Things You Need To Do Before Publishing Your Book

Writers often assume that writing a book from start to finish is the most challenging part of getting it published. However, the reality is that having a completed manuscript in hand only puts you at the beginning of the long journey it takes to get a book published successfully.

Here are some things you need to do before getting your book published

A well-written book is only half the battle won. How you position your book in the market goes a long way in helping you get the attention of your readers which in turn determines the success of your book. The best way for you to understand how to position your book is to do some research on books that are already successful in the category or theme you have written in and analyze what made them successful in the first place.

• The Book Cover
  Try to see if there are common themes when it comes to book covers in your genre of writing. For eg., Crime Thrillers make use of bright colours like red that symbolize danger while self-help books are more minimalist in nature with more emphasis on the title and sub-title.
• Title & Subtitle
  Fiction books generally don’t require a subtitle but non-fiction and business books generally have a detailed long sub-title that lets readers know what exactly the reader gains from the book. Try to see what strategies are being followed by successful books in your category.
• The Pricing Strategy
  The pricing of a book can make or break a book. It needs to be aligned correctly to your target audience and their purchasing power. Pay close attention to not only the selling price of the book but also discounts and offers being used to aid book sales.
• Book Description
  A description or pitch is one of the most critical aspects of a book that convinces readers to pick it up. You have to absolutely nail this. Check out the unique ways in which other successful authors are pitching their book is your category before conjuring up your own pitch.

The first thing you need to do is to identify who your target audience is. It is critical that you remember to focus on the people who are most likely to pick up your book and not just everyone who could possibly pick it up. Try to build the perfect reader persona by defining factors such as age group, interests, purchasing power, time for reading etc.

Once you have your target audience defined, you need to figure out which platforms you can use to reach out to these readers. Which social platforms do they frequent most? Are they part of book clubs or poetry clubs, do they like buying from retail stores or online stores? Try to answer these questions about your audience.

Once you know where to reach them, you need to figure out what is the best way to reach them. What type of content do they most engage with? Are they likely to pick up books based on recommendations? Are there any influencers they follow? Try to find answers to these questions before you draw out your content strategy to reach them.

If you have finished writing a book, it is critical that you understand that now is not the time to take the foot off the gas. Doing the prep work and getting these things right can go a long way in helping you out with building visibility for your book when it finally launches in the market. So ensure you make optimal use of this time and set up your book for success.

I hope this article will be helpful to you. Follow Lone Thread Books to learn more about reading, writing, and publishing.

| By, Aswy Hanna Paul, Lone Thread Books. |