Lesson #1: Let's self-publish a book!

Contrary to what many people would have you think, self-publishing a book is not easy. Not only must you write the book, but you also have to serve as your own publisher — taking responsibility for the editing, design, and marketing of your book.

If you choose to self-publish, there will be a long road before you, with new challenges you've never dealt with before. But worry not — over the course of the next ten lessons, I'm going to guide you through the process of becoming an independent author. 

If you're ready, then let's go!

First things first: who are you writing for?

Before you go running out the gates and start typing your first draft, let's slow things down and consider for whom you're writing. 

As fantastic as it would be to publish a book that's universally loved, writing for everybody is not just ambitious; it’s impractical. With thousands of wonderful titles for readers to choose from, your book needs to find its audience if it has a chance of it succeeding. And to connect with that readership, you should have an idea of who they are from the start.

Many authors will start off by describing their target reader using key demographics — like age, sex, location. They'll make assumptions about their interests and hobbies. They might even build a proto-persona for their reader, giving him or her a name.

That's not to say your book should only appeal to one type of person. It is, however, good to have someone in mind, so you know who you're 'talking to.'

Plus, knowing your target market will also streamline your marketing efforts later on. It will help you:

• Not waste time on the wrong marketing channels
• Have an idea where to invest the bulk of your advertising budget
• Focus on specific outreach strategies (for example, which social networks to use) to generate maximum engagement with your target audience

That’s all for today! In the next lesson, we'll talk about the good stuff: how to write that fantastic book of yours.

See you tomorrow,

Martin from Reedsy

Recommended Resources

• The Myth of the Everyreader (blog post)
• Finding a Target Audience for your Book in 3 Steps (blog post)

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