With a best selling book under my belt, one co-authored book picked up by a publisher due out later this year, another book in the works, and creator of the Best Seller Profit System on how to become a best selling author, I’ve learned a thing or two about writing and marketing books.
If you have dreams of writing a business book, there are three important things you need to know to be successful in making your dream of becoming a best selling author a reality.
1. There is only one person in the way of you not getting your book into the hands of those who need it most. That person is you.
There are millions of people who say they want to write a book and only a fraction who actually do. The plus side of writing your book now is that technology is making it easier than ever to write and self-publish your book all the way to the best sellers list.
If you think your book idea isn’t good enough, think again. Start by jotting down your idea and thoughts on paper. If you’re not good at typing, use a speech recognition software, like Dragon, which turns your talk into text.
2. The first question isn’t how is your book going to get noticed. The first question to ask yourself is why do you want to write a book?
Your why is one of the most important questions you need to answer. It will keep you inspired throughout the entire process of writing your book. It’s also the first question many interviewers, broadcasters and radio show hosts will ask you when they interview you once you launch your book.
Your why should be bigger than yourself. When you tell others your why, it should inspire them.
When asked the question of why you want to write your book, many people respond that they have a compelling life story. Still others say that other people have encouraged them to write about their life.
That’s great but here’s the bad news. There are a lot of authors with a compelling story.
To make your book stand out, you will need to identify exactly what makes your story and topic unique. What is the compelling message or theme that no other book has captured?
When I was writing, Me, Myself, and Why? The Secrets to Navigating Change, I realized there were a lot of books that discussed the theory behind navigating change. So, instead of focusing on the theory, I decided to give my readers practical tools to build a life they love regardless of their circumstance. In addition, I included thought-provoking questions they could ask themselves about their own life making my book interactive rather than prescriptive.
To this day, I receive letters and emails from my readers who use my book as a resource guide. Whenever they experience a particularly challenging life event, they return to the Self-Reflection Questions at the end of each chapter. These questions coach them to stay focused on their life’s vision and on what’s most important.
Since they also use the built-in tools, they also read and apply the questions differently depending on what they are creating in life. So, instead of purchasing another self-help book, they end up purchasing a book with staying power.
3. Becoming a best selling author is part of a systematic process. To be successful, you have to go beyond just thinking about writing your book. You must take action.
One of the best ways to get started is to imagine a reader has just finished the last sentence in your book and closes the book. Write down what you want your reader to feel, think, and do once they finish reading your book.
The next steps are all up to you.
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Ready to get your self-published book into the hands who need it most and become a Best Selling Author?
Join Lisa Mininni on August 28 for the Best Seller Profit System, a step-by-step course to self-publish your book to the Best Sellers List and profit long term from it.