Self Publish or Perish: the New Age of Book Writing

In this new age of the Internet, information isNow what is most important? Starting to write a book
everywhere and people are hungry to find it. If theytoday, because time is of the essence! Consider this: in
have a question about ANYTHING in life, they are apta world of instant gratification, the publishing industry
to jump online, go to a search engine and trusthas not yet caught up to our need for speed.
whatever they find. So how do you compete amongCommercial publishers still take 9 to 18 months to get a
trillions of pages of Internet content? The answer isbook from manuscript to the bookstores, which comes
simple: you write a book (or hire a ghostwriter to do itafter contract negotiations (two to three months) and
for you!).finding the right agent and publisher (probably six
In doing so, write a book with the intention of publishingmonths to a year). Who has this kind of patience
it with a commercial publisher. This attitude will elevateanymore?
your standards and create a high platform on which toThis is where self publishing comes in! Mind you, my
perch. Quality is king. This book will speak for yourecommendation is to still go through the process of
forever; it will either speak poorly for you, or it willcreating something truly remarkable, investing your time
dynamically change lives. That being said, don't let theand your money to write a book or hire a ghostwriter
traditional publishing industry push you around and forceto write a book worthy of commercial publication, but
you to wait. People are relying on your information. Ifdo NOT let the slow speed of commercial publishing
you invest in writing an exceptional book, you deservedeter you from getting your message out quicker. Self
to reap the rewards more quickly than traditionalPublish! Hire your ghostwriter to write a book and then
publishing allows (their process is as long as a year orwhile you are submitting to agents and publishers, self
more to get your book into bookstores), so partnerpublish it through one of the many vanity presses
your desire to create something outstanding with youravailable.
ability to self publish and get your book out there intoIn addition to your time, this alternative will require
the hands of the people who need it most!investing a bit of capital, probably around $5,000 to
In life and in business, there are few things that bring$7,500 for 2,000 copies of your book, including the
the respect, the admiration, the financial reward, andprice to format it, acquire your ISBN number and get it
the emotional gratification that writing a book does.listed on Amazon. But realize this: when you write a
The media will refer to you as an expert, yourbook and then you self publish, you make so much
customers will look at you with newfound respect, and,more of the money. When you sell those 2,000 books,
most importantly, you'll look at yourself differently, withyour income can be anywhere from $15,000 to
so much more confidence and a crystallized$40,000, versus a much smaller royalty from a
understanding of what you offer your customers!traditional publisher.
Remember when I said the answer was simple? Well,So write a book worthy of commercial publishing, and
it was, but implementing it will require a bit more work.then self publish to test the content, and build up a
You need to take your expertise and create a unique,stockpile of cash that you can use to market and
even remarkable delivery system for it. You and/orpublicize the book when it hits the bookstores. Heck, if
your ghostwriter are going to write a book  but notyou can sell 30,000 units on your own, a commercial
just any book; it will be YOUR book! This is anpublisher will pick you up based on that alone!
endeavor that should take no less than six months toYou must be strategic in this day and age to survive!
write, writing at least an hour a day, every day. It couldThink about what you are doing today and what you'll
possibly take as long as a year or more (and thatneed tomorrow. Today you need to start writing (or
doesn't mean three months on and six months off!) tofind your ghostwriter), so you can self publish
write a great book. Writing an exceptional manuscripttomorrow, and commercially publish down the road.
worthy of worldwide distribution is a creative processWithout the writing, there is neither the self publishing
that requires tremendous focus and the dedication ofopportunity nor the commercial publishing chance. So
a brilliant team of people: ghostwriter, focus groupstart your writing, or hire your ghostwriter immediately
participants, professional analysts, structure(check out my article: 10 Questions You Must Ask
professionals, proofreaders, formatters, and more!Before You Hire a Ghostwriter)!