How to publish:
So many of us have a desire to publish our own work however struggle with the timed question … How do I get published?

In this article I hope I can answer some of those questions as I am well into the task at hand.

After years of coaching and speaking with women in leadership, I began to notice the lack of women leadership books. Sure there are plenty of “gender neutral” texts available; however I work very closely with Leadership Emotional Intelligence Proficiencies (another topic with few texts that focus on leadership and/or gender). So I decided to publish a book focused on LEIPTM and gear it towards women.

First I determined the need or market for my book and continued work. Then I had a glass of wine and began the arduous process of learning how to publish. Did you know you can self publish, hybrid publish and/or contract publish. I spoke with several publishers who did both hybrid and contract publishing and here is what it all boils down to:

Self publishing – you have 100% control and cost – you also have to do all the hiring of your contractors i.e. editor, cover designer, printing, marketing, and more.

Hybrid publishing- is more like a partnership where as you decided from an ala carte menu what you need help with. You still have 100% control in your work however you get a second pair of eyes looking it over and making suggestions. You can either decide to listen to them or listen to your gut.

Contract publishing-is a partnership however there usually is a payment made to you (retainer) from the publisher. The publisher determines for the most part what stays in the book and what does not as well as what the title is, cost, marketing ect.

In looking at the three examples I am sure you can figure out who and where the money goes.

The other question you need to answer is why are you writing this book? If you want a Barnes and Noble best seller – you may want to go with a contract publisher, an Amazon best seller- hybrid publishing, and just get info out there to begin a deeper work – self publishing.

So here is how I launched my 1st book – and it’s an eBook – and it’s complimentary to anyone who wishes to read it.

1. Determined my audience and the need for my book.
2. Determined why I was writing it. I wanted to create a book for women that focused on emotional intelligence and gave tips. I also wanted to give the book away as this is my 1st book and I have several other works in progress.
3. I Trademarked my platform LEIPTM Leadership Emotional Intelligence Profile and began blogging about my work as well as additional research.
4. Decided on a format – eBook – The only fee I had to pay was to my editor who reviewed the book and made comments. EBooks are simple and easy to publish as all your audience needs to do is download the book (PDF). You can even charge if you desire and many new authors do, just create a PayPal account.
5. Write every day – edit after each chapter or in my case before I opened a nice bottle of Niner Fog Catcher 2005.
6. Edit – I sent my to an editor who charged $75.00/hour and it took her 2 hours total.
7. Title and cover – I utilized what I already had, my logo and created a title that identifies what my book is about.
8. Sent an electronic copy to the Department of Copywriting ([copyright.gov]), I am a stickler on being sure when it says copy write protected it is.
9. Link the eBook to your web site – and then market it.

Please feel free to download your own complimentary copy of “Leveraging Emotional Intelligence- 35 Tip to Help Women Succeed in Life and Business” today at [lauranstar.com].

Ta-dah! Believe it or not it was that easy – although the book did take me a few months to write. My next book is with a hybrid publisher and will be a soft cover, available through my site and Amazon.com as well as several other links.

Please let me know if you have any questions or thoughts on this article or my book at [comcast.net].

Here is to your writing success!
Lauran Star