Are you thinking about publishing a novel? Whether you have a plot idea for a psychological thriller or a desire to write an educational non-fiction book, it is important to make sure that you treat your book as the precious asset it is. The way you write and market your book will help determine whether or not it is a success. Believe it or not, to do this, you need to think less like a creator and more like a business professional. Therefore, here are 4 ways to improve your author business.
Know Your Audience
Firstly, make sure you know who your target audience is and exactly what they want/expect from you. This is important when it comes to marketing. Writing a book that doesn’t have a clear audience, or penning a novel that straddles genres could be more difficult to sell. Causing any confusion for readers may result in low sales and/or negative reviews. It could also mean that you struggle to attract the attention of a literary agent, if you plan to pursue a traditional publishing career. That is why research is key in the beginning stages of planning a book, as well as setting up an author business. Some people don’t like the idea of ‘writing to market’ but any author who gives their intended readers exactly what they want/expect is more likely to succeed.
Get The Right Team
Make sure you are working with an effective team once you are ready to release your novel. Although an author often writes alone, publishing a book is usually a team effort. Doing it all completely by yourself can cause extreme stress and even burnout. Therefore, it is important to recruit other professionals to help. As mentioned, you may want to query literary agents, and all novels need editing, proofreading, formatting and marketing. Marketing may involve setting up an ARC (advance reader copies) team or paying for book tours. Just like any business, it’s about hunting for the right people who will help you thrive and achieve your sales goals in the future.
Improve Your Productivity
If you are planning to publish a book (or books), make sure that you maintain a good level of productivity in order to actually get the book written! Setting yourself a publishing schedule helps. Break down all the tasks you will need to complete once you have typed ‘The End’. Jane Friedman’s Self-Publishing Checklist is very comprehensive. Ticking each task off will help you stay motivated. Ensuring you set up great time/project management skills now will benefit future you immensely. Plus, schedules can be tweaked and/or replicated as you assess what worked and what didn’t post-publication.
The same is true when you are running any business. If you don’t manage your productivity levels effectively, you may struggle to keep up with competitors. And there is nothing more demotivating than feeling like you are being left behind, especially when you see other authors releasing book after book after book. When you are running a business, you can explore options including change management training to keep productivity standards at the right level.
Manage Your Budget
When running a business, your budget is determined by your current financial situation. When planning to publish a book, budget is an important factor too. Think carefully about how much money you can realistically afford to spend and always investigate where savings can be made. For example, premade covers can be a lot less expensive than custom designed covers. And still genre-relevant if you do your market research properly.
If you don’t manage your budget well, you may struggle to make a profit when you finally publish then market your novel. Most authors do not usually make that much money from their debut so it is definitely in your interest to keep your budget under control as much as you can while you are building your readership and author business. Hold off on splashing the cash until you begin earning decent royalties! You can always refresh your backlist by reinvesting profit down the line.
I hope this helps you understand some of the key reasons why being an author is like running your own business. If you explore some or all of the options included here, you will no doubt find success.
If you found 4 Ways To Improve Your Author Business helpful, check out these related posts:
How To Plan and Write Multiple Books In A Year
How To Write a Blurb For Your Self Published Book
15 Quick And Easy Self Editing Checks For Your Manuscript
