#089: Everything You Need to Know to Write a Book

Oct 9, 2019

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Are you wondering if you can write a book, how to get it published, or whether to sell it as an ebook? Well, you're in luck because this post and podcast episode is all about everything you need to know to write a book.

Today I am interviewing Maggy Woodley, the brains behind Red Ted Art. I interviewed Maggy previously in episode 18. Maggy just released her second book on paper crafting.

We are talking about what it’s like to write a book as a blogger. If you are thinking about writing a book, or you want to learn more about the topic, this is the episode for you!

The Process of Book Publishing

If you want to get your feet wet in writing a book, you can always start with Ebooks. You definitely don’t have to start with a traditional print book.

E-books are good for beginners because the process is simpler.

Maggy started her career by writing individual Ebooks, as well as collaborative Ebooks.

You can create your Ebook on many different platforms, convert it to a pdf file, and then sell it on Etsy, Amazon, your blog, and Pinterest.

The most common way to publish a book is to find an agent. Maggy found her agents by talking to blogger friends who recommended agents to contact.

Maggy recommends Page Street Publishing because they specialize in publishing bloggers.

Is Writing a Book a Good Way to Make an Income?

The income you earn from books will be partly determined by the size of your blog and if you are already earning money from your blog.

Maggy has a large audience on her blog, so her income from her book is small comparatively, but it is a passive source of income.

For most people, writing books isn’t done for the money. If you make money on it, that’s a good thing, but it’s not the main goal. The goal is building your credibility with your audience.

You have to be passionate about what you’re writing about if you want to finish your book. If you don’t love it, you’re going to start hating it.

Repurposing Old Content for Your Book

Maggy’s books contain approximately 25% recycled content. That is fairly unusual for writers.

It depends on your publisher and what they will allow. Normally they will only allow about 5% pre-published content.

Some bloggers actually quit blogging while they are writing their books.

If you’re going to take three months to write a book, you need to consider whether you can fit it into your regular work schedule, or whether you can afford to take that time off to focus on writing.

Factor in the lead time of a year at the least. You will write your book, but then months will go by before it is published.

How to Use Your Built-In Audience to Sell Your Book

Maggy has a large presence through her blog, YouTube channel, and social media.

Her publisher will only have to do minimal work advertising her book because she already has such a large reach.

You don’t have to have a big audience in order to get published, however.

And even if a publisher does want you to sell to your audience, they will have a distribution system of their own.

What they are actually looking for is unique content and what makes you stand out. They want to see that you are passionate about helping your reader in a niche topic.

You’re not just writing a book for the sake of writing a book. You’re writing a book because you really believe it will help someone.

Do You Have Autonomy in Publishing

You have more freedom when you are publishing your own Ebook. You get to decide what goes into your book, your title, etc.

Publishers are usually quite happy for you to choose your content. Maggy’s publisher came up with her title and cover, but she liked both of those.

If you aren’t happy with something, you can always talk it out and try to agree on something that you like better. Most publishers will be happy with your respectful and helpful feedback about your work.

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TIMESTAMP

Intro
2:50 Tips To Grow An Email List
7:45 A Simple Start
10:57 Building a Journey for Your Subscriber
14:47 Segmenting Your List
23:35 Broadcast Content
26:57 Connecting Email to RSS Feed
29:48 Formatting For Email
33:16 Subject Lines
39:16 Pruning Your List
43:21 Parting Tips

Read the podcast transcript for “Everything You Need to Know to Write a Book” TOP 4 TAKEAWAYS

To be successful at email marketing, you must become an aggressive email acquirer.
Set up a “forever series”; a 10-post email series around one evergreen topic.
Segment your list to build a loyal audience.
Spend time writing attention-grabbing subject lines and editing your emails to be as short as possible.
Prune your list every 3-4 months.