Category: Publishing Tips

Saying Goodbye to Outdated Author Beliefs

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As we turn the page to 2025, it’s a great time to reflect on our approaches to publishing. For first-time authors, especially, the following three common misconceptions can hinder success.

The Myth of the Follower-Fueled Bestseller: Having a substantial online following is undoubtedly valuable. It provides a built-in audience and a platform for promotion. However, it’s crucial to understand that followers don’t automatically translate into book sales. A like on a post is a far cry from a pre-order or purchase. Some followers are showing up for the free content—a comedy skit to past the time during lunch break or a lifestyle hack to make planning easier. The smart author directs those followers to their newsletter, private community, and paid services to get a true sense of their audience.

The Illusion of the Self-Selling Book: Many authors mistakenly believe that once their book is published, it will magically find its audience. News flash: it will not! This is a competitive business, and book buyers are selective about where they spend their dollars. The smart author actively promotes their book and bakes it into their work.

The Trap of Passion Alone: While passion is undoubtedly a driving force behind writing a book, it’s not enough to guarantee sales. (And neither is a celebrity endorsement or feature in top media, but that is a separate post.) Enthusiasm for your topic doesn’t automatically translate into reader interest or effective marketing. The smart author has a strategy to reach their readers; this author understands the audience’s pain points and communicates how their book alleviates them.

This year, let’s embrace a more realistic and strategic approach to nonfiction publishing. Happy writing, and happy new year!

Choosing the Right Book Binding

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Nonfiction lovers often face a binding dilemma: paperback or cloth or spiral bound? All formats offer clear advantages.

Paperbacks standout for accessibility. Their lower price point makes knowledge more attainable for budget-conscious readers and book buyers. Plus, their flexible design makes them ideal for reading on the go—easily slipping into bags and backpacks. However, paperbacks are less durable. Their covers are prone to bending and tearing.

This is not a bad thing when reading professional development books, as best practices often change over time. So when the tears set in, you could consider it a sign to buy the new edition!

Cloth bindings, also called hardbacks, seem to suggest quality and longevity. These sturdy books withstand years of use, making them a worthwhile investment for serious readers and collectors. But there is a downside: Cloth books are pricier and bulkier, less convenient for carrying around.

Spiral bound bindings have gone the way of the dodo. They are great for notetaking or slipping into a backpack, but they tear easier than paperbacks and are a nightmare to package. For those reasons, readers can’t resell them on sites like Amazon.

Ultimately, an author and editor should consider the book’s priorities. If affordability and portability are key, paperback is the way to go—especially if the book is being positioned as a PD resource that readers will return to again and again. If you prioritize durability and collectability, invest in cloth.

Setting Yourself Up for Success Post-Contract

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Once you’ve signed that coveted book contract, the journey is far from over. In fact, it’s just beginning. The following are three actions to take to ensure a smooth and successful publication process.

  1. Establish a writing schedule: A well-structured writing schedule is essential for staying on track and delivering your manuscript on time. Remember to include ample time for reviewing and revising your work. Some authors set apart their weekends or summer while others prefer to hit a certain word count each month. Whatever you choose, commit to it. A solid writing schedule should also include time to review and revise your work. Use productivity tools like Grammarly and time-management software like Microsoft’s Focus Time feature to help you stay on track.
  2. Fire up your audience with a listserv: A listserv is a valuable tool for connecting with your readers and keeping them informed about your book’s progress. By inviting your audience to subscribe, you can build a loyal following and generate excitement for your upcoming publication. You can offer them exclusive sneak peeks and behind-the-scenes glimpses into your progress. Updates should be sent regularly, including milestones like your cover reveal and when your book is available to preorder.
  3. Secure necessary permissions: If your book includes any third-party materials, such as graphs, illustrations, lyrics, or excerpts from other works, you must obtain the necessary permissions to reprint them. Do not assume fair use is applicable. Failure to do so could lead to legal issues and potential copyright infringement. Some publishers will not send your book to the printer if there are outstanding permissions, which could cause a delayed release.

You can have an efficient, successful publishing experience by following these steps.

Using Your Complimentary Copies—Wisely

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Many authors receive free copies of their book at publication, but most don’t know how they can leverage those copies to increase book sales and to draw in new clients. The following are a few ideas:

  • Send signed copies to their network—the decision makers—encouraging them to purchase copies for each staff member if they enjoy the book
  • Send a copy to their top five media contacts and ask to appear on a segment or podcast
  • Raffle a copy of their book to a random winner who joins their mailing list

Authors can also use their author discount to purchase additional copies to accomplish many of these tasks too. The goal is not to give away tons of books for free but to invest in oneself. Putting a signed copy of a new release is a small lift that can have long-term benefits.

Good luck!

Tapping Your Network

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You’ve signed with your dream publisher and submitted your manuscript to production. As release day draws closer, you wonder what you can do as author to help sales and publicity. The following are a few tips that involve leveraging your network to drive sales as soon as your book is available for preorder.

> Ask to appear on their podcast—Discuss your expertise and plug your book. You don’t have to sound like a salesperson, but you must understand that you are your book’s biggest cheerleader. It’s even better if the podcast centers on your area of focus because you know that you are in front of the right audience.

> Send an advance copy of the book to your media and industry contacts—Invite them to leave a review, talk about it to their followers, and purchase a copy for their teams.

> Continue establishing yourself as a leader in the space—Book consulting and professional learning on the subject. Create future keynote presentations or online offerings on the book’s topic. Remember that while writing for well-known publications like The Atlantic, NPR, or Edutopia will often put you in front of a larger audience, do not dismiss the benefits of posting to popular sites like LinkedIn, Instagram, or TikTok. You should have a modern, easy-to-navigate professional website and social media account.

Refreshing Your Website before Hitting “Send”

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Many publishers check prospective authors’ platforms ahead of offering them a publishing agreement. Their goal is to sign authors with a strong platform to mitigate the risk of signing someone who cannot help drive sales of their book. So, the following are two elements that authors should address before sending a publisher their book proposal.

  1. Verify that their website lists their expertise and keynote/consulting topics—Publishers are looking for thought leaders. They want to sign the biggest name or promising emergent names on a topic. They want to see what listed topic or audience is a natural fit for the prospective author’s book. So, outdated information will not help a modern contract.
  2. Remove dead and obsolete links from their website—Broken links look bad! If a page has moved or if authors no longer post to social media sites like Twitter or YouTube, they need to remove links to those sites from their website. It doesn’t matter if the author has 50,000 followers on that page: if prospective authors are not engaging with those followers, they won’t buy the book.

Good luck!

Shifting the Focus of Your Book Post-Contract

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Often, books are contracted months or even years ahead of their release. As authors’ platforms and work evolve, they may find that the audience or topic they’re writing to is no longer the largest part of their business. To get the publisher’s support to change directions while keeping the contract terms intact, an author might consider the following:

  • Is the new focus marketable? Is it a buzz topic in the industry or news, ensuring that the book will sell?
  • Is the new primary audience the biggest following or clientele the author has? As I’ve said before (and so has Jeb Blount), people buy you. That means the author must write in their authentic voice and to the audience that they are in front of.
  • Does the publisher have a history of success in the new area? In many cases, the author is not shifting the focus or audience so much that this will be an issue. For instance, a publisher that sells books to teachers will most likely also have a good record with education leaders too.

When making the case to their publisher, authors should also note any new marketing or bulk sales opportunities to strengthen their case. Publishing is a partnership, and both parties must satisfy their objective.

Good luck!

Positioning Yourself as the Right Person to Write This Book

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A proper book proposal should position the prospective author as an expert or unique voice on the subject. After all, the writer isn’t just trying to convince the publisher to release a book on the subject but to contract the writer to author that book.

When making their case, the writer can include the following information.

  • Credential: Detail their level of education and institutions as well as training (internships, apprenticeships, jobs held) as it relates to the book’s topic.
  • Business: List any keynotes, presentations, or workshops they have put on about the subject. The writer must go on to share the audience size for these keynotes and workshops and how much they charge. Publishers want to partner with authors who can help promote and sell the book. Having a business that the book complements demonstrates that the writer can make a topnotch partner for sales and promotion.
  • Following: Add in social media followers or subscribers that turn to the author for news on the subject. Along those lines, include the location of those followers. Both Tik Tok and Instagram show its account holder what countries their followers are connecting from, which helps the prospective author demonstrate to a publisher that they have international reach. The writer should also share the open rate for their newsletter and emails.

The prospective author must show that they bring a unique and marketable perspective to the book deal.

Good luck!

Communicating Your Vision for Your Book’s Cover Design

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Cover design is one of the most exciting parts of the book production process. Undoubtedly, both author and publisher understand that a well-designed cover draws in readers, and all parties want to be proud of the end result. However, the author and publisher often have differing ideas of what that design looks like.

For the publisher’s part, it wants something that is engaging, complimentary to its brand, visually appealing in person and online, and compliant with any considerations pertaining to licensing of art and fonts. I suspect most authors want the same but often focus their attention on the look and “vibe “of their cover. So, how can these parties each leave the cover design process satisfied?

I recommend the publisher ask and authors communicate their vision. A meeting, email, or cover questionnaire can easily accomplish this. Along those lines, the author should consider:

  • What competing book covers look like—The author should look online, in industry catalogs, or in brick-and-mortar stores. Note the books that are billed as best-sellers or get prime placement (that is, forward-facing in stores).
  • What “feel” they want—The feel can be fun and accessible, authoritative, or something else.
  • What colors the author envisions—The author should note if he or she wants a cover with vibrate shades like red and orange, soft pastels like sage green or cream, or something else.
  • Fonts—Authors should communicate whether they want the title or author name be bigger than the subtitle, whether the main title be larger than all other text, whether they desire cursive or other special looks.
  • Art—Some authors do not want pictures on their book covers while others are indifferent. Others still, may have strong feelings about certain symbols. I once worked with an author who was vehement that her book on motherhood should not use a cover image that focused on a pregnancy bed. To her, images like that removed the woman’s personhood and centered her only as a reproductive agent. Any author who has strong feelings should communicate that.

If authors don’t know what they want or are open to a variety of designs, they have likely made their designer’s day. Who doesn’t like carte blanche to create a stunning visual!

After authors communicate their cover desires, they should trust their partner—that is, their publisher. Any reputable publisher has years—or centuries—of publishing success under its belt. It won’t want to jeopardize that on a slapdash cover that looks inferior beside competitors.

Identifying Your Primary Audience

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Whether reading a proposal or discussing a prospective author’s book idea, there’s a point when my focus turns to primary audience—that is, the customer who will buy the most copies of the author’s book. It is quite common for authors who want their books to reach as many people as possible and undoubtedly to sell as many copies of their book as possible to say everyone is their audience. That is never true and actually paints the author as ignorant to the promotion and sells component of what makes a book successful.

Audience should strike the balance of (1) being large enough to make a book worth a publisher’s time but (2) narrow enough that the publisher knows how to sell it and (3) authors distinguishes themselves in the field. Since most of my career is spent in academic and trade PD publishing, I would urge authors who want to work with me to consider the following when determining their audience.

  • Who is the current captive audience? That is, what organizations, firms, schools, or other client are paying the author for keynotes and training—and renewing contracts for additional workshops? Who comprises the author’s social and professional network (i.e., academics, system and school leaders, or someone else)?
  • What audience will the author be presenting to in the coming 1–2 years?
  • What conferences is the author attending or panels is the author sitting on?

The answer to these questions = the primary audience. Anyone else is ancillary.

If the first book finds success, the author is welcome to focus the next book on this secondary audience.