Act Like a Best-Selling Author Part 2 - The First Step to Finding Your Market

By Carmellita M. Brown

After reading his article “How to Publish on a Shoestring Budget,” writer Sid Smith said that if you are wondering about the best way to publish your book, then...

“Write an outstanding, must-read book that is unique, provocative,
controversial, a literary masterpiece, or is endorsed by someone like Oprah. No,
really. That's the best way to publish a book.”

While this may very well be true, it is not necessarily the road traveled by many first-time authors or authors who really want to self-publish his or her work. However, as I continued to read his article some particular facts jumped from the screen. One particular piece of information I was lead to ponder as a writer was...

“Even if they do ask how to publish a book, they're still thinking in terms of
publishing their best seller before they've even determined if there is a market
for the book!”

As writers, we tend to believe that if we write a book, of course there is a market for it, and as a Success Coach, I must slightly disagree with the statement...”if there is a market for the book.” The truth is we live in the information age. Even if we write a book about buying the best kind of scrap wood for birdhouses, there just may be a market for it. However, the questions that come to mind are many and this is where we tend to fall short.

1. How big is the Market?
2. How do I reach the market?
3. How big is the submarket?
4. What distribution channels will work best?

So, as I get ahead of myself, I realize some important factors that must be on the forefront of every writer’s mind if he or she wants to act like a best-selling author. That is...do the market research before you publish the book, especially if you are writing a non-fiction book.

In fact, to explore this further, I would suggest to every writer who self-publishes to develop a book proposal as if he or she were going to send it to a big name publishing company like Harper-Collins. Don’t short change yourself. Write an excellent book proposal and from that book proposal you will have answered the above question and many others.

Carmellita M. Brown is a success and wellness coach. She is the instructor for the online class Abundance Training 101 and she is the publisher of Headline Articles. Ms. Brown has developed the popular blog entitled "In the Company of Writer specifically for self-published writers or writers who wish to self publish. Her philosophy as a success coach is to help her audience live in wellness, wealth, and wisdom. Ms. Brown believes this can be accomplished by considering the whole self which includes health, relationships, finances, spirit, intellect, and purpose.

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