My Day 3 Summit recap · Non-Fiction Author Lab

My Day 3 Summit recap

You know how when you were in school and it was coming to the last few days of the semester, and you were hoping that the class was going to be a bit easier and slower paced, well this 3rd day was nothing like that as we were still drinking from a fire hose.

We started off on the Publishing Path with the #NoBoringBooks Process - this 14 step BL process is what governs the Booklaunchers process for working with all their new authors.
Chad and Elissa then took us through several editing styles that are needed to understand whenever you work with an editor. From Copy Editor to Fact Checkers to Proof Readers. And I learned that it is the Designer who makes the inside of your book look pretty and inviting. This gives your book the polish it needs to have its best appearance.
There were a couple guest speakers of which I had to step away for one of them to take a call. However, Rene Ready's story inspirational. Given her condition - yet she was still able to write a book - that story is powerful! I know I will be listening to the replay to again hear Rene's story, and the one I missed for sure.
Srah and Elissa then described 'How to put books in readers hands'. From multi-channel distribution to multi-format, from Direct Sales to Referrals by LLM, there are many ways to reach the goal
But first you have to ask yourself: what does your reader consume; where does the reader buy my book; where does my reader find new books; what metrics are important to measure; and what do you want the ability to control.
No matter what channel you choose you need: clear author brand, rich structure content which leads them back to your website, media and influencers talking about you, and consistency across all channels.
Next, they discussed the distribution channels of Ingram Sparks, KDP, D2D, Direct to Consumer, and 48 Hour Book. You all will need to see the replay and watch and understand the Pro/Con for each of these channels. Remember that you get the most royalty and most consumer data by selling direct, but it does come with some additional work too. Make sure to see the replay!

Important notes:

At the end of the day - the book is yours. You have the ultimate decision as to how to proceed.
When you arrange for any service, such as editing, remember you get what you pay for. Get copies of their work, get referrals, and determine if they are a match for your style of communication.
Make sure to have a well-rounded structure for all of your story formats - print, eBook, and audio.

There is so much that has been packed into these three days and you may need to listen to the replay a few times to capture it all.

Many thanks to the whole BL team, and all of the special guests for a great 3 day summit.

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