From Author to Authorpreneur

Congratulations – You’ve worked hard to write your book and now it’s ready to publish.

If you haven’t been offered a book deal by a large publishing company, the next option is to self-publish. Many authors are choosing this route today because they want to be able to publish quickly and have control over the process. Not to mention it’s the best way to make money as an author!

As an indie author (or self-published author) you have the opportunity to take on the role of an entrepreneur. In this role you’re responsible for making sure your product (your book) reaches your target market and sales are made. Yes, that means you’re building a business!

The beauty of being an entrepreneur author (authorpreneur) is you choose what success looks like to you.

Here are some different levels of success I’ve heard from clients we’ve worked with:

I just want to write and publish my book for my friends and family to see.
I’m excited about publishing my book and seeing it on Amazon. I want to be able to take advantage of all Amazon offers for promotion but I’m not ready to make it a full time job.
I’m ready to publish my book in as many formats as possible. I want to build an author platform, including a website, and an email list. I expect to promote it on my social media channels before it’s even published. Plus I’ll need a marketing plan which includes a full book launch with Amazon special pricing. I’m ready to grow this into a full time business including speaking opportunities.

Not everyone is ready to build an author platform but even if you just start with the first option you can do any or all of the other options down the road because YOU are in charge!

But no matter what you plan to do with your book, it first needs to be published.

COVER DESIGN

Our main goal at Becky’s Graphic Design is to produce your book – it’s our job to make it into the professionally designed book you’ve been dreaming about for years! We prefer to start working on your book with the cover design. This is important to have done early in the process so you can start marketing your book as soon as possible. It all gives us the basic foundation for the interior design style for choosing the font, chapter pages and overall feel of the book.

We start the process of creating the design for the cover with our own research. Just like when we do a brand discovery, we need to investigate who your target audience is and create an understanding of the value you are providing for them with this book.

We recommend building a Pinterest board to clarify what you like about other book designs, color options and font ideas. It’s amazing how much easier it is to understand a client needs when they SHOW you which green they prefer, instead of just telling us they like apple green! Check out our post here to read how to make your board.

OUR COVER PACKAGE INCLUDES:

Custom designed front cover for book listing (We don’t use templates, each cover is unique and created for your specific audience)
Full cover (Includes front, back, spine, author photo/bio, bar code and back content, prepped to publisher’s specifications)
Cover formatted for audio book (Square version)
Title page for interior to match the cover

BOOK PRODUCTION

Once you’ve written it and it’s been completely edited we layout your book using Adobe’s InDesign Book Function.

INTERIOR LAYOUT: We build an interior layout that is well organized and easy to read and follows professional book layout principals. We create the overall style and send you a sample for you to approve and then we move forward to create your book. You will proof the book before it’s finalized then we create the final pdf files for print and ebook.
FILE UPLOAD: Finally we work with you to send your book files to print without issue

RESOURCES FOR UNDERSTANDING PROFESSIONAL BOOK LAYOUT

MARKETING YOUR BOOK

While your designer is busy putting your book together YOU as the authorpreneur have a lot of work to do before launch day!

One of my favorite books on self-publishing is “You MUST Write a Book, Boost Your Brand, Get More Business, and Become the Go-To Expert” by Honoree Corder.

It is a step-by-step guide written for authors AND for those who don’t consider themselves writers, but want to write a book to help their business grow. More importantly this book provides the strategy to write, publish and market your book. She knows how to SELL her books and earn a living doing it!

Four of her eleven chapters are on marketing –

You Must Launch Your Book like a Champ (Chapter 7)
You Must Plan to Market Your Book (Chapter 8)
You Must Market Your Book (Chapter 9)
You Must Market With Your Book (Chapter 10)

And as an author of more than a dozen books she knows a thing or two about selling books. Check out her guest spot on Pat Flynn’s Smart Passive Income TV

“There is a best-selling author and a best-earning author, which do you want to be?”

Honoree Corder

Why are we so passionate about Honoree’s book? As we’ve worked with our clients we realize there is little understanding of what it takes to be a successful author. People assume that their book will sell just because the book is available on Amazon. The truth is most authors don’t sell many books at all, they barely cover the expenses of producing the books. Read the evidence here…

But Honoree understands the system and has shared her knowledge with us in her book. Then to be even more helpful she produced a workbook to walk you through the whole process – providing guidance, clarity and space to capture your thoughts.

I’ve worked with over a dozen authors over the years and several of them more than once. This book and workbook would have made the process much easier for them and I’m so glad I can recommend it now!

WE CREATE THE MARKETING MATERIALS SO YOU CAN SELL YOUR BOOK

As a graphic design company our marketing role in your book project is creating the professional promotion materials to sell your book.

It’s your job to decide what you need and where you will market your book. Or you can hire a professional marketing company to plan your strategy and we will be happy to work with them to create the materials they recommend.

Besides creating the cover and interior we offer our clients the following marketing materials:

DIGITAL MOCK UP OF YOUR BOOK

For your social media channels, including Linkedin, Instagram, Facebook and whatever new one shows up!
For your website ads, this can include ads for your social channels as well as for email promotions
For landing pages and website placement

PRINT MATERIALS

Bookmarks + Business cards
Announcement post card
Sales sheet for promoting yourself as a speaker
Slide decks for speaking gigs
Lead Magnets

If you already have a book but you still need these marketing pieces, we’d happy to provide a custom quote to create these for you. All you need to do is contact us or set up an appointment with us.

YOU CAN DO IT!

You may not have ever considered the self-publishing option but if you are interested in creating a living as an author or even a nice side income, the best option is to be an authorpreneur. Choose your own level of success and follow your dream.

We can help with the production of the book and the resources in this article will guide you on how to market and sell your book.

You have chosen a great time to publish your own book – never before has there been so much help for the novice writer.

Now set your plan into action and begin, so a year from now you’ll be able to introduce yourself as a published author! Wouldn’t that be AWESOME!

STILL HAVE QUESTIONS ABOUT SELF-PUBLISHING?

Feel free to contact us or set up an appointment with us, or just ask your question in the comments below. We’d love to hear from you!

Becky’s Graphic Design is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to amazon.com.

Resources for Self-Publishing and Marketing Your Book

You Must Write a Book: Boost Your Brand, Get More Business, and Become the Go-To Expert First Edition

by Honoree Corder (Author), Hal Elrod (Author)

A Book Establishes Your Authority and Credibility Faster and Easier Than Anything Else. This is the Guide You Need to Write Yours!

The biggest and best tool you’ll ever have in your belt is a business book with your name on the cover.

Authority and Credibility – Your own book makes it easier to attract investors, clients, and customers.
Brand recognition – Your own book makes your name and brand easier to recognize, extending your reach further than ever before.
The ultimate business card – We’re hard-wired to hold on to books, to keep and care for them, and to share them with others. When’s the last time someone did that with your business card?

You Must Write a Book introduces you to how a book can help you to build and grow your business and your brand, and how you can put your ideas on the page.

I Must Write My Book: The Companion Workbook to You Must Write a Book First Edition

by Honoree Corder

You were inspired by You Must Write a Book, and the time has come to begin writing yours. I Must Write My Book provides the guidance and space to capture your thoughts, gain clarity, and move through the process with ease.

Kindle Bestseller Publishing (2019): Publish a 1 Bestseller in the next 30 Days! – The Proven 4-Week Formula to go from Zero to Bestseller as a first-time … (Influencer Fast Track® Series Book 3)

Write & Publish an Amazon Kindle Bestseller in the next 30 Days! Updated 2019 Version! Sound to good to be true?
Well, with the right strategy and proper research before you start, it is absolutely possible, even if: