How to Publish Your First Book

Publishing your first book? Today it’s easier than ever! Yep, I took the plunge. I stretched my goals and decided it was time to publish my first book. Going into it, publishing and actually experiencing success can seem like a monumental undertaking, with unseen pitfalls along the way. If you have always wanted to publish a book, or have one swimming around in your head, I’ve got good news…It’s easier than you think!

Book Publishing Statistics

According to the most recent estimates, the number of new books published annually has passed the 1 million mark, and here’s a shocker… Over 3/4 of those books are self-published.

Self-publishing is the new trend, and it’s here to stay. The traditional role of the stuffy publisher that you’ll have to sell your idea to in hopes that he will approve and give you a chance at success are long gone. Now, it’s all on you. If you’ve got a book idea that you just know will rock the world, there’s nothing holding you back but the face you see in the mirror every day.

Do You Have What it Takes?

If you want to rock the house and really take your idea of publishing a book to the next level, there are certain questions you are going to have to ask yourself first:

• Do you have a winning idea? Writing a book is much like starting a business. Without the right business plan, you may tread water for a while, but eventually you are going to sink. For this reason, you’ve got to write down your plan of action.

When questioning your new book idea, ask yourself: What is it about? Who does it appeal to? How can I market this? Is it really needed in the market today? If you can confidently answer those questions, you should be able to put together an action plan that has success written all over it.

• Are you able to complete this project? Many of us have stellar ideas but lack the determination needed to bring those ideas from conception to fruition. If you really don’t have what it takes to complete the ‘writing portion’ of the project, you may want to outsource or partner with a strong writer who can take your ideas and run with them. Bottom line, you’ve obviously got to have a book before worrying about publishing.

Publishing 101…From Concept to Fruition

My book idea didn’t actually come to fruition with the intent of me publishing a book. I saw the need to get information out to Internet entrepreneurs and decided to interview some of the most successful people in the industry.

Originally, I was going to offer the information on my blog but after tossing some ideas around, I quickly realized that publishing a book was the best way to offer the information I had gathered to the largest possible audience.

After investigating all of the options available for self-publishing, Createspace was pretty much a no-brainer. Owned by Amazon and extremely user friendly, Createspace allows you to set up a free account, easily select the measurements of your book, upload the content, and basically hit the submit button. Is it really that simple? Yes, it really is.

Createspace will even assign you an ISBN number instead of having to purchase one on your own. From that point, all you’ll need to do is order a proof for final approval and you’re done. You can either offer the book in electronic format, printed form, or both. This is perfect for total market saturation, since some individuals will want to read your book on Kindle or from their computer, while others may choose the old school, printed version.

If you have any trouble along the way, Createspace has great customer service as well. From start to finish, they make the process of self-publishing a breeze.

Do you have a book swimming around in your head? Maybe you’ve got one already written but have never known how to offer it or where. Now you do. If you make the decision now, you can realistically see your dream come to fruition before the end of the year.

If you’d like an additional jolt of inspiration, check out my book, #Code Bytes – Conversations with Internet Entrepreneurs. It’s packed with market secrets and inside information from the top Internet entrepreneurs and business leaders of our time.

This guest post was written by Donny Gamble, a blogger, entrepreneur and now a published author with his new book “Code Bytes; Conversations with Internet Entrepreneurs”. You can visit Donny’s blog at DonnyGamble.com.

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