So you've written the book. And you've written the publisher's proposal. You've hawked the idea around a dozen publishers and author's agents. But no one's buying - the rejection slips are mounting, there's not been a sniff of interest. Finally you hit Google and you type in 'publish my book' or 'self-publishing companies' and at long last you find a home for it. With a vanity publishing house that tells you your book is fantastic and you're going to sell shedloads of copies.

These days less than a grand will buy you a published book. What it may not buy you is a book that does a good job for you. So how do you go about making sure your independently published book creates the impact (and the sales) that you need it to?

1. Get your book edited by a professional

You may be an expert in your field, but are you an expert writer? Even if you are pretty handy with words, you still need to use a professional editor to make absolutely sure from an objective outsider's point of view that your book is easily readable and well presented to your readers.

Also a decent copy editor will be able to set up your document so that the typesetter has less work to do - saving you money in the long run.

2. Use a professional book designer and typesetter

Yes, you can judge a book by its cover. Even the big publishing houses sometimes make mistakes and books with rubbish covers just don't sell. Make sure your designer understands not only the content of your book but also the market for it. Give them a copy of your reader profile so that they can create a design that will attract the people you have identified as your likely readers.

Typesetting your book needs to be done by a trained artworker who understands the way that type should be laid out on the page. Using non-industry-standard software packages is not an option. The book will look amateurish and will not compete with commercially published books.

3. Create a marketing plan for your book

It's amazing how many people put huge effort and resources into writing and publishing their book and then forget the most important part. Books are like any other products - they need to be visible in the marketplace. I have yet to discover a book with legs (or wings). They do not walk (or fly) off the shelves. You need to be clear about how you're going to tell the world about your book and how you're going to encourage your target readers to buy. These days there are so many ways to sell books beyond the shelves of Waterstones or Smith's. Which channels will be of most benefit to you? Be clear about this, preferably before you've written the book.

Books are a great way for business owners and experts of all kinds to build credibility and raise their profile in their field. Yet many people do it cheaply and end up with books that a) don't sell and b) undermine the author's authority. Just as with any product, a book published independently will only do its job if it's well edited, designed, manufactured and marketed. Any author should plan to see a return on their investment within a year of publication date.

Sue Richardson, Chief Book Wizard
Word4Word
http://www.w4wdp.com