WHY WRITE YOUR OWN BOOK BY DAN LOK:

Why You Must Write Your Book Now And Create The Best Business Card In The World!

Look at ANY professional speakers who are making tons of money, I guarantee you they have written a book of some sort.

There simply isn’t any better way to spend your marketing time if you’re a speaker.

Your book is the most important marketing tool you can have because it gives you and your business instant credibility. And credibility is important in the speaking business!

It differentiates you from every other speakers with whom you compete. It can turned into a client magnet, a vacuum that sucks up speaking opportunities and deposits them right to your desk.

Think about it. When you meet someone who has “written the book” on a subject, you know they are the expert. They’re the person to go to if you’ve got a problem in their specialty. If they are the experts, if they must know more than anyone else, and their insights, their talents, their services, must be worth far more than everyone else’s.

After all, if it weren’t true, they wouldn’t have book out on the subject, right?

Listen closely. I am going to share with you the biggest insight on publishing, you’ll ever learned…

“It’s NOT because they are the experts, so they write a book. They BECOME experts AFTER they have written the book!”

Let’s say if you are meeting planner and you are looking for a speaker for your organization. Chances are you wouldn’t be looking at ads, or scouring your mailbox for a sales letter. You’d go to other meeting planners and ask them if they knew anyone who is good. Someone whom they respect. Someone talented enough to do the job and give you the results you’re looking for.

Who would you hire? A speaker who has written a book or a speaker who has not?

This is not logic, it’s reality.

Bottom line: Writing a book is the most important business card you can create. It creates massive awareness of your talents in the minds of those who can do you the most good – your clients and prospects. That awareness, that celebrity status, that trust, can easily be translated into fame, speaking engagements, profits, or any other advantage you can think of.

If you don’t have a book, write one as quickly as possible. If you have a book, learn how to sell it as many as possible. If you have a best-selling book already, develop multiple backend products and deliver as much value as possible.

 

Submitting your Book:
New Alexandria Library.
From the New York Times, Online Library Wants It All, Every Book: “The directors of the new Alexandria Library, which christened a steel and glass structure with 250,000 books in October, have joined forces with an American artist and software engineers in an ambitious effort to make virtually all of the world’s books available at a mouse click.” This ambitious project is called the Alexandria Library Scholars Collective, but there is little substantive information available about it. The library will apparently share the resources of the Carnegie Mellon University Million Books Project, which by 2007 will provide access to the world’s largest e-book collection.

The 15 companies in PW’s ninth annual survey of fast-growing small

publishers have little in common besides success.

1. ibooks New York,NY
2. powerHouse Books New York,
3. Sports Publishing Champaign, IL
4. Harbor House Martinez, GA
5. Charles River Media Hingham, MA
6. Hatherleigh Press Long Island City,
7. America’s Test Kitchen Brookline Village, MA
8. North Atlantic Books Berkeley,CA
9. Howard Publishing West Monroe, LA
10. Gibbs Smith, Publishers Layton, UT
11. Inner Traditions,Bear & Co. Rochester, VT
12. Princeton  Architectural Press New York,
13. Red Wheel /Weiser Boston, Ma
14. Barefoot Books Cambridge, MA
15. Shambhala  Publications  Boston, MA

Quiet Island Books assists small publishers and previously published authors by distributing their content through secure eBook and print-on-demand wholesale and retail channels.

Self Publishing:
Whether you are self publishing or not you need to treat your book like a business because hopefully it will be if that is your goal to create some fame and fortune. Learn the fundamentals of a business plan and apply that to your book. Just like any other business you want to bring a product to market efficiently and effectively.

– Clarify your personal goals and objectives of the business.

– Understand your market and the audience you want to reach. Research the market thoroughly, segment and target it.

– Marketing materials, press kits, promo sheets, brochures, business stationary, gags and gimmicks, promotional strategies.

– Business administration.

– Data bases of customers, suppliers, book stores. Mailing lists,

How to Self Publish and Make Money by Marion Crook & Nancy Wise 1997

“Writing, Publishing & Selling Your Book in Canada.”

This book was recommended by a local author who presented at a CAPS meeting. She considered this the bible for publishing in Canada. I found it very insightful and covers everything well execpt the new digital revolution of ePublishing which we will recommend other books. My own take is the Internet is full of valuable up-to-date information. It is highly recommended that you subscribe to newsletters from the book industry organizations especially within your genre, your category but it is also important to get the scoop from the industry in general. Continue to browse the best sellers lists in various categories and book types. Try to notice trends in styles, formats and content.

Editors:
It is advised to find a good editor. Not a proof reader but an editor who can advise you on concepts, plots, meaning, characters, organization and style. Editor are specialists and specialize in specific areas, fiction, nonfiction, history, technical, etc., etc., etc.. An editor should not change but enhance your style to help your book be more readable intern be hopefully more sale-able. Welcome criticism and feedback it will only help you in the long run.

Up the Best Seller Lists by Kathleen Brehony & Karen Jones Copyright 2001

“A Hands On Guide To Successful Book Promotion”

Very valuable little book. It is an easy read, 175 pages from two seeming successful authors full of tips, ideas and experiences to help you publish and market your books. Good list of resources, websites, book reviewers, publishers etc.