Getting into the info publishing business doesn’t have to be hard. You don’t have to make it a huge undertaking. It can be as easy as writing a Word document and uploading it to Kindle. With Amazon Kindle, you don’t have to worry about sales pages, download buttons, membership areas, or any of the other things that go into some of the larger, more established, information publishing businesses.
So let’s start at the beginning. If you want to teach someone how to do something, your teaching method is based upon your personal process. For example, I have several friends who are professional chefs. They have a process for everything they do. They can show you what ingredients you need to buy and where to buy them to create a recipe. They can show you the tools of the trade they use in the kitchen to prepare everything. And finally, they can walk you through the process of putting everything together along with all the little tricks to get the best possible result.
From the ingredients, to the tools, to the recipe and the actual process of putting it all together – they are pros at what they do.
When it comes to the kitchen, I’m not a pro. And as much as I might like to put a four course meal together, that’s not how a beginner starts out.
It’s really no different with info-publishing. If I start out attempting to create a huge course with audios, videos, a membership area and an affiliate program… there are many wrong turns and mistakes I can make as I go through the process. Simply put, it can be totally overwhelming if you’re doing it yourself.
Instead, why not start out with a simple Kindle product?
Creating a Kindle book can be as easy as writing a Word document and uploading it to the Kindle direct publishing platform. If you haven’t already signed up with Amazon’s program, here’s the link – https://kdp.amazon.com/
if you’re super lazy, you can buy the latest version of Dragon NaturallySpeaking and dictate the entire book the way I’m dictating this article. I hurt my finger a few days ago and it bothers me when I type. I’m a good typist, but I have to tell you, I really enjoyed dictating articles. Speech recognition software has come a long way in the last several years. If you can talk, and you know you can, you can write!
With my own business, I buy a yearly subscription to Microsoft Office Professional. The cost is only $99 a year and I am able to install it on up to five different computers.
Because this is an article not a book, I’m not going to go into detail on how to set up your Word file for Kindle. It’s not difficult and there are a lot of videos out there dedicated to the topic. There are videos, articles and full-blown courses that go over Kindle formatting.
That said, here is a complete tutorial that will guide you from start to finish – https://kdp.amazon.com/help?topicId=A17W8UM0MMSQX6
With the last four Kindle books I personally published, I uploaded my word file directly without converting it to a special, HTML format. I usually spend about $10 having my book covers created at www.Fiverr.com . Although a basic book cover only costs five dollars, I sometimes spend an extra $5 to $10 for some of the extras they offer.
My average Kindle books are around 16,000 words in length. They’re not huge books and don’t have to be to sell well.
And like I said at the beginning, you don’t even need a website to launch your product. This is one of the easiest ways I know of to break into the info publishing business quickly, and fairly easily.
Having a book on Amazon with a nice-looking cover is a great first step in establishing yourself in this business. With each title you produce, the whole process will become easier and easier. You can share your book on the social media platforms you frequent. You can share review copies with other authors in your niche. Some people even pay others with established audiences to review their books and share them with their readers.
So, where do you go from here?
First, determine if there is a market for your topic. In other words, is there like competition? If so, that’s good! Don’t shy away from competition. The fact that there’s competition means a lot of transactions are occurring on a regular basis in that market.
Next, record your process. Here’s what I mean. I prefer using a pen and paper for this. For me, for some reason, it’s easier to put my thoughts on paper than typing them out as I go through this.
I write the whole process of “how to” out on a piece of paper. Step-by-step, I identify what tools I use and what I do with each tool from beginning to end. I also identify the tips and tricks that can be applied to each step. By the time I reached the final step I’ll have a complete outline for my book. Then I go back and add some additional ideas, thoughts, musings, etc. under each step.
The final step is to “flesh out” the outline. In other words, you add the meat to the bones.
Does that make sense?
Like I said, using a program like Dragon NaturallySpeaking – you can dictate the entire publication! Most people find speaking a lot easier than typing.
When I first bought the software, I found it difficult looking at the screen and watching the words appear as I spoke to them. What I mean is, I found myself second-guessing what I was saying. Once I got used to it though, it became an enjoyable alternative to typing. Dictating cut way down on typos, omitted words and so forth.
If you’ve never written a Kindle book before, it may be easier for you to go to www.Fiverr.com and have the cover created first. Being able to see a representation of the finished product can give you an extra burst of encouragement and give you an added boost to help you see the product through to completion.
If you’re an experienced writer, it may be easier to leave the cover for last. That’s because sometimes you’ll find yourself changing the title several times before you finally settle on one you’re happy with. I’ve been there to! As a matter of fact, if you’re comfortable writing, you may find your book taking on a life of its own as you go through the writing process. That’s another topic for another time!
Can you do this? Absolutely! No matter where you’re at with your business, if you’re just getting started with info publishing or have been at it for a while… just go ahead and take the next step. After you take the next step, look at what you have and see if you need to make some adjustments. If you do, make them. If not, go ahead and take the next step. That’s how things get done. You just take one step at a time until the project is done.
