When you picture a career in publishing, what comes to mind? For most, it’s the editor. We imagine a sharp, literary-minded individual with a red pen, poring over a manuscript in a cozy, book-lined office, shaping the next great novel. And while editors are undeniably vital, focusing solely on them is like thinking a blockbuster film is made only by its director. The truth is, publishing is a sprawling, collaborative ecosystem, powered by a host of specialists whose work is critical but often invisible to the outside world.

For every book that lands on your shelf, a small army of professionals has championed it, designed it, produced it, and pushed it out into the world. If you love books and want to build a career around them, it’s time to look beyond the editor’s desk—many of these specialized roles are now accessible through dedicated publishing courses online. Here are seven unsung careers in publishing industry that form the backbone.

1. The Literary Agent

While not entirely unknown, the true role of a literary agent is often misunderstood. They are far more than just salespeople who pitch manuscripts to editors. A great agent is an author’s primary advocate, business partner, and career strategist. They are the first professional gatekeeper a manuscript must pass, using their industry knowledge to identify promising work and shape it for the market.

What They Really Do:

• Editorial Development:

Agents often work extensively with authors to revise and polish a manuscript before it ever goes on submission.

• Deal Negotiation:

They don’t just sell the book; they negotiate every facet of the contract, from the advance and royalty rates to subsidiary rights and publication timelines.

• Career Management:

They help authors build a long-term career, advising on future projects, branding, and navigating the complex business side of being a writer.

• Financial Guardian:

They chase payments, interpret royalty statements, and act as a buffer between the author and the publisher’s accounting department.

2. The Publicist

Once a book is acquired and edited, how do people find out about it? That’s where the publicist comes in. These are the master communicators and strategists who build the buzz that translates into sales. While the marketing team handles paid advertising, the publicity team focuses on earned media—convincing people to talk about the book for free. They are relentless, creative, and essential for launching a book into the cultural conversation.

A publicist’s job is a high-energy mix of relationship-building and project management. They are the ones securing that coveted feature in a major newspaper, booking the author on a popular podcast, or planning a multi-city book tour. Without them, even the most brilliant book could languish in obscurity. Their energy and persistence turn stories into cultural conversations, proving that publicity is one of the most unsung careers in publishing industry growth.

3. The Book Cover Designer

Never judge a book by its cover? In the real world, everyone does. The book cover designer is a unique blend of artist and commercial strategist, tasked with the monumental job of creating a book’s single most important marketing asset. In a crowded bookstore or a fast-scrolling online marketplace, the

cover has mere seconds to grab a potential reader’s attention.

These designers must read or deeply understand the manuscript to distill its tone, genre, and core themes into a single, compelling visual. It’s a delicate balancing act. The cover must be artistically striking, true to the book’s content, and—most importantly—commercially viable. They understand the subtle visual cues that signal “literary fiction” versus “fast-paced thriller” or “YA fantasy.” Their work is a silent, powerful sales pitch that happens before a single page is turned.

4. The Production Manager

If the editor shapes the soul of a book, the production manager builds its body. This is one of the most process-driven and technically demanding roles in a publishing house. The production manager takes the finalized digital files from the editorial and design teams and transforms them into a physical object that can be printed, bound, and shipped.

They are the masters of logistics, liaising with printers around the world, negotiating costs, and selecting the perfect paper weight, trim size, and binding style. They create and manage complex schedules to ensure that thousands of copies of a book arrive in warehouses on time for its publication date. When you pick up a hardcover and admire the feel of the paper or the quality of the printing, you are appreciating the invisible work of a production manager.

5. The Rights Manager

A book’s life doesn’t end with its domestic publication. The rights manager is the global dealmaker who works to give a book as many lives as possible. Their job is to sell the rights for the book to be published in other forms and in other territories.

This includes selling translation rights to publishers in Germany, Japan, or Brazil; licensing the audio rights for an audiobook production; or negotiating a deal with a Hollywood studio that wants to option the book for a film or TV series. It’s a high-stakes role that requires sharp negotiation skills, a network of international contacts, and an instinct for which stories will resonate across different cultures and media.

The income they generate can be crucial to a publisher’s bottom line and an author’s career. By connecting cultures and markets, rights managers exemplify another of the unsung careers in publishing industry expansion.

6. The Copyeditor

While the developmental editor works on the “big picture” elements like plot and character, the copyeditor is the master of the miniature. They are the final line of defense for the text itself, ensuring it is clean, correct, and consistent before it goes to print.

Armed with a style guide (like the Chicago Manual of Style) and an eagle eye for detail, the copyeditor performs a meticulous line-by-line review. They correct errors in grammar, spelling, and punctuation. More than that, they check for consistency—did the protagonist’s eye color change in chapter ten? Is the timeline of events logical? Their painstaking work is what creates a smooth, professional reading experience, allowing the reader to get lost in the story without being tripped up by a typo or a continuity error.

7. The Sales Representative

Finally, how do all these beautifully designed and perfectly edited books actually get into your local bookstore? That’s the job of the sales representative. These are the frontline ambassadors for the publisher, travelling to meet with the buyers who decide which books to stock on their shelves.

They are passionate advocates who must know their entire seasonal list inside and out, from the lead literary debut to the niche cookbook. They build relationships with booksellers, understand the unique tastes of different stores and regions, and make a compelling case for why each book deserves a place on the shelf. Their feedback from the field is also invaluable, helping the publisher understand what’s resonating with readers in the real world.

So, the next time you hold a new book in your hands, take a moment to think beyond the author and editor. Remember the agent who championed it, the designer who gave it a face, the publicist who built its buzz, and the entire team of hidden professionals who worked in concert to bring that story from a writer’s mind into your hands. The unsung careers in publishing industry form the backbone of every book’s success. The world of publishing is far richer and more varied than you might imagine, with a role for every kind of book lover.

The post Not Just Editors: The 7 Unsung Careers That Power the Publishing Industry appeared first on Home Business Magazine.

Your words, forever immortalized on the pages of a best-selling book in the hands and hearts of millions all over the world; could this be the unique edge to not only your healing but to your businesses’ growth in 2023?

Co-authoring a best-selling book is a noteworthy achievement by any standard. From a business perspective, it is one that has been shown to dramatically increase brand credibility and sales-funnel conversions. A recent study led by ‘Grammar Factory’ showed that entrepreneurs increased their earnings by 34% after having their work published.

A conscious best-selling book strategy, coupled with the means to create a wildly connected community, has been shown to yield amplified results in not only your impact, influence and income, but in who you become in the process!

Let’s explore what you need to consider on your path to Best-Selling Co-Author:

1. Get ready to collaborate and build a leveraged network:

“A ‘collaborative book project’, as I like to call it, is where multiple people will come together to write their own chapter, giving their own perspective and expertise on a particular theme. We all come together to share our wisdom, our genius and tips and tools for others to read. I’ve seen many incredible things come from this experience: soul friendships, collaborative business partnerships, referral partners, tons of new clients, speaking opportunities — the practical ROI is immeasurable!” – Jess Verrill

Relationships are the currency of doing business tomorrow. It is not enough to just leave your ego at the door; you need to be willing to lay down any success paradigms that have you showing up with fear, scarcity or competition. Here, leveraged communities are built on integrity. They rise together by becoming powerful referral partners, celebrate and encourage one another and ultimately, co-authors become great friends!

2. You’ve gotta want it!

“To have a tangible product and be able to hold it in your hands, to tell clients, colleagues and friends, and then to see my story in A BOOK and being part of the success in birthing a best-seller, is thrilling! I left my first co-author project with profound pride and a deep sense of accomplishment.” – Terrie Silverman

The fuel, resourcing you during the initial stages of conception, to the drafting, editing, proofing and then publishing, requires presence, perseverance and an aligned community of Authors.

Your book will evolve you. The writing journey will help you heal, bring you alive and transform you. Therefore, you’ve ‘gotta want it’ from all the right places.

3. Prepare to face your visibility shadows:

“The biggest thing about a book is that it generates incredible visibility and momentum. Learning how to work with momentum is one of the key teachings available within a co-author project. As you dive deep into your visibility fears, powerful levels of inner alchemy and authority is embodied, and this then shines from the inside out to attract people faster to your work.” – Tarsh Ashwin

You have to be willing to do the powerful inner excavation work that must accompany your journey to becoming more visible and for many, this is where the challenge to triumph lives.

By bringing your ‘visibility wounds’ and fears into the light, meeting them head on, and healing them somatically while you write your heart out, you will gain a sense of preparedness and strength. As the sales roll in, invitations for podcast appearances, article features and greater exposure manifests, you will not feel exposed.

4. Be willing to learn conscious marketing strategies to build a business bigger than you:

“We are able to offer real value to real people in a long-lasting way that social media and blog posts could never do. Conscious marketing demands us to show up authentically as who we are, and a compilation book (where you just write one chapter instead of a whole book) provides us with a perfect opportunity to do exactly this, while leveraging time. It effectively contributes to the eight points of contact that a potential or client needs to have with us before they buy from us; it is a huge trust builder, while also becoming a legacy builder for you.” – Krystal Hille

Building a business that is bigger than you takes heart and demands a wild ride into defining the values of your company, the mission it serves and distilling a story that people can not only relate to, but deeply trust.

By investing in a co-author book project, you will begin to unravel all of these elements. As you do, you will see your voice, your work and the bigger ripple that is possible by consciously choosing to pour your wisdom onto the page authentically and powerfully.

5. Your words will be the thing that heals you:

“What if this is the thing that heals you? Sharing my vulnerability in this way was the thing that healed me. I needed to show up for myself in a bigger way and so I took an entire year of writing multi-author books to be the channel, to be the thing that healed me. And it did, because I am the potential; because you are the potential.” – Alyse Marie-Gallagher

Daring to share your story, to cultivate the courage to put pen to paper and let it be heard, with every word you write, a little more of you heals. Are you ready for that?

It’s a big decision to become a published Author, your story forever immortalized on the pages of a hardback book. It will, however, be one of the best decisions you ever make for your own evolution — and with every word read, medicine for another. Take a deep breath and dare greatly.

In Closing

Co-Author Book Projects offer potent leveraging opportunities across a myriad of channels, from media, to summits and podcasts. If relationships are the currency by which we will do business tomorrow, then how we sow these today matters.

Becoming a co-author is a journey that will evolve you as a woman, as a Leader, as a Writer and as a valuable member of a collaborative community, coherently working together to launch, promote and leverage their collective legacy piece.

WORDS SHANNON ROSE

The post 5 Essential Things to Consider When Deciding to Become a Best-Selling Co-Author appeared first on Home Business Magazine.

Self-publishing is opening up the publishing world to countless aspiring writers, bringing them success and a sense of freedom and autonomy. And in the last decade or so, this window of opportunity has been growing. The eBook space, where most self-published authors release their books without the aid of a book publisher, is expected to grow to an enormous $1.73 billion by 2025. If you’ve been wondering how to get a book published, self-publishing is a great option for you!

Still, even with the success of many self-published authors, it is still a difficult task to publish a work without any assistance in marketing. While some authors throw in the towel at this step and turn to other publishing options, it is wholly possible to market your own self-published book.

Good marketing is critical to the success of your publication, and should never be taken lightly. It could even be said that good marketing is more than half the battle in writing a successful book. Read on for six simple steps that will make your self-published book soar at the top of the market!

Social Media

Before you even begin writing, it’s a good idea to establish an online presence. Having a core following will allow you to jumpstart the success of your book once it is released.

Almost every social media platform could be utilized to create a community of readers. TikTok’s dedicated #booktok community is always looking for indie authors. Twitter is an excellent place to share your writing journey and build an online personality for yourself. Instagram and Pinterest can be used to help your creativity and connect you with readers and fellow authors alike. And Reddit has endless forums of advice on how to write, edit, and market your book.

The importance of social media cannot be understated. It could make or break your publication, so don’t skip it!

Find Your Niche

For any story you want to write, there’s someone who wants to read it. But before you begin planning your novel and marketing strategy, it’s important that you identify this target audience.

What similarities does your story share with other books? What sets it apart? What kind of books are trending right now? Does yours fit the trend? What kind of people are reading books similar to it?

Identifying this group will allow you to properly tag your book if you release it on Amazon, will impact the way you use social media to find readers, and can even change the initial idea for your novel. There are readers out there just waiting for your story, so make sure you find them!

Write, Edit, Repeat

All the hard work you put into marketing your book will be useless if the finished product is not polished. Many new self-published authors skip the editing step, and no one gets it right on their first pass. Outline your plan for editing and writing before you begin the process to make sure you don’t skip any important steps.

Write a second draft, third draft, fourth draft… keep going until it’s a product that readers will love. And don’t just trust your own editing, either! Get friends to read it, coworkers, freelance sites, that random person in the coffee shop you talked to once—the more eyes you can get on it, the better!

Use Third-Party Sites

Once your book is ready to launch, you don’t have to take that first step on your own. There are plenty of third-party sites like ScribeMedia that specialize in assisting self-published authors.

These sites have the resources to help you with the writing and editing process, and ensure that you have a successful launch. Self-publishing a book doesn’t mean that you need to do it all alone, it’s worth it to get an expert opinion and maximize the success of your book.

Reviews

When looking for a new book to read, especially one coming from an indie author, readers are anxious to see what other people thought of it. Reviews let them see if it’s worth their time and money.

Use every possible method to generate more genuine reviews. Ask people on your social media platforms to review your book, include a call to action in the back matter, respond to the reviews your book has already gotten, contact bloggers and influencers who specialize in your niche, and ask them if they would be interested—get people reading and talking about your book!

If at First You Don’t Succeed, Try, Try Again!

If your first marketing strategy doesn’t pan out, it’s not the end of the world. Just like writing, marketing is a skill that takes dedication and practice. Rethink how you market your book and try again; it’s never too late to create buzz around your self-published book.

When you publish your next book, the launch will be even smoother. Remember, being an author is an ongoing learning process, and every time you put yourself out there, you’ll learn even more.

Your dreams of becoming a bestselling self-published author are within reach. With the right tools, the right dedication, and the right people to help you, your book will be a smashing success. Don’t let the seemingly daunting task of marketing stop you from reaching for the stars. Write that book and get it out there!

The post Simple Guide to Promoting a Self-Published Book appeared first on Home Business Magazine.

Has the ages-old tradition of printed publishing been lost forever? Not in the least. It is undergoing a dramatic transformation from being the only option in the market to learning to share the market with its digital cousin.

E-books, easy to download to a Kindle, e-reader, iPad, or even a smart phone, have become the go-to for most readers. Lightweight, easy to transport, and with a library of unlimited books at your fingertips, e-books have widely captured the attention of consumers. Despite the numerous advantages of e-books, the joy of cracking open a brand-new book, feeling the pages under your fingertips as you turn the page, or simply enjoying the public library or personal book collection have helped printed books keep a strong hold on the publishing industry since the introduction of the first Kindle in 2007. This could be why printed books still outsell e-books, with $22.6 billion in revenue for physical books compared to $2.04 billion for e-books in the US in 2018.

Despite dominating only 20% of the publishing market, it is evident that e-books are leaving their mark on the industry and are not going away any time soon. Any successful publishing house will tell you that within the last 10 years, they have added a digital department in order to address specific consumer needs regarding e-books and digital versions. It has become a balancing game of staying ahead of the competition in terms of the next big breakthrough in digital publishing while still maintaining a strong presence in the printed realm.

Focusing on multi-dimensional publishing is the key to remaining relevant in today’s dynamic world of publishing. We are seeing a shift of younger generations who prefer paperbacks and hardbacks. On the other hand, older readers prefer e-books for easy reading and convenience. Bi-lateral moves ensure that each audience is getting what it wants for its reading experience without compromising overall sales. It appears we are only at the beginning of this new wave of publishing and that much remains to be seen in terms of changing reader preferences, continued innovation in printing, and reaching financial stability in the industry.

Digital strategies have grown to include online book launches, publicity campaigns, and social media campaigns that connect the author directly to readers. Publishing houses like Writers Select Publishing work hard to promote their authors just as much as their books. Director of Writers Select Publishing, Eduardo Carranza Edwards, believes that cultivating and growing an author’s connection to their audience is one of the most important factors of promoting a book in this day and age. Director Carranza Edwards confirms, “We’ve had to adapt our publishing and distribution strategies to make sure we are marketing each book in the right way, depending on its target reader and their preferences.” Everything from reviews on book blogs to virtual meet and greets are ways to give authors a direct voice to their readers unlike ever before.

Digitalization has made a splash in the publishing industry and publishing houses around the world. Every small and large publishing house, as well as book promotors, should be adapting their publishing and marketing strategies toward a more digital-friendly product while staying faithful to the classic art of printing.

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Writers have used pseudonyms or ‘pen names’ for decades. Even though the literary landscape has changed over the years, there is still a place for them today.

What is a pen name? 

A pen name is a false name which a writer or author uses. It is associated with a published book, while the real identity of the author remains a secret.

Because many writers choose to self-publish through the internet, social media and eBooks, it could be argued that using a pen name when self-publishing is outdated. However, some authors believe it is a liberating way to do their work. Writers have more control of their own authorship than if they wrote under their known name and governed by publishers.

So is using a pen name when self publishing worth it? Here are some pros and cons to consider before you make a decision.

The Pros

Writers Can Develop on Amazon

Amazon is a powerhouse in the industry. For any budding writers who wish to stand out and try new material, using a pen name when self publishing is a good way to test the water.

Publishing with Kindle Direct Publishing (KDP) enables Amazon to give more leeway for writers. Using a pen name as a marketing tool gives you the opportunity to incorporate keywords into your name.

Writers can add their pen name as the author’s name in the contributors section when preparing the book for publication. This comes in handy when targeting a certain niche.

Amazon users love to find their next book via the Amazon search bar. A pen name can get your book discovered by your kind of shoppers if you use the right keywords, regardless if you have a reputation through your real name. For those with a specified demographic i.e fitness: if an Amazon author name is ‘John Fitness Fanatic’ versus ‘John Smith’, target audiences will order books based on the relevant keywords.

If you decide to use a pen name on Amazon, you’ll need to know the right keywords to use. Read a review of Publisher Rocket. People forget that Amazon is a hyper-intelligent search engine, and this tool will help you make the most out of this platform.

Protects the Author

You sacrifice privacy when you publish a book and your work is given to the public. Even with a chance to gain more exposure, not every author dreams of adulation. They may prefer their true identity to remain a secret.

Many writers face insecurity when publishing fiction. They worry about the perception of friends and family and their reactions to their work. When writers tackle serious issues, they may wish to keep their personal life and writing life separate.

Some authors conceal their identity to prevent judgement from their readers. In the all consuming world of social media and online reviews, criticism is handed out everywhere. Rather than tackling it alone, you can shield yourself with a pen name.

Sometimes, it can protect writers from falling into stereotyping traps like gender. If a male/female writer wants to gain credibility and switch their lead character’s gender, or in fact switch their entire style, they could choose to use initials as their pen name to take the gender issue off the table. J.K Rowling famously shifted to Robert Galbraith for her serialized work.

Building the Brand

Pen names allow authors to build identity and distinguish themselves in the publishing world. Some writers may have more commonly used names and wish to avoid clashing with other writers’ work.

Some authors know their genre and style right from the word go. Occasionally, writers may wish to try different genres before deciding on their strongest fit, or change on a whim.

When it comes to building a brand, pen names are a useful tool. They provide writers freedom in their tone and can present the image of mystery behind their work. Readers can associate a certain writer with a certain genre, which gives power to the writer.

The Cons

Publishers Losing Their Power

Self-publishing authors in the 20th century would use a pen name for a different genre or series. A pen name was needed because the author was writing too fast for their contracted publisher. A publisher may feel rushed to get the book published and hold back on production.

For this very reason, the pen name doesn’t carry as much gravitas today. Few authors are punished for their speed of writing in the digital age. Established authors can self-publish books between a big release.

When authors worked under traditional publishers, they had to change their name because their publisher had ‘ownership’ of their name. If their sales were below expectations, and the publisher was losing patience, writers could reinvent themselves under a new name and go at it alone.

With self-publishing, authors may wish to take advantage of their current fan base, rather than leave them all together. Most books are bought online, which means readers can single out their favorite authors who have decided to leave their publishers.

Social Media and Identity

Sadly, privacy is non-existent in the digital age. If you are trying to stay incognito, social media and the turnaround speed of the press will find ways of revealing your identity. Before social media, successful writers could work under a different name and not be met with scrutiny.

Using multiple pen names isn’t logical either in the social media age. A popular trend online is whistle-blowing authors by seeking to reveal their true identity.

If this happens through Facebook or Amazon reviews, authors may wish to stop writing under their pen name and have to change persona again. Instead of changing repeatedly, it may be easier for writers to stick with their own name.

Reaching a wider audience with a pen name is a tricky business if people don’t truly know who you identify as.

A Backwards Step in Personal Marketing

Writers can become a victim of their own success. Despite their privacy remaining intact, hiding an identity makes it much more difficult to spread the word about their book.

The magic behind developing a writing career is that you build readerships organically. With your first publications, you attract a small pool of dedicated readers that only gets bigger over time. If you don’t connect with those early fans through your known name, you might lose that connection.

Given the high volume of competition and content available to consumers, the publishing marketplace has become reliant on author personality and rapport-building. Therefore it’s harder to sell copies without proper marketing.

If writers decide to self-publish and go under a pen name, it’s difficult to promote with the modern channels such as speaking engagements, social media posting, blogging and podcasting.

Readers expect their writers to be a brand. This requires a face, voice, stories and truth behind the words. The media doesn’t allow the secrecy like it did in the 20th century — poor marketing under a pen name can leave writers unable to connect to new and existing audiences. Your work might never get read at all because readers might not ever realize you’re connected.

So, Is Writing with a Pen Name Worth the Trouble?

Because writers in the modern world have much more flexibility with their publishing powers, pen names may have had their day. The internet has driven book sales into another stratosphere with its customer reach and access.

Authors do not necessarily have to change their name in order to be successful. On the flip side, they might relish such privacy. Writers are less bound by their publishers and can work at the speed of their choosing.

Writers are faced with the dilemma of openness vs secrecy. For those going alone, they can interchange between their real name and pen name, but they must accept the risk of falling behind in the online race.

There are many roadblocks for using both a real and pen name in writing. Media and literary output will increase every year, so the writer needs to makes a decision based on what’s right for them and their readers.

The post Is Using a Pen Name When Self Publishing Worth It? appeared first on Home Business Magazine.

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Interview with Book Publisher Annalisa Parent

At your fingertips you have a way to grow your home business to the next level, and you might have ever thought of it. Write a book! Yes, publishing a book is easier than you think, and it can open up an entire new promotional channel; To bring a book to reality, you’ll need to know how to turn an idea into a publishable piece; and understand the publishing process. You’ll also want to know how to reach readers and sell your books. And above all, you’ll need inspiration and confidence.

Richard “Capt’n” Henderson and Sherilyn Colleen interview Annalisa Parent, chief executive officer of Laurel Elite Books (www.laurelelite.com). She helps entrepreneurs take their books ideas from concept to reality.

Subjects discussed in podcast include:

• What a book can do to help any entrepreneur
• How a book “starts a conversation” with your clients
• How anyone can write a high-quality “client-magnet” book
• Using a book as a scaling tool for your business
• Key action steps to navigate through in getting a book published
• Secrets to making your book a top seller

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The post Podcast – Use a Book to Grow Your Home Business appeared first on Home Business Magazine.

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Interview with Erica Meltzer Author of “The Critical Reader”

Have you ever thought of taking on the biggest business in an industry, going head-to-head with them? Our next guest has done just that, carving out a profitable publishing niche in the huge student test preparation market. Erica Meltzer is the brilliant founder and bestselling author of The Critical Reader (www.thecriticalreader.com), a popular series of test prep books for high schoolers. With over 150,000 copies sold, Erica singlehandedly outperformed established companies in her field. Her SAT and ACT guides consistently rank top in their categories.

Richard “Capt’n” Henderson and Sherilyn Colleen interview Erica Meltzer on her exciting start-up story, with valuable advice that our podcast audience can put-to-use in their own business struggles. Subscribe to Home Business TV (https://tinyurl.com/ya4vs6qe)

Subjects discussed in podcast include:

• What Erica Meltzer was doing before she decided to take on” the test preparation market
• The niche that Erica developed in the test preparation market
• Start-up phase: First steps in developing test books and launching them
• Using social media to grow her business in the start-up phase
• Barriers Erica faced in financing her publishing business
• The future for Erica’s business, as she moves more into a “Sustainment Phase”

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The post Erica Meltzer – Podcast – She Takes On Huge Test Preparation Market & Conquers appeared first on Home Business Magazine.

Many people dream of writing a book and many are deterred by the thought that it’s very difficult to get published. But that’s where they’re wrong. The easiest way — and it is easy — to get your book published is to write an e-book. Here’s a general overview on publishing and selling e-books online.

Setting Your Goals

Before your fingers even touch the keyboard, you need to figure out exactly what your goals are for your e-book. Ask yourself how it fits in with your current business. For example, are you using it to expand your influence, to sell your services or improve your writing skills? And how are you going to design your e-book to meet these targets? Once you’ve answered these questions, you should be able to allocate a reasonable timeline for writing and marketing your book.

Choosing Your Sales Method

Here you have a number of options. For example, do you want to sell your book from your website or blog or list in on a marketplace like Tradebit? Tradebit is the world’s largest download store for digital files, including hundreds of thousands of e-books in hundreds of categories and several different languages. E-book categories include gardening, repair manuals, health, law, cooking, business and marketing and much more. By becoming a Tradebit merchant you will have access to everything you need to publish and sell your digital book.

Brainstorm Your Book Idea

By now you probably already have an idea of your e-book’s subject matter. Whatever your specialty is, make sure you write about it in a way that interests you. If you’re bored when you write it, no one else is going to read it. Think about how your book can help others. Create a unique title that will attract readers. If you’re struggling to come up with a title, think about what different about the angle you’re taking on the subject matter and try to convey this to the reader. Now you’re ready to make the book’s outline.

Set Yourself a Reasonable Schedule

Whether you decide to write 1000 words each morning before you go to work, or burn the midnight oil before you go to bed, be consistent. It will help your writing flow better. Try to stay focused. If you find yourself losing interest, look your work over and see if you can take a more interesting angle on the topic. Once you’ve finished the first draft, edit, and re-edit. If you can get a second pair of eyes to look it over.

Designing and Publishing Your e-Book

Although the PDF format is the most popular, it pays to format your e-book for multiple devices so you sales coverage with be greater. For example, if you want to sell you book to Kindle readers, you should also convert it to MOBI and EPUB formats. When it comes to designing your cover, check out other best-selling books about the same or similar subject matter, see which designs they share and if you can replicate them. You can find plenty of free stock images at sites like Pexels and Unsplash who provide royalty-free images for commercial use.

Launching Your First e-Book

A great way to launch your first e-book is to show behind the scenes. Mae a video of the process of the book to give the reader glimpses of what’s to come, and to build momentum. Write regular blog posts about how the book is coming along.

Marketing Your e-Book

Unfortunately, you work is not over when you have written and launched your e-book. A whole new process is about to begin: the marketing process. If you can’t afford to pay someone to do this for you, you will have to do it yourself, and it needs to be done precisely and consistently in order to keep your sales from going flat. You can find some good ideas for marketing your book here. But don’t forget the most obvious ways to promote your book, like on your website and blog and throughout your social media channels. You can also guest post on other’s blogs and send out press releases.

Self-publishing a book is always a good idea, just make sure you go about it the right way. Take your time and go through each stage of the process thoroughly. You don’t want to fall into terrible mistakes like these, which will doom your e-Book from the get-go.

The post Writing and Publishing Your First E-Book: Smart Ways to Sell Your Words on the Web appeared first on Home Business Magazine.

What’s harder than getting fired?

What if you’re a baby boomer plugging away at a job you’ve had for years, and suddenly everything is turned upside down the day your much younger boss strolls into your office to let you know your services are no longer needed? What would be the first thing you’d do? What would you tell other people? What feelings would be coursing through your mind right then … and for weeks and months afterwards?

It’s a sobering thought for those of us who are cruising toward that magical time called retirement. Even if you’re not—even if you’re one of us who plans to work until he or she drops—the idea that an involuntary career change could be right around the corner has entered the minds of every one of us who works for someone else.

Now think about something even more daunting and challenging. Instead of getting fired, what about firing yourself? At an age when you might not be able to find another job doing something you enjoy and getting excellent compensation for it, what if you walked away?

After years owning and operating my own companies, I found myself at age sixty-four in a senior executive position with a manufacturing and distribution company, doing work I liked and making a contribution. I had health insurance, paid vacation and sick leave, an expense account, work travel to nice destinations and a group of dedicated professionals who were my peers.

I was set—all I had to do was keep on doing what I was doing. Then a personal issue threw a curveball into the entire situation. My wife—a senior executive herself at another high-profile corporation—was diagnosed with a terminal illness. I became a caregiver for her last eleven months, working from home most of the time. It was easy to keep up with corporate responsibilities in an age of technology. Video and audio conferencing, computer networking and the Internet made it work fine. I went to the office, but not for the many hours a week I’d done for my entire life.

That period away from the office was a time of reflection and decision for me. I had always wanted to write novels but never acted on it. Using an Apple II in the early 1980s, I wrote a “book” and promptly put it in a drawer. Almost thirty years later, at my wife’s insistence, I finished it and it became my first novel, The Bethlehem Scroll. As I sat at home with her I dreamed up other plots, thought about making my first book into a series and wondered if this newfangled idea called self-publishing would really take hold.

Vanity publishing used to mean lots of money out the door and lots of unsold books sitting in a garage. By 2009, the year I published my first book, the concept of self-publishing as it looks today was just getting started. A few independent authors had discovered how to use Amazon’s platform to make their books available to the masses, but it wasn’t easy and it wasn’t seamless.

I decided to make a move. I was fortunately both financially and emotionally secure so I took the plunge, leaving my employer on great terms and venturing into the abyss of authorship. It was at the same time daunting, exciting, frightening and invigorating.

One of the biggest challenges was losing the infrastructure I’d depended upon for decades. Got a question about why the laptop isn’t working? Just call the IT department. Need a thirty-minute PowerPoint presentation for a client? Just get the marketing people on the line. Want help understanding the nuances of Microsoft Word? There’s an expert somewhere in the company for that.

But now there were none of those things. It was me. Only me. Simple things I’d taken for granted—nightly computer backups, lunch with colleagues, social interaction—all those things required my effort now. I had to arrange my own network security. Previously I’d simply pop down the hall to see who was open for lunch. Now I called or emailed friends, most of whom were retired. Many of the ones who weren’t were busy with their own corporate lives.

And the procrastination! In the old days the occasional daydream at work, or the thirty-minute pause to get something personal accomplished, were simply part of the executive process. The paycheck stayed the same and the benefits were always there. Now it was different. Thirty minutes not writing were thirty minutes gone and a book that took longer and longer to finish each time I paused to let something get in the way.

I figured it out eventually. I’m much better at budgeting my time, writing early in the morning when I’m fresh and saving the afternoons for errands and chores with my new wife. I still procrastinate, but I can turn out three books a year now, add some marketing and publicity and end up making a living as a writer.

Is it the salary I made before? No. Do I have benefits someone else pays for? Of course not. But is it fulfilling, satisfying and something I’m glad I’m doing? You bet it is. I wouldn’t trade the decision and the timing for anything.

There’s one final thing I must add. Is what I did going to work for everyone? Not in a million years. Some people aren’t cut out for working alone—for a while I wondered if I was. Some people aren’t at a place in life that affords them the chance to step out on a limb. And other people would say I was crazy to leave a work environment that was pleasant, gave me a chance to enjoy life and travel, and was a safe place to be until retirement.

And maybe I was crazy. Bill Thompson, corporate executive to Bill Thompson, author.

It has a nice ring to it.

My new book Order of Succession can be purchased on Amazon and Barnes & Noble.

The post Taking a Chance on Life appeared first on Home Business Magazine.

Professionals Share Tips & Tricks

By Penny Carnathan

Writing a how-to business book or CEO memoir has become a recognized tool for business professionals marketing and branding themselves and their companies. It helps them establish their expertise while sharing useful information appreciated by readers. Plus, it can introduce them to a vast new audience of potential customers.

It’s a phenomenon that public relations professional Marsha Friedman first noticed years ago. “Everything else being equal, I saw that it was much easier to get clients invited on TV and radio talk shows if they’d written a book,” says Friedman, CEO of EMSI Public Relations, (www.emsincorporated.com), in Tampa, Fla.

“After exploring the reasons, I realized just about anyone with the right message can use a book to boost their visibility,” she says. “Professionals can do it; people interested in securing public speaking engagements; philanthropists; and even homemakers who turn their books themselves into a business.”  So Friedman wrote her own book, “Celebritize Yourself,” explaining her three-step process for developing and using a book to get publicity.

A Powerful Marketing Tool

Today, more than 11,000 business books alone are published each year — and that doesn’t include self-published e-books, according to the authors of The 100 Best Business Books of All Time. “Whether you’re using your book to generate media, speaking opportunities, or new customers, it is the most powerful marketing tool in your arsenal,” says Adam Witty, CEO of Advantage Media Group, an international publisher.

“When you consider that the average book sells less than 2,000 copies, getting rich off of book sales becomes a far away fantasy. But if you use your book to get a feature in your industry trade journal, what is that worth? If your typical customer is worth $5,000, and you use your book to attract and generate new leads into your business, how much more valuable does your book become?”

You don’t have to be a great writer to produce a great book. But, as New York Times best-selling author Michael Levin, CEO of Business Ghost, Inc., explains, you do need to make sure the end product is clean and professional. “You wouldn’t walk into a sales call with a stain on your shirt, and it’s the same with a book,” he says. “The last thing you want to do is publish a book full of typos that gives people the impression you’re sloppy.”

Hire a Ghostwriter

If you don’t have the time or skill to tackle a book on your own, you can hire someone to put your ideas into words. Levin offers these tips for selecting a ghostwriter:

• Make sure ghostwriting is their primary business. Many writers list ghostwriting as one of the services they provide, but if you dig deep, you may find that they have never written a book or have only written a few. Don’t let them learn how on your dime!

• Read the blurbs on the ghostwriter’s website. Are they from famous people, top business leaders, celebrities, and the like? Or is there a run-of-the-mill feeling to the testimonials? Or worse, are there no testimonials at all?

• Contact at least three prior book clients of the ghostwriter. If the ghostwriter can’t give you three names of satisfied customers, game over.

The Next Step Is Publishing

While e-books are an inexpensive self-publishing option, Friedman says printed copies are best for marketing. “As an author, you simply need to determine which publishing model best helps you reach your goals,” says Witty of Advantage Media Group.

He offers these thoughts to consider:

• Ownership of rights and intellectual property: If you plan to re-purpose the content of your book into articles, blog posts, or other products like home study kits, ensure your contract gives you that freedom. Typically, traditional publishing contracts don’t; self publishing or working with co-publishers (where the publisher and author or investor share expenses) oftentimes do.

• Speed-to-market: How quickly do you want your book to be published? With self publishing, it is really a matter of how fast you work! The traditional publishing process can take the better part of two years. Co-publishing options often turn a book around in three to six months.

Friedman concedes that the idea of writing and publishing a book can be daunting, but it’s worth the effort for its marketing value, she says. And there are even greater rewards. “Having written and published my own, I can tell you it was one of my proudest accomplishments and worth every bit of my time and hard work,” she says. “The greatest feeling — one I never anticipated — was hearing from readers who said that my book had made a difference in their lives. That’s priceless.” HBM

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