One of the things I keep being asked is ‘how did you get your book published by Hay House’. If you don’t know about Hay House they are a global publishing phenomenon created by the amazing Louise Hay. Go into any bookshop and in the Mind Body Spirit section they will have the biggest selection of books on display. I’d love to say ‘I manifested it’ but the truth is it took hard work and dedication. Gone are the days when you could write a wonderful book and on the strength of that book alone get it published, unless you are very lucky. We all know the stories of the rejections from publishers of books that went on to become bestsellers. However with the very quick switch around from shop buying to on line, with the rise of social media, the creation of the e-book and the economic situation the publishing landscape is very different from even when my first book came out. Right now it’s all about your states: How many followers you have on social media and how many people are on your mailing list. What volume of people come to your speaking gigs and what other media you’re involved with.
You can’t even sleep with the right person any more!
So how did I do it? Firstly I got published by O books, who took me on as an unknown author because I had a radio show on LBC 97.3 with a large audience. By the time the book was out the show was just ending, so we didn’t get the full effect of the kind of promotion the publisher was hoping for. I started getting meetings with Hay House because I was helping them by promoting their authors, so I got my name under their nose. However I wasn’t ready to be taken on by them at this time, they knew it and I didn’t, but they were right. They are the most intuitive company I have been involved with. I knew I needed to understand the American market to be signed by Hay House, so I moved to the US on an intuitive decision. I published my next book Intuitive lovers whist I was out in the US with O books as the first one had done well enough to warrant a second book. Whist out there, I had a brilliant realisation for a book. On a trip back to the UK I had another meeting with Hay House. They felt the idea was too big a jump from my normal work. I was disappointed, but their point was true. So I didn’t give up on the book I re-branded and changed my whole work to fit the book. So I spent two years writing the book, re-branding my work and building a platform until, I was ready and went back to Hay House with the same book idea repackaged, and they love it. It’s not enough to be an amazing author, with a unique book, but you also need to be a marketer. You need a platform, and it’s not 9 ½ at Kings Cross! If you think 3000 books is a print run, you need a mailing list of 5000 loyal followers. This is why speakers are after your e-mail address. The more ‘likes’ on facebook, people signed to your newsletter, followers on twitter, these are all potential book buyers. This is before you even get to book sales. The sales of my current book have to be at a level to get my next book published.
Having a publisher isn’t enough. You need the figures and for the kinds of figures you’re looking at you need fans. The life of an author is in the hands of the readers. If you don’t buy the books, the author doesn’t get to publish anymore. So here’s my advice. Build a platform by shouting about what you love. If you have a book, be the book in the world, get your message out as a message sent in love is heard and you will get followers. Don’t think about the money, give it away like it doesn’t matter, make sure you ask for an e-mail address. Self-publish if you don’t have a platform and pay for really good PR. PR costs and still being published for most of my books I have done the marketing with no help from the publisher. Hay house is an exception.
You can do it yourself, a great course by Janey Lee Grace shows you how http://www.holisticbusinesssuccess.co.uk/.
The point here is break the rules, get over the idea that you’re a genius and you need paying for your work. It will only hold you back. I believe it takes for books to find your voice as an author. If you love it, you won’t care if you use the first three books to get your following. In one way a book is an expensive calling card. Think first about how you want it to serve your work, business or mission. Be original and don’t follow what has gone before you. Always write the book by looking two years ahead of now and write the book you need to read. It’s a lot of work, but there is nothing I have loved more.
If you know you have a book inside of you, you might want my on-line course know your inner book and write it!
Oh and shamelessly here’s a link to buy my book (Christmas is coming!): http://www.amazon.co.uk/You-Do-Know-Intuition-Instantly/dp/1781801002/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1376491959&sr=8-1&keywords=you+do+know
If you can agree the tags that makes it rank hire on amazon than the book sales, how amazing is that!
