Part 3: The Whole Nine Yards Of Authoring A Book

Pre Launch Reviews: You want your book to be read by all, not just professional editors and reviewers. So while you adhere to the standards of grammar nazis and literary pundits, also get ordinary readers to share perspectives. I shared the synopsis of a novel I just concluded with a friend of mine for her feedback. She hardly reads books and yet pointed out a flaw that made me re draft the synopsis. There were many names in the synopsis and she asked me to retain only the key names – that was not a reader’s advise, an analytical mind’s perspective. So get as many pre launch reviews you can.

Readiness: Your book is ready content wise duly edited by a professional. You are done with ISBN – now rewind your life and remember all those who assisted you in this journey. Do they deserve mention in your acknowledgements section? Who do you want to dedicate the book to? Do you want to include an inspirational quote that kept you going? Do you know someone of repute who genuinely liked your book and is willing to write a foreword? Depending upon the kind of book you wrote, do you need to insert references and bibliography, for further reading and to allow readers deep dive into your source points? Take those vital calls

Book Promotion:Now that you are clear why you want to write and why you are keen to publish a book, which audience you want to cater to, you really have to work out a strategy to promote your book. You want to rely more on social media, create pages for awareness, give free books, establish readership base through your blogs, plan a book launch, be member of online portals– regardless of what strategy you adopt, be prepared for both appreciation and criticism – simply put bouquet and bricks. If you want to build your credibility as an author – consider these different stages as milestones and don’t get stuck by any of them. If you are not a best seller due to poor marketing strategy or quality of book, that still does not rob you of your identity as an author.

Remember why you wanted to write in the first place – use this learning experience as a catalyst to refine your writing and strengthen your motivation. The process will be much simpler and easier now and going forward.