Ebook vs Publisher advise...

[Marycv]

I wrote a book about myself having a learning disability, and would like to submit it to a publisher. I don't have much writing experience other than my weekly blog, few articles published at a local newspaper, and have my own website. Do you think it would be a good idea to hold off sending the manuscript to the publisher, and self-publish an ebook first. It was suggested to do this in order to show my writing experience, and I would have a better chance of being accepted. Do you think this is a good idea? Or do you think I should go ahead and submit my manuscript it to the publisher? I am just worried he/she would say I don't have enough writing experience. What do you suggest?

[richard02]

I will go with publish self-ebook, You can improve the prospect of your ebook’s achievements by dealing with the following 7 problems before you begin to write:

1. Visitors. Begin by removing the “best-seller” mentality! Your objective is not to become a top promoting writer. Your objective is much simpler: to market your proficiency and skills to your perfect readers–those you want as upcoming customers and leads. Conventional posting has always been depending on promoting a lot of guides to a lot of unknown people. Your achievements, however, includes focusing on for audience quality, not amount. This includes developing audience people explaining your perfect readers and their details needs.

2. Advantages. Next, compose a list of how your guide is going to advantage readers. In order for your guide to develop your individual product, it must help readers fix their problems or accomplish their objectives. It must help them improve their sales or decrease their costs. It must help them not waste time or improve their efficiency. The more benefits you consist of in your book’s headline, the more achievements you will enjoy.

3. Objective. Why do you want to create and post an ebook? It’s not enough to say, to develop my product. You have to know exactly how you are going to advantage from your guide. The best way to do this is to get ready a objective declaration for your guide. Your objective declaration should provide a map for your profession achievements, explaining how you will turn e-book readers to teaching and talking to customers or potential customers of your upcoming e-books like e-courses, special reviews, or video clips.

4. Structure. How are you going to arrange the material of your ebook? Structure includes dealing with both material and style problems. Content problems consist of determining between a step-by-step, or “procedural,” strategy compared to a example strategy. You can also arrange your book’s material with regards to concerns, or best methods. Design problems consist of selecting either a symbol, or straight, alignment for your webpages, or scenery, or horizontally, web page structure. Page duration also performs a part.

5. Marketing. How are you going to market your ebook? No matter how well your e-book changes out, quality–by itself–is no assurance that perfect visitors going to discover it. Marketing and promotion are your responsibility! It’s up to you to bring your e-book to the attention of your perfect readers. In most cases, you will want to evaluate your current online existence and decide if it provides the writer foundation you need to entice, turn, and upsell your perfect readers.

6. Create use of. Look for ways to use your e-book to back up every element of your profession. Instead of parenthetically discussing your e-book in your individual marketing, help create your e-book the primary factor in your individual product. Create use of your e-book throughout your marketing and actions and keep it as clean and modified as possible.

7. Followup. A single e-book is rarely enough for decades of individual marketing achievements. Think of your e-book and your product as new plants that need to be regularly developed. Each new version of your e-book, and each followup e-book, will glow more light on your product. Accordingly, when selecting the headline for your first e-book, look for a headline that you can assistance with partner guides and e-books. Think of Jay Conrad Levinson’s 30+ decades of achievements depending on over 100 Guerrilla Marketing books!

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[shadowwalker]

If you're thinking that self-publishing first will give your book a better chance of being picked up by a trade publisher, it rarely works. Some trade publishers will look at phenomenal sellers, but it's exceptional enough to make news. That said, it is not at all unusual for nonfiction to be self-published and do quite well, relatively speaking.

In either case, experience has little to do with getting a trade contract. They look at the writing quality. And if you want the book to be successfully self-published, you need to present it as a professionally done work - ie, make sure it's edited to the highest quality, has a good and marketable cover, etc.

[TerryRodgers]

I will go with publish self-ebook, You can improve the prospect of your ebook’s achievements by dealing with the following 7 problems before you begin to write:

1. Visitors. Begin by removing the “best-seller” mentality! Your objective is not to become a top promoting writer. Your objective is much simpler: to market your proficiency and skills to your perfect readers–those you want as upcoming customers and leads. Conventional posting has always been depending on promoting a lot of guides to a lot of unknown people. Your achievements, however, includes focusing on for audience quality, not amount. This includes developing audience people explaining your perfect readers and their details needs.

2. Advantages. Next, compose a list of how your guide is going to advantage readers. In order for your guide to develop your individual product, it must help readers fix their problems or accomplish their objectives. It must help them improve their sales or decrease their costs. It must help them not waste time or improve their efficiency. The more benefits you consist of in your book’s headline, the more achievements you will enjoy.

3. Objective. Why do you want to create and post an ebook? It’s not enough to say, to develop my product. You have to know exactly how you are going to advantage from your guide. The best way to do this is to get ready a objective declaration for your guide. Your objective declaration should provide a map for your profession achievements, explaining how you will turn e-book readers to teaching and talking to customers or potential customers of your upcoming e-books like e-courses, special reviews, or video clips.

4. Structure. How are you going to arrange the material of your ebook? Structure includes dealing with both material and style problems. Content problems consist of determining between a step-by-step, or “procedural,” strategy compared to a example strategy. You can also arrange your book’s material with regards to concerns, or best methods. Design problems consist of selecting either a symbol, or straight, alignment for your webpages, or scenery, or horizontally, web page structure. Page duration also performs a part.

5. Marketing. How are you going to market your ebook? No matter how well your e-book changes out, quality–by itself–is no assurance that perfect visitors going to discover it. Marketing and promotion are your responsibility! It’s up to you to bring your e-book to the attention of your perfect readers. In most cases, you will want to evaluate your current online existence and decide if it provides the writer foundation you need to entice, turn, and upsell your perfect readers.

6. Create use of. Look for ways to use your e-book to back up every element of your profession. Instead of parenthetically discussing your e-book in your individual marketing, help create your e-book the primary factor in your individual product. Create use of your e-book throughout your marketing and actions and keep it as clean and modified as possible.

7. Followup. A single e-book is rarely enough for decades of individual marketing achievements. Think of your e-book and your product as new plants that need to be regularly developed. Each new version of your e-book, and each followup e-book, will glow more light on your product. Accordingly, when selecting the headline for your first e-book, look for a headline that you can assistance with partner guides and e-books. Think of Jay Conrad Levinson’s 30+ decades of achievements depending on over 100 Guerrilla Marketing books!

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I'm saying this with the nicest intentions because I always try to remain positive no matter the situation.

The OP didn't write a guide or self-help product. She wrote a non-fiction story about her disability. None of the 7 items that you listed have anything to do with what she asked nor would work in her situation. She said nothing about being and expert or professional on her subject. What I got from her post was that she wrote a non-fiction book about what it's like to have a learning disability, what she probably has went through, and most importantly what she has done to overcome certain parts of her life.

My comments aren't meant to demean or put down only to point out that I don't think anything you listed will help Mary.

[TerryRodgers]

I wrote a book about myself having a learning disability, and would like to submit it to a publisher. I don't have much writing experience other than my weekly blog, few articles published at a local newspaper, and have my own website. Do you think it would be a good idea to hold off sending the manuscript to the publisher, and self-publish an ebook first. It was suggested to do this in order to show my writing experience, and I would have a better chance of being accepted. Do you think this is a good idea? Or do you think I should go ahead and submit my manuscript it to the publisher? I am just worried he/she would say I don't have enough writing experience. What do you suggest?

Mary, first off, congratulations on your accomplishment. Not many can lay claim to have completed a book.

Normally when writing a non-fiction book that you want to publish in the traditional sense, you would first write a proposal and submit that proposal with a sample of your writing. You don't have to write the entire book until a publisher offers to purchase your book. Since you have completed the book, you are in a slightly different position. You can still submit your proposal (non-fiction proposals are much different and longer than fiction queries) to publishers and see what comes back. You can also self-publish, but there's no reason to do that right away if you want to put forth the effort to try your hand at a proposal. If no publisher is willing to pick up your book, then you can go the self-publishing route.

What you really should do first, is think about what you want in the form of publishing. What are you trying to accomplish? Do you just want to tell your story or do you feel that what you have written will help others that have suffered the same as you have? Many self-publish their books only to satisfy their need and desire to be published. Others self-publish to meet a certain geographical area around them. Still others self-publish as a stepping stone to far greater things. Once you determine that direction, your direction, then I think you will better be able to decide what you want to do. Good luck with whatever direction you decide.

There are some very successful non-fiction authors on this forum. Hopefully, one of them will chime in.

[mammamaia]

i mentor many memoir writers, have also edited/rewritten some for clients, so i would suggest that you start at the top, instead of just resigning yourself to self-publishing...

first have someone knowledgable take a look at your ms and synopsis to see if it's good enough re writing quality and 'story' to interest a paying publisher... if it is, you should first query agents who rep memoirs of this type, since that will get you the best deal possible from a publisher...

you can also query publishers of that type book directly, at the same time... if any show an interest in the book, that will give agents you query incentive to take it on... and vice/versa...

however, with a non-fiction book, you will need more than a query letter and synopsis... you'll need to do up a standard book proposal... that has many parts, including sample chapters and a marketing plan... google for 'components of a book proposal' to see what is expected...

i can help you with this, if it's too hard to manage on your own... if you need any further info, feel free to email me any time at all... congratulations on having completed a book, which is no small feat!... and i wish you the best of luck in getting it published...

love and hugs, maia
maia3maia@hotmail.com

[James A. Ritchie]

Good advice is difficult without knowing more about you, and more about how the book is written. But I would say you need to remember that even a self-published book needs to be just a good as a commercially published book, and needs to have proper grammar and punctuation.

You say you lack experience as a writer, but want to self-publish to show your experience? That simply isn't going to work. It's your inexperience that will show.

Self-publishing shows off quality, but it also shows lack thereof, and it is NOT a good way to find a commercial publisher. You need to sell several thousand copies of a self-published book before a commercial publisher will show any interest. Those who think this is a good way to find a commercial publisher simply have no clue what they're talking about.

The best way to find a commercial publisher is to write a good book, one that has a market, and then approach agents and publishers. If a book really is good, you don't need to self-publish in order to find a great agent and publisher. If a book isn't good, self-publishing will not make it any better.

[DrG2]

If you want to peddle a non-fiction book, the most important part is probably your platform which states your credentials as being the best person to write the book. You mentioned some of these in your post--the other stuff you have written. I suggest studying up what is involved in creating a nonfiction book proposal, and when you are confident you know what is needed, sending queries to a few agents that handle nonfiction books similar to yours. The proposal will include your "platform", an outline, and probably a writing sample of some length (some want to see the first chapter). Different agents ask for different things so check what they want before you send to them. Good luck.

[Marycv]

I would like to thank everyone for your suggestions. You helped me a lot, and I realized that going through self-publishing route is best for me. I know it would be harder, more work, but it would be worth it in the end.

[mammamaia]

I realize going through an agent/publisher is the best route. I have a publisher in mind who to approach, and gathered all the information I need.

...why would you have a publisher in mind, if you're going to first try to get an agent?...