How many times have you had an idea for a book?… Now, how many times have you finished that book and gotten it published?
In this video, I will show you the five hurdles that will stop you from finishing your book and reveal the five hacks that will help you overcome them. I’ve used these same tricks to self-publish 12 books on Amazon,n and I know they will work for you!
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Self-Publishing as Passive Income
Self-publishing is easily my favorite passive income source. I know those of you in the community are tired of hearing me say that,t but it’s the truth, and if I could get you started, I guarantee you will be amazed at how much you can make and how much this cash flows every month.
I’ve been self-publishing books on Amazon since 2015, writing 12 books in the last four years, and have made almost $108,000 through Kindle, paperback, and audio versions. I’ve got three books approaching $20,000 in sales and average just under $2,200 a month.
Everyone has a book idea, and this is so easy to do.
The problem is that five roadblocks will stand in your way. Hitting one of these is why many would-be authors give up or never even get started.
This video will show you the hurdles to self-publishing your book. We’ll talk through each,h and I’ll reveal how to defeat it to get your book written and published fast.
Now I want to get to that five quick-start tips,s but I’m also going to be linking below to a free handout, the nine steps I used to self-publish 12 books. You’ll find everything you need in these nine tips to succeed in self-publishing, get your book on Amazon, and start making money.
Steps to Self-Publishing a Book
The first hurdle to self-publishing is that people don’t understand how much goes into this business. They underestimate the number of roles you play.
Not knowing all the steps is excruciatingly frustrating, and then it feels like they’ll never get done when every new task pops up at the last minute.
So first is understanding what all goes into self-publishing, from writing to your launch and beyond. First,t you’ve got the idea development and research. Here is where you’re going to think of the transformation you want to deliver to your readers and maybe help them realize a change you achieved. Then you develop your idea, working backward through every step they need to follow to reach that end goal.
Once you’ve developed your idea, write out the main topic or step for each chapter and create each chapter separately. So this means the same process, thinking backward from the result to everything they need to learn to move on to the next chapter.
With your chapters outlined, you can move on to writing the book. Take it one chapter at a time, maybe one chapter a week.
Then it would help if you had a developmental editor, and this is one of the most self-published authors miss. You are too close to the topic. You’ve written the boo,k, and there’s a good chance you’re glossing over details because you know the subject well.
What a developmental editor does is check the book for ease of reading and flow of information. They’re going to make sure the layperson that knows nothing about the topic can go from page one to page 100 and achieve that transformation.
So the editor here will give you feedback on the book and you’ll rewrite parts and maybe clarify some sections. Then you’ve got the proof editor or grammatical editor to check the text for errors.
Now a lot of people are going to be turned off by the potential cost of hiring two separate editors or are just going to skip over these parts.
Editing your books doesn’t have to be expensive,e but it’s not something you can skip. The easiest way to do this is to find a few friends or family that can help or, barring this, check Craigslist or local colleges. You’ll be asking hundreds a month in your book,s so don’t be afraid to spend just a little to do it right.
After both types of editing, you’re ready to format your book. This is easier than it sounds. You’ll need to format your text in a 6-by-9 layout and design it for Amazon Kindle and paperback. This takes a couple of hours to learn how to d,o so don’t be scared away by this step.
You’ll also need a cover design, including a square formatted image for an audio version.
Now even if you’re used to making images for social media, I’d highly recommend finding someone on Fiverr or another site to give you some ideas for cover art. Like it or not, people judge a book by its cover; this first impression will make or break your sales.
Once you’ve got your book formatted and the cover done, you can publish it on Amazon, but there are a few things here you need to pay attention to as well. You’ll need to write up a book page for Amazon and pick some keywords and categories for the book. These are more important than you might think, so spend some time writing a persuasive description that gets people to click the buy button.
A good book launch is one of the most important things you can do for your book. It will build up those initial sales to rank your book and get the first handful of reviews as proof for more potential readers.
Finally, and this is the one most often missed by self-published authors, is a marketing plan. I love Amazon self-publishing, and it can be about as passive as it gets after your launch, but you still need a plan for driving some sales each month to keep your book ranked.
For the first time, I’m revealing the entire strategy I’ve used to self-publish 12 books on Amazon and average over $2,100 a month in passive income. In Self-Publishing for Passive Income, you’ll learn everything you need, from getting a book idea to making writing easy and selling more books.
Self-Publishing Schedule
Once you know all the roles and tasks in putting your book together, the next hurdle is implementing this and staying on schedule.
I get so many emails from people starting with their book, and unfortunately, I think maybe less than one-in-ten ever finishes.
For most people. Life gets in the way. They get side-tracked for a week here and there. Maybe a task or two takes longer than expected. Whatever it is, they get to the point of frustration and desperation. Their book doesn’t seem to be moving, and they give up.
That’s why this second hack is so important, making a strict plan, mapping out each week, and a hard deadline for when you publish.
You’re going to plan out what you’re doing every week, and you can adjust this a little as you go, but I also want you to make a hard deadline for publishing. This means taking each task and mapping it out. How long each will take and what you need to do to get there.
This deadline is the day you’re going to hit publish, whether you think you’re ready or not. You’recommittingt to getting your book published and not take no for an answer?
So to help you with this, I want you to make that hard deadline now. Pause the video if you need to, and think through how long it will take for each task. For someone working on it full-time, it might be six to eight weeks. If you’re planning on 5-10 hours a week, you might plan for 18 weeks.
What to Write about for Self-Publishing
Hurdle #3 is another one that keeps people from even getting started, not thinking they have anything to write about.
You don’t need to teach readers how to change the world. Your book doesn’t have to promise people they’ll be self-actualized Buddhas after reading it.
Pick one thing, one transformation you can drive in your readers. That might be as simple as creating a budget; it might be how to stop smoking or meditate. Pick just one thing that you’ve done and run with that.
Once you’ve got the transformation you want to offer, work backward through each step the reader needs to achieve it. Look at your list of steps forwards and back and make sure even someone with no knowledge at all in this topic, make sure they could follow it to that transformation.
Making Your Book Interesting
This next hurdle might not keep you from making your book but will keep you from making a good one,s making it entertaining and relatable to your readers.
This one is really for non-fiction writers. You can give readers every step to that transformation, but if your book is as dry as the instructions to my toaster, I will have a hard time finishing it.
You want at least one personal story or anecdote in each chapter, something to give the chapter that human feel.
This is going to do two essential things for your book. First,t it’s going to make it a more enjoyable read. Nobody wants to read an instruction manual. Nobody reads instruction manuals and sees all the little things that void your warranty.
Adding stories from your own experience or others’ will keep your readers turning the pages and make it much more likely they’ll achieve that transformation.
Second, adding personal stories helps your readers see how they can accomplish that journey. They’ve seen how you did it and how others have achieved the transformation through the anecdotes, making it possible for them to do it.
Commit to Self-Publishing Your Book
Now, after all, this, understanding the different roles, making a plan, and knowing what you’re going to write about…people still don’t seem to be able to publish their books. And it’s because they’re not treading it like a job.
I don’t mean dragging your ass out of bed every morning, dreading the blinking cursor on the computer screen as you dread going to the morning meeting at work. I don’t mean treating it like THAT kind of job.
What I mean is committing to spend a certain number of hours per week on your book. Going somewhere you can work without being bothered and doing it no matter what.
I understand that we all have responsibilities with family, and things come up, but if you’re ever going to finish your book, you need to treat it like a no-excuses commitment. Plan out which hours and which days you’re going to work. Sit down and cut out all distractions from your phone or the internet. Find someplace you can if you can’t work without distractions at home.
Everyone has a book idea, and this is the best source of passive income I’ve ever found. Like many people, don’t give up on your self-publishing idea mid-way through. I’ll show you how to make it a reality and every trick I use to make monthly money! Click through for a coupon code and special launch price, 75% off the regular price on Self-Publishing for Passive Income!
Get this done and get published! You can write a book and self-publish. This is one of the most accessible income sources I’ve used, and wI ill start making money for you within six months. Organize your book and get writing.