Self Publish or Perish: The New Age of Book Writing

There are few ways to label yourself an expertprocess that requires tremendous focus and the
that are as exceptional as writing your own book.dedication of a brilliant team of people:
But in today's lightening fast world, you don't haveghostwriter, focus group participants, professional
to wait for the laborious process of commercialanalysts, structure professionals, proofreaders,
publishing. This article discusses using self publishingformatters, and more!
on your way to commercial publishing and howNow what is most important? Starting to write a
effective self publishing can be in helping you getbook today, because time is of the essence!
your message out there to immediately improveConsider this: in a world of instant gratification, the
your business!publishing industry has not yet caught up to our
In this new age of the Internet, information isneed for speed. Commercial publishers still take 9
everywhere and people are hungry to find it. Ifto 18 months to get a book from manuscript to
they have a question about ANYTHING in life,the bookstores, which comes after contract
they are apt to jump online, go to a searchnegotiations (two to three months) and finding the
engine and trust whatever they find. So how doright agent and publisher (probably six months to
you compete among trillions of pages of Interneta year). Who has this kind of patience anymore?
content? The answer is simple: you write a bookThis is where self publishing comes in! Mind you,
(or hire a ghostwriter to do it for you!).my recommendation is to still go through the
In doing so, write a book with the intention ofprocess of creating something truly remarkable,
publishing it with a commercial publisher. Thisinvesting your time and your money to write a
attitude will elevate your standards and create abook or hire a ghostwriter to write a book
high platform on which to perch. Quality is king.worthy of commercial publication, but do NOT let
This book will speak for you forever; it will eitherthe slow speed of commercial publishing deter
speak poorly for you, or it will dynamically changeyou from getting your message out quicker. Self
lives. That being said, don't let the traditionalPublish! Hire your ghostwriter to write a book and
publishing industry push you around and force youthen while you are submitting to agents and
to wait. People are relying on your information. Ifpublishers, self publish it through one of the many
you invest in writing an exceptional book, youvanity presses available.
deserve to reap the rewards more quickly thanIn addition to your time, this alternative will require
traditional publishing allows (their process is as longinvesting a bit of capital, probably around $5,000
as a year or more to get your book intoto $7,500 for 2,000 copies of your book, including
bookstores), so partner your desire to createthe price to format it, acquire your ISBN number
something outstanding with your ability to selfand get it listed on Amazon. But realize this: when
publish and get your book out there into theyou write a book and then you self publish, you
hands of the people who need it most!make so much more of the money. When you
In life and in business, there are few things thatsell those 2,000 books, your income can be
bring the respect, the admiration, the financialanywhere from $15,000 to $40,000, versus a
reward, and the emotional gratification that writingmuch smaller royalty from a traditional publisher.
a book does. The media will refer to you as anSo write a book worthy of commercial publishing,
expert, your customers will look at you withand then self publish to test the content, and build
newfound respect, and, most importantly, you'llup a stockpile of cash that you can use to
look at yourself differently, with so much moremarket and publicize the book when it hits the
confidence and a crystallized understanding ofbookstores. Heck, if you can sell 30,000 units on
what you offer your customers!your own, a commercial publisher will pick you up
Remember when I said the answer was simple?based on that alone!
Well, it was, but implementing it will require a bitYou must be strategic in this day and age to
more work. You need to take your expertise andsurvive! Think about what you are doing today
create a unique, even remarkable delivery systemand what you'll need tomorrow. Today you need
for it. You and/or your ghostwriter are going toto start writing (or find your ghostwriter), so you
write a book  but not just any book; it will becan self publish tomorrow, and commercially
YOUR book! This is an endeavor that should takepublish down the road. Without the writing, there
no less than six months to write, writing at leastis neither the self publishing opportunity nor the
an hour a day, every day. It could possibly takecommercial publishing chance. So start your
as long as a year or more (and that doesn't meanwriting, or hire your ghostwriter immediately
three months on and six months off!) to write a(check out my article: 10 Questions You Must Ask
great book. Writing an exceptional manuscriptBefore You Hire a Ghostwriter)!
worthy of worldwide distribution is a creative