Quick note: If you’ve diligently followed the Write Your Life blog and made an effort to put into practice some of the information and tips I’ve shared, you should have seen some progress with your book this year. Now it’s time to pick up the pace and see even more results. You are among the first to find out about a brand new telecourse I’ll be teaching to kick off 2012! Click here for information and to register for “Book Your Success: Write Your Book in 90 Days or Less!” It’s a 4 part telecourse that will walk you through the key steps to getting your book done, marketing it, and seeing the results you want.
Just in case you missed some of the phenomenal tips I’ve shared in 2011, here are what I consider the top 11 tips for the year that can help you see success with your book. If you didn’t apply any of these this year, then strap on your seatbelt and get ready to make it happen in 2012!
- Build your writing power: As they say, “Practice makes perfect.” To that, I’ll add that consistency makes you a much more powerful and confident writer. Practicing writing will expand your vocabulary, generate new ideas, give new perspectives, and sharpen your grammar and sentence structure skills.
- Overcome writer’s block: All writers experience writer's block, even the greats. But you don't have to remain stuck there. Try these tips: be true to you, reach out to experts, find your voice, be in your comfort zone, use writing prompts.
- Hook your readers: It takes skill to start off a book in a way that will keep readers interested. Hook your readers with the very first sentence, draw them in with the first paragraph, and cause them to turn each page hungry for more of your story.
- Use storytelling: Stories are the elements of a book that connect us to the content.There are several ways to flex your storytelling muscles when writing in the non-fiction genre. This post shares a few.
- Keep the momentum going for your book project: Among many other ways to keep your mo-jo going while writing your book, try these: have a plan, create a timeline, get some inspiration, refresh your surroundings, and read.
- Get S.M.A.R.T.: Setting goals gives you something to aim for, a measurable task and a timeline in which to accomplish it. As an author, you can turn this goal-setting acronym into a guide to getting your book done and achieving some remarkable goals in the process.
- Build your reputation as an author: As an author, you have an immediate calling card. Much more powerful than a simple business card, your book is an open door to conversation about who you are, what you know, and how that affects who you’re talking to.
- Be smart when selling to book stores: 1) know your target market; 2) time your book release; 3) use promotional hooks; 4) design an attractive cover; 5) know your book’s selling point; 6) get it to the buyer.
- Buyers buy, sellers don’t sell: If you really want people to buy your book, stop selling it. You are not selling your BOOK you are selling yourSELF.
- Increase your book sales: You didn’t write your book for the one-off sale; you wrote it to get it to the masses. You have to be creative in your approach to book sales, such as: connect with a nonprofit or membership organization, tie your book to a holiday or observance, repurpose your book’s content, or teach a class.
- Know the publishing process: If you’ve never experienced the self-publishing process, it’s not as mysterious or difficult as you might think. This post shares some important steps to successful and profitable self-publishing.
BONUS: Have a platform: Your platform is your business or your cause, this is what your book is designed to support. Writing your book should be about more than just the book. Your book should be designed to leverage your platform.
What are some of your top takeaways from 2011 to help move your book project, your business, or your life forward in 2012?
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