will you say?
• What is your budget?
• What is your timeline?
• What do you hope to accomplish?

Step 6 – Choose a publishing model. This comes down to either pitching your book to publishers (with or without the help of an agent) or publishing the book yourself. If you choose the former, any reputable publisher is going to look at the following-

• Publishing history – Do you have a track record of successful book sales?
• Name and reputation – How relevant are you in the minds of your target audience?
• Size of platform – How many people know of you and follow your work?
• Marketing plan – What is your plan for generating book sales?

If your books have sold well in the past, and if you maintain top-of-mind awareness with an audience of at least 100,000 people, and if you present a well-conceived plan for driving them into bookstores, you might find yourself a publisher. Otherwise, it is time to look seriously at self-publishing your book.

The good news is, it has never been easier to be your own publisher. Technology has made it both efficient and affordable to see your name in print. And since you are the one in charge, you maintain complete control over the process. I extracted the following guidelines from an eHow.com article entitled How to Self-Publish a Book-

1. Decide your sales goal.
2. Examine competing titles.
3. Determine your format – hardcover, soft cover, or e-book?
4. Investigate print-on-demand (POD) presses
5. Print your book directly from your completed files with a direct-to-press printer.
6. Shop layout, printing, and production costs of print-on-demand presses and local offset printers.
7. Ask potential suppliers for samples.
8. View competing books for size and format considerations.
9. Familiarize yourself with printing costs.
10. Hire a designer with book experience.
11. Tally your costs.
12. Request an International Standard Book Number (ISBN).
13. Determine distribution model.
14. Be prepared to sell.

Get more detail: see the full article.

Once you have written your book, developed a comprehensive marketing plan, and determined which publishing model is right for you, it is time to put your plan into action. I’ll pick up there next week by covering Steps 7 – 9 for making a book:

Step 7 – Market Your Plan
Step 8 – Engage in Pre-Publication Promotions
Step 9 – Release the Book

What are the steps to making a book – part 2 page 1

Continue to What are the steps to making a book – part 3 page 1

Questions about taking the steps necessary to make a book may be directed to Michael R. Drew at the Austin, Texas, headquarters of Promote A Book: 512-858-0040. You can also contact Michael via email at michael@promoteabook.com.