From Author To Entrepreneur

WHY EVERY AUTHOR SHOULD BE AN AUTHORPRENEUR

It was in the year 2000 that we started our Writer’s Agency. We were extremely thrilled and excited to be able to assist authors in self-publishing their books. However, it did not take us long to realize, we had to shift from just helping authors publish books, to coaching them to become entrepreneurs -- authorpreneurs. So after 3 years, we had to start mentoring our clients in entrepreneurship.

If you are planning to publish a book now or in the future, you need to know, you have to think like a businessperson -- an authorpreneur. Once your book is published...now what? This is where thinking like an authorpreneur plays in the picture. In fact, you need to start thinking like an authorpreneur way ahead in advance. We tell our clients, don’t wait for your book to be published to start putting together a strategic plan. You want to start 3 to 6 months ahead of time. Just like the movie industry. They start advertising way ahead

in advance, so we can be informed and ready to go and see a movie when it is released. It is the same with a book project.

When you publish a book, it is not a small feat. So you want to do everything in your power to be successful. We recommend that you read up on entrepreneurship as much as possible and as soon as possible. This will be a major factor in you being successful as an author.

By learning about entrepreneurship, you will gain invaluable insight and strategies on how to sale, market, brand, network and just overall how to manage a personal business.

Many people when they publish a book, they never think about the fact that they have to be their own PR & Marketing Firm (unless they have money to hire one). The reality is most people don’t. So, you need to read up on how to handle these aspects of the business. Yes, I keep calling it a business because it is. You have to manage sales, set up book signings, manage your speaking calendar, follow-up with possible engagements, etc. This is what business people do. Listen, you should never be satisfied with others pushing your book more than you!

Even when people hire our PR Firm, we always make it clear that in order for us to represent them successfully, they must understand, we are going to need them fully engaged in the process. This is not a time for them to lay back and drink soda and eat popcorn all day long. We need them activated and engaged throughout the entire PR & marketing campaign. So, if you are planning to write a book, be prepared to get in the trenches with it. Be prepared to work! After all, you have already put a lot of time and effort into writing and publishing it, why not do the same to make it a bestseller? I close with a quote I read in a book, “You’re going to spend the rest of your life doing something. It might as well be something you want to do.”

BELOW ARE SOME BOOKS THAT WE RECOMMEND YOU READ:

•Platform by Michael Hyatt

•7 Day Guide From Employee to Entrepreneur by Dr. Shirley Clark

•Sell Your book Like Wildfire by Rob Eagar

•Invent it, Sell it, Bank It by Lori Greiner

•Do It! Let’s Get Off Our Buts by John-Roger & Peter McWilliams

Dr. Shirley Clark is the owner of Jabez Books Writer’s Agency, an Award Winning #1 Amazon Best-Selling Author, Certified Business Coach, Professional Speaker, Digital Educator and a Marketplace & Community Leader. Learn more: www.drshirleyclark.org