I want to write a book, now what?

Congratulations on being ready to write a book of your own. I have had many conversations with people about their book dreams, and have found that everyone is at a different phase in their book journey. Below, I will discuss your next steps, no matter which stage you’re up to . You may wish to write a book, but that is just the beginning of your journey.

Haven’t started yet?

• Haven’t started yet? Research the topic that you want your book to be about. What else is on the market associated with that topic? Why will your book be different? Then sit down and structure the flow of how you are telling the story or selling your product or service.

• Decide whether you are going to write it yourself or if you’ll hire a ghost-writer. Most books are between 60,000 and 90,000 words for a novel, but an e-book can be much less. Non-fiction books generally range from 30,000 to 60,000 words.

• If you’re struggling to finish the writing process, you can do a few things to get over what they call ‘writer’s block’. Hire a coach, do some reading on ‘how to write a book’ or hire a ghost-writer to refine your thoughts.

Manuscript is ready to go!

• Regardless of whether you write a book by yourself or use a ghost-writer, it’s vital that you hire an editor to go through your work before publishing. A poorly edited manuscript will be criticised in reviews. Not only this, an editor WILL make your book better! The process is beneficial for your writing and the success of your book.
• You may wish to read our blog about the editing process here.

Manuscript is edited, but now I need help!

• Once you have written your book, it’s now up to the exciting stage of teaming up with a full-service self-publishing agency to go through the steps of getting published from start to finish. Turtle Publishing can help with book design, editing, illustration, publishing, distribution, and sales.  

My book is ready to sell!

• STOP!
• Firstly, this is a very exciting step, and you don’t want to rush it. Congratulations if you’ve made it this far. How are you going to sell your book? I’ve seen many books go onto Amazon, sell a small amount in the first month, and then sales fizzle out.
• We can advise on how to upload to Amazon and other book stores, create a successful launch, and build up reviews. We can also assist in optimising your book for sale to ensure you’re targeting your complete market and giving your launch the best possible outcome. There is strategy to hitting number 1! We can walk you through the process.
• Following a personalised launch process will maximise all your hard work.

I already have a book online, but it doesn’t sell many copies.

• This, unfortunately, is very common. The good news is, it’s not too late to optimise your book. Whilst there are many reasons why our systems work better during the initial launch phase, it is possible to do a ‘digital re-launch’ to help improve your sales.

There’s great power in taking charge of your own book’s results. We can work together to ensure you are along for every step of the journey, and in complete charge of where that journey takes you. Book a FREE 30 minute consult with us, and let’s see how we can help your book dream come true.

Kathy Shanks

Turtle Publishing was founded in 2020 by self-employed designer and happily married mother of two, Kathy Shanks. With 20 years of design experience and having created her own journal in 2019, where she subsequently believes that the ‘universe started throwing books at her’, Kathy is passionate about creating designs that convey the right emotion and ‘vibe’ to the right audience and specialises in budget friendly publishing solutions.