Authorpreneur Coaching: The Three Hurdles (Day 1 of 3)

What do all of these actors, singers, politicians, CEOs, musicians, athletes, models, and comedians have in common?

It's probably not what you think. While each of them are better known for something else, they are all published authors!

So why did they all publish books?

Because they understand the POWER of books and of being a published author.

Thankfully, becoming a published author is no longer something that is reserved for the rich and powerful. Today, literally anyone can write and publish a book without spending a dime and without the need for an agent or even an editor.

While many people want to publish a book for personal reasons, many entrepreneurs are learning that they can use books to build and grow their businesses.

That's right, one of the most powerful things that you can do as an entrepreneur is publishing a book. Books can be used to establish authority in a niche and can lead to speaking gigs, but books can also be used as lead magnets, upsells, downsells, and bonuses.

Personally, I use books to sell access to my online course content.

It's also the easiest way to stand out amongst the crowd and to differentiate yourself from your competitors.

So why aren't more entrepreneurs publishing books?

I've published dozens of books since 2011 so I know just how EASY this process can be. But I get it; if it's your first time, the task can seen DAUNTING.

I've also coached hundreds of people through the publishing process of their first books so I know the hurdles and the mental obstacles that people encounter the first time that they publish.

And I'm here to help with a 100% track record.

I actually started to tell people that once they finish their book and upload their files, they're going to tell me, "Wow, Chris, that was just as EASY as you said it was going to be!"

And you know what they say once they finish their book and upload their files? "Wow, Chris, that was just as EASY as you said it was going to be!"

So, if you know that publishing a book is a logical next step for you to grow your business, but you're not sure where to start or even exactly how you'll use your book, you're in the right place. I'm going to walk you through some of the common misconceptions about publishing in order to help you overcome them and get one step closer to becoming a published author.

Here's what's happening; there are THREE common misconceptions about book publishing that are causing people to miss this massive opportunity.

And honestly, it's understandable because there are threads of TRUTH is each one of these.

Hurdle #1: Believing that publishing a book is TOO HARD

When I talk to people about writing a book, they commonly think that I'm talking about becoming the next Stephen King or writing books like Harry Potter that have hundreds of pages with chapters, characters, and complicated plots.

Yes, writing that type of book would be HARD. But we're not talking about those types of books.

One of my favorite types of books that anyone can write is something I call the TOP TEN book. When you're an expert in a topic, the TOP TEN book becomes an easy example to conceptualize.

If you're a real estate agent, you know the TOP TEN things that people should know before buying their first home.

If you're a lawyer, you know the TOP TEN things that people should know before hiring an attorney.

If you're a YouTuber, you know the TOP TEN things that people should know before uploading their first video.

It works for practically everything. Whatever your profession or area of expertise, you can make a TOP TEN list of things that someone should know before making a purchase, hiring someone, or starting a new endeavor.

And the real estate agent, lawyer, and YouTuber could honestly write out these answers in a weekend.

If you're self-publishing on Amazon, the minimum page count is just 24 pages. That's 12 pieces of paper and it fills up quickly with title pages, ISBN pages, copyright pages, dedication pages, table or contents, etc.

Here, I've even made you a FREE TEMPLATE that you can simply FILL IN with your own TOP TEN chapters:

It's pre-formatted as a 6"x9" book with ten chapters, a dedication, and an introduction and it's already 30 pages long. Just fill it in!

Hurdle #2: Believing that publishing a book is TOO EXPENSIVE

It's TRUE; publishing a book used to be expensive. If you've never published a book before, you might be thinking that you need to hire an AGENT and an EDITOR.

Or maybe you've heard about vanity publishers that will publish your book for you... for a price.

Before books were printed on demand (like Amazon's KDP program), authors had fewer options. If their books didn't get picked up by a traditional publisher, they could go to a vanity publisher that would print their books for them, but usually with a higher cost per book AND a minimum order requirement.

So authors would end up with a pallet of 1,000 copies of their book in their garage with no clear launch or marketing plan.

This can be an expensive exercise. Yes, you would now be a published author, but only because you've spent thousands of dollars on your own books.

So when I tell people how AMAZING and POWERFUL self-publishing can be and how it's also COMPLETELY FREE to achieve 'published-author' status, I understand when they feel like it's 'too good to be true'.

So what exactly changed in the world of self-publishing?

PRINT ON DEMAND.

When you use a platform like Kindle Direct Publishing (KDP) through Amazon, your books are offered for sale on the world's largest (and most trusted) marketplace. When a customer places an order, Amazon will then PRINT your book and SHIP your book to the customer. They also handle all customer service including returns.

Then, each month, they deposit your royalties directly into your bank account.

There is literally not a scenario where you can ever lose money with KDP or end up paying Amazon. If your book doesn't sell, it doesn't sell. But when it does sell, Amazon will do ALL OF THE WORK and then send you your royalty payment.

It's really does feel 'TOO GOOD TO BE TRUE'. Amazon let's us use their million-dollar printers and world-class fulfillment network FOR FREE. What would have cost millions of dollars a few decades ago is now available to anyone FOR FREE. This is why I get so excited to tell people about self-publishing!

So, yes, self-publishing USED TO BE EXPENSIVE. But the truth is that it's currently impossible to lose money through KDP. When your book sells, you get paid. If it doesn't sell, you incur no costs. Ever.

Hurdle #3: Believing that publishing a book takes TOO LONG

It's true; traditionally, writing a book would take a long time. And people are busy with business and with life. Where are you going to find the time to sit down and write an ENTIRE BOOK?

Similar to what I mentioned earlier about writing books like Harry Potter, some types of books will obviously take a really long time to write.

But most people aren't writing those kinds of books. Or at least they don't need to if they're planning to use their book as part of their business.

There are many types of books that can be written over a weekend or even in a single day. The secret is to not overthink this process. The secret is to understand that we all have preconceived notions of what it means to "write a book".

And when you're able to change and reframe what it means to "write a book", you can start to see that this doesn't have to be the massive project that most people think it is.

Which means that it won't take as long as you think it will.

Consider the TOP TEN book idea that was mentioned earlier. If you are knowledgable on a topic and made a list of the ten questions related to your area of expertise, you know that you could answer those questions EASILY.

And that can totally be a book! It's simple, but your book will absolutely help anyone who has those questions!

So if you're thinking that you can't write a book and become a published author simply because the process will "take too long", I hope that this reframing of what it means to "write a book" will help you move forward towards getting started.

RECAP:

Understand that there are THREE THINGS that frequently hold people back.

They are:

Believing that self-publishing is to TOO HARD

Believing that self-publishing is to TOO EXPENSIVE

Believing that self-publishing will take TOO LONG

But when you take a closer look, you see that these are just MISCONCEPTIONS.

These things USED TO BE TRUE, but with modern self-publishing options like Amazon's KDP program (using print-on-demand), they are NO LONGER TRUE!

If it would help, download this FREE Top Ten book and start to fill it in to prove to yourself JUST HOW EASY IT IS to become a published author!