Anyone tried writing a book without a lot of credibility?

Why?

In your position, I think I'd be querying agents who specialise in non-fiction/commercial books. At least before I started assuming that. You're a CPA - that's not exactly "unqualified"? You don't need a completed book to query non-fiction agents, in this field. An outline and a suitably written covering letter will do ...

Thank you for the support folks!

I'm reading Guy Kiyosaki's Author, Publisher, Entrepreneur currently - anyone have some good resources for first time publishers?

Take one of the sub topics like "Raising Capital" for example and write the book. Just do it. Assume it is going to be a failure (I am not being negative) as even if you do not sell a single copy you are going to learn VALUABLE lessons in the process of creating and selling your first book.

So yes, assume with your first book that it is going to be a failure but do no see it as a negative, see it as a practical lesson in writing and selling books! My first couple of projects were all failures but I learned from each failure and applied the lessons to the next project. If your first book is NOT a failure then you will be "pleasantly" surprised!

The bonus is, once you have published your first book you will have "instant credibility" for your second one, because now the second book is written by a "published author".

I know Robert Kiyosaki brags that he is a best SELLING author. He learned the process of SELLING by writing his books. He admits he is not a great writer, but he is a great SELLER. So learn the ropes by DOING it. There is no substitute for DOING IT and gaining that valuable experience.

WSPcpa,

You might also consider becoming an Instructor on Udemy by offering your info in the form of a course/courses!

Jody

WSPcpa,

As Alexa said, as a CPA, you're not exactly unqualified.

Certain failure? Of course not! Don't assume you'll fail. Done right, you won't.

And I happen to know a little bit about this. My business coach is Sheri Keys (formerly Sheri McConnell), founder and CEO of the National Association of Women Writers. With her guidance, I published my first book (print) in 2010. (Boost Business Online: How to Attract More... ) I've been VERY happy with the result.

Having done this, I'd recommend:

1. Know what your ultimate goal is BEFORE you publish.

Do you want to become a "published author" for credibility? Do you want lots of book sales? New York Times "bestseller" status?

Just publishing a book is a very different thing from pushing it to bestseller status. Achieving bestseller status is a lot more work, but definitely achievable.

In my case, I wanted the credibility, plus I wanted to use the book to build my list and business. So "bestseller" status held almost no interest for me with my first book. In fact, I would have succeeded even if I'd never sold a single copy, because just getting the book done and using it to approach JV partners, etc. was my goal.

I'm MUCH more likely to land a JV deal than most IM wannabes, just by virtue of being a published author.

But my book DID sell. Most copies were sold through my company and JVs, not Amazon. So much of the book's success was "behind the scenes", very different from traditional book promotion and sales.

2. Decide how you'll publish.

Print or e-book?

Most Warriors will tell you to do an e-book. But a print book still holds a lot more credibility for the Average Joe on the street. Same goes for the media too. A physical book holds a lot more weight when you're in front of a television camera.

I'd recommend doing print publishing, but if you'd like to start with a e-book first and then graduate to print, that's fine too.

Self-publishing or traditional publishing?

As Alexa said you can definitely approach traditional publishers. For anyone writing a book even remotely related to their business, I'd strongly recommend self-publishing for two primary reasons: 1) speed and 2) complete creative control.

If you go through a traditional publisher, you'll spend A LOT of time landing that publisher, mostly waiting. First, you'll need to get an agent. Both agent and publisher typically require a book proposal and 3 sample chapters. Then your agent will shop that proposal to appropriate publishers.

If your proposal is accepted, you'll receive an advance and complete the book. Traditional publishers generally operate on an 18-month timetable before the book ever sees the light of day. (Can you wait that long?)

Once the book is published, you won't receive another nickel until and unless the book earns back it's advance. After that, you'll receive a royalty, a percentage of book sales.

The publisher retains complete creative control (including the right to change your title, change your concept, etc.). You will be able to buy books at a discount for promotion, but it's still fairly pricey. (I can get my book actually at cost for promotion, which makes promotion much more financially feasible. Traditionally published authors can't do this.)

You, the author, are expected to do all marketing. Traditional publishers do not do marketing except for their top-level, celebrity authors.

3. I published through Wyatt-MacKenzie Publishing, a complete, one-stop shop for self-publishers.

They handle the book cover design, getting the Library of Congress number, the ISBN, internal book layout, getting me registered with Lightning Source (the printer used by all of the big, traditional publishers), etc.

I only had to worry about writing and editing the book. Nothing further was required on my part.

I can now print my book on demand and it's available "to the trade", meaning any bookstore can order it through their systems, anyone can order it on any of the online stores, etc.

For entrepreneurs who want to use a book to build their business, I strongly recommend self-publishing. Traditional publishers retain complete creative control, but bear all of the costs of publishing the book. Self-publishers bear all of the costs, but retain all creative control and can get their books at cost, which becomes important for using the book to promote their business.

There is no one right way to do this. You can use a company like Wyatt-MacKenzie, Morgan-James (Jeff Walker used them for his first book which JUST launched this past month), Amazon's Create Space, etc. Some offer more comprehensive packages and some just do the printing and have you hire your own book cover designer, etc.

Hope that helps! Let me know if you need some resources.

Michelle

Everyone has to start somewhere. Writing books and self-publishing them is a great way to position yourself as an expert in an industry.

I've published a number of books under pen names that are completely unknown in the niche in which the books are published. What usually happens is the first book I publish doesn't do great, but after I've published 3 or 4 books using the same pen name and done a handful of free promotions (and a bit of marketing) all of the books start selling much better. Once people start seeing your name (or pen name, in my case) all over the place, it becomes hard for them to ignore you.

Of course, you're going to need high-quality books that get glowing reviews from the people that download them. A few bad reviews at the beginning of a campaign can completely kill any momentum you have.

Writing the book's not the problem. Distributing it is your key challenge. Thankfully, this has gotten much easier thanks to social media.

Writing a book is the easy part. What you should focus on is the marketing. How are you going to build a platform to market yourself? That is what publishers will want to know, and if you choose to self publish (which I highly recommend), then you still need to have a platform.

So while you are sorting this all out, start thinking of the marketing. Because like I said- writing the book is the easy part.

Good luck.

P.S. You might also consider joining the Kindle forum on here. There are some good tips in there that make it worth it. There are also some groups on Yahoo about self publishing if you choose that route.

We are pals I am also trying to write a book, my book is a collection of tales. Along with digital, I am planning for print edition as well. I will go through self publishing route, get book available on amazon.in etc. I will also try to sell copy of books myself using online marketing tricks.
Writing a book require lot of patience and lot of motivation. Many times I have second thoughts and feel that no-one will purchase the book. I have already created a facebook page for my upcoming book & I keep on introducing characters on page from time to time. Once a while when motivation level is real down, I read comments of people and it gives me some energy to restart writing.