There’s writing, and then there’s publishing. It can feel great to just write and not worry about the outcome. But it can also burn you out, quickly.
Work backwards: Figure out your publishing strategy, and you’ll figure out your book.
Knowing how and when you’ll release your non-fiction book can dictate your approach, saving you time and money in the process.
First, understand the three basic models for publishing:
- self-publishing (you’re in charge of producing the book, in print and/or digital versions)
- hybrid publishing (you hire a team to produce the book)
- traditional publishing (you convince a publishing house to buy your book and produce it for you)
Then, figure out:
- your reader, and how they consume content
- your ideal publishing model
- when you want to release your book
Here are some examples of publishing strategy dictating the writing approach:
- Your audience consumes mostly online content, in small doses, so a short ebook is enough.
- You’re self-publishing with a limited budget, but a print publication is important to you and your reader. A shorter page count will save you money. You hire an editor to help you streamline your idea into 30,000 words rather than 50,000 words.
- You’re planning on finding an agent and publishing traditionally, so you focus on crafting your proposal and sample chapters rather than your full manuscript.
- Your message is super timely, and needs to come out sooner than a publishing schedule would dictate. So you release your idea as a 10,000 word essay this month, or a series of podcast episodes, rather than a book in a year.
Curious about where to go with your writing? In The Publishing Plan, I help you build an action plan so your writing actually moves you toward your publishing goals.
Leave a Reply