By Guest Blogger, Lt. Col. Rob “Waldo” Waldman
www.yourwingman.com
Click Here to listen to Lt. Col. Rob’s interview any time after 9:00 am EST Tuesday May 11th, 2010 on the WomensRadio Network.
- Know Your Mission Objective: Before you even set out to write a book, it’s critical to have a clear understanding as to why you want to write it and who your target market is. Are you looking to build your brand or establish credibility for your speaking or consulting practice? Perhaps you will use it as a free give-away to provide an overview of your extensive training manual that you offer. Are you looking to make serious money from book sales? Are you targeting corporate leaders, small businesses, entrepreneurs, or the healthcare market? These questions must be addressed and a clear target must be identified before any content is put onto paper.
- When to Self-Publish or Traditionally Publish? The answer to this question involves a ton of variables, all of which should be explored in detail. If you’re looking for mass distribution, a brand name behind your book title, or the ability to sell rights overseas, then traditional publishing is for you. If you want more creative control, flexibility in content, and the ability to get your book to the masses quickly (and make much more money than publishers) then self-publishing is the right flight path to take.
- Always Fly With a Wingman: Writing a book will undoubtedly be one of the most challenging missions you’ll fly in your professional life. If you’re relying solely on your own resources, marketing talents, writing/editing skills, and PR connections, you will likely get shot down. Invest in a trustworthy book writing coach who can help you distill your thoughts and expand your concepts into topics appealing to your target market. Hire a professional editor who can scrub your manuscript from A-Z while keeping your voice. If you plan on working with a major publisher, seek out a reputable literary agent who “gets” your message and can coach you on getting in front of publishers. Finally, share your book proposal and completed chapters with colleagues, family members, and even trusted clients and ask them to provide brutally honest feedback on the content.
- Gather Intelligence: The massive quantity of information on book publishing and writing can be overwhelming. To cut through the clutter, attend reputable seminars and tradeshows dedicated to the book industry and learn the latest marketing trends, social media tools, and writing techniques. Find out everything you can, from what book cover designs are appealing to consumers to how you should approach partners to help market your book.
- Stay Visual with Your Target – A very innovative and well received media tool for marketing your book is online video. A great technique is to put together a 2-5 minute book trailer video that outlines your value proposition and shares some beefy content. Put it up on a professional designed website dedicated to your new book along with sample chapters. It’s critical that your personality shine through on this video. If you get your viewers to laugh, cry, and connect emotionally with your message, your books will be flying off the shelves. Consumers today want to work with and learn from authentic and genuine people, and not haughty or arrogant “wingnuts.”
- Always Seek out New Wingmen – Your book is an amazing way to share your story and life experiences (both positive and negative) with the masses. A great way to guarantee distribution into Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and across the U.S. is to get as many folks on your team as possible to share the book with members and friends of their community (local neighborhoods, Facebook community, Twitter, etc.) Also, don’t wait until a day before your publications date to solicit peers, friends and colleagues who will share your book with their teams. Pick up the phone. Say hello. Ask them politely to support you. Send them a book and a small business gift. Bottom line – connect with them as people first before asking for help. They will go above and beyond for you!
Rob “Waldo” Waldman, The Wingman, builds team unity within organizations as a high-energy leadership and inspirational speaker. A former combat-decorated fighter pilot with corporate sales experience, he is the New York Times and Wall Street Journal bestseller of Never Fly Solo. His clients include Aflac, Marriott, Nokia, Honeywell, NY Life, and Home Depot. To download Waldo’s Top Gun Motivation mission briefing, visit www.YourWingman.com, e-mail info@yourwingman.com or call 1-866-925-3616.