I just published my first children's chapter book, Born to Fly. It's the story of a caterpillar named Blossom who has a dream to fly. It's all about the power of dreaming big -- for children and grown-ups who can still think like children. :-) Which I hope is you.
"So, Diana, how did you publish it?" you want to know. "Did you spend months looking for an agent?"
No. I didn't have months.
"Did you spend years looking for a publisher?"
No. I didn't have years.
I published it on CreateSpace, which is a game-changer for indie writers. I published Audacious that way, and one of my writer's coaching clients, Bethanne Weiss, aka The Asset Queen, is about to publish her book the same way.
I love traditional publishers and agents, of course, and there will always be a place for them, but they can't possibly publish all the books that people are writing. So sometimes you need other options. And you do have them.
The #1 question people ask me
Whenever I teach a writer's workshop, the #1 question people ask me is not, "How do I write my book?"
This is what they ask: "How do I sell my book?"
My response used to be, "You can't sell what you haven't written so write your book already!" But people still want to know the end from the beginning, so I've started including that information in workshops.
If you want to know how you can sell your book, here are 3 pieces of good news I tell writers:
Good news #1: Even if a traditional publisher doesn't publish your book, there are dozens of co-publishers and self-publishers who will.
Good news #2: You can also publish all on your own via CreateSpace. And you'll have your copies in about 2 weeks. Seriously.
Good news #3: Even if a traditional bookstore doesn't carry your books, more books are sold outside bookstores than inside.
And #3 is HUGE news for writers. If you don't believe it, think about where you've bought most of your books lately. Was it at a real live bookstore? Or was it on Amazon? Or even on a website or blog mildly related to the subject of the book?
Chances are it was online. No matter who publishes your book, you can very easily position it to sell online. You still have to drive traffic to those sites, but that's another blogpost for another day.
So be encouraged. You really can sell your book! (So now get to work writing it, okay?)
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Want more tips and encouragement to write and sell your book? Just type your email address in the very empty little white box in the upper left.
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Here's the cover of my new children's chapter book:
Pretty cute, huh? Shout-out to illustrator Leah Wiedemer for the cover pix and the 40+ illustrations inside the book. See more on Amazon.
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