www.HealthyBoomerBody.com
I love research; in fact, it’s one of my favorite things to do. So when
it was time to publish my first book, I signed up for newsletters from lots of publishing
gurus, like Dan Poynter, and read everything else I could get my hands on!
I was both surprised and disappointed at how little traditional
publishers are willing to do for you these days. Unless you are J.K. Rowling,
or have an enormous platform, they do not even want to talk with you! And at
that point I wasn’t even sure what a platform was…
So I attended many webinars from New York Times bestselling authors like
Arielle Ford and Peggy McColl, on both platform building, and getting
published. And I began building my platform by writing articles for magazines
and getting radio interviews.
Then I went to the self-publishing sites and checked them all out. I
went with Createspace.com for three
reasons:
·
They
are an Amazon company, which means they get more cooperation from Amazon.
·
The
royalties are higher than all of the other on-demand publishers I looked at.
·
They
put your book in Ingram, which makes it available to bookstores nationwide.
A friend went with another self-publisher, Friesen Press, because they
promised her a web site for the book – which essentially means one page on
their site and a few other items like book marks, etc.
She is disappointed in the small percentage of royalties she receives
from Friesen, compared to what I receive from Create Space, so I encourage you
to research the field thoroughly.
Each of us has different interests and skillsets, so, for instance, if
you are savvy enough to build a one page book site through Word Press, for
example, then you don’t need a publisher that offers that option in exchange
for lower royalty payments. If you don’t have the time or inclination, you
might get Fiverr.com to build that website for you for next to nothing.
If you have a following on social media and can build some buzz around
the launch of your book, you can most likely get into the top ten in your Amazon
category, “with a little help from your friends,” so self-publishing may be a
good option for you. Here’s a helpful hint: choose an Amazon category for your
book that has less than 1000 books in it. This increases your chance of getting
onto the best seller list when you launch your book. Once you are an Amazon
bestselling author, adding that to your resume will help get you speaking
engagements and maybe a guest appearance on local TV, further building your
platform.
If you already have a reputation in the field you are writing about,
your articles get good page rank on Google, you’re on the radio show circuit,
and you have an extensive social media following, then perhaps your platform is
big enough to interest a traditional publisher. There are some great people on
Elance.com with experience writing proposals to traditional publishers, so
check them out and hire one. Always remember that Jack Canfield and Mark Victor
Hansen received 108 rejection letters before a publisher agreed to publish
“Chicken Soup For The Soul.” And you know how that turned out... Don’t give up!
Best of Health,
The Healthy Boomer Body Expert
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