Anyone who tells you that authorship isn\u2019t a business and that it doesn\u2019t require a multitude of skills, has never fully enmeshed him\/herself into the role of author. So what does authorship entail? You can either dive blindly into publishing and find out for yourself, which is, unfortunately, what too many newbie authors do. Or you can follow the experts\u2019 advice and learn about the industry, the book business and the world of publishing before getting involved.<\/p>\n
Here are some of the skills an author should hone:
\n\u2022\tWriting. You\u2019d think this is pretty obvious, but I know authors who aren\u2019t actually very good at expressing themselves through writing. What do members of your writers\u2019 group say about your writing? Hire a book editor to evaluate your skills in this area. If you cannot quite get your message or story across, don\u2019t show your work to any publisher or produce it yourself without hiring a good book editor first. <\/p>\n
\u2022\tBusiness sense. Authorship, even if you land a traditional royalty publisher, should be considered a business. If you are self-publishing or considering contracting with a pay-to-publish company, you\u2019ll have a multitude of decisions to make. Without a good business sense, you may flounder and drown in the deep sea of choices and options.<\/p>\n
\u2022\tOrganizing. Authors need organizational skills in order to juggle the tasks involved with producing a book and marketing it. In some instances, timing is everything. <\/p>\n
\u2022\tTechnology. The author who can build and maintain his\/her own website, set up a blog, become comfortable managing social media sites, for example, is going to have more freedom within the world of technology than those who have to hire these things done. You\u2019ll also save money if you can DIY. And do not minimize the importance of having and maintaining your own website. You can\u2019t even imagine the number of opportunities you might miss if you are difficult to locate.<\/p>\n
\u2022\tCommunication skills. As an author, you\u2019ll be required to arrange various promotional opportunities for yourself and, hopefully, you\u2019ll want to get out and do some public speaking. Communication is so important throughout the publishing and marketing processes<\/p>\n
\u2022\tNegotiating. There are distributors and wholesalers to deal with; book reviewers, booksellers and so forth to contact and negotiate with. The more comfortable you feel within this realm, the more successful your dealings with these entities will be.<\/p>\n
\u2022\tMarketing. The author is required to promote his\/her own book. So the more clued-in you are about the book market and book marketing, the better chance you have to succeed in this business. Anyone who tells you that authorship isn\u2019t a business and that it doesn\u2019t require a multitude of skills, has never fully enmeshed him\/herself into the role of author. So what does authorship entail? You can either dive blindly into publishing and find out for yourself, which is, unfortunately, what too many newbie authors do. Or […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[16],"tags":[],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t
\nStudy the publishing industry by reading my book, The Right Way to Write, Publish and Sell Your Book.<\/em> http:\/\/www.matilijapress.com\/rightway.html<\/a> <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"