Heather Townsend's Journey to Authorship: Part 2
by Heather TownsendThe Efficiency Coach
So, what next?
It’s the morning after, the night before. The euphoria of taking the decision to write a book is slowly ebbing away. Yes, I know and truly believe that I am destined to become a published author. But what happens now? How do I actually get there? In the cold light of day, the hard work needs to start. Now.
Many people have great ideas for a business, but never take the first step. So, what is the first step for me? Do I just start writing and see what happens? (That’s what every creative sinew in me wants to do.) But, I know that if I am going to save myself heaps of time in the future, I need to be able to answer some key questions. And, that has to happen before I put pen to paper... (or, in reality finger to keyboard)
The first question is to consider my personal strengths and weaknesses. Many of you may be familiar with a SWOT analysis. Here is the neat version of the SWOT analysis I did on myself:
Strengths
- Writing style – plain, lack of jargon and easy to understand
- Personal commitment to writing a book
- Extensive business, coaching and personal efficiency knowledge
- Huge library of personal training materials including handouts, workbooks and business books
- Distribution channel in place for e-books – but would only get 30% of cover price of book
- Executive, business and career coach
Weaknesses
- Lack of time to solely focus on writing a book
- No Publisher or agent (or idea of how to approach one)
- Knowledge about publishing industry
- Knowledge about readership of e-books
- Knowledge of typical price point for e-book
- No e-commerce capability on my current website
Opportunities
- Build passive income for my business
- Use as a means of engaging people into The Efficiency Coach brand
- Free PR from Everywoman
- Amazon kindle, sony book reader and Cool-er book reader are starting to become more popular
- E-book market place on web increasing
- Use ‘free’ e-book to get people to sign up to newsletter and efficiency tip
Threats
- No agreed coding standard for e-books
You may be wondering how this SWOT analysis has helped me to become a published author? What it has showed me is that I need research the e-book market – to identify price points, target audiences, software.... in fact what I need to learn at this stage seems endless.
The next question, I need to answer is, what will make me different? In the best tradition of a Hollywood blockbuster cliff-hanging ending, I will consider that in my next article...
READ MORE
Find out more about Heather Townsend's Journey to Authorship
RELATED DISCUSSIONS