7 Reasons You Need A Business Plan For Your Book(s)

by | | Book Marketing, Book Sales, Productivity

business plan for your book

As an author, you should create a written business plan – a strategic map of the future of your book. Don’t think in terms of a 50-page document. Think of a simple one to five-page creation that will keep your writing and marketing focused and on track. It will tell you what you plan to do and how and when. Here are seven reasons you should invest the time in creating a business plan for your book (or books):

  1. A Business Plan Helps You Identify Your Reader. The first thing any good business plan does is identify its target market. Are you writing to women, men, children? Is your genre sci-fi, romance, self-help? A business plan helps you answer these questions.
  1. A Business Plan Helps You Focus On Your Reader. A good business plan helps you zero in on your reader. After all, you don’t want to market to every reader – you want to market very specifically to your reader. Think about it. Writing and marketing to a business owner is very different than writing and marketing to a history buff.
  1. A Business Plan For Your Book Helps You Identify Strategic Partners. A strategic partner is another business who reaches your target market on a consistent basis or who witnesses a need for your product or service on a daily basis. Identifying them in your business plan can catapult your marketing efforts.
  1. A Business Plan Helps You Create A Marketing Plan. A business plan that clearly defines your target market and strategic partners makes creating a marketing plan for your book easy. A good marketing plan directs your marketing time, energy and dollars where they will do the most good. Again, don’t create a big, thick document that takes longer to write than to implement. Instead, opt for a simple one to five-page document that will keep you focused and on task.
  1. A Business Plan Allows You To Explore All Publishing Avenues. Traditional publishing, self-publishing, vanity publishing, trade publishing, on-demand publishing. There are a lot of options. Which is best for your work? A good business plan helps you explore these options and choose the one most financially rewarding for you.
  1. A Business Plan Solidifies Your Book Packaging And Design. I’m sorry to say that I’ve read (well… attempted to read) many books with excellent content, but very poor layout, atrocious grammar and amateurish cover work. Detail in your business plan how your book will be professionally prepared for the market because whoever said we don’t judge a book by its cover was wrong.
  1. A Business Plan Can Launch A Book Series. JK Rowling reportedly had the entire Harry Potters series planned out before she even started the first book. Follow this great example and incorporate a series proposal or outline into your business plan.

A good business plan for your book is worth its weight in gold. The publishing industry is becoming increasingly competitive. A plan of action with clearly defined steps and goals goes a long way toward monetizing your work.