When we get new members to InfoMarketer’sZone, a question often asked is should I write a book and if so, should I self-publish or try and get picked up by a traditional publisher?
Indeed, these are two very important questions, the answer to which can make a massive difference in how successful your information publishing career becomes.
The answer to the first question is almost ALWAYS an affirmative yes!
Writing a book is almost always a great idea and will make a tremendous difference in both your personal and professional life. For instance, writing your own book can lead to…
- Incredible feelings of satisfaction, joy and happiness – if it’s been a while (even a lifetime) since you have felt the satisfaction of accomplishing something great, then writing a book can certainly erase feelings of regret, boredom, and meaninglessness in your life
- Writing a book can pave your way to new relationships, prestige and credibility in society – the amount of respect given to information publishers remains one of major advantages of publishing
- Putting out a book or information product is a surefire way to capture new and existing markets – you will build attention, loyalty as well as the very platform from which to expand your initial effort into a full-blown product or services enterprise in your chosen market
- Handled properly, a book can lead to untold profits allowing you to re-align your lifestyle in a way you previously only dreamed possible
Anyone who has considered the option of first-time authors getting their work quickly picked up by a major publishing house will certainly be disappointed by the prospects – very few will, and those who do have typically spent many months (even years) trying.
Another approach is to start by self-publishing building a path toward getting a larger publishing agreement.
It’s true, for first-time authors publishers place a great deal of attention on understanding the potential marketing avenues for your book – otherwise known as your "platform"
By self-publishing, building an initial online business marketing your ebooks, books and infoproducts you are increasing your chances of one day getting published while building a thriving profit center allowing you to reach your lifestyle goals faster.
For example, by self-publishing and building momentum online as we teach over at InfoMarketer’sZone, you can…
- Start building an online "platform" becoming a leading presence in your market
- Build a list of a few thousand "hungry" prospects that will be waiting for your book, ready to buy
- Expand traffic and readership using articles, blogs, email marketing and Web2.0 strategies to drive a frenzy of demand before you even launch your first (or next) book
- Make hundreds of thousands of initial sales that puts money in your pocket (where you get to keep a significant portion before publishers get involved) and at the same time prove to publishers that your product is "in-demand"
- You get the jump on discovering other high-value products and services your market wants so you can prepare a "back-end" offering such as higher end training, coaching, information products or membership sites that your book can market when it is mass released. Believe me, this is the difference between a struggling author and a millionaire information entrepreneur.
Here’s a good example of a first-time author who is following this path to success – in this profile Allan Holender self-published his "Zentrepreneurism" shares his experience launching his first book, moving through an initial self-published run of 1,500 copies which has now placed him in negotiations with major publishers.
What Allan will find though, as many of our close friends, collegues and past mentoring clients is that there may not be a publishing contract rich enough to make changing from his self-publishing plan worthwhile. Isn’t that a nice place to be in your life?
Jeff
