Everyone who writes acim dreams of sitting on the couch with Oprah, appearing on best seller lists, enjoying luxury book tours in exciting cities, and making a boatload of money from their masterpiece.
However, in order to enjoy the lifestyle of a rich and famous best selling author, you have to start with a really good book. Many beginning authors make some important errors in the writing of their books that negatively impact book sales.
Your book is the foundation of your success as an author. Avoid these five mistakes and write a book that will get people excited about you and your message:
1. Skipping the editing process.
If you self-publish or publish with some on-line publishers, you may be tempted to rely on Spell Check and Grammar Check alone. If you do not have a professional editor review your manuscript before you print it, you will most likely have a book full of embarrassing errors. Readers will not like your book and have a poor impression of you. Additionally, book reviewers, purchasing agents, and members of the media will not take you or your book seriously.
The rules of punctuation, verb tense, and grammar are tricky. You probably haven’t considered them since you left school. Even if you are an English teacher, invest time and money in the editing of your book. It is a must.
2. Writing a book that is a thinly disguised sales letter.
If your book does not provide useful content for your readers, they will not read it or recommend it to their friends. When your book is full of white space, extra large print, and too many personal examples of your greatness, your readers will feel like they did not get their money’s worth from your book.
3. Confusing the reader with poorly arranged material.
If you write your book without a clear plan, your material may repeat itself or be hard to follow. Especially if you are writing a non-fiction book, present the concepts in your book to your reader in a logical, sequential way. Generally speaking, it is best to present your concepts in a progression; “do this first, this next, and finally do this”.
When the concepts in your book are clearly presented, your readers will feel bright and competent. They will believe that they can implement the concepts you teach.
Additionally, when your book is easy to understand, readers subconsciously think you are intelligent because you presented material they grasped. If your book confuses them, they will think the book, and you by default, are stupid.