Realities Of Publishing Your Own Book
Publishing a book is one of the best ways to position yourself as an expert in your field. Not only that but the book demonstrates your expertise in its best and most organized format. And perhaps the biggest advantage of all is that your book allows people to be introduced to your expertise without you doing a thing. Yes, you have to write it and get it published. And you also have to market it. But after that, you can sit back and let people read it on their own time.
So let’s talk about some of the realities behind publishing your own book. The biggest misconception people have about the process is that the publishing company does the marketing. Untrue. Regardless of the publishing company you use, the responsibility falls squarely on the author. And that’s a rude awakening for most aspiring authors.
Marketing is no easy task and the biggest priority of publishers considering your book proposal is NOT the quality of your writing or the brilliance of your idea but your ability to market you own book. Yes, it’s true. The biggest thing publishers look for when they evaluate book proposals is your audience and your following. They call it your platform and it refers to the activities you do everyday that put you in front of potential buyers.
The best thing you can do to increase the odds of your book proposal getting accepted by a publisher is to build your platform. Whether that includes workshops and seminars, press releases and media publicity, interviews and special events, blogging and podcasting or internet marketing, publishers need to know you have a strategy to promote your book and the tools necessary to pull it off. Indeed, they’re looking for a certain amount of star power.
If you don’t have a platform when you submit your book proposal, it won’t even get a second glance. That’s why it’s absolutely imperative to get the process started early. Offer workshops and seminars. Develop a website and build awareness and traffic. Use press releases to announce events or special milestones. Write articles, both online and off. Look for speaking engagements to build credibility and gain exposure. These are the things publishers will favor when evaluating your proposal.
Another misconception about getting a book published is that you’ll make money in the process. Unfortunately, this is rarely true on the first book. As an unproven author, you won’t be able to negotiate a big percentage in the book deal and the marketing campaign will devour most of the profits. The primary objective behind your first book should be to build credibility, gain exposure and validate your abilities as an author, including marketing. If you succeed, you’ll get a much better deal on your second book and that’s where you can start making money.
Publishing a book can be one of the best steps a person can take when developing a business. It sets you apart from the vast majority of others in your field and people will forever more treat you differently. But you also have to be realistic with the process and that’s what this article is all about. There is lots of information that can support the development of a platform and the marketing requirements on the Tactical Execution website and I encourage you to take advantage of those resources.
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Where can I find statistics on University education in the 3rd world- esp Africa?
I would like to know how many students attend these universities and how much aid funding these universities and students receive to buy books. Also if their publishing industry is subsidized in view to the university market. Anything in this regard would be very helpful I’m looking at South Africa in particular, but anything about the 3rd world would be great.
I’m doing research into initiatives aimed towards the 3rd world in terms of aid for university Textbooks/education, and whether these initiatives have a positive impact on students.
Site has closed. About a “Cure for HIV virus Discovered by Dr. Jeremiah Abalaka.” “Medicrest Hospital was therefore established to confirm the Doctor’s finding and produce curative vaccines for H.I.V.” Dr. Abalaka “has also invented an H.I.V. PREVENTIVE VACCINE code-named PABALAKS.” The hospital is in Gwagwalada, Abuja, Nigeria. A May 2002 Daily Trust article reported on Nigerian Governments efforts to stop use of the vaccine. http://www.abalaka.com/
Book publishers do not release this information. You can subscribe to services, which are very expensive, and and are still only estimations. Unlike movies, books can be returned from a bookstore at any time, so “books sold” is very difficult to determine at any time.
Personal Statement for University?
This is the first draft of my personal statement for University [UK] I just want to know what people think? thanks 🙂 Btw: I’m applying for neuroscience/neuroscience with psychology. Both with a year in industry. And apologies for the length!
I have wanted to go to University since I was a young child; I have always enjoyed school and love to learn new things and further my own knowledge. I am open to future career possibilities and whilst I realise that there are many jobs that I can do without a degree I feel that the level of work that I would find satisfying and fulfilling would require one.
The behaviour of people is something that has always been fascinating to me. This interest was the primary reason for deciding to study psychology at A-level and I feel that my interest in the subject has only been enhanced by doing so. Whilst studying psychology, I found that my interest was greatest when looking at a physiological approach – how our brain works. This is when my interest in Neuroscience really began to grow. Since then, I have gone on to read a couple of books on Neuroscience including; The man who mistook his wife for a hat by Oliver Sacks. The area of Neuroscience that interests me the most is pain; How do we distinguish between something quite painful and something excruciatingly painful? Why do individuals have different thresholds for pain? Why can emotional pain feel like physical pain?
I would describe myself as a determined character with the ability and tenacity to succeed in projects that I undertake.
In year nine, I was entered for a GCSE in Statistics due to my ability and work ethic. I gained mathematical skills whilst doing this which I feel would be beneficial during my studies at University. At Keystage Four, I was successful in completing Fastrack in French and German. This involved studying each subject in one year whilst maintaining the use of both throughout the two years. This required commitment to after-school classes and extra work. As part of my studies in year twelve, I opted for an EPQ knowing that this would teach me valuable skills that would enhance my performance at University. A major part of this project and also of Business Studies is presentation skills which I believe I have improved since starting my A levels as it has helped me to build my confidence. Additionally, in year twelve I worked as a guide at the Centenary Celebration for our college.
My interests include Art; in particular sketching with pencil or biro and crafts including; pottery painting and decopatch. I also thoroughly enjoy reading and creative writing, more so short stories however, when I was thirteen I had a poem published in a book called, ‘I have a dream’. Furthermore, I am currently teaching myself to play the guitar which allows me to have more independence and set my own targets to work to giving me a high level of self-discipline. In addition, I have always loved animals and support the charities WWF and RSPCA through fundraising and regular volunteer work. I have also signed WWF’s recent ‘Save the Tiger’ petition. Next Summer, I am hoping to secure a place on a two week conservation project in Australia.
I am looking forward to the challenges and experiences University will bring and believe that I have the ability and commitment to succeed.
that is a really good draft and you sound like a really nice person
good luck
xxx kim xxx
I am a failure…what should I do?
I graduated from Columbia last year with a masters in statistics. I graduated from NYU four years earlier with high marks. I cannot find an entry level job. I have been unemployed all my life so far and I am still living at home. I will be 28 years old next week. I send out resumes every day and I get zero responses. The problem isnt the resume. The career counselors at Columbia like my resume so much they published it in their book of sample resumes they give out to the freshman. What should I do? I live in the NY metro area, and with all the industries I think I should be able to find a ground floor opportunity. But nothing. My confidence is shattered. Can anyone offer some advice? I am not a beggar, but I am desperate…can someone please help me land a basic, entry-level job? I worked so hard in college because I thought it would lead to good employment, instead I have been unemployed for the past 5-6 years. I am considering in-patient therapy, if I had insurance
wow.
you should be able to get entry level finance job easy….
perhaps Columbia Univ. is hiring? look for internship. your education is impressive i would hire you in a heartbeat!
Addition to “What does chiropractic “treat”?
A health care industry is not rated based upon its merits for its lack of death rates. I fully support a health care arena that embraces the best of everything to the end of benefiting the patient. Now it is said that medicine is more dangerous than chiro. This is merely a numbers game. Chiros do not have life threatening cases present to the office whereas medical/ER does (in great numbers) and in the normal course of life death does occur. What I find intriguing is how the alt med haters will thump the book of scientific literature when referring to alt med and saying it is not “proven” but when this death rate comes up there is no literature in the scientific community that can show us any statistics about the death rate of chiropractic care, but it is clearly published about death rates due to iatrogenic causes and the like. For example, according to a 1996 British Medical Journal report, “Americans were shocked when it was revealed that as many as three million hospital patients are injured or killed each year because of medical accidents and that 30% of all those patients experienced adverse drug reactions.” But lets not pull out the death card when comparing our two distinguished professions. Let us compare the merits. It is without a doubt the medical profession is a vital and necessary part of society and culture. At the same time there is room for chiropractic care for those that wish to seek it. Chiro is mainly known for neuro-muscular conditions and it does very well in that arena. The literature says it is as effective if not slightly more effective that interventional medicine ie drugs, surgery, physical therapy. So if you have a health care model that can effectively handle something like lower back pain, which costs the US economy approx $100 million, is the # one reason that people call in sick to work and is the # 2 reason why people visit their doctor, then why dont you let it do it? At every corner and at every avenue there has to be some nurse, or medical doctor screaming how bad chiro care is or minimizing its efficacy!
On June 16, 2009, Secretary of Health and Human Services Kathleen Sebelius submitted a report to Congress, evaluating chiropractic services under Medicare. A survey was conducted of 3,464 people seeking chiro care for pain and/or difficulty walking, whose symptoms were described as severe or very severe, with 2/3 of those patients reporting that their symptoms “interfered considerably” in their usual daily activities. They were treated with chiro adjustments and various physical therapy modalities like EMS, ultrasound, ice and heat.The astonishing results (to those outside chiro, anyway) were as follows: of the approximately 2500 people who responded to the survey, 60% of the respondents got “complete” or “a lot” of symptomatic relief from chiro care, with 87% reporting a satisfaction rating of 8, 9, or 10. The patients who received “moderate” or “complete” relief from treatment by other strategies, like pills, injections, or surgery was 11%.
If my math is right, then it’s about five times more likely that a patient suffering from severe neuro-musculo-skeletal symptoms will respond to chiro care than any other discipline. If I was suffering from severe neuro-musculo-skeletal symptoms, I think I’d want to know that. Put aside the likelihood of iatrogenic consequences and side effects, or the cost-effectiveness, let’s just look at these outcomes for a second. If you were hurting, wouldn’t you want the approach that gave five times better results? Dr. Narson comments, “Chiropractic is clearly validated as an effective form of treatment for those with neuro-musculo-skeletal conditions such as back pain, neck pain, hip pain and shoulder pain. It’s time that the medical profession – welcomes chiropractic physicians as partners in the treatment of these conditions for the benefit of the patient.”
I fully believe in medicine when applied appropriately just like I believe that chiro care should be applied appropriately. I do not agree with the chiros out there who scream and rant that chiro care “cure” or “treat” diseases. I do not agree with the perversion of the medical field that over medicates patients simply because the patients are demanding it. I hope that some of the people who post on this forum who attack alt med can simply put down the pitchfork of hate and ask themselves how does spewing hate and deference help anybody? The power you wield as a person of education and as a nurse or doctor deserves the respect of an open mind. How do you know that something you write may resonate with a person in the public and cause them to make a choice that may not benefit them 100%? You owe it to yourself, your profession and your patients to have a full toolbox at your disposal, not just one that fits your needs. It is not your need but rather the need of the patient that comes first. This
@ Rhianna: I emailed you to let you know that you have been unblocked. Are you saying that the report delivered by HHS is invalid? It clearly shows that chiro is nearly 5x more effective for LBP!! The meta-analysis you indicate shows no vast difference?? Lets be reasonable…you compare a meta analysis to a study by HHS? Do you simply discard this study because it doesnt support you? You mention mild neuromusc and soft tissue only. Have you ever had an acute LBP or acute radiculitis that is unresponsive to conventional medicine? If not, there is nothing “mild” about it and it can be debilitating and life altering. I have seen many cases of the sort and have seen patients not only heal, but thrive in a chiropractic setting, drug free. Please be respectful for those that have and are dealing with acute spinal issues. “The interest of the patient is the only interest to be considered”- Dr. William J Mayo
Statistics for books sold?
I’m looking for a source that will give me the sales stats for books. The movie industry publishes their numbers for movies so where can I find the same data for books?
You’re missing the point.
First, are you the same chap who emailed me earlier? It’s just whoever that was raised identical points. I think you’ve picked up the wrong end of the stick. The medical community is not saying Chiropractic is bad per se; but it does have it’s limitations. It may be beneficial for mild musculoskeleta problems of soft tissue origin and this is plausible and there is some evidence to support this. However, any claims made beyond this (and many are!) are not supported and are barely plausible. This is the main problem. Providing you stay within your realms of minor musculoskeletal problems, there is no specific issue.
You should also know that in a recent meta-analysis, NOTHING came out very effective in dealing with back pain. Whether you saw a physiotherapist, an orthopedic surgeon an osteopath, or a chiropractor, etc, more or less the same percentage of patients got better over time anyway. We accept this, even though it shows some of the conventional modalities as not being very effective.
We support any practice where there is evidence of efficacy. I have conceded a possible use for chiropractic, but claims made beyond this are unsupported. No one is attacking chiropractic, in medicine all interventions are subject to scrutiny for a very specific reason. This isn’t some witch hunt.
I’ve commented on the iatrogenic deaths plenty of times today, see my answer here: http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index;_ylt=Anlma3iuvtFZ7bbBSmyPgkQAAAAA;_ylv=3?qid=20100824033227AAa2J6H
You can’t use the errors in conventional medicine as a pro for AltMed because this still does not demonstrate efficacy. Also, one of the main reasons we cannot look at safety data with AltMed is because the vast majority of Altmed is unregulated. There is no data, this is a huge problem.
Edit: Can you please link me the study you are referring to.