Want to tell your story? Want to impact people and evoke change in the world? Simple—just write and publish a book.
The difficulty of this task will depend on your skill level and dedication, but if it’s a labor of love, you’ll be able to handle it. But don’t think you’re all done once you type that final word. Oh, no. You’re just getting started. Now you have to get your masterpiece out into the world.
But, you know what? Millions of people before you have already brought their manuscripts to the market. There’s no reason you can’t join their ranks and publish your book, too. It’ll take some hard work and a query letter (which you can have professionals write for you), but you can succeed if you’re dedicated enough.
Today, we show you five secrets about how to get your book published.
1. Don’t take “no” for an answer
If authors gave up after their first rejection, there wouldn’t be any books in the world. It’s already well known that many prolific authors faced countless rejections from publishers before their books became massive hits.
It’s scary to put your treasured manuscript out there. We’re all scared of rejection. But the only way to make sure your book is published is to believe in your dreams and not give up. Even if you receive more than 100 rejections, don’t stop believing in yourself. This gets a bit easier when you realize publishers often reject manuscripts for business reasons and not because of the quality of your work. Just keep trying until you find the publisher ready to publish your book.
2. You’re your own marketer
First-time authors may be surprised to learn that when they publish their book, even if through a big-name publishing house, they’re generally responsible for the marketing themselves. Marketing is simply part of how to publish a book, and the sooner you accept this fact, the sooner you can start. The upside is that you have full control over the marketing of your manuscript.
3. You can publish your book on your own
Back in the day, the only true way to publish a book was through a large publishing house, which required an agent and a significant amount of money—and still didn’t guarantee acceptance of your manuscript. Self-published books were looked down upon.
But times have changed. There are massively successful self-published books on the market, and some experienced authors have ditched their publishers to self-publish their books instead. As a self-published author, you’ll have more freedom—and you’ll have to do all the marketing yourself either way. Plus, the royalties are way higher.
4. Start a blog
Nowadays, marketing for books (and many other things) is primarily online. How can you get your name out there? Start a blog.
The same marketing approach used for blogs or other digital products can also work to market books. If you don’t know much about marketing, do some research and get started early. Blogs are invaluable not only during the publishing stage but also while you’re still writing, as feedback from readers can help you significantly.
5. Invest in your book
If you’re not willing to pour time and money into your book, no one else will be, either. All successful projects require investment, either monetary, temporal, or both.
If you choose to publish your book through a traditional publisher, you’ll need to spend time and money securing yourself an agent, writing proposals, and sending out query letters. You also can hire professionals to write your queries for you to improve your chances of acceptance.
If you go the self-publishing route, you’ll need to shell out money for designers, editorial services, and ISBNs.
Investments like these are just part of how you get a book published.
Go get your book published
You know the secrets now. That still doesn’t mean publishing a book is easy—it’ll take time, money, dedication, and patience. But with these secrets, your chances of getting your book published just got better.
And you’re not alone in this journey, either. Don’t forget that there are countless services and professionals out there to help you along the way. Need assistance writing your query letters? We can help.