Produce for an audience / Create for yourself?
What is the point/route of publication and the roadmap? / Writing and Vision
Traditional business strategy plans have components.
Sounds a bit theoretical?
OK, here’s the version for the author’s post:
Vital Plan / Sales Book
What makes your book so special?
Who will want to buy your work?
Competence
Format(s) of your Book
How do you plan to promote your product (book/ebook)?
What are your marketing strategies?
Calculations and prices
What is your schedule for writing, editing, producing books, marketing, etc.?
Before we explore the possibilities of author publishing in this series, let’s first take a look at your business strategy plans as a freelance author and the most important question:
Why are you writing?
Are you creating for yourself (as a hobby, just for the joy of writing) or for an audience?
Before posting
Can you answer these questions?
How many books with the same theme/same genre are there on the market?
Why should a potential reader buy your book over other same or similar books on the market, perhaps some that have been established for some time (some with good reviews)?
What is the sales ranking of these works?
How are these books priced?
What is the social media ranking of the most successful writers in this genre?
Where are these books sold online and offline?
The advice you read here is based on the assumption that you want to entertain, inform, grow your audience, and eventually make some money from your writing.
If you are producing work for an audience, it means:
• follow at least some industry rules
• worry about what others think of your work
• establish an author platform from which to communicate
• interact with your audience and be available to them
• do things not from your perspective, but in the service of your audience
• put on a performance or adopt some kind of “brand”
• Market your work and be visible
If you are creating for yourself, it means:
Writing is worth it to you, regardless of who sees your work.
Why should authors have a business strategy plan?
Unfortunately, many writers create their work first and then ask questions. Any freelance author can write a book, but only a successful author knows that he is now in business.
Again: “Writing is an art, publishing is a business!”
A serious matter!
What is the point? Route and mapping > Writing and vision
What is the point?
There’s no point in going without some kind of strategy if your goals really are to build a career as a writer.
It’s never too early to treat your writing like a business – no one would open an event business without a plan!
Post route and roadmap?
A business strategy plan can help new (and established) freelance authors clarify the appropriate publishing path for their work.
A business strategy plan serves as a roadmap, helping to keep the project and related efforts, such as marketing and platform building, on schedule and for the author to track the results of their efforts. .
Writing and Vision
The business strategy plan starts when you start thinking about writing a book, it covers all aspects of your future work.
By the time you start a novel or nonfiction book, you should already have a clear vision of the message, the audience, and even the selling points.
Traditional business strategy plans have these components:
– Executive Summary
– Business description
– Marketing strategies
– Competitive analysis
– Financial factors
– Operations and management plan
– Design and development plan
Genre > Competitive > Market
Sounds a bit theoretical? OK, here is the version for
independent author: publication:
Theme / Genre and Target Audience Readers
• The theme/genre of your fiction/nonfiction work
• Your target audience / readers
Competitive parameters in the market
• Your competition online and in bookstores
• The probable contents, length, format, etc. from the book
Assessment of possibilities in the market.
• Your marketing and promotion strategies
• The expenses you face for publications and promotions.
Sell > Make special > Why buy?
Vital Plan / Sales Book
It is vital to have a business strategy plan because you and your books are the products that will sell.
It makes some writers uncomfortable, but without a plan, you can’t really figure out how to make your book sell itself. Think of it like a map, guiding you from writer-hungry to successful freelance author.
What makes your book so special?
There’s no point writing a book if you don’t know why or if it’s special. Many writers write books they would love to read, many write books whose marketing studies show readers are buying, some write books because the subject is risky or has never been explored before. Learn why you and your book are special, and most importantly, what the readers benefit from buying your novel or nonfiction book.
Who will want to buy your work?
Write down all the people who are likely to want your book, why they will want it, and how effective they will be in getting more people to want it. Know who your target audience is. Do you have enough contacts (at least 2000 on each social media outlet) to get the word out about your book?…and when I say ‘contacts’ I don’t mean other writers, I mean READERS, bookworms, lovers from books, book clubs, avid readers, reviewers! That’s the kind of audience you’ll want to seek out.
Competition > Format > Promotion
Competence
• Research in bookstores and online, how many and which books will be comparable to the one you are writing. Check them out in libraries, on reader forums.
• Visit independent stores and go to big chains, research these books in all online stores: find out what genres they are placed in, what critics are saying, how their independent author pages are laid out, etc. to get a true picture of your competition and your potential readers. There is a wide variety of options available from the author of this article.
Format(s) of your Book
• Books can be sold in many formats and also in many languages. Research at least these three popular formats:
• electronic book PDF ePub iBook format
• audio format
• Print format
How do you plan to promote your product (e/I-print Book)?
You meet people, I hope many people. Online and offline. And those people know people. Unless you can spend thousands of pounds every month on advertising, you need to plan now, before you write your book, social media, book events, get interviews, speaking engagements, search for book reviews and attend book shows. Schedule all these activities in advance, add as many readers as possible to your current accounts on reader community sites, all social networking sites.
Marketing > Pricing
What are your marketing strategies?
Well, your book is available from a major online website or your local bookstore, but where else could it be a perfect fit?
Other online retailers where you can sell your book? Stretch your mind and think creatively:
Libraries, book clubs, foreign rights sales… there are so many possible outlets for your book.
Find out what your commissions are and how much you would earn on each sale of your book.
Calculations and prices
Both digital and print books need to be proofread, edited and then formatted, not forgetting a really fabulous and attractive cover.
The price of printed books is largely based on the number of pages in the book and the quality of the binding, cover design costs, and book layout. Pricing also depends on whether the print books are available for wider distribution than just one of the major online book outline stores. Since wider distribution is used, the books must be priced so that other outlets receive wholesale prices.
One must also take into account the turbulence in the rapidly changing world of electronic and print books. Prices may be subject to change based on sales, current pricing trends, and the need to create upward movement in Amazon rankings. Books may be discounted if they fit with the marketing and promotion strategy.
Do not forget other expenses, such as web design and hosting, advertising, marketing expenses, telephone and internet, travel expenses, etc. The good news: You can deduct them from your writer’s income.
Hours > Writing > Editing > Production > Marketing
What is your schedule for writing, editing, producing books, marketing, etc.?
Once you’ve figured out your market, your readership, your competition, and your sales planning, you’ll feel much better about having a clear vision of your career as a writer/publisher.
A business strategy plan doesn’t have to be scary, especially for a simple business like your writing business. In fact, a business plan should be somewhat comforting. Explain what you want to accomplish, in what time frame, and how you plan to do it.
Cash / Estimates
Sample spreadsheets are available from the author of this article.
