Want to become a bestselling author? In this presentation, Tom Corson-Knowles shares the 13 steps to becoming a best-selling author from coming up with book ideas to completing your manuscript, getting it published and creating an evergreen marketing campaign.

1. 13 STEPS TO BECOMING A
BESTSELLING AUTHOR
by Tom Corson-Knowles
www.TCKPublishing.com
August 2, 2014

2. MY STORY

3. MY GOAL
Earn a full-time income doing what I love

4. SELF PUBLISHING COURSE
www.udemy.com/kindle-publishing-course/?couponCode=pu

5. 13,402 BESTSELLER LISTS
ON AMAZON
• Becoming a bestseller on Amazon is “easy”
• Earning a full-time income takes commitment
• www.BestsellerRankingPro.com

6. • 1. Clarify Your Purpose and Mission
• If you skip this step, it’s hard to consistently
do what it takes to become a bestselling
author
• Requires serious commitment
• Invest in your own education constantly
• Treat it like a business, not a hobby!

7. WHAT IS YOUR PURPOSE?

8. 2. Create Book Ideas
• The more ideas you have, the better choices
you will make
• If you only have one option, the choose is
yes/no - not a real choice

9. WRITE DOWN 20 BOOK
IDEAS

10. 3. Market Research
• See AuthorEarnings.com
• Understand the market size and potential
audience for your genre/market!
• It’s a lot easier to earn money in a major
market with major demand

11. MAJOR MARKETS
• Nonfiction: Health/Wellness,
Business/Money, Christian/Spiritual,
Relationships
• Fiction: Romance*,
Mystery/Thriller/Suspense, Sci Fi/Fantasy
• If your book is not in a major market, do
some serious market research

12. 4. Choose Your Best Book Idea
• You must focus on your highest priority book
first
• If you only had 60 days left to live, and could
only complete one book, which one would it
be?
• Working on multiple projects is great, but get
in the habit of finishing and publishing
your work

13. WHAT ONE PROJECT WILL YOU
FINISH IN THE NEXT 1-12
MONTHS?

14. 5. Creative Writing
• Create an outline
• Plan your writing sessions ahead of time
• Schedule your writing time in your calendar
• Can you sit down and write 5 minutes a day?
• Get that first draft done and then start
rewriting

15. WHAT ONE IDEA OR SCENE WILL
YOU WRITE DURING YOUR NEXT
WRITING SESSION?

16. 6. Editing and Rewriting
• “If you can reread your manuscript and find errors and
make more than one edit every page, you should continue
editing and rewriting.”
• Steve Berry edits his novels 60-75 times before sending to
an editor
• Once you’ve done the hard work, send it to beta readers,
your editor, etc. and get feedback
• www.PublishingProfitsPodcast.com

17. 7. Title Creation
• Your title is the most important “packaging”
piece
• Word of mouth leads to most book sales
• Is your title memorable, repeatable, and
searchable?
• Nonfiction: solve a problem

18. Always Use a Subtitle!
• Lets readers know what genre/theme it is
(fiction)
• Explains the problem it solves (nonfiction)
• Increases search exposure and conversions

19. WRITE DOWN 5 TITLE AND
SUBTITLE IDEAS
• Willow Grove Abbey: A Historical World
War II Romance Novel
• Secrets of the Six Figure Author:
Mastering the Inner Game of Writing,
Publishing and Marketing Books

20. 8. Cover Design
• Cheap: fiverr.com $5
• Medium: $50-$300 - freelance designer
• Expensive: $300+ - firm or freelance
designer
• guru.com, odesk.com, craigslist.com

21. WANT TO CONNECT AND
GET SUPPORT?
• Join 3,000+ independent authors at
www.facebook.com/groups/KindlePublish
ers

22. 9. Formatting
• Ebook, Paperback, Audio
• EbookPublishingSchool.com

23. 10. Publish (Upload Files)
• By far the easiest step for self-published
authors if you have basic computer skills and
search for the answers
• Important: Write a 600+ word detailed book
description that sells your book

24. 11. Book Launch
• Tell everyone you know. Promote as much
as possible.
• archangelink.com/buckbooks
• BookBub.com

25. 12. Ongoing Marketing
• Create ongoing awareness (blog, videos,
podcast show, radio, TV, speaking, etc.)
• *** Build an email list with an
Autoresponder ***
• www.tckpublishing.com/training-videos

26. WHAT ONE EMAIL CAN DO

27. 13. Create or Write More!
• Great artists continue to produce work
• Quantity leads to quality through practice,
feedback and constant learning
• The most prolific tend to be the most successful
• If you have one book, the best way to double
your sales is to write another book

28. CONFERENCE SPECIAL
FOR BOOKS
• 3 for $40 or 1 for $20
• Secrets of the Six-Figure Author
• The Kindle Writing Bible
• The Kindle Publishing Bible

29. QUESTIONS?