I’m asked quite often how to publish a un curso de milagros. But, what I’m usually asked in almost the same breath is how to publish a book on a shoestring budget. Most people don’t have tens of thousands of dollars to write, publish, and market a book, so they’re looking for the best and cheapest way to do all three. There are ways, but let me explain a few things first, as I do frequently at http://www.writeandpublishyourbook.com.
But for now, let’s focus on this question of the best and cheapest way to publish a book. In fact, these are two entirely separate questions. The first question is, “What is the best way to publish my book?” Then, the second question should be, “What is the cheapest way to publish my book?”
See, most people who ask me this question are really just new to the business. It’s a perfectly legitimate question, especially if you’ve slaved over writing your book for two or three months (again, the timeline for writing a quality book is the subject of another essay). So let’s take these two questions apart.
What is the best way to publish a book? Write an outstanding, must-read book that is unique, provocative, controversial, a literary masterpiece, or is endorsed by someone like Oprah. No, really. That’s the best way to publish a book.
Take for example Joseph Finder, author of the best selling corporate espionage book, Paranoia. He’d had moderate success with his previous well-written CIA suspense novels, but didn’t hit it big until he inadvertently created an entirely new genre with Paranoia. In his words, “All I was doing was trying something new – a thriller with a fresh setting, a fresh cast of characters.”
Or, how about Nora Raleigh Baskin, popular author of middle-grade novels such as In the Company of Crazies (HarperCollins). She’d had a knee-high stack of rejection letters until she wrote the book she’d always wanted to write – not because she wanted to be published, but because she wanted to write this particular book. That one book, which she wrote from her heart, got her on the road to a successful writing career.
Many people have a great idea for a book, and many of these books are from their life experiences. They have no experience as a writer, but the strange thing is that they almost always ask first about publishing the book before it’s even written.
