10 Valuable Tips for Spiritual Authors
10 Valuable Tips for The New Spiritual Author
By iSpirit Publishing
As a New Spiritual author, you may be looking for guidance. Then this article is for you. It’s main goal is to provide a brief reflection about the diverse modalities of publishing in today’s’ changing publishing world. We hope that the information that we will share with you would be of some value to those that are trying to walk the new path of authorship. Our goal is to enable them to make more accurate publishing decisions. Writers tend to be dreamers as a rule of thumb. Still, when the time arrives to initiate the plans of selection, production, printing, and promotion of their work, they tend to have trouble grounding and manifesting their projects.
Nowadays, we count on only two options when we speak about the publishing industry for new authors. It is either the Self-Publishing route or the complicated world of publishing houses. Despite all that, we are starting to see a new light at the end of this tunnel, at the same time, a redesign of a universe of options and ever-expanding creativity.
I would give them (aspiring writers) the oldest advice in the craft: Read and write. Read a lot. Read new authors and established ones, read people whose work is in the same vein as yours, and those whose genre is totally different. You’ve heard of chain-smokers. Writers, especially beginners, need to be chain-readers. And lastly, write every day. Write about things that get under your skin and keep you up at night.
Khaled Hosseini
Anyone who has tried both sides of “old editorial currencies” knows that publishing a book, in any case, requires a lot of study and planning. The pointers below would help assist the writer in studying the market and some of its options before deciding which path they want to trail.
1. Royalties, Creative Commons, Sponsorships, or Others?
Think about whether the work will be marketed only by you or in partnership with another person or company.
Decide if it will be marketed by you, in direct partnership with bookstores and distributors; or sold in collaboration with publishers; or instead, it would be something completely free and unlinked from any person or company; free, but linked to bookstores, publishers, or sponsors; or if you are going to create a mix of models or even a new model.
Study the existing options carefully (and continue studying always, because the book market is continuously evolving, in an ever-unfolding rhythm).
Educate yourself about the royalty system of bookstores, distributors, and publishers, the Creative Commons contractual clauses, and how to win sponsorships. Depending on your profile, one option may be more valid than the other, or they may also inspire the creation of new mixes or models.
2. Decide your book format: Digital, Printed, or both?
Research the existing options for the digital and printed book. Have you decided if your book will be an epub2 or 3, an app, a website book, a printed book, or more than one of these options? If you don’t even know what they are, your planning will still need a lot of dedication from you, personally.
“The Internet offers authors and their readers a new diversity of opportunities and freedom.” Frederick Forsyth
3. Independence of Opinion and Action
Weigh in the balance: your total independence on the one hand, and your possible isolation, on the other hand. In this case, especially if you don’t have a lot of free time to dedicate yourself to promoting your book). Some books can fall in favor of readers without much effort, but as a rule, it takes hard work to make them known to the public.
If you have a lot of free time and creativity, being self-published may be the best option for your author profile but remember that advertising is the lifeblood of the business. If you don’t dedicate yourself to promoting the book, no one will know about its existence, be it the free books or the paid ones.
4. The New Spiritual Author’s Resources and Investments
Make the calculations of how much you will need to invest in producing your book. Make a clear assessment of that. Consider the eBook formatting, printing costs, translation, proofreading, illustration, advertising, and marketing, press relations, fairs, and literary events, and, depending on the format chosen, also include narration and “musicalization”.
Regardless of your investment power, a network of relationships, or time available, there will always be a solution for you. You just have to work hard. But don’t limit yourself to your current bank account. Think big and work hard. It is possible to do it yourself. You will need to be committed to the level of work involves. The achievement of your goals will be up to you.
5. Publicity and Distribution
Register Yourself on bookstores events in advance, but if you have chosen the eBook format, in the distributors and bookstores selected by you, if more than one. Some registrations can be time-consuming, so don’t wait until the last minute. Also, download the reading apps and test the eBooks before launch: see if they need reviews and learn how to use them to answer your readers’ questions.
If your books are printed, make a list of the bookstores where you will leave the books on consignment, and set up a calendar for delivery and collection of copies. If you’re in partnership with a publisher, you won’t have to do any of that, but still, keep track of where your books are being sold.
Talk to some publishers and get to know the type of relationship they develop with the authors. Some may be more rigid and traditional; others are more open to dialogue. Do your own research, do not accept things by their face value. Find out what each one would have to offer (and if any would be interested in your manuscripts).
The most original authors are not so because they advance what is new, but more because they know how to say something as if it had never been said before. Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
6. In-person launches
If your book is digital and your goal is to sell it, see if a face-to-face launch inside a bookstore, a literary or technological event, is worthwhile. Perhaps the best, in this case, is to invest in digital marketing, where your reading audience is, after all. But, if your book is free and your goal is to gain prestige in your field, giving lectures may be a more proper option. Again, everything will depend on your style and intention.
7. Building Strategic Partnerships For the New Spiritual Author
Other people or companies may be wanting to cooperate with you for mutual benefit. So, invest some time in negotiating strategic partnerships, and see what you can offer in return. Set up a PDF presentation, set up a zoom session, all of this can be done free of charge to chat with other people, and increase your network of relationships and partnerships. But remember that if your book talks about bees, you can either look for beekeepers or NGOs that defend bees from beekeepers. Save your time. Search for the right people and companies from the get-go.
8. Promotions and Marketing
Regardless of the chosen model, your book will need to be publicized. Plan on your own or talk to your selected partners. How much time and money will be invested in this item. If you opted for the self-publishing possibility and don’t have the money to advertise, create a blog.
Other things you can do:
Create profiles on social networks. Enroll yourself on the circuit of lectures and take part in events in general. These are zero cost actions that generate good results. Evaluate the variables and set up your promotion/marketing plan. Even if your goal is just to deliver your book for free to the public, spend some time promoting it. It is vital promoting your message and book, or you will take the risk that the work will not reach the people that you want to benefit from with your manuscript.
9. Time is your primary currency.
Time is valuable; it is no wonder that time is money. So, whether or not you want to profit from your books, analyze how much time you will have to spend on the production and post-production of the books. You should be even more careful if intending to launch several books. Talk to experienced writers, booksellers, and publishers. Do not be satisfied with a single opinion. As a New Spiritual author, you should weigh the pros and cons and know how you want to spend your time.
10. The New Spiritual Author and the Opening New Horizons
Always be open to new possibilities and connections. Even after you have done all your planning, new opportunities will continue to appear. Whether due to changes in the market and your creativity and practice, not to mention the universe of networking. So, always try to keep your feet on the ground and an eye on the horizon. Still, keeping yourself open to what’s new!
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