# The Complete Kindle Publishing Book  ## Metadata - Author: [[Tom Corson-Knowles]] - Full Title: The Complete Kindle Publishing Book - Category: #books ## Highlights - My philosophy for writing nonfiction is this: I write to provide solutions for my readers’ problems. ([Location 67](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B00BCCVCCA&location=67)) - Make sure that your nonfiction book is solving a problem or else ask yourself, “what’s the point?” ([Location 73](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B00BCCVCCA&location=73)) - Fiverr.com, ([Location 89](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B00BCCVCCA&location=89)) - “What’s easy to do is just as easy not to do” as my mentor Jim Rohn said often. ([Location 101](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B00BCCVCCA&location=101)) - As Jim Rohn says, “the key is to work harder on yourself than you do on your job.” ([Location 111](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B00BCCVCCA&location=111)) - But page count isn’t really what’s important for me – word count is much more important, in my opinion, because it’s the words of your book that determine how long it will take to read. ([Location 122](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B00BCCVCCA&location=122)) - However, it’s very hard for readers or publishers even to think about word count – so when you’re describing or selling your book to the public or a publisher, always give them page length numbers. It’s much easier to visualize “a 93-page facebook marketing action guide” than a “21,327 word long book on facebook marketing.” ([Location 125](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B00BCCVCCA&location=125)) - For nonfiction Kindle books or ebooks, anywhere from 10,000 words and up is just fine. I’ve seen ebooks that were less than 10,000 words and they’re just too short, even for the most niche or tiny subjects. Give your readers some valuable substance and make sure your ebooks are not much less than 10,000 words. ([Location 128](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B00BCCVCCA&location=128)) - Action steps should be included in all of your nonfiction books if they are to be instructive to the reader. ([Location 141](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B00BCCVCCA&location=141)) - It’s well-known in the personal development and online marketing community that only a very small percentage of customers ever actually implement the information in the courses, books, seminars and workshops they invest in. ([Location 143](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B00BCCVCCA&location=143)) - So why would anyone ever buy a weight loss book with all that free information? There are several reasons but one of the biggest reasons in my opinion is for organization, guidance and action steps. People don’t want to spend 8 hours online trying to find information on weight loss. They want it simple and easy. That’s why they might buy your weight loss book! ([Location 148](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B00BCCVCCA&location=148)) - The key is to focus on one book and complete it and then move on to others. ([Location 155](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B00BCCVCCA&location=155)) - But the key, I’ve found, is to focus on just completing one book at a time. ([Location 158](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B00BCCVCCA&location=158)) - You can start 1,000 books but if you never finish, what’s the point? ([Location 160](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B00BCCVCCA&location=160)) - Always finish what you start! Even if it sucks. Just finish it. Cultivating the habit of finishing your books will help turn you into a professional instead of an amateur. ([Location 161](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B00BCCVCCA&location=161)) - The first step to deciding on your topic is to come up with as many book ideas as possible. ([Location 166](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B00BCCVCCA&location=166)) - One of the ways to choose the topic of your book is to decide based on your passions. What do you love to learn? What do you love to do. What would you love to learn if money and time were no obstacle? What have you always dreamed of doing but haven’t quite found the time for yet? ([Location 175](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B00BCCVCCA&location=175)) - What do you know a lot about already? ([Location 179](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B00BCCVCCA&location=179)) - What do you love to teach to others, even without compensation or even being asked for advice? What do you already read about a lot? What do you know that most people don’t know? ([Location 180](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B00BCCVCCA&location=180)) - What are you really frickin’ good at? I mean, better at than anyone else you know? We all have our own unique skills. ([Location 186](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B00BCCVCCA&location=186)) - What are your special, unique skills? Write them down and keep them in your journal. ([Location 198](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B00BCCVCCA&location=198)) - What do you have experience in? ([Location 200](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B00BCCVCCA&location=200)) - Okay now you’ve got your list of potential book ideas. It’s time to do some market research to understand the likely potential of each idea in terms of its monetary value. ([Location 205](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B00BCCVCCA&location=205)) - You’re looking for books that rank well in their category and have a lower sales rank. To give you an idea, a book that’s ranked #1,000 in the Kindle Store sells about 100 copies a day. A book ranked #5,000 sells about 35 copies a day, and a book ranked #25,000 sells about 7 copies a day. ([Location 224](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B00BCCVCCA&location=224)) - Now it’s time to calculate the sales of your competitors’ books. Always remember, the more the competition is selling, the better. That’s because it means there’s a bigger market for your book idea. Let’s say you find the 5 top books in your niche are ranked #23,000, #26,000, #45,000, #77,000 and #100,000. The first book two books are selling about 7 copies a day, the 3rd book is selling maybe 2 or 3 copies a day, and the last two are selling maybe 1 a day. Overall, that’s only about 20 books a day being sold at best. I generally look for niches where at least 40 or 50 books a day are being sold. ([Location 231](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B00BCCVCCA&location=231)) - But if you’re just starting out with your first book, I would recommend writing in a niche where the top 5 books sell at least 50 copies a day combined. That way you will have a better chance of earning a decent income from your first book. ([Location 240](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B00BCCVCCA&location=240)) - One of the best ways I’ve found personally to write a nonfiction book is to take something I love to do and then study it intensely and learn everything I can about it. Then I simply write the book using all my experience and knowledge as a new person who has just learned how to do it. ([Location 243](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B00BCCVCCA&location=243)) - Often, when we’re true experts at something, we forget how to teach the basics and fundamentals of the subject to brand new people. Your nonfiction book could be the very first book your customer reads on your topic. If that’s the case, you better communicate to them in a way that they can get it! Don’t write over peoples’ heads. ([Location 248](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B00BCCVCCA&location=248)) - This is a wonderful way to turn your passions, hobbies and interests into valuable and profitable nonfiction books. ([Location 253](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B00BCCVCCA&location=253)) - One of my mentors, Ryan Lee, says “niche twice.” He means, first pick your general category like weight loss. Then, niche it down to a more focused group such as weight loss for women. Then, he says niche it down even one more time if you can, such as weight loss for moms who recently had a baby. ([Location 259](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B00BCCVCCA&location=259)) - This is especially important if you’re a new author without a large blog, following or platform and you want to start breaking into the market with your books. ([Location 263](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B00BCCVCCA&location=263)) - The only way to keep those great ideas for new book titles or new book ideas for me is to record the ideas. Most often, I do this in a journal or notebook I carry with me at all times. ([Location 268](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B00BCCVCCA&location=268)) - Have you ever sat down to write something and didn’t know what to write? I used to feel that way all the time! But since I started recording all ([Location 272](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B00BCCVCCA&location=272)) - my ideas in a notebook, I can’t even remember the last time that happened to me. It just doesn’t happen anymore. I always have something to write. I can just browse at my notes and find an idea that inspires me and start writing. ([Location 273](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B00BCCVCCA&location=273)) - You see, I have this theory that each of us constantly is coming up with new ideas to improve our lives, write a bestselling book or just make progress in some area of life. But what do we do with those ideas? I used to just let them pass right on by like a pretty little cloud in the sky. And when they were gone, they were gone – poof! ([Location 275](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B00BCCVCCA&location=275)) - I would urge you, if you’re serious about being a successful writer, to write down ALL of your ideas in a notebook or journal. No matter how crazy, silly or stupid they sound, just write them down. This simple habit has changed my life in more ways than you could imagine. ([Location 278](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B00BCCVCCA&location=278)) - I use an app on my iPhone called QuickVoice to record my thoughts or ideas when I’m in the car, traveling or don’t have a notebook handy. ([Location 282](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B00BCCVCCA&location=282)) - As a writer, you have to realize that your greatest assets are ideas. The more assets you have, the richer you will be (just ask any businessperson). If you want more money, capture more ideas. ([Location 283](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B00BCCVCCA&location=283)) - What is pre-writing? It’s basically pre-formatting your book to prepare it and you for success. ([Location 313](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B00BCCVCCA&location=313)) - Regardless, I encourage you to find something you can do to create a new book document that makes it come alive even before ([Location 327](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B00BCCVCCA&location=327)) - you start writing. It will help give you that extra motivation to start writing and keep writing once your book starts to actually look like a book instead of a 100% empty document that you have to magically fill up. ([Location 329](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B00BCCVCCA&location=329)) - It’s just a strange little fact of human nature that it’s a lot easier to go from 500 to 50,000 words than it is to go from 0 to 500. My advice: get the 500 words down first and then start writing! ([Location 331](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B00BCCVCCA&location=331)) - Planning is where you outline the basic ideas and points of your book. You can just write out the words to create a “book skeleton” if you will. ([Location 333](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B00BCCVCCA&location=333)) - I call the first part of writing creative writing because it’s all about using your creativity. It’s not about editing. It’s not about research. It’s not about facts or figures or charts or pictures or graphics or references or footnotes. It’s just about writing your ideas and thoughts on paper and letting it flow unrestricted with no distractions! ([Location 343](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B00BCCVCCA&location=343)) - Instead, when you start writing, just write! Don’t research. Don’t close your writing document. Don’t talk to anyone. Don’t try to edit while you type. Don’t worry about spelling. Don’t look at a dictionary. Don’t do anything that distracts you from writing the ideas flowing through your mind. ([Location 352](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B00BCCVCCA&location=352)) - Instead of searching for hyperlinks online to refer readers to the correct website just write (link) and skip a line. Then, when you come back to edit the book, you can remember to insert the correct link. ([Location 358](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B00BCCVCCA&location=358)) - instead of researching a particular statistic or idea online, just write XXX and skip a line. ([Location 360](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B00BCCVCCA&location=360)) - Once you’re “done” with creative writing, or as done as you feel you need to be at this time, you can go back over your work and start editing. This is where you’ll fix any typos or sentence fragments. ([Location 365](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B00BCCVCCA&location=365)) - Again, even though I’m now in the editing phase of the book, I’m often still coming up with new ideas for adding more value, insights and knowledge into the book. The key, however, is to know when enough is enough. ([Location 373](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B00BCCVCCA&location=373)) - And if I put all that information into this one book, it would be over 500 pages! And no one would read it or buy it because it would be so bulky and complete information overload. ([Location 377](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B00BCCVCCA&location=377)) - Crowdsourcing is a great way to have other people help you improve your book. Most authors will give their book manuscript to their wife or family or friends or even a fellow author and have them review it for typos, grammatical errors, fact-checking and other recommendations. That’s a wonderful way to get free advice and help on improving your book. ([Location 385](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B00BCCVCCA&location=385)) - If you notice yourself editing too much, it’s time to publish your frickin’ book and move on! The good news is that you can ALWAYS come out with a 2nd edition. The bad news is that perfectionism is a disease and you better kill it before it kills your career. ([Location 414](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B00BCCVCCA&location=414)) - Interviewing is a great way to get new information, ideas and bonus content for your books. ([Location 425](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B00BCCVCCA&location=425)) - Another great idea is to interview potential readers. Ask them about their problems, challenges, struggles and ideas. What kind of help do they need in your area of expertise? ([Location 436](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B00BCCVCCA&location=436)) - One of the easiest ways to find experts to interview is to use the free service HARO helpareporter.com. You can post a query as a media person looking to interview experts for your book on your topic. ([Location 441](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B00BCCVCCA&location=441)) - Another great way to get content for your book is to simply have someone interview you. Most of us talk A LOT faster than we write. And talking also accesses a different part of our brains, ([Location 448](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B00BCCVCCA&location=448)) - meaning we can access different ideas, memories and resources when we talk. ([Location 449](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B00BCCVCCA&location=449)) - Just find someone who can do a good job of asking the right questions to draw out the ideas from you. Then, you can record the interview on video camera or just with an audio recorder. ([Location 453](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B00BCCVCCA&location=453)) - In that case, I just post my request on the Craigslist San Francisco Writing Gigs section because it’s free to post there and thousands of writers will see it. I often get 5 to 10 responses each time I post and if I’m not happy with the candidates, I’ll simply repost it until I find the right person for me. I generally pay between $150 and $300 for 10,000 words. ([Location 468](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B00BCCVCCA&location=468)) - Make sure you have a Work For Hire contract! ([Location 475](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B00BCCVCCA&location=475)) - Audio recording is another great tool to use when writing a book. I use an app on my iPhone called QuickVoice. ([Location 482](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B00BCCVCCA&location=482)) - If you want to do a quick exercise to get rid of your procrastination instantly, just grab a piece of paper and a pen right now. Write down at the top of the blank page of paper what action you’re procrastinating and putting off. For example, “publishing my book.” Then, on the right side write “pain” and the left side “pleasure” with a dividing line down the middle. ([Location 510](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B00BCCVCCA&location=510)) - General Colin Powell said, “Indecision has cost the American government, American businesses, and the American people billions of dollars more than the wrong decision.” ([Location 526](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B00BCCVCCA&location=526)) - Are there any important decisions you’ve been putting off? Write them down write now in your notebook and commit to making a decision before your head hits the pillow tonight. ([Location 535](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B00BCCVCCA&location=535)) - Perfectionism is highly related to procrastination and indecision as well. ([Location 538](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B00BCCVCCA&location=538)) - Here’s what you can do: write the best book you’re capable of writing today. Then publish it. If you want to make changes or edits to it later, that’s totally fine. You can come out with a 2nd or 3rd or 797th edition. You don’t have to be perfect to become a bestselling author – but you do have to finish writing and editing and publish your book. ([Location 544](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B00BCCVCCA&location=544)) - Jack Canfield tells a wonderful story that illustrates this concept. Imagine you were driving from California to New York at night in your car. Your headlights on your car only show about the next 200 feet of road. You can’t possibly see what’s beyond the next 200 feet. But you can still drive from California to New York at night without a problem. Why? Because you have a road map or GPS. You have directions. And, even more importantly, you just know in your mind that you’re going to get there if you keep moving forward. ([Location 565](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B00BCCVCCA&location=565)) - Do you have a strong vision for your life and your writing career? ([Location 572](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B00BCCVCCA&location=572)) - You want to write faster? You want to produce more, better work? Then sit your ass down and write! ([Location 574](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B00BCCVCCA&location=574)) - The only thing that counts is your action. Anyone can come up with a great idea for “the next Harry Potter.” Can you write it though? That’s the test of greatness. It’s not even about the idea – it’s about being willing to do the work required to turn your ideas into a reality. ([Location 577](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B00BCCVCCA&location=577)) - I learned this tip from Tim Ferriss who recommends always to stop writing at the end of the day mid-sentence. That way, when you sit back down to write, all you have to do is finish that sentence and you’re off and running. I’ve found this simple practice dramatically improves my writing output because I no longer spend several minutes every time I sit down to write thinking about what to write next – I already know all I have to do is finish that sentence! ([Location 580](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B00BCCVCCA&location=580)) - I would highly recommend trying to listen to baroque music or classical music while you work. Some people say it helps improve learning and creativity. I grew up listening to Alternative, Rock, Hip Hop and Rap and hated classical music. But when I started listening to baroque music while working, I noticed it did help improve my writing output quite a bit. You’ll never know unless you try it! ([Location 613](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B00BCCVCCA&location=613))