Book ~ "The Author Training Manual" (2014) Nina Amir

From Goodreads ~ Anyone can publish a book and become an "author" but if you want to become a successful author with a profitable publishing career, you need a clear, step-by-step guide to help you develop book ideas that sell. 

In "The Author Training Manual," expert editor and book coach, Nina Amir, reveals the exact process successful authors have used to create business plans and proposals for their books and teaches you how to view your ideas through the eyes of acquisitions editors and literary agents.

Whether you write fiction or nonfiction, plan to traditionally publish or self-publish, "The Author Training Manual" provides you with the tools you need to achieve your goals and become the author publishers want. Inside you'll find concrete steps, evaluations, sample business plans, in-depth training activities, editor and agent commentaries and much more - all designed to help you stand out, from the slush pile to the shelf.

I read a lot and was curious to learn more about the steps involved in writing and publishing a book.

The author starts out by explaining the landscape for published books.  For example, the average book sells 3,000 copies in its lifetime ... the publishing industry deems a book "successful" when it sells large numbers of copies (usually many more than 3,000 copies per year).  If your book is traditionally published, it stands less than 1% chance of being stocked in a bookstore.  The average nonfiction book sells 250 copies per year ... and nonfiction outsells fiction.  The average Amazon ebook author earns under $300 a year.  Having an "author attitude" is an essential characteristic to change your status from "aspiring" to "successful published author".

What follows is a step-by-step training plan ... the chapters are:

• Author attitude - The essential characteristic necessary for publishing success
• How to begin - Evaluate yourself and your book for success
• Step 1 - Develop an "Author Attitude" and plan your success
• Step 2 - Know what your book is about and why someone would want to read (buy) it
• Step 3 - Analyze how many people really might buy your book
• Step 4 - Compare the competition and discover if your idea is unique and necessary
• Step 5 - Examine the structure of your book
• Step 6 - Decide if your book's content matches your initial vision
• Step 7 - Discover ways to brand yourself and earn more money
• Step 8 - Weigh whether you are the best person to write this book ... now
• Step 9 - Gauge if you make a good publishing partner or indie partner
• The final steps
• Samples
• Training exercises
• Index

If you are a budding author who wants to take it to the next step, you should check out this book.