Before You Write Your Book, Organize Its Parts - Part 2

If you are a serious writer who wants to publish and sell books and informational products, you need to be able to find all of its parts in a minute or less. Filing only the important parts of your book will yield fast-writing your book. With the tips below, you will find any book-related paper within two minutes!

After you decide on your topic, working title, audience, thesis, and "tell and sell" and before you write a single page of a chapter, it's best to organize your book, its chapters, even your promotion how-to's. Part one of this article is available at http://www.bookcoaching.com/freearticles/article-54.shtml.

Other Book Files to Keep

1. Front Matter. Placed at the front of your book, you may use all or only a few of these: acknowledgements, testimonials, forward, copyright page, Introduction, dedication, Library of Congress and ISBN information. If you sell on your own site, you do not need an ISBN number.

2. Book Chapters 1-End. Within each you will put your research, articles, quotes, how-to’s, exercises, tips, partially written chapter using your book chapter format worksheet, and four-fifteen questions you want to answer in each chapter. You can file both in your computer and in your hard files arranged from A-Z.

3. Book Essential "Hot-Selling Points." When you know these before your write your chapters, you will write more compelling, organized, focused chapters, easy to read. They include: your book's preferred audience, its sparkling one-page introduction, its "tell and sell" that includes major benefits, table of contents, back cover sales write up, thesis or theme, and working title.

4. Lists of your book's benefit words and phrases to give to influential people later for testimonials. You will need this list for any promotion or marketing you do too. Transfer them to your Web site sales letter.

5. Contacts Influential - Gather names of authors or other professionals you quote in your book. Think about top people in your field and other business associates who can help you. Make friends with a few media people. Place email addresses and other contact information in this file so you will be ready to act before you finish your book. These people can give you a peer review or even a testimonial.. They help sell your books. If you make it easy for them to respond, they will be glad to help you.

6. Back Matter: At the end of your book, you may want to include many of these: bibliography, index--need this to sell to libraries, resources/appendix, glossary, author's bio and photo (inside back cover), and an order page for this and other books and services you offer.

7. Permission requests - Get it in writing when you quote others.

8. Marketing plan-launch and lifetime. The plan includes how much money you want to make from your books or services. It lists the high level activities you will practice to get your books out there to your audience. That may include Online or Web marketing as well as talks, radio shows or book signings. Chose 3 best marketing techniques for yourself so you won't feel overwhelmed.

Within this folder, include these if you go the traditional publishing route: query, one-page book proposal, one-page listing of programs, seminars, or talks. If you plan online promotion, keep categorized email database lists to send free articles, reports and ezines to with just one click.

For Online and Web Marketing, include these: Web site plan to sell products before you hire a web master, your ezine, teleclass topics, magazine articles and tips to submit to opt-in ezines and on top Web sites.

9. Promotion Online and Off. Include a press release for offline, how-to articles and ezines to submit Online Promotion means the action steps you take on your marketing plans. What will you do to get people to visit and buy from your Web site? Traditional business cards and flyers always work.

Without organizing your book folders and files, you will waste a lot of time looking for the correct one. You will waste money because unfinished projects that don't get shared, don't make you money.

Judy Cullins ©2004 All Rights Reserved.

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