Are You Ready to Publish?
How to Know When You Are Really Done Writing and Are Ready for Publication


by Paul J. Krupin


I work with hundreds of authors and publishing companies each year and really and truly, if you think you are really ready to publish, then please listen to these words closely. Think again before you jump.


You have to write to sell, and the job of writing isn't done until the book sells. This is where most self-publishers go astray. They publish their book without verifying it was really ready for market.


You have to test your ideas and test your product on real live people. Identify your end users and the people who will buy the book for your users.


Write to sell and test, test, test. Do this in small doses till you get the right buy signals. Reliably. Not just once or twice, but repeatedly and reliably.


Do 25 to 50 POD versions and test it with these important people.


You'll know by their behavior and response whether you are really ready to publish the book.


If you can't get people to even look at it, then you're not done.


If they look at it and put it down, then you still have work to do.


If people look at it and grab it, you might be done. It depends what happens when they then pick it up and peruse it. If they put it down, then you're not done.


You may have to redesign and re-write it till you know you are done. You have to work with your prospective audience to get real feedback, and you must listen to what people say and address the issues you receive.


This may take a lot of reiterations.


But one thing is for certain, there is a point that you will reach when you know that you are done. It's a wonderful thing when you get to this point and know it.


Here's what I've observed and experienced.


You know when you are done...


When people look at it, grab it, look at it and head to the cashier.


You show your book someone and they hold it close and won't give it back freely.


You show them the book and they reach for their wallet.


They pick up one book, look at it, and grab four or five of them and head to the cashier.


One person picks up the book, grabs it and heads to find and show his or her friend the book, and they both grab one for themselves and buy it.


You know that you have something when kids pull it off the shelf and haul it over to their mothers and fathers with a look of desire and wanting and excitement in their eyes that says please????!!!!


I call this the hoarding syndrome. When people clearly indicate to you that the book has such inherent value and importance that they are willing to pay for it. They know it and you know it instantly.


Other people here have no doubt experienced this in a variety of ways. It would be very cool to hear from people about when they knew that they were done.


I work with a lot of authors and publishers, and I see success a lot less frequently that I wish I would see. I attribute this to people rushing through to publishing their books without making sure they have created a product that people will actually buy.


So this is my bottom line advice:


Write to sell. Don't stop writing and re-writing till you know it sells, and sells easily and continuously.


Prove it with small test POD numbers. Use the technology that is available to all of us wisely. Then move it up through the publishing and promotion chain level by level.


In your case, you think the book should excite and grab people. But it isn't happening.


So to me, you still have work to do. But you can't speculate about what's wrong, you need real data.


So ask your candidate customers. Ask until you are blue in the face and get the hard difficult data and feedback you need to redesign and redo this project.


I had a recent publisher come to me with a book which presented his ideas on how to have a successful marriage by using a marriage contract.


Myself, I'm a former attorney and I would not pick up a book that had a marriage contract in it.


I married for love, and I did sign a prenup. I didn't even read it. Her father had me sign it and I signed it without even looking at it. That was 20 years ago and I'm still married to the same women. So the prenup may or may not be valid any more, since the marriage is still a good one, and it's a community property state.


Do people want to run their marriage off of a contract? Like it's a job or a construction project? Do they want to reduce communications and relationships to policies and procedures?


When we looked at our marriage vows, my wife said "strike the obey" and I said "and add in this here dispute resolution clause".


But that was the oral vows.


Put it in writing? Something doesn't fit in the picture. Like what's love go to do with it?


This is the type of process most people go through when they contemplate buying a book.


Do I want to get married to this person and his or her ideas? Even if I can get divorced from it later?


Can I even afford to do a one night stand? How will I feel in the morning?


Do you love Harry Potter?


Do you understand what these questions have to do with your writing?


You are not done until people fall in love with your creation. That's when you are done.


Paul J. Krupin Custom Targeted PR
The Right Markets, The Right Message, The Right Media
www.DirectContactPR.com
800-457-8746 509-545-2707
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