Many people who wish to write a book, find excuses and very convising reasons why it’s ok they haven’t written a book.  There are so many reasons to write a book, but the fear of rejection, fear of cost will often stop the potential author in their tracks.  Because many people who are really good at what they do, but are yet unknown in their new career, there are some extremely good low cost alternatives for writing and distributing a book.

Self Publishing Vs. Traditonal Publishing

In todays terms it refers to people who are publishing without a Traditional Publishing Company and an agent.  It’s an independent venture and it’s funded by the author instead of the Publisher.  In the past Traditional Publishing Companies were  required to write a book because they would front the money to create the product, marketing and distributing the book or magazine to stores and outlets.  In exchange they would get the profit until all of their intial expenses were covered then after that they would share a poultry percentage of the profit with the author.  So if the author didn’t sell enough the publisher would loose money.  However, before you feel sad for the publishers they were like the casino, house wins over time.  The entire process was much like the recording industry, the artist get a small amount of money, while the recording label made the bank.

The current paradigm of Traditional Publishing often requires the author to do the marketing and in some cases without any money paid up front by the Author.  I’ve even heard of situations where the Author will be required to purchase a minimum number of copies in order for the Traditional Publisher.  It’s like the MLM’s that require one to purchase a specific number of books in order for them to publish the book.  So with all of this negativity why do people still strive to use Traditonal Publishers? Why are they even in business?  There are many answers to this question.  Some Publishers still pay the author up front for the work.  Some people just want the Trational Publisher because it strokes their ego.  The number one reason that most will give is that books stores prefer to buy from publishers. Ironically with the dawn of digtial publishing, and on demand publishing, this is now a moot point.  One can just self publish and the books will be printed on demand.  That’s why I created this web site to help illustrate the process, and allow more fluid access to freelancers and other difficult to find solutions

The Alternative Option

There is a hybrid option. It’s like an ala-cart of self publishing. This can be an extremely empowering option.  However, if your not careful it can cost insurmountable amounts that you may not recover.  I often say you don’t go to a car mechanic for brain surgery, so be careful to use only real experts for each part of the process.  For those like myself that like to do as much as possible themselves, but realize that there are some things I just don’t want to do.  For these people there are publishing services.  These services often offered by freelancers, as well as some smaller publishing companies.  There are even companies that will interview you and they record the interview. They then turn that into text, rewrite it much like a ghost writter, then edit it and return it to you as a finished book.  This process can be extremely expensive, but if you need a book quick, or you just want to get it done to see the process this may be an option.

The cost of using a self publishing service can sometimes be prohibative.  I just wish people would stop to think how much they pay for their college degree or a vacation.  The publishing of a book is an experience, that can in some cases advance careers, popularity and causes.  Therefore, when you are trying to justify the cost, please take a step back and examine the opportunity’s that are lost by not publishing the book.  A lower cost version of the hybrid model that can get the results with less effort is to hire a book writing coach.  The coach will take you through each step of the process and keep you accountable much like a college teacher. They will share the resources to reach your goal as efficiently as possible.  By doing each step they way they advice, you will not need to make decisions or research for the best possible services, but they will get your through the psychological experience.

Full out DIY

This is not for the faint of heart. It takes allot of time and sometimes money to write and publish a book.  It takes dicipline and alot of reserach to finish your goals.  Much like any business, you must have a plan to know where your headed and how your goiing to get it done. Include how you will perform each step of publishing the book, and how you will resolve each step.  Don’t forget to identify how you will format, print and distribute the book.  Be specific in your dates and schedules.  But, be sure to take into account life and that you may need more time to finish some steps, but try to stay as accountable to the plan as possible.  Virtually everyone thinks differently, but most see the completed project not the work it will take to compelte it in the onset of the project.  It’s alot of fun to do it all yourself, but recognize it can be done much quicker, and there is a chance for a better final product when it’s done by people who do the same task every day.  Therefore, it’s not something that you may want to jump right into without thinking the level of commitment required.

Is the book a requirement, a hobby or an obsession.  A really great way to assign accountabilty is to figure out what the reason you need to get it done.  If it’s a hobby an you just love doing it, writting and publishing the book can be a magical experience.  However, if you need to do it because you need a business card to get more work as the person who wrote the book, it may not be as inspiring, but must be done.  For these people I recommend considering outsorucing the parts you don’t want to complete.  For those like me, it’s just part of my purpose to help other people reach their goals and their intended outcomes. It’s part of me, like “I’m on a mission from the Universe” and not completing the task can leave me feeling like I’ve lived a life without completion, until the project exist.  Only a few people will feel this way, and for those of you who do, you are “to blessed to be stressed.” Get to work, it’s your chance to change the world for the better.

Taking the fist step in self publsihing

The most obvious first step is to decide you are going to write a book.  Whatever your why, which you must figure out why do you want to write the book, and is it a good enough reason for the time and financial cost.  The next step is to try to figure out exactly what the purpose of the book is. The more narrow your idea the less customers, but you will tend to have much a much more dedicated customer base.  At that point the next decision is how will you execute? Traditional, a coach, a full service, ala-cart service or Self-Publish do it yourself.  Make sure you will have enough time and money to complete the project, and write a simple book plan.  Next enjoy the journey.

– J –