Why Your Book is a Business

If you really think about it, it's not that hard to publish a book these days.

This may sound a bit harsh, but it's true. You write a book, learn how to format, create a cover, grab an ISBN #, throw it up on Amazon, bada-bing baba-boom! Look at that! You have published a book! The difference between self-publishing a book and self-publishing a successful book are two simple words...

Branding & Business.

You don't need a magic crystal ball to figure this out, but writing a book is a business move. Let me repeat that. Writing a Book is a Business Move. I did not want to believe this myself. When I first started writing, I just wanted to write to do just that, WRITE. I wanted to be creative, share my stories and hope that other people would want to read them as well. I wanted to believe that becoming a published author had nothing to do with branding yourself AS an author. This is by no accounts easy, especially if you have never delved into the realm of building your own business from the ground up. It takes a lot of hard work, a lot of money, and a lot of mistakes.

A little background on me. In 2017, I lost my job because I was pregnant.

Yes, I was more-or-less fired from my job because I was having a baby. This is illegal in some US states, but not the state I live in, unfortunately. So, when my second son was born, I knew I would be jobless, without an income. Because I am an over-achiever, 6-months before I was due, I started to learn and research how to create my own business & what kind of business I wanted to start. I jumped from one lily pad to another, trying out my different skillsets to see what would translate as a work-from-home job and what I actually enjoyed doing. I spent money I did not have on online classes, a website host and domain, photo editing software, photography sessions, business account management software, and tons of other things I planned on using to start this business.

Then my due date came, my son was born, and I was launched. I would like to tell you that my business took off right away, but it didn't. I struggled.

For 3 months, I had no clients, no money and spent every waking moment I was not being a mom and wife, trying to jumpstart my business. I was overwhelmed, discouraged beyond belief, and defeated. I spent so much time and money in something that ultimately was failing. But I didn't give up and 4 months in, I grabbed my first client. Then another. Then a third. By the summer of 2018, I was overbooked and hired someone to help me with my work load. By 2019, I scaled and rebranded my business and now, 2021, my business runs on client referrals like an oiled machine.

I never quit, even when I wanted to. I know this book journey will be no different.

I have no illusions about how hard this will be, the amount of time, energy and dedication it will take to make my dream of becoming a published author, no, a successful published author, will be incredible. I am already feeling like it's a mountain to climb, so I am lacing up my hiking books, grabbing my best gear and packing along plenty of energy bars for the journey. It's big but it's not impossible. So as much as we want to stay in the clouds with the aspirations of this being easy and stress-free, it's time to ground ourselves in reality. Your book is a business. How successful it will become is entirely up to you. Until next time, stay classy writers.