Many
authors do not have a business plan and thus only plan for failure. Without a map to somewhere, you are on the
road to nowhere. So why don’t authors
have a plan?
1.
They
don’t think they need one.
2.
They
think what’s in their head is good enough.
3.
They
don’t really know how to write one.
4.
They
don’t want to confront the truth of what they need to do.
5.
They
don’t have much of a budget, so they assume there isn’t much that can be done.
6.
They
mistakenly think being on social media all day is a plan.
Whatever
the reason is, it’s not good enough to not create a plan. To design a business plan, you simply have to think about your answers to these things:
1.
What
am I trying to accomplish?
2.
When
do I start and end?
3.
What
resources do I have access to?
4.
What
will I not be able to do?
5.
How
will my plan fit into my larger objectives and long-term goals?
6.
How
will I spend my time productively, both before the book launches and afterwards?
When
creating a business plan, address these key areas:
·
Sales
·
Marketing
·
Advertising
·
Publicity
·
Branding
Think
of which action steps and series of sub-steps are required to achieve tangible
results in each area. Don’t try to do
everything—narrow down your list of achievable priorities.
When you create a business plan you’ll need to budget your time, money, and resources. Determine what the costs will be and guess what the likely pay-off shall be. Have periods of evaluation to determine what’s working and what isn’t. Make adjustments—or kill parts of the plan are failing.
A
business plan will help you:
·
Move
from generating ideas to executing them
·
Enter
into a business mindframe
·
Structure
monumental action steps
·
Assess
and measure results that keep you on the right path
·
Identify
what’s needed, what’s probable, and what’s just beyond your means
·
Have
an intense focus and direction to help you get from where you are to where you
want to be
The art of writing
might be about feelings, emotions, desires, fantasies, and purpose—but it’s
also a business that demands an eye on the bottom line. Make a business plan and be ready to alter it
along the way. Otherwise, you’ll just
float aimlessly until one day you determine that it’s time to pack it in.
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Brian Feinblum’s views, opinions, and ideas expressed in this blog
are his alone and not that of his employer, the nation’s largest book promoter.
You can follow him on Twitter @theprexpert and email him at brianfeinblum@gmail.com. He
feels more important when discussed in the third-person. This is copyrighted by
BookMarketingBuzzBlog © 2013
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