Judine Slaughter

~ Quick tips for self-publishing ~

1) Give yourself permission to succeed. Believe it or not, yes you are successful. Your style and personality are already fulfilling your dreams. And you're talking about your dreams to your family and friends all the time. If not to them, the words are constantly circulating in your brain, what you would say if you had the guts to say it. Now is the time to focus, on paper, the marketing energy about yourself. Think of yourself not as a businessperson, but as a successful leader, even though your dreams are not yet a reality. Write a business plan that fulfills your wildest dreams. Visit http://myownbusiness.org.

2) Draw attention with your words. Before you publish, you need a web site to showcase your talent and attract customers. This might be a new avenue for some, but don't let it frighten you. Create a website for international fame. Visit http://authorsden.com.

3) Improve your soft skills. Many successful authors have started their careers by self-publishing. Investing in your passion, experience, or hobby can improve many soft skills, which you can use on your current job or a new position. Find permissionless success when publishing short stories, poetry, or manuscripts as special keepsakes. http://lis.cua.edu/res/docs/jslaughter.pdf

4) Yes, you can do the marketing. Easily, effectively, and inexpensively market your book, your business, and industry professionals by writing book reviews. Using the marketing mix has the potential to build your confidence to continue marketing, help develop your managerial skills by working with different social networks, and possibly give you residual income. Visit http://slis.cua.edu/res/docs/JudineSlaughterDoItYourselfMarketing2.pdf

5) When does the marketing end? Frankly - no, marketing is an endless endeavor. That's why you have to constantly think "out-of-the box" for new innovative ways to introduce others to your words. And, if your words are in print, you've already demonstrated to yourself that you're a creative leader. Yes, we are our greatest critics of ourselves. Don't let your negative self-talk stop you for pursuing higher heights when sales start to slack off. Find out where and how you can sell what you write. Visit http://writersmarket.com.

6) One book is okay too. Which would your family most likely keep as a memory of your words: a thumb drive of poetry, a loose leaf manuscript or a printed book. It may be easiest for them to keep the paperback book to pass along to future generations. For your first work, don't worry about grammar or formatting; getting your creative expressions into print is the goal. Visit http://lulu.com, upload your keepsake, and have a least one copy published. It only takes one book to make you an author.