Evolution Of A Man

since the thanksgiving holiday, i’ve gotten a huge boost of energy and drive when it comes to getting nye media off the ground. watching “charlie and the chocolate factory” after dinner led to inspired thought, which sent me straight to my computer- jotting down ideas, and creating plans for 2009.

when it comes to my book, “evolution of a man: a journal of self-discovery,” i’ve come to the conclusion that i’d like to give self-publishing a try. releasing through a major publishing company would be absolutely amazing, don’t get me wrong; but, in the end, i would still have to do most of the work, and would really only be using them for their name. since everything else i’m doing revolves around creating a name for myself, why should this book effort be any different? i’ve heard a lot about iUniverse- a self-publishing company, and am looking into working with them.

earlier this month i met with publisher and author, steven fullwood, and he gave me the sage piece of advice to create a marketing plan for the book. so many authors put all their eggs in one basket so to speak, believing that the content alone is enough to sell their work- “the book will sell itself!” steven impressed upon me the importance of knowing my target market, and creating a plan that reaches them effectively and from all sides of the globe.

although he gave me this information almost a month ago, i’ve been very stalled in actually putting it together. i really just didn’t know where to begin. it took me a really long time to put the book into a category as opposed to targeting everyone on the planet. i settled on “gay african american,” and am writing the plan to target black gay men. even though i feel that anyone who reads the book will gain inspiration, it does tell the story of a black gay youth transitioning into manhood. so, really, choosing the category should have been easy. my little thanksgiving jolt this weekend got me moving again, and after doing a bit of research, i came across a really helpful marketing guide for self-publishers. for anyone on the same journey, here is a brief outline overview:

how do i formulate a selling plan?

step one: target your audience! who are they? where do they shop? how can they be reached?

step two: outline your goals and objectives!

* events, pre-publication reviews, distribution, marketing & publicity, post-publication reviews

step three: determine a realistic budget you can stick to! get quotes and estimates for everything

* printing, press kits, flyers, publicity, distribution, print advertising, isbn numbers, websites, postal

for more information, visit writers write

i am finding this outline very useful and helpful, and my plan is coming along quite nicely so far. about a week ago, i contracted an editor to review my manuscript for grammar and content- so now is really the perfect time to start outlining my goals. the edits are due back by december 20th, so i’ve given myself a december 19th deadline for my marketing plan.

wish me luck!