Hello first time author! You have a great idea for a book. Read below for a list of key things to consider when publishing your first book project. We discuss creating your story, copyrighting your work, collaboration, and selling your product to customers.
WHY PUBLISH?
Creativity is a gift that we believe everyone is born with. Like all of God’s gifts, creativity must be nurtured, protected, and practiced to become truly rewarding. We’ve found that publishing our work has been truly rewarding for us and to the families that read our books.
Whether you are an author, illustrator, or audio creator, publishing your work is a great service to a world of people. You are leaving a legacy and connecting us all.
WHAT’S NEXT?
We’ve compiled a list of steps to take as you work on publishing your story. If you’d like to consider publishing with us, or just need help with your project, click the button below to see how Fundo Press, LLC can help!
11 FUNDO-MENTAL STEPS
DO YOUR RESEARCH.
What made you want to create your book?
Sometimes there is a gap of information missing for a particular audience.
Maybe this book is written to the younger you. Perhaps it’s a biography of your favorite person.
Whatever the inspiration might be, know that their may be something similar in the world.
Know what genre you’re writing for? Who is your target reader?
Get an idea of what books are on the market, in your desired genre, and how their content is connecting with their audience.
CREATE WHAT’S IN YOUR HEART.
Writing a book can be difficult. But if you’ve had the thought, why not follow through?
Are you thinking of what’s stopping you? Why not write that down. See what we did there :)
Give yourself an hour each day in your personal creative space. Bring a pen and paper, laptop, cellphone, whatever.
You owe it to yourself to write what’s in your heart. Even if you decide not to publish your work, get it out of your head.
PROTECT YOUR WORK.
You may have read that once you create it, you own the copyright to your work. While that may be true in theory, we advise that you take the legal precautions necessary to protect your work.
We are very much in favor of creators protecting themselves. Find out how to protect your intellectual property here:
We have experience completing both types of registrations! If you’d like more guidance, take 5 seconds to SIGN UP below.
4. COLLABORATE CAREFULLY.
Like we said above, it’s important to know the intentions of all parties with which you will collaborate. Don’t sign anything that you don’t understand, without a clear explanation. If you still don’t understand what you’ve read, seek a legal consultation. Legal assistance may be more affordable than you think.
Be clear with your collaborators by drafting a document, specifying who they owner of the copyright is. Again, a neutral legal consultant may be helpful in drafting this agreement.
5. KEEP RECORDS.
Record your sources of information, references, expenses, and everything else. Dedicate a notebook-whether paper or digital, to your records for your work.
Here’s an example of folders to keep:
Creative Records
Glossary
Characters
Plot
References
Outline
Story Content
Collaborators/ Credits
Copyright documents
Cover Designs
Illustrations
Business Records
ISBN Numbers and Title Information
Royalty Contracts
Expense Records
Payment Records
Collaborator Agreements
License Agreements for Illustrations
Tax ID
Tax Records
6. ENSURE THE QUALITY OF YOUR BOOK.
Effective editing and quality control of your books is such a major part or being an author.
Think about what you want from the books that you buy as a customer.
When you spend your money, you expect a quality book in return—a book that’s not only pleasing to look at, but is a high-quality product-in and out.
Editing your book is a requirement for any writer. Have you ever read a book, and noticed typos? As the reader, you shouldn’t be the one correcting text with a red pen, right?
Hiring a professional editor is essential to your book’s success.
This will lead to a great product, a happy customer, and much less embarrassment for you as the author. For all of our products, we use the services of For The Love Of Words for copy editing, line editing, as well as content editing. To learn more about these different types of editing read here.
Copy editing $25-30/hr
Focuses primarily on sentence structure, grammar, and mechanics
Line editing $35-40/hr
Focuses primarily on essay structure, flow, and style
Includes general feedback on sentence structure, grammar, and mechanics
Content editing $45-50/hr
Focuses primarily on format, coherence, and consistency
Ensures content is connected to audience and purpose
Includes fact-checking and general feedback on sentence structure, grammar, and mechanics
Rush projects are available for an additional $15 fee. These are projects with a requested turnaround time of a week or less (based on length and availability).
Visit http://fortheloveofwordsonline.com for additional information and packages.
We find that it’s extremely important to inspect our products throughout the production process.
In fact, as we ship many of our books directly to our customers, we inspect each print of products we receive. You as the author should have the right people on your team who are invested in your customers’ satisfaction.
Remember, whether your book’s quality is good or bad, your reputation and success depend upon it.
7. KNOW PUBLISHING TERMINOLOGY.
Do you know what an advance is?
What about royalties? Did you know that the industry standard royalty rate is?
We’ve compiled a glossary of publishing talk here.
It’s important to be educated on the basics before making an agreements or contracts.
We’re working on a glossary. Be sure you clicked Subscribe above or here. You’ll be the first to know when it’s available
8. HAVE A MARKETING AND DISTRIBUTION PLAN. USE IT.
Your book may be what your target audience needs. But how will they know?
Have a plan to reach your target market. Vend at local events, market on social media, reach out to your local press.
Be sure your book is properly listed on the book marketplaces.
if you’d like to know how to do this effectively, feel free to reach out to us.
9. MAKE YOUR BOOK READILY AVAILABLE.
I’m sure by now, you’ve heard of selling your book via Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and bookstores. You also have the opportunity to sell your books to your customers directly as well. You could do this on your website, Social Media, vending events, and more. Use your values, goals, and preferences to determine on which channels you will sell your product.
If you do decide to sell your product directly, you don’t have to ship all your products to customers. If you have enough sales, you may consider hiring a fulfillment partner to ship your products.
BONUS: ALWAYS KEEP SIGNED COPIES
It’s great to always have 10 or so handy at all times. You’re goal is to get your book out to the world, right?
And now a Fundo Fact...
Maybe you are like Emily Dickinson, and would like to leave a treasure chest of unpublished work. If it’s not necessarily your goal to have your work published while you’re here, we get it. That’s perfectly fine!
But if you want to get your book into the world while you’re here, BE PRESENT. You are the living representation of your story.
If you are an introvert or extrovert, or whatever you’re style, get comfortable with sharing your story.
You are your first publicist. It’s best to have a few mint condition, ‘signed by the author’ books available for potential customers who may be interested in your book. Budget wisely, and feel out the demand before getting a trunk of your books. With time, you’ll learn how many books you may need on a weekly basis.
If you are proud of your work, never be without a copy of your book. A signed copy of your book adds an extra special touch.
That’s not counting vending events, book signings, and festivals, for which you’ll want to plan more extensively based on the size of your expected audience.
10. BUILD AND FOSTER RELATIONSHIPS.
You are solving a problem with your book. Whether you’re writing a mystery novel, a how-to book, or a children’s book, you are shining a light into the world. Relationships are what make the world go around. Build organic relationships with people in your community. Whether your grocer, hair stylist/barber, church members, co-workers, family members, be a resourceful person to those around you. You’re not only marketing your book, you’re providing a service for others. Your relationships with others will be fruitful in inspiration for your writing, and in support for your products.
11. LEARN. IMPROVE. REPEAT.
There is no blueprint to success in publishing your book. We’ve found that the best thing to do is follow the steps I’ve mentioned above to create the best product possible. Your book is a balance is a balance of self-expression and meeting a customer need. It’s your job to get it to the people who need it the most.
The key is to avoid frustration by setting your own personal goals—whether financial, education, therapeutic, or other—and setting and accomplishing small tasks. As you accomplish these tasks, you will see what works best.
Did you gain value from what you read? If so, please leave a comment below, and let us know what you learned.