Nonfiction Ink

1. Create a Book Development, Publishing, and Marketing Plan
Create a detailed plan. Selling books takes effort, diligence, and tenacity.

2. Write For Your Audience
Test your concepts and content on a focus group, research other books on the subject, know what readers want, and write a book that readers want to read.

3. Deliver a Clear Message
Create a core message and present it succinctly – using examples, interviews, and statistics to support it. Use a thesis statement to keep you on track. You should be able to convey your key message in one sentence.

4. Hire an Editor
Your manuscript must be polished and free of typographical errors, and grammatical mistakes. Besides proofreading, a professional line-editor will ensure your sentences are properly constructed and your content is arranged for flow and clarity.

5. Have a Peer Review Your Manuscript
Have a professional colleague review your manuscript. Encourage honesty and use the criticism to make your book better during the revision process.

6. Include an Index
Readers expect an index to be included in a legitimate book. And libraries will only carry books that have indexes.

7. Establish an Author Platform
Your platform is your media visibility – how much exposure you have as an expert on a particular subject… your blogs, websites, speaking engagements, seminars, television and radio interviews, and podcasts. Your platform is what will help promote your book when it is published.

8. Know Your Position
Determine your position in the market. What other books are available on the same topic and what differentiates your book from the competition? Write a positioning statement outlining your target audience.

9. Create a Professional Book Cover
The book cover sells the book! Consider it a marketing tool and hire a professional book cover designer. For more details on book covers, read my post 10 Tips To Design a Bestselling Cover.

10. Acquire Testimonials and Endorsements
Personal recommendations add legitimacy to a book and help sell it. Place them with the sales copy on the back cover.

11. Build a Database of Potential Readers
Start collecting names of potential readers well in advance of your book’s release date. You can build your network through social sites (Twitter, FaceBook, LinkedIn) and your website and blog traffic. Create a sign-up page and offer an enticement (such as a newsletter or free report) for subscribers to opt-in. Ideally, you want to develop a list of 5,000 people or more.

12. Have an Online Media Kit Available
Make it easy for journalists and TV reporters to use you as a source for interviews by putting an online Media Kit on your website. Your Media Kit can include photos/headshots, a list of topics you speak on, sample interview questions, a portfolio of media clips, a backgrounder or bio, excerpts from you book, reviews of your book, a calendar of upcoming events or speaking engagements, and press releases.

1. Help the reader solve and fix a problem or make the reader’s life better in some way.
2. Know your reader and write for him in a casual conversational tone, as if sitting across the table from one another.
3. Deliver a transformational experience, not just informational. Provide an emotional experience that impacts the reader’s life.
4. Help the reader incorporate your method, strategy and suggestions into her life by providing exercises, checklists, and other ways to take action.
5. Create a connection with the reader with a website or blog where she can be part of a community that interacts and provides additional resources.
6. Create a brand and a core message. Be consistent in all your deliverables.
7. Be aware of the market: other successful books in your genre, lifestyle changes and reader’s needs  – and create a book that fits into the market.
8. Fill a gap in the market. Find a special niche within the subject that is not being addressed or a position that has opened up due to out-of-date, inaccurate, or poorly written books on the topic.
9. Pre-Test the material by conducting audience and peer reviews and tweak the content as necessary.
10. Develop synergistic add-on products such as reports, podcasts, videos, and seminars.

The Table of Contents (TOC) is the backbone and sales tool of your nonfiction book.  It is a powerful organizing and marketing tool.

Most readers base their purchase decision on a book’s cover and the Table of Contents.  They want to know exactly what to expect – what will they learn, how will they feel, do they need the information, does it work, will they like the writing style, will they understand the material – in other words, is this book the right fit?

USE THE TABLE OF CONTENTS TO ANSWER READER’S QUESTIONS
Potential readers will look to a Table of Contents to answer their questions about a book:

• Does the information work, will I achieve the goal?  Include anecdotes, case studies, and success stories in the TOC
• Will I be able to understand the content or steps necessary? Include diagrams, charts, maps, and images.
• What will I learn? Include detailed sub-headings for each chapter.
• Do I need the information? Use keywords to inform the reader why the information is pertinent.  For instance, ‘CAN-SPAM Laws Can Kill Your Business’, ‘How to Avoid Foreclosure and Save Your Home’, or “Why You Need To Understand The Recession To Stay Employed’

HOW TO OUTLINE AN EFFECTIVE TABLE OF CONTENTS

1. Organize the overall flow of the content
How-To and Self-Help books have an intrinsic step-by-step outline built into them, making outlining an easy task.  Your content will do one of the following: lead readers through practical exercises and techniques to develop specific skills, or guide them through the evolutionary stages of a process while addressing ways to overcome challenges, or solve a reader’s problem by walking them through a step-by-step system.  Successful outlines organize the book’s main points, so write down the most important ideas, steps, techniques or skills you will present to the reader.  Now you can break the topics into individual chapters.

2. Organize Chapters into Sections and Subsections
After brainstorming or mind-mapping the topics for inclusion in each chapter, select those that represent major themes to create chapter sections. For each chapter outline, ask yourself:

• Does each section belong in this chapter?
• Should any information be moved to another section?
• Is any information duplicated? (duplicated information should be eliminated)
• Am I missing any important ideas that should be included?

3. Create Compelling and Informative Chapter Titles and Subtitles
Titles reveal the overall structure and style of your book as well as convey promises and benefits.  The most effective titles are two-part: an intriguing title accompanied by a descriptive subtitle. If you use witty or whimsical chapter titles, always attach a more specific tagline so the reader has a clear understanding of the information they will find in those pages.

Compelling two-part chapter titles from Modern Traditions, a how-to book on weddings:
Chapter 6: Angels on Horseback – Wedding Transportation
Chapter 8: Walking Among The Stones – Ceremony Décor
Chapter 11: Cattails and Harvest Wheat – Setting the Table

4. What to do with extra information
After finishing your outline you may find you have more information that doesn’t seem to fit anywhere.  If you determine the information is important and should be included in the manuscript, consider creating an appendix, breaking up the information into smaller chunks for sidebars, or including a Q&A section at the end of each chapter.

Frank Catalano and Bud Smith created an extensive Table of Contents outline for their book, Internet Marketing For Dummies that effectively answers potential reader’s questions:

Part I: Getting Started with Internet Marketing

Chapter 1: Getting Net-Savvy
Marketing on the Internet
Introducing the Web
E-mail and mail lists: Unsung online heroes
Newsgroups: The threat and the promise
America Online and online services
Online advertising
Wireless access
Do You Need to Market on the Internet?
Finding Your Online Market
Internet user profile
Working in the Online World

Chapter 2: Market Size Matters
Using Internet Marketing Resources
Building up your bookmarks
Search tips and tricks
Following the experts
Sizing Up a Market
Identifying customer characteristics
Customer characteristics and the Internet
Sizing up the competition

Chapter 3: Your Internet Marketing Plan
Assessing Your Overall Marketing Effort
Assessing current company-level marketing efforts
Internet marketing at the company level
Assessing current product marketing efforts
Marketing your product on the Net
Net marketing for the sole proprietorship
Matching Your Customer Base to the Online Community
What if my business is local?
What if my business is global?
Assessing Your Competitors’ Net Work
Creating a comparison chart
Using your completed chart
Sizing up your Net-only competition
Sizing Your Internet Marketing Effort
Creating a Written Plan
Implementing Your Internet Marketing Plan

Chapter 4:Mastering Your Domain
Choosing an ISP for Online Marketing
Discovering How Domain Names Work
Breaking down domain names
The competition for domain names
Why domain names are so important
Possible new domain names
Choosing Your Domain Name(s)
Domain name follies
Good and bad domain names
Choosing a company domain name
What if you’re local?
Registering Your Domain Name(s)
Registering your domain name yourself
Having an ISP or Web-hosting service register your domain name for you

Part II: Marketing on the World Wide Web

Chapter 5:Planning a Business Web Site
Guiding Principles for Business Sites
Specifying Your Site Content
Creating a Look and Feel for Your Site
Having Your Site Done for You
Getting engaged
Projecting your management style
Beating the wrap-up

Chapter 6:Creating a Basic Web Site
Deciding Whether to Do it Yourself
Steps to creating a site
Who does the work?
Putting it all together
Creating a Web Page
Should you do it?
How to do it
Making Smart Graphics

Chapter 7:Marketing on Your Web Site
Your Web Site as a Marketing Vehicle
Coordinating your Web site with your overall marketing plan
Designing your Web marketing effort
Marketing Information on Your site
Understanding the vital role of press releases
Putting product information online
Telling Web surfers where to buy
News on Your site

Chapter 8:Getting the Most out of Your Web Site
Gathering Information about Site Visitors
Techniques for gathering visitor information
Uses for visitor data
Improving Your Site
Getting Found with Search Engines
Registering for Yahoo!
Getting found by active search engines
Publicizing Your Site
Developing an effective publicity strategy
Expanding your publicity efforts

Part III: Marketing with E-Mail

Chapter 9:E-Mail Marketing 101
E-Mail: The Common Denominator
Basic E-Mail Netiquette
The Elements of E-Mail Marketing Style
Write “dressy casual”
Be polite
Don’t be afraid to be forwarded
Making Every E-mail Do Its Share

Chapter10: E-Mail by the Pallet
Processing E-Mail by the Pallet
Planning for the flood
The 24-hour rule Delivering E-Mail by the Pallet
Creating an e-mail mailing list
Creating the right message
Getting the mechanics right
Spam: Cons and a Few Pros
Why spam offends
Avoiding the spammer level

Chapter11: Building Community wit E-Mail Lists
What’s an E-Mail List?
Subscribing to an e-mail list
Variations on an e-mail list
Finding and Using the Right E-Mail Lists
Benefits of participating in an e-mail list
Participating in discussion lists
Creating Your Own E-Mail List
Benefits of creating an e-mail list
Determining which type of list to start
Setting up a simple list server
Maintaining Your E-Mail List
Promoting Your E-Mail List

Part IV: Even More Internet Marketing

Chapter12: Speaking Up with Discussion Groups and Chat
Understanding Usenet Newsgroups
News over the “back fence”
Organized side-to-side and top-down
Setting Up a Newsgroup Reader
Finding and Mining Discussion Groups
Finding the right Usenet newsgroups
Finding the right non-Usenet discussion groups
Monitoring discussion groups
Participating in discussion groups
Marketing to Discussion Groups
A Few Words About Chat

Chapter13: Controlling the Message with Internet Advertising
What Are Your Goals?
Driving the Right Ad Vehicle
Banner ads
Site sponsorship
E-mail lists
Search engine keywords
Making the Ad Buy
A few words about words
The purchase process
When to call in a professional

Chapter14: Spreading the Word with Internet PR
Whom Do You Want to Influence?
Targeting the right contacts
Using the right touch
Planning an Internet PR Campaign
Messages are key
Excuse me, did you say something?
Internet PR agency or not?
Getting Your Release Distributed
Ready for release
Putting it on the wire
Tracking Your Released Release
Watching the wires
Pay for play

Part V: The Part of Tens

Chapter15: Ten Advantages of Internet Marketing
Internet Marketing Has Low Barriers to Entry
Internet Marketing Is Informational Marketing
The Online World Enables You to Respond Rapidly
The Internet World Highlights Marketing’s Role
Internet Innovations Are Marketing Opportunities
The Internet Makes Research Easier
The Online World Is Forgiving of Mistakes
The Internet World Is Currently U.S. Centric and English Centric
Internet Marketing Removes Geographic Barriers

Chapter16: Ten Disadvantages of Internet Marketing
Internet Marketing Is Different
Internet Bandwidth Is Crowded
Internet Efforts Can Get, Expensive
Online Marketing Doesn’t Reach Everybody
Getting Online Can Be Difficult
The Internet Increases the Pressure on Marketing
Justifying the Cost of Net Marketing Efforts Is Hard
Making Mistakes Online Is Easy
Guilt by Association
The Uncertain Future of the Online World

Chapter17: The Offline Marketing Resources
Crossing the Chasm and Others
Trade Associations
Marketing: An Introduction and Marketing For Dummies
Trade Publications
Statistical Abstract of the United States and America Demographics
News Radio
Anything by Ries and Trout
Any Big Magazine Rack
Permission Marketing
Television Advertising
The Internet Marketing For Dummies Internet Directory

About This Directory
Advertising
Business Owner’s Resources
E-Mail Lists
Government and Law
Marketing
Periodicals Online
Search Engines and Directories
Technology Resources
Web Tools

A book proposal is a marketing tool used to present and sell your nonfiction book idea to a publisher – BEFORE you write the book. It is the only means for selling a nonfiction book to a commercial publisher.  Book proposals can be sent to literary agents or directly to publishing house editors (after sending a query letter and receiving the go-ahead to submit your full proposal.)  Though most books (around 90%) are sold by literary agents, certain types of ideas (such as for specialized or regional books) fare better by querying publishers directly.

Book proposals are analyzed by an editorial review committee (which may consist of editors, production staff, sales representatives, in-house publicists, and even the publisher or owner herself).  If a publishing company decides your idea is viable, they will offer you a contract to write the book. Even though writing a book proposal is a necessity for commercial publication, writing the proposal benefits the writer in several ways: it saves you time and effort and allows you to receive payment prior to writing the full manuscript.

THE PURPOSE OF A BOOK PROPOSAL

• Introduces the topic of your book
• Explains why you are qualified to write the book
• Includes sample chapters showcasing the content and your writing ability
• Provides a market analysis of complimentary and competitive books
• Contains logistical information about the book, such as the length, delivery, and format (sidebars, expert interviews, photos, charts, etc.)
• Analyzes the market for the book (who will buy your book)
• Presents your platform and marketing and promotional ideas to help sell the book

“BUT I DON’T NEED A BOOK PROPOSAL, I’VE ALREADY COMPLETED MY MANUSCRIPT”
As a freelance editor and ghostwriter, authors and clients often approach me believing that once his or her manuscript is complete its ready to send off to an agent or editor to be published.  Though I’ve recently read of a few editors who will accept a memoir or other type of narrative nonfiction manuscript in lieu of a book proposal, this is the EXCEPTION, NOT THE RULE.  A nonfiction manuscript does not answer the editorial review committee’s questions about marketing, competition, production, or the author’s platform.  A publisher will invest tens of thousands of dollars to develop a book and requires a complete view of the project (which the book proposal provides) prior to making a decision.

THINK ABOUT THIS:

• Approximately 80% of all books published fail to earn back the advance given to the authors.
• The cost to produce an average hardcover book is upwards of $50,000.
• On average, agents and publishers say they reject 99% of submitted proposals. Ouch!

THE GOOD NEWS:

• About 85% of titles published each year are nonfiction.
• First-time authors write about 75% of those nonfiction books.
• Only a small percentage of authors know how to write an effective book proposal.

The trick is to be one of the small-percentage-of-authors and write a kick-ass proposal that grabs the attention of an agent or editor and convinces him your idea deserves to be a published book.

WHY PROPOSALS ARE REJECTED
Editors and agents are overwhelmed by submissions and must choose the most well written proposals.  Many book proposal submissions are poorly written and/or do not answer the fundamental questions necessary for an editor or agent to make an informed decision.

The bottom line – by writing a compelling book proposal you will have the edge over your competition and be better positioned to have your book published.

Need help writing a compelling book proposal?  STAY-TUNED for my upcoming ‘how-to’ posts.

YOUR TURN: Do you have a successful strategy for writing a compelling book proposal or have you ever sold a nonfiction book without a book proposal?

Your book cover is an essential marketing piece.  Most readers decide to buy a book based on the cover and the table of contents.  When it comes to creating the design of your book cover, there are numerous do-it-yourself software programs available.  They consist of templates, which allow you to drop in an image and some sales copy and, voila, you have a book cover.  Well, not quite.

CONSIDER HIRING A PROFESSIONAL DESIGNER
Your cover is such an important element for the overall success of your book, unless you have a degree in graphic design from a prestigious art school, I don’t recommend designing your own book cover.  Before hiring an artist, review their portfolio and make sure you understand everything that is included with their fee (will they work with your interior designer, do they provide several mock-ups to select from, how many revisions are included?)  Expect to pay between $1,000-$4,000 for a professionally designed cover.  The cost is well worth the investment.  See the difference between using an unqualified artist and a professional book-cover designer on the “Before and After” page at George Foster’s website: http://www.fostercovers.com/before_after

Here are 12 Tips to help you create the best book cover possible:

THE FRONT COVER

1. KNOW WHAT YOUR AUDIENCE EXPECTS OF YOUR BOOK COVER
Book covers for specific genres have certain similar qualities.  Historical books use photographs on the cover.  Medical books usually have a white background and modern lettering.  Study other books in your category to get a feel for their design traits.

2. ATTRACT READERS WITH EMOTION
The goal of the front cover is to grab a potential reader’s attention and make him want to learn more by reading the back copy and the table of contents.  What attracts a reader to the cover is an emotional feeling they get from the visual elements (including the color, fonts, and images) and the title.  The cover should be minimal, not chaotic, and evoke an emotional response from the reader.  When the reader views your book cover do they feel comforted, peaceful, successful, motivated, inspired, hungry, secure, adventurous, interested, curious, concerned, empowered, intrigued?

3. MAKE THE FRONT COVER EASY TO READ
The front cover must stand out and be easy to read (think about what it will look like as a thumbnail on your website or Amazon.com).  Place the title near the top of the cover on a clean background (NEVER place your title over a busy background).  Don’t clutter the cover with several illustrations.  Use one strong image that relates to the book’s content.  Do not use the word “by” in front of the author’s name.

4. USE COLOR TO CONVEY THE RIGHT MESSAGE
Color is a powerful tool.  Choose your background color carefully to convey the right message.  White conveys credibility, purity, and health.  Red is warm, sexy, and exciting, and represents power, vitality, and action.  Men relate blue to dependability, trustworthiness, and intelligence, while women often view it as sad and depressing.  Black is authoritative, romantic, and mysterious.  Yellow is joyous and energetic, often associated with home and happiness.  Green conveys growth, prosperity, nature and leisure.

5. USE FONTS TO CONVEY THE INTENDED FEELING
The font you select for your title, subtitle and author name has a dramatic effect on the feeling of the book.  Check out www.my-fonts.com or www.store.adobe.com/type where you can type in your book’s title and see how it ‘feels’ with the different fonts.

THE SPINE

6. USE A STACKED TITLE ON THE SPINE
When your book is displayed in a bookstore, the first thing a potential reader will see is the book’s spine.  Ensure it is attractive and legible by stacking the characters of the book title on the spine.

THE BACK COVER

7. USE BENEFITS AND PROMISES TO SELL THE BOOK
You’ve attracted a potential reader with your cover design, now you need to hook them with compelling benefits by telling the reader what’s in it for them if they buy the book.  Will they become the best trout fisher they can be, learn how to navigate New York on $50 a day, be inspired and motivated by a memoirist’s triumphant story, or discover how the founding fathers created the Declaration of Independence?  Write a concise, brief (two to four sentences) statement describing the content of the book followed by several benefit bullet points and end with a ‘call to action’ that tells the potential reader why they need to buy the book.  The back cover of Dara Mark’s book Inside Story concludes with: “It is a must-have book for any serious screenwriter, playwright, or novelist” – wow, if you identify yourself as any one of those, you’re going to want to purchase the book!

8. CREATE AN ARRESTING HEADLINE
Write a powerful headline addressed to the reader that helps him or her relate to, and identify with, the content.  The back cover headline for Inside Story is: “What IS the secret to writing a great screenplay?”  Most potential readers who pick up this book are searching for the answer to that question.  The headline quickly and efficiently lets the reader know the answer is contained in the contents of the book.

9. USE ENDORSEMENTS AND QUOTES
Testimonials, endorsements and quotes are a phenomenal selling tool.  If someone else thinks a book is good, then it must have merit.  The back cover testimonial for Inside Story reads: “Destined to become the gold standard for books on screenwriting!”  That’s an impressive quote.

10. SHOW YOU ARE THE ULTIMATE EXPERT TO AUTHOR THIS BOOK
At the very bottom of the back cover (sometimes placed directly across from the ISBN), include a brief, one to two sentence only, biography highlighting why you are qualified to write this book and help the reader.  This is not a full biography – you will include that in the ‘About the Author’ section inside the book.  The goal here is to let the potential reader know you are an expert.

11. LIST THE BOOK CATEGORY
By listing your book’s category/subcategory (such as “true crime/current events” or “self-help/psychology”) on the upper left-hand corner of the back cover, your book will be properly categorized on the bookstore shelf (or virtual shelf, in the case of online booksellers).

12. INSERT AN ISBN & BAR CODE
You need an ISBN and Bar Code for your book to be sold through booksellers such as Amazon and Barnes and Noble.  You can purchase an ISBN at www.isbn.org and acquire a Bar Code from www.bowkerbarcode.com/barcode (you need to obtain your ISBN prior to getting your bar code.)

Do you have a great idea for a book? Before you spend the next 6 to 12 months writing your nonfiction masterpiece, here are five questions to answer to determine the marketability of your idea to a publisher or agent.

1. DOES A NEARLY IDENTICAL BOOK ALREADY EXIST?
If your book idea is a good one, you’ll most likely find several other similar books already on bookstore shelves. That doesn’t mean there isn’t room for another book on the same topic if you have a unique slant, opinion, or solution. But, if a book already exists that is almost identical to your idea you’ll have trouble selling yours to an agent or publisher. Check out www.amazon.com and enter a search for your book idea. Their search-engine will produce a list of current books on your topic that you can research further and compare with your idea. If there are a few near-matches to your idea, you will need to ensure (and show a publisher or agent how) your book will be better than the ones already on the market.

2. HOW LARGE IS THE POTENTIAL AUDIENCE FOR YOUR BOOK?
Who will buy your book? If only you and your parents are interested in your book’s subject, a publisher or agent won’t be begging for your manuscript. If you can identify a large, specific group of potential readers who want or need what you plan to write about (adventurous males over 40 who own dogs and like to go backpacking), you’ve increased your chances for snagging a book deal. A great resource for determining how many potential readers there are for your subject matter is to browse the sales figures of similar titles and review the “Encyclopedia of Associations”, where you can find membership information on just about any type of organization.

3. IS THERE ENOUGH MATERIAL TO WRITE A 175-250 PAGE BOOK?
Creating a detailed outline and calculating an estimated page count will help you determine if you will have enough content for a full-length book. If you have only 80 pages of valuable material, consider producing a digital eBook or a print-on-demand book, instead of traditional publishing.

4. DOES YOUR BOOK IDEA HAVE SERIES OR SPIN-OFF POTENTIAL?
Spin-off or series potential is not mandatory to sell your book idea, but an agent or publisher is more interested in projects that begat more product. Books with spin-off or series potential are considered more valuable.

5. HOW LONG WILL IT TAKE YOU TO WRITE THE BOOK?
In general, a nonfiction book takes an average of 6 months to one year to complete. A publisher may not feel it’s worthwhile to invest in a book that takes you five years to research and complete and only has a potential of 20,000 readers. Alternately, if you’re writing an extensive history that requires five years of your time but has the potential to attract 500,000 readers – a publisher will reconsider the timeframe.

Regardless of your book idea’s potential to garner a traditional publisher or agent, if you are passionate about your subject, if you are committed to the time and effort necessary to produce it, and if you don’t care how many copies it sells – then I encourage you to write it. Put your passion on paper. Express your convictions and thoughts. Provide your experiences and knowledge for others to learn. A book is a powerful gift.

STAY-TUNED: In my next post I’ll discuss Writing For Your Readers.