Move Beyond The Book
I love books and have written many books over the years. I'm working at my third publishing house as an acquisitions editor working with hundreds of authors on their books. Yes the book is important and every author has to be passionate about their books and telling others about it. Yet in this article, I want to ask a different question: How can you move beyond the book?
In November, I spent several days with over 40 Morgan James authors in Nashville. Most of these authors were launching their book and we celebrated the launch with interviews on the red carpet and special time together. After this celebration, Morgan James organized a second day of marketing training for our authors. I don't know another publisher making this type of effort to train and encourage authors with their books. The marketing training was open to any of our authors—not just the ones launching their books. Morgan James did three of these events last year, three this year and three more are scheduled for next year.
There is great synergy at these events where authors swap books (to review each other's books) and much more.
Whether you have published your book with a well-known publisher or self-published, you have accomplished something amazing in getting your book into the market. Now the real work begins of telling people about your book. Your on-going marketing efforts are important to tell others about your book. The key piece many authors miss in this process is: your book has made you an authority on your topic. Every author has to use their book to open new doors of opportunity.
Because you have published a book, others will want to hear you speak As you speak on the topic, people learn about you and hopefully purchase your book. I encourage you to approach event organizers and open up opportunities to speak on your topic. It's always best to begin in your local area with Rotary or Kiwanis or other such groups looking for speakers. Sometimes these are free opportunities where you sell books in the back of the room. Other times they will pay a fee. The key is to use your creativity to pitch yourself and book these opportunities. They are definitely out there.
Can you use your book as a springboard to create other information products that you sell online? If you want to know more details, I recommend you listen to this free interview I did with Bob Bly and look at the free Ebook with it.
Can you use your book to launch a personal coaching program? Your book has made you an authority and now use that influence to begin another aspect of your writing life—coaching. You will have a limited number of people but it can also create a regular stream of income for your business.
The overall key for any author is to create multiple streams of income. This article only gives a few of the possibilities. As an acquisitions editor, I repeatedly see authors focus on their royalties (or they tell me about their lack of royalties). There are many dynamics in play with a publisher receiving and paying these royalties such as the slow rate that bookstores pay publishers—which is something many authors forget. In my view, the royalty focus is the wrong focus. As an author, you can't control your royalty payment. If it comes, terrific. There are many element I mentioned in this article that you as an author can control. Seize those elements for your focus and work on them. It will yield a far greater financial result.
How are you moving beyond the book? Let me know in the comments below.
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Labels: . platform building, acquisitions editor, Bob Bly, books, income stream, membership course, Morgan James Publishing, royalties, speaking
