Friday, July 13, 2012

How to Get the Book Inside Your Head Into a Book


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 Introduction

How to Get the Book Inside Your Head into a Book
You want to write a book but don't have any idea where to start.  Well it isn't that hard to get a book from the idea stage to having a printed book in your hand. My first book went from just an conception to a physical book in about three months.  That was before I knew the ins and outs.  Now I can do it a lot faster. You can too.  If you are happy with an ebook you can do it much faster, in weeks if not days.

Being an author is one of the most edifying and gratifying experiences that I have had in my life.  Seeing my book along with the author page on Amazon lifts my spirits (and brings in some cash!).  You can and should have the same thing. 

 How to Write a Book

My experience is primarily with non-fiction so much of my discussion will be on  that, but here is a great little book  to how to write a fiction book.  Fiction actually sells better on Amazon and I encourage you to go for it if you feel inclined.

Every book has a pattern.  Fiction or non-fiction there is a pattern to the chapters and to the book.  It is a very rare author who sits down and starts typing.  They first come up with a basic framework on what the book is going to look like.

How I Formatted My First Book

For my first book I used the simple template of story, discussion and summary with action steps.  I told a story about my days as a Special Forces Green Beret, and then related it to an everyday problem that everybody faces.  There was a discussion of how we solved the problem and how by applying the same principle they could do the same.  I wrapped up each chapter with a couple action steps for the reader to take. 

So using that format, I started looking around for topics that I could find stories from my military days for.  These topics became ten chapters.  I then gave myself a timeframe to complete each chapter.  You can do the same.  Everyone has experiences in their lives that people can learn from.  These experiences can come from your faith, your marriage, your kids, your job/business, etc and etc.  Simply decide on a certain number of chapters come up with some subjects. 

For the actual writing process, I used a technique I had read about.  First, I would research the particular topic/subject I wanted to write about on Google, Yahoo Answers, and LinkedIn.  There are other places to do research, just look around.  Once I had a pretty good idea of what I wanted to write, I would wait for at least half a day.  This is to keep m from copying too much of someone else s' work.   During the twelve hours my memory would be hazy enough I wouldn't have to worry about plagiarizing someone's work.  

After the pause, I would set aside a half hour of time to just write. During the thirty minutes, I sat down and just wrote what came to mind. I did not correct my work. If I made a typo I just let it go.  This free flow stream of consciousness work really helped get me be productive and not worry about getting it perfect the first time.  Once the half hour was over, I would put it aside until the next day.  The next day I would pull out the last days writing, proofread it and refine it. Then I would write for another half hour or do research.  Using this method I cranked out my book in about three weeks.

Other Options on Writing a Book

A friend of mine basically had other people write his book for free. He came up with a subject – Bible Lessons from Your Pets and asked his friends for stories.  Just find a topic and solicit your friends for chapters.  Another take on this is to interview people.  Entrepreneurs, business leaders all like to talk about themselves.  Tape the interviews and have someone on Odesk.com transcribe the recordings.

If you have a blog, simply take your old blog posts and roll them into an anthology or collection.   Also you could find one of the many programs out there like The Purpose Driven Life or The Love Dare go through the program and make a book of the journal.  That's what I did with my book, My Purpose.

Whatever you do, don't worry about getting it perfect.  Just get it started.

Logistics

You can use any word processor you want to write  your book, but I am going to suggest you use MS Word to put on the final touches because it will make it easier to convert it to the Kindle format later.

Whatever you do, do not go on Google and start looking for images for your book.  Companies have software programs that search the Internet looking for pirated images.  They will sue you.  Go to fotolia.com and sign up for an account.  You can get awesome looking images for about a dollar each.  I am really serious, don't take images off the Internet.  Don't think you have to use too many images.  One a chapter is really enough unless you are illustrating a point.

Physical Books

There are two ways I suggest to get a physical book printed.  First if this all seems a bit confusing and you want someone to walk through with you editing the book, creating a special format for the book, designing a cover, and getting it into book stores; I suggest you go with editor/publisher.  I have worked with and can recommend Brian Mast.  Email him at brian@brianmast.com.  Make sure you tell him I recommended you to him and ask for the discount. 

Brian will take your manusricpt and help you through the whole process.  At the end you will have your book in bookstores, on Amazon and on hand to sell yourself.    You want to have books on hand either to sell in person or through a website. 

I have to tell you that you will probably not get rich selling books, especially selling books through bookstores and the online sellers such as Amazon, Barnes and Nobles.  You will pay for the publishing of the book – normally between $2-3 per book.  Then the store will take a percentage of the rest. This can run up to 75%. 

You will make the most money if you sell the book yourself through a website.  You get to keep all the profit after you take out the printing costs.  Another benefit is that you get to create a list of people who like your writing enough to buy it from you so when you write another book you can tell them about it.

Creating a website and selling your book on it is beyond the scope of this report. If you want to do this, contact me, I am available to coach people through setting this up.

Another way to create a physical book is print on demand (POD).  This only prints out a book when someone orders one.  It eliminates a lot of the upfront costs.  I recommend Lightning Source.  Lightning Source doesn't require much upfront costs and the printing prices are reasonable.  You should use this method if you have a good idea already of what you think your book should look like, feel that you are good proofreader, and can design a cover by yourself. An alternative is CreateSpace by Amazon. I have not used CreateSpace but understand the upfront costs are more and you will lose much of your profit to Amazon's royalties.  Once again, this is my personal opinion and I am sure that other people have had great experiences with CreateSpace.

Digital Books

On the other hand, I suggest that you go only with Amazon Kindle for your ebook version.  Kindle dominates the ebook market.  You can get free Kindle readers for your PC and smart phone.  I wouldn't waste time in the beginning at least putting your book on the Nook or iBook platform.

Did I mention that you can write a book and get it published on Kindle with almost no upfront costs?
A book is a book.  If finances are a concern go with Kindle first.

Don't hesitate to write a book if you are short of funds.  You can write a book and get on Kindle for very little.  You will need at least one photo for a cover – get it from Fotolia.com.  You will need to convert your manuscript to the Kindle format (.mobi).  I use Kinstant Formatter.  It is an online service that will convert MS Word docments easily and accurately to mobi format. Really that is all you need for upfront costs.

Now if you want just to write the book and have it all done for you, I suggest Brian Mast.  Email him at brian@brianmast.com.  Once again, make sure you tell him I recommended you to him and ask for the discount.

Kindle

With Kindle publishing you will want your cover separate.  Use Word to write the document.  You will want to have Chapter headings and mark them with the “heading” tag.  You will also want a table of contents.  This is a Kindle requirement.  Read through the Word help if you need to learn how to make a clickable table of contents. Make sure you have a copyright page and an about me page.  You can copy  this section for your copyright:

Copyright © 2012 Your Name

ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. No part of this eBook may be reproduced or transmitted in any form whatsoever, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any informational storage or retrieval system without express written, dated and signed permission from the author.

DISCLAIMER AND/OR LEGAL NOTICES: The information presented herein represents the view of the author as of the date of publication. Because of the rate with which conditions change, the author reserves the right to alter and update his opinion based on the new conditions. The eBook is for informational purposes only. While every attempt has been made to verify the information provided in this eBook, neither the author nor his affiliates/partners assume any responsibility for errors, inaccuracies or omissions. Any slights of people or organizations are unintentional. If advice concerning legal or related matters is needed, the services of a fully qualified professional should be sought. This eBook is not intended for use as a source of legal or accounting advice. You should be aware of any laws that govern business transactions or other business practices in your country and state. Any reference to any person or business whether living or dead is purely coincidental.

You will need to sign up to Kindle Direct Publishing (KDP) to submit your book.  Use your Amazon account to sign in. If you don't have an Amazon account, get one you will use the same account for everything on Amazon.  Follow the procedure to upload your Kindle book to KDP.  It will take a couple hours to be approve and voila! You are a published author. 

KDP has a couple cool programs.  KDP select allows people with a Amazon Prime account to borrow your book for free. I know, I know that doesn't sound good, but what it does is get your book tons of exposure.  Also if the book is on KDP Select you can run promotions and get even more exposure.  I just know that after I started using KDP select my sales sky rocketed!

Your next step is to go to Amazon Author's Central and create an author page.  Put as much content as possible on your author's page.  Make sure you put a headshot of yourself.  Put some effort into your bio.  Put links to your social media accounts . Take a look at my page for some ideas.  You will be able to search for your book and attach it to your author's page. 

Pricing

Pricing for physical books is pretty straight forward.  Look around at your local Barnes and Nobles or online on Amazon and see what similar books are selling for.  The thing when selling books is that they already have a perceived value.  For example, you expect to pay $8.95 to $14.95 for a paperback. If you price under, people will wonder what is wrong with it. If you price over, people will not buy it because they have an expectation of what that sort of book should cost.
Now Kindle books are a different story.  Kindle books have a different sort of economic play.  When it comes to pricing your books you want to keep it at .10 a page. You could break it down like this
  •  1-10 pages .99
  •  11-20 pages $1.99
  •  20-29 pages $2.99
  •  30 and up $3.99
I know it does not sound like much, but it all adds up in the end. Also when it comes to Amazon it is better to sell 3 books at .99 then one at $2.99. The more you sell the higher you climb in rankings. So you want to always be selling more than making money on the transaction.

Marketing Ideas

Of course tell all of your family and friends.  Post it a link on your Facebook page but don't overdo it. As people buy the book ask them to put a review on Amazon.    The more (good) reviews the better.  That creates social proof for potential buyers and it goes into Amazon's algorithm on how high it displays your book.

Do a Google search for Book Blogs.  You will find blogs that specialize in Fiction and Non Fiction books.  There are also some that do both.  Most will do reviews.  Some will require a hard review copy and others only want a pdf or mobi file.  There are tons, don't get hung up if if you don't have a particular file just go onto the next one.

Make sure you sign up to be an Amazon affiliate and use the affiliate link to promote your book. It will not cost your customers anymore and every little bit helps. 

If you have a physical book, go around to your local bookstores and ask them to take it on consignment. Some will, some won't.  Don't have any preconcieved notions on this. Some bookstores that I thought would take my book wouldn't take any local books and another one that is pretty artsy-fartsy took mine and has sold quite a few.  You never know until you ask. 

For selling books off your website, I recommend PayPal. Once again, it is pretty complicated to set up a website, advertise and deliver books.  If you want to set this up, contact me and I can coach you through it or help you make arrangements to have it done.  One thing about shipping.  Put some thought into shipping. Find out how much it costs to ship to other countries, how much the envelopes costs and any other costs.  You want to make sure you recover these costs, but don't pad shipping.  It will hurt sales.

Conclusion


I know it sounds a bit overwhelming.  It doesn't have to be.  Take it one step at a time.  Get the book written. Use a format and set a schedule.  Then get it published. You can do it yourself or get help. It doesn't matter. 

Don't worry about getting it perfect, just get it started.



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© Copyright Michael Martel


 Disclaimer:  The contents are based on the author’s personal experience and research.  Your results may vary, and will be based on your individual situation and motivation. There are no guarantees concerning the level of success you may experience. Each individual’s success depends on his or her background, dedication, desire and motivation.

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