APE: How To Publish a Book by Guy Kawasaki & Shawn Welsh

If someone promises you that you will get rich quick it is probably a ripoff. One signal is that rip off artists often ask you to pay upfront, which legitimate publishers do not. Also, beware of independent contractors who want 100% up front. 50% is more like it. In some cases, it’s ok to pay established providers up front. Guy also offers suggestions for spotting crooks and bozos. This chapter includes information and advice on copyright, digital rights management, eBook borrowing, work-for-hire agreements, and eBook revisions. The final chapter in this section maps out the multifaceted world of Amazon.

These are foreign concepts to most authors and despised by the rest. Guy starts this section with Guerrilla Marketing tips. Start by offering a free pdf copy to anyone in your email address book and your social media contacts who is willing to review your book. (Doug: That’s how I got a review copy of APE.) Some may not come through, but your cost per copy is $0. Next, sign up at the Help a Reporter Out site so you can offer help in areas of your expertise and get some free publicity.
Once your book ships, be sure to contact people who can give it a great review on Amazon. To be found, you should make sure your title and subtitle contain words and phrases that people search for a lot. Google Adwords can do this. This chapter contains many more cool ideas for promoting your baby.

Your platform is the sum total of people who have read any of your work, seen you speak, or know you personally. This is something you need to build every day. The three pillars of your personal brand are Trustworthiness, Likeability, and Competence. Suggestions for building trust include trusting others first, delivering more than you promise, and being honest about what you know and don’t know. To be likable, be accepting of others, give without expecting something in return, and be positive. To show competence, work hard to develop your strengths, watch and learn every day in areas outside of your expertise, and push the edge of your knowledge by trying new things.

Email is more important than social media contacts so get all the email addresses you can, and respond when people contact you. You should also blog to build your brand and develop your writing skills. At some point, set up a site that will act as a catalog for your work. Guy explains the differences between social-media services such as Google+, Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Pinterest and YouTube, which enable you to win the marketing trifecta: fast, free, and ubiquitous. The bad news is that you need to spend and hour to two each day with the tools you choose to build your platform. This chapter also includes other platforms that are ideal for writers.

Book Summaries