You keep hearing and reading that publishing is a business and that one should adopt a business head when contemplating producing a book. But how business savvy must you be in order to successfully launch a memoir, a book of poetry, a novel or a children’s book? Isn’t it enough to just know in your heart that this is what you want to do?
As writers, we are also artists who create with words. We develop a theme for a book and then design it by choosing and then moving words. Of course, those words—the way they are strung together—represent thoughts, concepts, truths and emotions.
Most books start out as emotional projects, wouldn’t you agree? Even the concept of a business book is often conceived within the area of the emotions. The author has a passion for teaching this theory or subject—he has a burning desire to share what he knows in a way that will make a difference in someone’s life.
It is fact, that, despite what you know—publishing is a business and should be approached as such—in most cases, books have their beginnings as an emotional thought rather than a business decision. “I want to help,” is emotional. “I want to make a difference,” is emotional. “I have something to say and I must say it,” is emotional. “I truly want to share what I know,” is emotional. “I have this story running around in my head and I must put it on paper,” is emotional.
Many authors eventually flip over to business mode where their emotional projects are concerned. Once it is written, they begin to justify their reasons for seeking publication. They may write a book proposal and even take note of the truths it reveals—“Wow, there are a lot of books on this subject already,” or “I’m having trouble establishing my target audience,” or “I really don’t have a platform.” And most go ahead and pursue publication anyway. Others will make adjustments to their original plans and try to create a more publishable project.
We each enter into the world of publishing from a different angle—with varied knowledge, hopes and expectations. And each of us have different outcomes. This is due to emotions, as well. For example, if you hate public speaking, you’re going to avoid doing it even if this may be the best way for you to promote your particular book. Maybe you have little interest in hawking your book at all—you can’t get out much, you don’t have the know-how to promote online.
Every book comes with a side-story and, if the author cares to share it, you’ll discover that it is laced with emotion. I believe that it is the nature of the emotion invested, as well as the balance of emotion and business savvy that will determine the measure of success for that book. It is a wise author who detaches him/herself from their emotional grasp at least enough to determine whether this book is the right book for the right audience and whether it is being produced at the right time.
How do you know? If you’ve written a well-researched book proposal, you know. It’s now a matter of having the courage to make the right decision on behalf of your book. This might mean, rewriting it, changing the focus, self-publishing rather than going with a pay-to-publish company, holding out for a traditional publisher or trashing the project and starting over. And this sort of decision certainly does take courage. It’s not easy to stomp all over one’s emotions.
For assistance in determining the potential for your book, read my book—I wrote it for you. The Right Way to Write, Publish and Sell Your Book. http://www.matilijapress.com/rightway.html
If you need additional help producing a pristine, useful, telling book proposal, sign up for my Book Proposal Course. http://www.matilijapress.com/course_bookproposal.htm