It’s been a bit over thirty canicule aback the “official” absolution of my book Prepare for Medicare – The Insider’s Guide to Buying Medicare Insurance. Aback its release, a lot of bodies from my arrangement (especially on LinkedIn!) accept accomplished out abreast (and publicly) with congratulations and well-wishes. I’m so advantageous to accept a absurd personal/professional arrangement actually affianced in and acclaim for my success!
A few accomplished out abreast and asked questions about the autograph process, but way added bodies added contacted me to ask what’s it’s actually like to barrage a self-published book on Amazon. That’s hasty to me. If you’d accept asked me thirty canicule ago, I’d accept anticipation best bodies would ask me about what it took to get article out of my brain, on to cardboard and into a accomplished product.
But that’s not what happened. Most of the questions I got were forth the curve of:
· How’d you get so abounding Amazon reviews in thirty days?
· Are you accomplishing a book tour?
· I see it got best up online by Barnes & Noble, Walmart, Target and a few added places. How did you do that?
· How are you already ranked in your Amazon category?
· How does your employer feel about it?
· How do I get one of those bobble-heads?
It’s funny; I don’t feel like an author. I feel like addition who wrote a book. Is that weird? I don’t know.
The responses to the book accept frankly, been overwhelmingly positive. At aftermost check, the book shows a best appraisement with fifty-eight reviews on Amazon. Since this is my aboriginal attack at autograph a book, that actually feels acceptable – but I actually don’t apperceive what “good” is declared to attending like! All I apperceive is I’m blessed it’s allegedly allowance people. What’s more, association are not alone accommodating to buy it but are confused abundant to leave a review! The accomplished acquaintance has so far larboard me acutely ashamed and appreciative.
Here are FIVE things I’ve abstruse in the aboriginal thirty canicule of actuality an author:
1. Sign copies of your book for people, alike if you “know” them and are friends.
Really. It’s important to them to bless with you and for you… and that’s aloof what “authors” do. If you aloof besom them off, there’s a actual absolute adventitious you’ll aching their animosity or affront them. This was 100% abominable to me, by the way. I had adolescence accompany ask for a active archetype – one alike bought a copy, mailed it to me to sign, afresh asked me to mail it aback and capital to PayPal me the postage. Lesson learned: If it’s important to them, it’s important to me, no amount how awe-inspiring I feel about it.
2. Asking your claimed and able networks to admonition you advance the chat about your book is basic to a acknowledged launch.
This seems obvious, but it’s the way it’s arena out that’s hasty me. I artlessly affected Facebook was activity to be the #1 way to advance the word. Wrong. LinkedIn collection the best cartage and from all the affirmation I can see/track additionally collection a lot of antecedent book sales. That’s NOT what you’ll apprehend on columnist blogs, by the way. I wasn’t abundant of a amusing media actuality above-mentioned to the book; I had a minimalistic contour on LinkedIn (mostly for recruiters) and none on FB, IG or Twitter. I’ve aback active up and am growing them, but LinkedIn was and continues to be a huge antecedent of sales and web cartage to the Prepare for Medicare website.
3. Have a plan and an adjustment anatomy accessible to email for aggregate book orders.
I’ve been advantageous abundant to already accept had a cardinal of aggregate book acquirement orders. They’ve appear from abrupt places, too. One was a banking planning firm; addition analysis was from a ample healthcare system. I affected I ability get a few from HR professionals as ability or handouts for backward employees, but so far it looks as if bodies are acclimation them for their admiral and advisers to use as Medicare allowance advertence and training tool. That afraid me, and makes me anticipate added about added means of bushing that need.
A few association on LinkedIn went advanced and ordered their aggregate orders anon admitting Amazon (and at abounding retail price!) afore I could alike acquaint them I had a adorned adjustment anatomy they could ample out! I’ve yet to get an adjustment ample abundant (nor has anyone asked, yet!) to do a custom cover… that should be absorbing back it happens!
4. Keep your bang-up and your employer abreast and affianced in the process.
I am a big accepter in accuracy and equally, authenticity. Those two nouns are amount to who I am as a actuality and charge be included in the ethics of the bodies and alignment I assignment with or for. Forget the cast or the name on the buildings, it’s the bodies who accompany them to activity and set the culture. Through this journey, I’ve activate back you’re up-front with your bang-up and your employer – accurate communication, actuality responsive, and yes – acutely cellophane – acceptable things happen. The bodies aural the alignment actually do appetite your “work of authorship” (what accumulated attorneys alarm a book, as I’ve learned) to do able-bodied and for you to be successful. Just don’t abruptness them. No one brand surprises.
5. Find an able book adviser if you’re self-publishing.
I chose to self-publish for a few reasons. First, I didn’t appetite to delay for a publishing abode to “knight” me or the book aces of publication. I didn’t appetite to decay time asking/begging bodies I didn’t apperceive to acquisition my abstraction admired and marketable. I capital the bazaar to decide, not a publisher.
Second, I didn’t appetite to accord my bookish acreage abroad to a publisher. I own and ascendancy it all. See: Michael Jackson and the Beatles and Taylor Swift and whoever that guy was. No, I’m not comparing myself to the King of Pop, but the assignment is appealing clear. Don’t accord abroad your IP.
Honoree Corder was that actuality for me. There is actually no way the accomplished artefact for auction beyond the apple at this actual moment would accept been accessible after her and her amusing bandage of experts.
She spent fourteen months actually on-call 24/7 from alpha to accomplishment of the project. I can’t alike activate to call the amount she added to the process. My advice? Pay addition to help. You do NOT apperceive what you’re doing, alike if you’ve spent hours online accomplishing “research.” Trust me. If you’re self-publishing a book, amuse don’t put article out into the apple that looks like an uploaded Chat document. Use professionals who accept done it afore and accomplish abiding they accept a ample anatomy of assignment to affectation and accept awash millions of books. Make abiding they’re expensive. They’re bargain for a reason, and they’re big-ticket for a reason.
Honoree is expensive. She’s additionally actual careful about who she works with and holds the keys to a few of the questions bodies in my arrangement accept been allurement about barrage strategy. There are endless of bodies out there affairs their self-publishing businesses who are not as expensive. I’m a close accepter you get what you pay for and she’s account every penny. I’d do it all over afresh the aforementioned way if I had the chance.
BONUS TIP – Bless your book release! I’m awfully abhorrent at adulatory anything. So, Honoree alike beatific me the block I acclimated as the featured account for this article! How air-conditioned is that? A book cake!
If you’re an aspiring, bathed columnist and anticipate I can admonition you in any way, amuse feel chargeless to ability out!
Matt Feret is the columnist of “Prepare for Medicare – The Insider’s Guide” (September 2021), a book and workbook alternation that helps association on Medicare and their caregivers adjudge what Medicare allowance advantage ability be appropriate for them, how to DIY or use an abettor to ablaze the path, buy advantage after the distractions and move on with their lives. The book alternation additionally outlines and guides the clairvoyant through what anybody on Medicare needs to analysis anniversary October to accomplish abiding they’re in the appropriate plan that meets their healthcare and banking needs.
Learn added at www.prepareformedicare.com
The thoughts and opinions bidding in this advertisement are those of the author only, and are not the thoughts and opinions of any accepted or former employer of the author. Nor is this advertisement fabricated by, on account of, or endorsed or accustomed by any accepted or above employer of the author.
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