I’m on a mission to get you writing your story.

Whether it’s an autobiography, unicorn fantasy, zombie horror or any other great story, your words are unique, and it’s about time you got that book out there isn’t it?

It can be a very serious business, and being honest blooming hard work, but these steps might just help you a little bit on the path to publication and beyond.

1 — Find your WHY

(Thanks again to Simon Sinek for giving us such a simple focus word to begin with.)

Is your book a passion project and you just have to write it, or do you want to build a career from selling books?

Fiction or non-fiction? Genre or literary?

Why is this important to you?

What are you willing to invest / sacrifice to make it happen, money or time or both?

2 — Write a book

Obvious right? It’s easy! 500 words a day, for 3 months you have a book. The hard part is writing a book you’ll be proud of, that you can sell.

Got a really unique idea, it’s never seen anywhere before? Great, however it probably won’t sell.

People like what they like.

Think about it, you go in a book store, including online, and you search by category. If your book doesn’t fit in a category, or a few, it won’t be found, so probably won’t sell.

3 — Write more books

Boxed sets are the way to go if you want to make decent money.

You can post a chapter or preview to the second book at the back of the first etc.

Plan out longer character and plot curves, and build a loyal fan base.

Always make sure each book is also a stand alone as well, so you aren’t cheating your readers by not giving them a story.

4 — Find your people, your future readers

Start on day one of writing your book, if not before!

If you want to sell it, you need people who’ll buy it and promote it by word of mouth.

Writers use all sorts of tactics for this, social media, competitions, crowd funding, networking.

Your most dedicated readers may not be, in fact it’s a fairly safe bet to safe they won’t be, your family or friends.

5 — Get a great cover

You can pick up free artwork and create your own cover, in Canva or Procreate (other apps are available) or you could commission an artist via Fiverr or similar websites.

You can commission a truly skilled, high end, aka costly artist, and go all in. Or anything in between, it really depends on your budget. 

Also, think about it, the tiny thumbnail needs to look great online. If you’re planning a series, make sure all the covers link together in some way.

Don’t let this hold you back though, you can easily upload a new cover if the first one doesn’t work.

6 — Choose a writer name

Will you write as you, or under a pen-name? Many writers have multiple pen names, depending on the genre and subject.

The name can protect your privacy as well as help with sales. If you’re writing about boy witches it wouldn’t hurt to be next to JK Rowling on the bookshelves would it?

Sadly some subjects sell better if apparently written by men (military thrillers) or women (romance). I say apparently because many writers use pen names that are a different gender from their own. This bias is changing, but slowly.

It’s OK to fight the system, but decide what’s important, reaching an audience or standing by your principles.

7 — Obtain the URL

Before you decide on titles and names, do your research.

Is the URL available? It will be a key piece of marketing, and if you do get a best seller you want the url secured, it can be a few dollars to buy one, or $1000s so you may need to juggle your names and choices.

Better to do this early and avoid potential legal pitfalls. The current trend is to be brand ‘you’ in other words have the URL of your pen name. This also enables you to promote all your books in one place that’s easily recognisable.

8 — Get legal

Don’t steal from other artists. Sounds dramatic?

There’s a huge trade in ‘knock off’ literary works, so don’t inadvertently fall victim, or become a book thief.

Check copyrights. Have you got permission from people you mention? Not sure about something? CHECK IT OUT!

Ideas can’t be stolen.

9 — Learn about self publishing

Go to the source. You want to sell on Amazon, learn from Amazon. Want to sell on your own website, go seek out other authors and find out how they do it.

Research, learn, learn and learn some more. There are plenty of books, blogs and forums to learn all the tiny details. Keep learning, trends and systems get updated and change all the time.

10 — PUBLISH

You won’t sell it if it isn’t out there. You may never be happy with your work, many artists never settle.

Work on the theory that finished is better than perfect.

Will you be on those bookshelves by the end of 2021?

I truly hope so, my mission then will be complete, almost…

Finally…ENJOY YOURSELF! Write what you love.

If you love it, your readers will too.

What Next?

Like I said at the start I am on a mission to get you writing.

Why not work with me for a month, 1-2-1 and really give that book the kickstart it deserves?

I’ll help you decide on a plan, hold you accountable on your word count and other goals, send daily reminders.

How amazing would it be in four weeks time to say I’m a writer?

To finally know you have a plan, maybe even a first draft and your characters are finally talking to you and telling their story!

Get in touch or find out about prices then get in touch, stop procrastinating.

You deserve this!

NB: This post has been updated in June 2021