APE it up. Author, publish and market your own creative genius.

Have you ever considered writing a book? Is it your calling? Do you hope it will make you rich (and famous)? Are you trying to promote yourself to get extra business? Whatever has you thinking about putting pen to paper (or fingers to keyboard), you've almost certainly wondered about getting your work of creative genius published. And if you have read a book sometime this century, you've definitely looked at Amazon. And probably wondered if you can publish your book, yourself. This new book by the master of marketing, Guy Kawasaki and his tech sidekick Shawn Welch talks plain and simply about the benefits and pains of self-publishing. APE: Author, Publisher, Entrepreneur-How to Publish a Book is that book, which of course, is itself published by the authors themselves.

Personally, I haven't felt the urge to lock myself away to author a serious work. My simple endeavors into writing some free e-books on the subject of mobile websites and e-commerce have demonstrated to me that writing is a time consuming, and quite frankly wearying experience. But I have friends and family who are serious writers. And my wife recently led the production and promotion of a serious business book on Engagement Marketing for small businesses. So I read a review copy of APE with interest.

The book is honest when it suggests it be read quickly, from cover to cover the first time. To get a sense of what matters and what is involved in self-publishing, or even the initial writing and editing of a book,  skimming through the chapters in an evening can make you much more of an expert than you were previously. This is what I did. Each chapter of APE gets deep into the details of every step of the writing, publishing and marketing of books, so the skim avoids you ending up in the weeds. But even if you do so, the book handles those weeds in an unintimidating, easily accessible way. Sometimes even just skimming through, one of the many illustrations, screen-shots or photos catches your eye and you start reading about details that you'll possibly never need. But the writing draws you in as the personality of the authors shows through.

Overall, Guy Kawasaki and Shawn Welch have done an excellent job with this book. It is quite possibly going to become the self-publishing bible that it pitches itself to be. And its own success will be the best review and recommendation. So if you are serious about authoring and publishing a book, whether you are considering self-publishing or not, this could be the best ten dollar addition to your e-book collection there is. Find it on Amazon: APE: Author, Publisher, Entrepreneur-How to Publish a Book

By the way, I've been terrible at writing this blog recently for all kinds of 'overworked, underpaid' reasons. I promise in the New Year to do better! Happy Holidays / Merry Christmas to you all.

A post from the Improving It blog

Let us help you improve your business today. Visit www.consected.com