Are you ready for a change your life kind of experience? Yes. Then write the book you’ve been dreaming of writing. Few things hold the potential for a life changing experience like writing a book does.

You can receive life long income from writing a book. You can affect the lives of hundreds even thousands for the good. You gain the added respect of your colleagues after writing your book. You can leverage the increase of fees exponentially in your business.

Even so, many new authors don’t receive the rewards they deserve. They forfeit their advantages by making simple mistakes that block their book’s success. Correct the following mistakes to enjoy the rich rewards of a top selling book author:

1. Failure to set realistic expectations.

To be honest, your book by itself probably won’t make you rich. Don’t be disappointed with your royalty check or dismayed by direct sales of your self-published book.

Instead, plan to use your book as an important leveraging tool to advance existing sales, increase your business or catapult your career. Plan to receive open door opportunities that you may not have received any other way.

2. Failure to organize book project.

Researchers say we waste over 6 full days a year looking for mislaid information. Make it easy for yourself. Create a filing system for your book project. You’ll write faster and with less stress. Did you discover you can’t pull it all together by yourself? Delegate; hire an assistant to help. Do the part you are most skilled in and assign the rest.

3. Failure to turn off self-editor.

Turn off the self-editor while writing. The editor in you will want to stop and correct every error. Don’t allow him or her a voice until you finish the writing process. It’s more important to finish your rough draft than to write a perfect manuscript. Don’t let a too early editing process block your rewards.

4. Failure to avoid marathon writing.

Prolific authors at some point realize they don’t have to sell their soul to write a saleable book. They write a little each day to get it done faster. They avoid marathon writing (going away). You unintentionally set yourself up for failure if you opt for the marathon writing. What happens to your book goals, if you come back and your book’s still not written?

5. Failure to focus on one main topic.

Top selling authors focus on one main topic. They make sure each chapter supports that subject. If you scatter your focus, you’ll come across as unorganized, long winded, and boring. Your readers may find your book hard to understand.

Instead of an encyclopedia type book, chunk your information into modules, segments, chapters or parts. In each segment, offer plenty of detail to make it useful to your reader.

6. Failure to write ‘Grab You by the Collar’ titles.

It’s a known fact; titles sell books. In fact, titles sell a lot more than books. Titles sell newspapers. Titles sell magazines. Titles enhance the selling power of ads, brochures, web sites, booklets, and just about any kind of marketing element you can think of. Don’t forget chapter titles, sub heading titles, bulleted points (mini-titles) benefit from sizzling titles.

7. Failure to think series.

Top selling authors focus on a series of books rather than one book. Publishers look for concepts that can be expanded into a series of books rather than individual titles. Even your readers (if they like it) will look for the sequel.

8. Failure to think community.

Successful authors look for ways to engage and involve a nurturing relationship with readers and peers. You should seek to include the support of your family, friends, readers, other authors, book coaches and others who feed your enthusiasm. Most are eager to provide ideas, assistance and feedback.

9. Failure to engage in promotion.

Most beginning authors hope someone else will come along and promote their book for them. In the real world, successful authors take ownership in promoting their book. They know if they want their book to succeed, they have to promote it.

10. Failure to develop future income streams.

Even after you finish your book, new ideas will probably continue to surface. Ideas that you wish you had thought to include in your book. Instead of going back to re-work your manuscript consider using them in your promotional material.

Become a trusted resource and supplier of fresh information in your field. Create an ongoing relationship with your readers. Continue to develop your topic by creating articles, speeches, workshops, courses, or invite readers to submit questions and suggestions to your website.

If you continue in the mistakes above your book may never reach the level of success it deserves. Instead, implement good book writing tips and avoid the mistakes new authors make. Go ahead; take the wheel of writing well and drive your book to a wild success.

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Earma Brown -
About the Author:

Earma Brown, 12 year author and business owner
helps small business owners and writers who want to write their best book now! Earma mentors other writers and business professionals through her monthly ezine “iScribe.” Send any email to How to Write a Good Book

Self-publishing provides a wonderful opportunity for any author who wants to take control over the publishing process and get their words into print. But because self-publishing is so easy to accomplish with a few bucks and some typed pages, many authors make mistakes along the way.

As a former bookstore owner, I have seen it all. A steady stream of authors used to parade through the store with their books and I could instantly tell when a book was self-published on a budget. From low-quality cover design and lack of editing to unreasonable pricing and an absent marketing plan, at least 90% of the authors I encountered made some major mistakes.

You can avoid new author pitfalls by preparing to be successful. Following are some guidelines to get your started on your journey.

Quality Matters

Successful self-publishing starts by producing a book that looks like it is hot off the press from Random House or another major publisher. The cover should be professionally designed and the text should be thoroughly edited by a pro—not your spouse, friend or business partner. Your book is a reflection of you. It should be impressive from start to finish. Cutting corners with design and editing will surely be reflected in book sales.

Pricing Considerations

Some of the print on demand (POD) companies force authors to set unreasonable prices for their books. A standard bookstore will expect to purchase your book at 40% off of the retail price and Amazon.com takes a whopping 55% discount. The price for your book should be reasonable for your target audience, yet still leave room for you to make a profit.

For example, if your book has a retail price of $20, a bookstore will purchase it at 40% off which comes to $12. In order for you to make a profit, you should be able to purchase wholesale copies of your book for less than $12. Unfortunately, some publishers lure authors in with low set-up fees, but make up for it in higher per-book costs.

Conversely, I have seen 100-page trade paperbacks with a retail price of $25 or higher. Unless the subject matter is highly technical or specialized in an industry that can bear this kind of pricing, it will be difficult to convince consumers to pay such a high price for a short book. When researching publishing assistance, inquire about the purchase cost of your books and how the retail price will be set.

Placing Your First Order for Books

When researching the minimum order requirements of book publishers and printers, consider how many books you need. Your purchase price for books will always be lower when you order in large quantities. However, if you order thousands of copies, you will need a climate-controlled place to store them and plan for selling them.

I advise authors to order enough books for one year. This means that you must tabulate how many you believe you can sell. If you are a professional speaker and can pre-sell books to companies and associations, you may be able to commit to several thousand copies. If your book is more of a hobby for you and you will be selling them out of the trunk of your car one at a time, it probably doesn’t make sense to order thousands at a time.

Make a list of potential sales opportunities and how many you think you can sell over the course of a year. Also, if you’re serious about marketing your book, plan to send out at least 100 review copies to media professionals. Book reviews sell books and authors should be willing to give books away in order to gain valuable publicity. One mention in a local newspaper can translate into a flurry of book sales. Expand your reach to online media, bloggers, radio show hosts, television and trade journals and you will uncover plenty of opportunities.

Marketing Begins BEFORE You Publish

The biggest mistake an author can make is to wait until a book is in print to begin the promotion process. When it comes to the media, a book is most relevant in its first few months in print so timing is critical. There are literally hundreds of book marketing strategies that you can begin to tackle right away. Here are a few to get you started:

*       Get known online through your website and/or blog. Add content related to your book and of interest to your target audience.

*       Leverage the power of social media such as Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter. Participate in one or more of these sites to gain exposure.

*       Write interesting articles and make them available for reprint through sites like www.IdeaMarketers.com. Make sure to include a brief author bio that mentions your book and include a link to your website. Offer articles for reprint to as many websites and print publications that you can find that reach your target audience.

*       Ask your family, friends and peers to help spread the word. Ask who they know who might be able to help. Perhaps your aunt Jane has a friend who is a book reviewer for a major newspaper. Or your sister may know the host of a talk radio show. You won’t know until you ask.

*       Get on the speaking circuit. Put together a couple of speeches related to your subject matter and pitch them to your local trade and community associations (chambers of commerce, Rotary clubs, specialty associations). When your audience likes what you have to say, they will naturally want to buy your book. If you enjoy speaking, you can expand beyond your local community and even get paid to travel and speak to audiences around the world. (By the way, the fact that you are a published author is going to open doors of opportunity for speaking engagements. If you want to refine your skills, consider joining a local chapter of Toastmasters.)

Your book can become the best business card you have as it