How to Blog a Book

Inspiring You to Build Visibility, Boost Authority and Become an Author Post by Post

Inspiring You to Build Visibility, Boost Authority and Become an Author Post by Post

  • Home
  • About
    • Vote This Blog One of Writer’s Digest’s Annual 101 Best Internet Sites for Writers
    • Resources for Nonfiction Authors and Bloggers
    • Privacy Policy
    • Terms of Service
  • The BOOK!
    • Table of Contents
    • Page One
    • NEW! Revised and Expanded–2nd Edition–of How to Blog a Book
    • How to Blog a Book (Revised and Expanded Edition) BLOG TOUR
    • Previous Virtual BookTours
  • Services
    • Blog Services
    • Coaching
      • Blog and Blog-to-Book Coaching
      • Hire an Author Coach
      • Writing and Book Coaching
  • Courses
    • The Productive Writer Course
    • High-Performance Writer Group Coaching Program
    • Turn Your Blog Into a Book Production Machine
    • Build a Business Around Your Blog
    • How to Blog a Book Audio Course
    • How to Blog a Book eCourse
    • How to Blog a Book Audio Recording
    • Author Training 101
  • Contact
  • Login

April 10, 2014 by Nina Amir Leave a Comment

8 Questions to Help Produce and Evaluate a Business Plan for Your Blogged Book

Share this:

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • LinkedIn
  • Pinterest
  • Email
  • Print
  • More
  • Reddit
  • Tumblr
  • Pocket

ID-10089750The best way to start any book project, blogged or written some other way, is with a plan. In How to Blog a Book, I suggested you create a business plan for your book prior to writing a word and that you do this by going through what I called the “proposal process.” This entails using a book proposal as the foundational template for your business plan. My new book, The Author Training Manual, elaborates on that process in great detail.

Even if you are writing a short book in a month, as you might be doing during National Book Blogging Month (NaBoBloMo), your book will benefit from a business plan—and so will you. It will help you produce a marketable book, one that will sell to readers in your target market. If you book sells, it gets read.

How to Produce and Evaluate a Business Plan for a Book

The following eight questions, with follow up questions, will help you produce and evaluate the information you need for your book’s business plan.

  1. What’s Your Book About, and Why Would Someone Want To Read (Buy) It? Can you summarize your book, provide a pitch of 75 words or less and offer a list of five or so benefits (even for a novel)? Do you really know what you’re writing about, and is your story or subject compelling—a must have or must read? Readers want to know, “What’s in it for me?” Will they find the value they seek?
  2. How Many People Really Might Buy Your Book? Do you know if there are enough potential readers to purchase your book—a large enough market of interested buyers? Can you describe it? And who are your ideal readers? Do they need this book or want it? Is the market large enough to justify producing the book?
  3. What’s the Competition, and Is Your Idea Unique and Necessary? Can you identify five bestselling books on the topic and explain how your book will be different, better and angled to the unmet needs of readers? How will you tell a different story? Is there a “hole” on the shelf waiting for your book to fill it? Why would readers buy your book rather than another?
  4. What’s the Structure of Your Book? Have you developed a table of contents or planned out your story line in enough detail to do so? Does that structure or story make sense? Do you have enough content or story arc? If someone read the table of contents, would they be compelled to purchase the book?
  5. Does Your Book’s Content Match Your Initial Vision of Your Book? Do you know enough about your book to write a chapter-by-chapter synopsis (a summary of each chapter)? Once you’ve done this, do these summaries show that the content of your book or the story you want to tell synch with your answer in #1? And will it help you target your market and do a better job than the competition (#2 and #3)?
  6. How Will You Brand Yourself and Earn More Money? What are your plans to write more books—series, sequels and follow ups? Do you want to build a business around your book with products and services? How do you as an author or publisher want to be known? Can you entice a publisher by showing your sense of entrepreneurship or keep your start-up publishing company afloat with your business savvy?
  7. Are You the Best Person to Write This Book…Now? Are your writing skills, author platform, credentials, or expert status at the point where they can help you succeed? When would be the best time to publish so you achieve maximum results, which means sales?
  8. Do You Make a Good Publishing Partner or Indie Publisher? Do you have a strong promotion plan that builds on a strong author platform? Are you willing to help sell books, take on marketing and promotion and generally be more than a writer? Publishers want authors who will help sell books; are you such an author? Indie publishers succeed if they promote their own books (as well as distribute them); are you willing to do this work?

Evaluate Your Book Idea

Use the information in your book’s business plan to evaluate it for marketability—its chances of selling well in a target market. This provides the key to producing a successful book. Also evaluate yourself. Without evaluation, the information in your plan is useless. If you evaluate the information and then use it to tweak, retool, reangle, or hone your book idea to make it the most unique and necessary one you can provide for your ideal readers, you will create a book with a high likelihood of selling well. If you also use the information to change your habits or develop a stronger plan to help promote your book, you’ll help it succeed.
Photo courtesy of imagerymajestic |freedigitalphotos.net

Share this:

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • LinkedIn
  • Pinterest
  • Email
  • Print
  • More
  • Reddit
  • Tumblr
  • Pocket

Filed Under: How to Begin Blogging a Book, National Book Blogging Month, The Proposal Tagged With: author training process, book proposal, business plan for a book, proposal process

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

CommentLuv badgeShow more posts

About Nina Amir

Nina Amir, the Inspiration to Creation Coach, inspires writers to create published products and careers as authors as well as to achieve their goals and fulfill their purpose and potential.

Read More . . .

Follow Me!

Follow Us on FacebookFollow Us on Google+Follow Us on TwitterFollow Us on LinkedInFollow Us on PinterestFollow Us on YouTubeFollow Us on SkypeFollow Us on RSSFollow Us on E-mail

As Seen On:

social proof2

How to turn your blog into a book

Amazon.com
Barnesandnoble.com
IndieBound.com
WritersDigestShop.com

Create a Successful Author Website!

Book. Books and laptopPurchase a copy of my eBook!

Bestselling authors like Michael Hyatt and Joanna Penn use Scrivener and endorse this course! I tried Learn Scrivener Fast, too, and found it a quick, easy way to learn the Scrivener writing technology. Plus, you can use it to produce produce ebooks!
Click here to find out more!

250x250

bluehost

Writer's Digest: 2013 Best Writing Websites (2013)
This website has been awarded a Best Writing Website.
Sponsored by Writer's Digest, Writer's Market,
Writer's Digest University & Writer's Digest Shop.

TFOI Badge

Popular Posts

  • Are You Blogging a Book? List it here!
  • Can You Publish Blogged Material As a Kindle Ebook?
  • Darren Rowse on Book Deals and Discovery in the Blogosphere
  • 3+ Reasons I’ve Started Using Scrivener as a Blogging Tool
  • Selling Your Ebook on Your Own Website vs. Amazon

Search

Categories

Archives

Copyright © Nina Amir 2021

Copyright © 2021 · Generate Pro Theme on Genesis Framework · WordPress · Log in

»
«
Powered by Conversion Insights: Boost your online revenue.  
Are you a productive, semi-productive or unproductive writer? Take My Quiz To Find Out!
loading Cancel
Post was not sent - check your email addresses!
Email check failed, please try again
Sorry, your blog cannot share posts by email.