What do you want to write about?- Free worksheet I know, I know. You have the BEST BOOK IDEA EVER! But do you really? Step one of the book-writing process to to organize your ideas. Download and print this worksheet to start.
Are there other books on your topic? probably! Visit your local bookstore to see what books already exist on your topic. Pick them up and browse through them. What do the covers look like? Do they have endorsements on the back? How many pages are they? How much are they selling for? Books that end up on the shelves of a local bookstore are usually selling pretty well because space is so limited. If you can't make it to a bookstore, search online!
Naming your characters Having trouble naming your characters? Click here for a really cool site that will not only give you ideas for names, but will also tell you what they mean!
Writing dialogue Writing Dialogue! Download the free guide on how to write realistic dialogue between your characters. Click here.
Tips on writing your story Dianne Wynne gives some great tips on how to begin your story, naming your characters, keeping track of everything. Great advice here!
PAY AN EDITOR I know. You're an awesome writer. You NEVER make mistakes, right? Wrong. You NEED an editor. Everyone does! When I published my first children's book "Gabby Saturday", I did the editing myself. Great, right? Wrong! Two MONTHS after it was published we discovered a typo on one of the pages. Yikes!
Forget all this other stuff, I'm ready to publish!
Hire an editor
I know. You're an awesome writer. You NEVER make mistakes, right? Wrong. You NEED an editor. Everyone does! When I published my first children's book "Gabby Saturday", I did the editing myself. Great, right? Wrong! Two MONTHS after it was published we discovered a typo on one of the pages. Yikes!
Don't be like me. Find an editor.
Promote your Book
Get cool 3D cover images created on Fiverr for as little as $5!
CREATE A PROFESSIONAL EMAIL ADDRESS Create a PROFESSIONAL email address using www.gmail.com. Now is the time to get rid of the [email protected] or [email protected]. Your email address should simply be your name. Cost: FREE!
REGISTER YOUR NAME AS A DOMAIN NAME Set up a domain name for your name (and each book if you'd like) cost: around $10.99 per yearSet up a domain name for YOUR name- ex: CrystalSenterBrown.com. You may create one for each book as well (I have one for each of my books.) I use GoDaddy
CREATE MERCHANDISE FEATURING YOUR BOOK Create merchandise featuring your book cover!I use Zazzle to create t-shirts, mugs and more- and then I use these items as giveaways on my fanpage! Click here to see what Zazzle is all about! http://www.zazzle.com
CREATE A WEBSITE!
Once you have your domain name from GoDaddy, you can forward it to your personal website. I use WEEBLY to create and maintain all of my websites (I have one for each book.) For $10 per month, you can build up to TEN sites on weebly. You can use one site for each of your books/ products and one for your “name.” Offer the first chapter of your book on your site for free if people join your mailing list. Click here for the beginner’s guide to creating a website: http://help.weebly.com/beginners-guide.html
CREATE A FACEBOOK FAN PAGE Once you're a famous author, you'll need a place to point your fans to when they want to connect with you. Your personal Facebook page is just that: personal. Create a fanpage NOW so that you won't be bombarded with friend requests once your book is a bestseller. to promote your book- as well as one for your name. Click here to create your page: https://www.facebook.com/pages Here is a step by step guide that will help you: http://www.squidoo.com/facebookpageor watch the video below to see how it's done!
Accept credit cards using your cell phone We've all been there: We're all set up and ready to go at our first book signing, and no one seems to have cash. Well, fear no more! The awesome folks at Square make it easier for us book peddlers to sell our goods on the fly! Click here to learn more about Square. https://squareup.com/reader
Schedule a book signing at your local indie bookstore dealer
Contact LOCAL bookstores to schedule a book signing. Click here to search for the Indie Bookstores in your area: http://www.indiebound.org/indie-store-finder. If you're going to be doing some traveling and you want to set up a signing in another city- click here to see a list of bookstores in every city!