How To Write a Book in 30 Days
14. Putting Everything Together
Congratulations! We’ve come to our last learning module in the How to Write a Book in 30 Days Coaching Course. You’ve done a great job in developing your writing habit and keeping up with lessons; there has been a lot of material to cover!
“It is not how you start the race or where you are during the race—it is how you cross the finish line that will matter.”
Remember, you have access to the course learning modules forever. You can review modules any time you need to. This course makes it possible to write a book in 30 days, but it certainly doesn’t mean that you must complete your book in 30 Days.
Module 14: Putting Everything Together
Review
In this course, you’ve learned how to set aside regular time to write and develop a habit of writing. You don’t need to think about when to write or if you’re going to write today. The longer you cultivate your writing habit, the more natural and unconscious it will become. Like brushing your teeth, taking a shower, or sitting down for a meal, writing is just something you do. You don’t really have to think about it; it’s just a part of your routine.
You know how to assemble your ideas and organize them in a logical, natural progression. You know how to create and shape the chapters of your manuscript so that the pieces become part of the whole. You’ve learned how to learn and how to fill in the weak spots through research, and you’ve seen how you’ve become a better writer simply through the practice of writing every day.
Most importantly, you’ve learned how to identify and focus on your reader, how to speak directly to her and provide the answer to the questions she is asking. And you’ve learned that the magic of a book is that you can speak personally to just one reader and that personal conversation can be multiplied to a thousand or even a million readers. Together, those readers, those individuals, become your audience.
Putting it All Together
How do we take all of these pieces—all of our chapters, our conclusion, our introduction, our front matter, and our back matter—and assemble them into a single document that will become our manuscript?
Let’s begin at the beginning. Begin with your Title Page and then your copyright page (you can just put “Copyright Page” as a placeholder for now), then follow the front matter sequence we learned in Module 13. After your “Acknowledgments” page (if you have one), add page one, chapter one. After chapter one, add chapter two, and so on. Once you’ve added all of your chapters, add any back matter in the sequence we covered in Module 13. If you paginate (add page numbers) to your manuscript, you can add the proper page numbers for each chapter to your Table of Contents.
Here’s a trick that make your manuscript more presentable and professional-looking: insert a page break between the front matter elements, chapters, and back matter elements. Most new authors, if they try this at all, hit the return button multiple times until it looks like the material has made it to the next page. Of course, if you add or subtract anything after you do this, you’ll mess up the “page break” effect you were going for by hitting the return key. There’s a better way to do this. If you’re working in Microsoft Word, you can insert a page break by simply holding the Ctrl key and pressing the enter key (command + Return key on a Mac). When created using the page break function, your page breaks will stay true whether you add or subtract material from any part of your ducment.
What Now?
Once your manuscript is complete, you’ve got a decision to make. How will you publish your manuscript as a book?
You have three basic choices when it comes to publishing your book:
1. Self-publish – True self-publishing involves a lot of work, but it allows the author full control of her work and 100% of the profits from sales … if there are any. As the author, you also act as the publisher. You’re responsible for editing, design, marketing, distribution, sales, and everything else involved in publishing a book. You can hire out certain functions like editing, layout, cover design, and even promotion. It’s expensive, but a trustworthy professional in any of these areas will probably do a better job than you could on your own, and the finished product will reflect it. There are “self-publishing” or “publishing services” companies out there that will offer to sell you a “package” of publishing services, but understand that their job is to sell you a “package of services,” not to help you make your book a success. If you are set on self-publishing, I usually advise authors to truly self-publish and not contract with a “self-publishing” company. You will learn more, save money and usually get a better product by managing the project yourself. WARNING: successfully self-publishing is a ton of work, and you’ll face a steep learning curve, but if self-publshing is truly the path you want to travel, the benefit may be worth the effort.
2. Solicit a traditional publisher – Traditional publishers often pay authors an “advance on royalties,” which is nice. And, they make their living selling books; that’s a good thing too, and really the target we’re all aiming for. The downside is that traditional publishing is a numbers game. If the only way a traditional publisher stays afloat is by selling a ton of books, they’ve got to sell a ton of books! That means they can’t afford to take on unproven (new) authors or authors without a massive following. No massive following and no history of previous bestsellers means no traditional publishing deal and no advance on royalties. Traditional publishers also have to focus on the “frontlist.” Frontlist books are those that are hot and new and selling a mile a minute right now. Once the book has been on the shelves for a few months and sales slow down, they move to the next hot seller. Authors whose books aren’t on the frontlist are left on their own.
3. Find a publisher that is neither a self-publishing company nor a traditional publisher. There’s another choice that has developed over the last several years and is growing rapidly. Some people identify them as “hybrid publishers” or “partner publishers.” True Potential falls into that category, I guess, but we simply try to identify as “effective publishers.” Authors are charged an initial fee that covers the cost of publishing, but the goal of the author and the publisher is to sell books. Ultimately, the financial cost of publishing should be paid by readers who purchase and enjoy the author’s work. It’s okay for an organization to identify as a “publishing services” company if that’s their role. However, an organization that identifies as a publisher had better sell books for a living. That’s their role.
Free Resource: I wrote Seven Questions You Must Answer Before Publishing Your Book to address the critical questions any author needs to answer before publishing to ensure that their book will have its best chance for success. This book is my gift to you for being a part of this course, and it is the perfect next step you’ll need to take in the process of successfully transforming your idea or story into a book.
Homework
- Review previous lessons. Take time to review the previous lessons in this course. Are there any elements in your manuscript that require attention? Is there anything missing that you need to add before assembling your manuscript? Take time now to polish and add those missing pieces.
- Assemble your manuscript. Begin putting the pieces together following the instructions in this lesson.
- Download Seven Questions You Must Answer Before Publishing Your Book. Read through the book (it’s a quick read) and begin answering the questions in the book for yourself. Think through your publishing choices for what will work best for you and your book.
Congratulations again! Please feel free to contact me any time as you move through your journey as an author. I’d love to know how you’re doing and share advice regarding your publishing decisions.
Thanks and Blessings, Steve Spillman
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