I came across Guy Kawasaki’s book, APE: Author, Publisher, Entrepreneur — How to Publish a Book because my wife Linda was a beta tester for it. And this blog is a perfect example of one the many great strategies Kawasaki suggests for subject matter experts to use to help them write, publish and promote their own books. The title is appropriate Kawasaki walks the reader (i.e. aspiring author) through the process from writing to post-publication publicity with every detail covered. I’ve been an author, and I can vouch for his descriptions of the effort it takes to finish a book and publish it through traditional means. Self-publishing offers some great advantages for writers; Kawasaki shares those, but he doesn’t hide any of the pitfalls either. It’s not an easy task to be managing all three aspects of traditional publishing.
He’s got a great chapter on making your book look like it isn’t self-published, for instance. It includes suggestions for naming the publishing imprint you create for yourself. Hint: don’t pick your own name.
The book is right up to date in its references to social media and the quickly changing environment of publishing, but as Kawasaki points out, that dynamic will also put some of the information out of date quickly, too. He does address that issue, and since there is so much in APE that is fundamental to the process, it shouldn’t be a deal-killer.
I shared the book with a friend of mine in marketing and he called the tips for guerrilla marketing a self-published work “spot on.” I suppose good guerrilla marketing should be expected from any author who names his book, “APE.”
Here are the basics:
Name: APE: Author, Publisher, Entrepreneur–How to Publish a Book (ISBN 978-0-9885231-1-1)
Price: $9.99 as a Kindle ebook
Website: http://apethebook.com/
SPIT (Self-Publishing Intelligence Test):
http://electricpulp.com/guykawasaki/ape/
A must-read for anyone who wants to write a book
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