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    How To Write A Book: The Complete Guide to Writing and Selling Your Own Paperback or E-book
    How To Write A Book: The Complete Guide to Writing and Selling Your Own Paperback or E-book
    How To Write A Book: The Complete Guide to Writing and Selling Your Own Paperback or E-book
    Ebook136 pages2 hours

    How To Write A Book: The Complete Guide to Writing and Selling Your Own Paperback or E-book

    By Cathy Harris

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    About this ebook

    This book contains all the ins and outs of the writing and publishing industry. It was written for writers, poets, publishers, ghostwriters, editors, proofreaders, typesetters, copywriters, freelancers, syndicated columnists and other aspiring authors who are ready to get their names in print.

    Every author I know gets asked the same question: How do you write a book? Writing a book is never exactly easy but can be a “doable” process. In other words, anyone can write book even children as young as 5 years old.

    Writing, as opposed to publishing, requires almost no financial or physical resources. A pen, paper and effort are all that has been required for hundreds of years.

    Whether you’re allowing a traditional publisher to produce your book, or you’re striking out on your own to self-publish, becoming an author can be a rewarding experience if you allow it to be.

    Writing a good book, compared to a bad one, involves one thing -- work. No one wants to hear this but if you take two books off any shelf, I’ll bet the author of the better book worked harder than the author of the other one.

    No matter how you approach it, a great deal of time and commitment is required. Nevertheless, seeing a book through to completion need not be a grueling task. If you approach the process with a thought-out plan, it can actually be enjoyable.

    There are many reasons that people would like to write a book --what’s yours? Defining why you would like to write a book is important on several levels. First, it helps you figure out how dedicated you will be to completing your writing project.

    Your writing project can be a “short-term” or a “long-term” project. Many aspiring authors have started writing a book but were side-tracked because of unethical people who have led them down the wrong path in the publishing industry. This book will help you get back on track and make your dream of writing a book come true. Good luck!

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherCathy Harris
    Release dateNov 25, 2012
    ISBN9781301084845
    How To Write A Book: The Complete Guide to Writing and Selling Your Own Paperback or E-book
    Author

    Cathy Harris

    Cathy Harris is an Empowerment and Motivational Speaker, Health and Wellness Expert, Business Coach and the self-help author of 18 books. She is an expert on many different topics including health, business, writing/publishing, workplace discrimination, whistleblowing, law enforcement, domestic and international traveling, politics, community relations, family empowerment, and media. Her books and articles are full of content-rich material to help anyone get back into the driver’s seat.

    Read more from Cathy Harris

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      Book preview

      How To Write A Book - Cathy Harris

      OTHER BOOKS BY CATHY HARRIS

      The Cathy Harris Story

      The Failure of Homeland In-Security

      Police Interactions 101

      Domestic and International Traveler’s Survival Guide

      Recession Survival Guide

      Workplace Survival Guide

      Discrimination 101 (Volume I & Volume II)

      A Woman’s Guide to Buying a New or Used Vehicle (Part I & II)

      My Hair, My Crown, My Glory

      Politics 101

      Cancer Cures

      A Self-Help Guide to Empowering Your Family and the Entire Community (Series 1)

      A Self-Help Guide to Starting Your Own Business (Series 2)

      A Self-Help Guide to Becoming Healthier Over the Next 30 Days (Series 3)

      HOW TO WRITE A BOOK:

      THE COMPLETE GUIDE TO WRITING AND SELLING YOUR OWN PAPERBACK OR E-BOOK

      by

      Cathy Harris

      Second Revised Edition - 11.25.12

      SMASHWORDS EDITION

      PUBLISHED BY:

      Angels Press on Smashwords

      Angels Press

      P.O. Box 5288

      Atlanta, GA 31107

      http://www.AngelsPress.com

      info@AngelsPress.com

      How To Write a Book: The Complete Guide to Writing and Selling Your Own Paperback or E-book

      Copyright 2012 by Cathy Harris

      All rights reserved. Without limiting the rights under copyright reserved above, no part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in or introduced into a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form, or by any means (electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise) without the prior written permission of both the copyright owner and the above publisher of this book.

      Smashwords Edition License Notes:

      This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each person you share it with. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then you should return to Smashwords.com and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the author’s work.

      TABLE OF CONTENTS

      Dedication

      Preface

      Chapter 1. What You Need to Know Before Writing a Book

      Top 8 Reasons that Can Keep You from Writing a Book

      Top 10 Reasons Why You Should Write a Book

      Top 10 Mistakes Authors Make When Writing a Book

      Chapter 2. What ‘Genre’ Will You Write In?

      Non-Fiction vs. Fiction

      How To Study the Market

      Chapter 3. Top Publishing Avenues

      Traditional Publishers vs. Self-Publishers

      Top 8 Avenues to Publish a Book

      Chapter 4. How To Self-Publish in Print

      The Process of Writing A Book

      The Process of Printing A Book

      Chapter 5. How To Self Publish With a Digital Book (E-book)

      Why You Should Write an E-book

      Steps To Publish an E-book on Amazon.com Kindle and Other Publishing Avenues

      Chapter 6. Top Ways To Promote Or Market Your Book

      Marketing Goals, Tools and Tips for Authors and Publishers

      Top Ways To Promote Your Book on the Web

      Chapter 7. How To Think Like a Business Owner

      Top Ways to Finance Your Writing or Publishing Business

      Legal Aspects of the Writing and Publishing Industry

      Chapter 8. Top Professions that Benefit from Writing a Book

      Top Businesses for Writers

      How To Become a Professional Speaker

      About the Author

      DEDICATION

      This book is dedicated to everyone who is seeking to put their story in print. Not only is writing therapeutic and healing but remember the pen is mightier than the sword!

      This book is also dedicated to my two lovely daughters who are my true inspiration for all my writing.

      PREFACE – NOTE TO THE READER

      Are you an aspiring author who would like to know how to publish a book? Well you have come to the right place. Whether it’s a paperback or e-book this is the only book you will need to make your dream of writing a book come true.

      This book contains all the ins and outs of the writing and publishing industry. It was written for writers, poets, publishers, ghostwriters, editors, proofreaders, typesetters, copywriters, freelancers, syndicated columnists and other aspiring authors who are ready to get their names in print.

      Every author I know gets asked the same question: How do you write a book? Writing a book is never exactly easy but can be a doable process. In other words, anyone can write book even children as young as 5 years old.

      Writing, as opposed to publishing, requires almost no financial or physical resources. A pen, paper and effort are all that has been required for hundreds of years.

      Whether you’re allowing a traditional publisher to produce your book, or you’re striking out on your own to self-publish, becoming an author can be a rewarding experience if you allow it to be.

      Writing a good book, compared to a bad one, involves one thing -- work. No one wants to hear this but if you take two books off any shelf, I’ll bet the author of the better book worked harder than the author of the other one.

      No matter how you approach it, a great deal of time and commitment is required. Nevertheless, seeing a book through to completion need not be a grueling task. If you approach the process with a thought-out plan, it can actually be enjoyable.

      There are many reasons that people would like to write a book --what’s yours? Defining why you would like to write a book is important on several levels. First, it helps you figure out how dedicated you will be to completing your writing project.

      Your writing project can be a short-term or a long-term project. Many aspiring authors have started writing a book but were side-tracked because of unethical people who have led them down the wrong path in the publishing industry. This book will help you get back on track and make your dream of writing a book come true. Good luck!

      CHAPTER 1: WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW BEFORE WRITING A BOOK

      It’s unfortunate that people have had to build new careers to take care of their families. Because of the economy, many people are writing books. Writing a book is very therapeutic to many, but there are many more facets to writing a book. You also need to think about marketing and speaking.

      You will need to not only look at your creative side which is writing but the business side of your writing or publishing business.

      As I write this book, I currently have over 18 books, paperback and digital books (e-books), published. When I originally wrote my first book, Flying While Black: A Whistleblower’s Story, in 2001, I was off work on unpaid stress leave from my job.

      A mid-sized publisher in Los Angeles, Professional Publishing House (http://www.ProfessionalPublishingHouse.com), agreed to publish my first book. Dr. Rosie Milligan, author and publisher, was the angel who agreed to assist me. I will always be thankful to her for answering my call for help.

      That book has now been revised and updated into two e-books The Cathy Harris Story: A Whistleblower’s Victorious Journey to Justice and The Failure of Homeland In-Security: The Government’s Dirty Little Secrets from An Insider at (http://www.TheCathyHarrisStory.com).

      Writing my first book helped me win a lawsuit against my job. For me, compiling the information in a book was extremely therapeutic. I knew the book would offer me a chance to share my information with the entire nation. What I was exposing as a Whistleblower needed to be exposed.

      Writing the books helped me heal and move forward because after all the pen is mightier than the sword! In 2005, after retiring from my job, I knew I needed to become a self-publisher and publish my own line of empowerment books to help others. So I formed my own publishing company, Angels Press (http://www.AngelsPress.com), which is also an empowerment company. Now I am an author and publisher or self-publisher.

      My books covers topics such as health, business, writing/publishing, workplace discrimination, whistleblowing, domestic and international traveling, law enforcement, community relations, politics, media, car buying, selling and repairing –just to name a few.

      My company, Angels Press, hold writing and publishing seminars and workshops in the community instead of just book signings (http://www.CathyHarrisSpeaks.com/SeminarsandWorkshops.html). We also hold mini-seminars, panel discussions and speak with guests on my Internet radio show The Cathy Harris Show (http://www.blogtalkradio.com/TheCathyHarrisShow).

      Write a Book About Your Life

      If you are coming from a specialized industry such as Banking, Financial, Mortgage, Education, Medical, International Traveling, Law Enforcement,

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