Thinking About Writing a Book??

My name is Susan Johnston and Kimberly Webb and I have written and self published a modern day fairy tale, Princess Bubble.

Since so many people contact us about wanting to write a book, I thought I would put some information down on paper.

Kim Webb and I do not consider ourselves great writers just people with a message we wanted to share. We felt called to spread the true meaning of “happily ever after” and have always felt God equips the called. He does not call the equipped.

Having said all that; here is my advice for what it is worth.

Are you willing to put a million of hours and lots of money into this project?

If you answered “No” stop reading and go get an agent.

You may ask, “Why didn’t you get an agent?” I had an agent years ago and they wanted to change the entire book. I am open to finding an agent now. But, I now feel I can prove that our message is marketable having been on The Today show and many other smaller shows.

If you are passionate about the topic, characters, title…think about what or how much you would be willing to change to get a publishing deal. If you are not willing to give up creative control you need to consider self publishing.

If you want an agent/publisher then you need to seek advice from someone else. I just do not know enough.

If you have decided to look into self publishing ask yourself:

Is there another book like this?
If so –what makes yours different?
How did they market the similar book?

What is your target audience?

What do you want to name the book?
Is that website available? (If not I suggest you change the name.)

I also suggest buying similar names we own
www.PrincessBubble.com
www.PrincessBubbles.com
www.BubbleGumPress.com
www.FindYourPrince.com
www.FindThePrince.com
www.RoyalHeirLine.com

Here is a check list of some of the things to start researching.

Library of Congress
ISBN
Bar Codes
Number of pages?
Who will edit the book?
Who will layout the book?
Hard or soft cover?
Print on demand or placing an order with a printer?
Out sourcing or printing domestically?
What quality of paper?
Will you sell to specialty stores or only bookstores?
Who will call on the stores?
Who will ship to the stores?
Will you get a distributor?
Which distributors have similar books?
What price will you wholesale and retail the book for?
Can you afford to sell the book for less than wholesale to Amazon?
If you have a sales representative what cut will you give him?
Will you sell books on your site?
Will you take credit cards?
Are you going to apply for a business license?
How will you get the book reviewed?
Will you do your own promoting of the book?
Will you be willing to travel to do book signings?
Are you comfortable doing interviews?
Is there anything controversial you can use in your press releases?
Will this be a series?


There are a million more things you have to do but this just gives you a little touch of how many hours you will need to devote to your book if you want to do this yourself.

Princess Bubble has been very rewarding and one of the best experiences of my life. But it did not just happen. It took tons of prayers and hard work.

These are things I wish someone had told me!

Please don’t be discouraged or intimidated by the amount of work this will take. Be encouraged that if two flight attendants did this and so can YOU!

I wish you much success and if this was a help to you buy our book! Or at least tell others about us. We need all the help we can get getting the word out.

Susan Johnston
www.PrincessBubble.com