Writing a book can be an incredibly rewarding experience—and also a scary one. Publishing your business book requires several steps, but the benefits are worth the time and effort.
Books not only establish credibility for your personal brand but also your business’s brand. Publishing a quality book can attract more customers, build your business, and open up new networking opportunities. It’s also a great way to rake in passive income.
But with so many things to consider when writing a book, where do you even start? We’ve compiled a complete guide to publishing your business book from start to finish.
Build a Good Outline
Your outline will be the foundation of your book. If the outline isn’t stable, chances are your book won’t be soundly structured . The outline will keep you organized and on track throughout the writing process. It’s an essential player in fighting through writer’s block.
Before you start mapping out your book, make sure you nail down what the book will be about. Try to avoid cramming your book full of every piece of wisdom you have. It’s important to create a cohesive and organized outline so that readers know exactly what they’re getting and you don’t accidentally ramble on about something irrelevant to the topic, however valuable it may be.
The most popular outline method is to divide it into chapters. Set clear topics that you want to cover in each chapter. Take your time with your outline. Again, the outline is the skeleton of your book, and a lousy one might cause the whole book to crumble.
Choose Your Writing Schedule
Now that you’ve planned your outline, you can get to work. Set up a writing schedule that makes sense for you. Some writers plan to write for an hour a day. Others measure their progress through word or page count. Maybe you want to aim for a chapter per week. Whatever you decide to do, keep it consistent, and make sure it’s often enough that progress is made.
And if writing really isn’t your thing, that’s okay. We can help with that. We’ll use your outline and research to write content that matches your voice and tone. No one who knows you would ever suspect you didn’t write it all yourself.
Design a Stunning Cover
We all know by now that people do judge a book by its cover. That’s why it’s crucial to make your book cover stand out. Unless you’re an excellent artist, you’ll probably want to hire a graphic designer for this step. However, you will still get to control how the final product looks. Be sure to brief your designer beforehand with a general idea of your desired cover. You can look at popular books in your genre to see what they’re doing for inspiration.
If designing the perfect cover sounds like a daunting task, fear not. We’re here to help with that, too!
Write the Perfect Title
You’re probably wondering: Why is choosing a title one of the last steps? Well, you don’t want to let your title box you in early on. The title should reflect the finished book, not the other way around. So, try to pick out your title after you’ve written your first draft.
Keep your title simple. Readers want to know exactly what they’re picking up. Include keywords in your title and subtitle to make it easier for readers to find your book when searching online. Finally, feel free to set up polls for your friends and launch team to test different title ideas.
Pick Your Publishing Route
Self-publishing vs. traditional publishing: Which is best? It depends on your needs. Self-publishing means more control over your content and profits, but traditional publishing can offer better marketing and resources. Be sure to research both routes and decide what works best for you.
Editing and Formatting
Don’t skimp out on a good editor. Your book can have valuable insights and advice, but readers will toss your book to the side if the content isn’t well-structured or the copy is full of grammatical and punctuation errors. That’s why hiring an editor that can do content and copy editing is essential to ensure your book is as strong as it can be.
You may also want to hire help when formatting your book, whether it’s coming out as an ebook or a physical copy. You can also take a stab at formatting yourself by looking up guides online—but be careful. Changes in fonts, line spacing, paragraph justification
Market Your Book
Even though we’re listing marketing as the last step, you should start your marketing plan well before publishing your book. Traditional publishers may help with this step, but keep in mind that they often put most of their budget behind well-known authors. The help you do receive may not be enough to move the needle.
You’ll want to set up an attractive and functional website early on for interested readers to learn more about your book. You can set up a launch page to gather the email addresses of potential readers. Encourage signups by offering bonus content or discounts on the book upon publication.
Make sure you’re promoting your book on social media. Consistent content will be essential for your channels to build a presence. If you already have a brand, leverage it to promote your book. You can also reach out to influencers in your field by offering them a free copy of your book in exchange for a shoutout. Giveaways are also a great way to build engagement and interest.
Did we mention that we’re marketers, too? If you want to keep that artistic control and a sizable chunk of the profits through self-publishing, ask about our marketing plans. You may be able to enjoy the best of both worlds.
If you’re looking for guidance through every step of writing and publishing a book, you can get it all in one place at Little Red Writing. With years of writing and publishing experience under our belts, we can help you develop outlines, fill in your content, edit your copy, format and publish your book. Reach out to us today for a quote.
