Your book is your baby, treat it like one...
Your Book is Your Baby. Treat it Like One! by EJ Thornton
Most authors refer to their book as their "baby" without really knowing how accurate that comparison is. I found out as I wrote Angel On Board that writing a book is like a pregnancy, long, drawn out and private — only you can do it. It has to grow from the seed of an idea to the actual entity we hold in our hand the first time we see it in print. That first meeting is an incredibly memorable experience! Some people cry, some jump up and down — most just stand in awe that the book is finally real and they can hold it in their hands. Most, women at least, clutch it to their chest and are so proud, they can't hold back the tears.
It's a Book! It's a Baby!

Now, this book, like a baby, needs to be taken to professionals to "check it out." It needs an editor, a baby book doctor, to clean it up, check it out, cure its woes and medicate its weak spots. The editor, like a pediatrician, is on your side and wants what you do - a healthy baby book! Editors can cost you money, but you'd pay a doctor — right? You wouldn't trust your baby's health to an amateur (like your neighbor or your sister — even though they got an "A" in Health), so why would you trust your baby book's well-being to one? If you're smart, you won't.

Next, you want to share your baby with others. You want the world to know how great your baby is. This is where most new book parents go wrong. They think the book can speak for itself. It can't! You're going to be working long hours and sacrificing a lot of sleep. Much like a newborn baby is a full time job, so is a newborn book. New parents don't get a lot of rest because the demands of a baby are so intense - it is that way here too. You've taken on another full time job introducing your baby to the world. A press kit needs to be developed, press releases need to be written and sent, reviews need to requested, interviews need to be scheduled, book clubs and book stores need to be approached, book signings scheduled and networking needs to be done! Don't you send out birth announcements? Don't you schedule christenings and take your baby places to introduce them to the world? It's the same concept. No one knows about your baby has arrived, unless you tell them.

You'll have to invest money to support your new book project, just like you'd support your new baby. They can't support themselves yet — let alone you — it's crazy to expect them to!

Many book parents don't sell out of their first print run because they expect their baby to come out walking and talking. That baby needs carried and dressed and driven everywhere to introduce it to its readers. Then its readers will start to talk about it (a voice of its own). Its readers will recommend it to others (it starts to walk on its own). Now, thanks to your efforts and encouragement, you start to see your baby start to walk and talk on its own. And it's a thrill to start seeing sales come through from efforts beyond your own!

Your first print run will be as much expense as profit and so much work, you'll wonder why you're bothering. Many young parents ask themselves questions like, "Why did we want this again?" But then they pick up their baby, feel the love again, regain their strength and get going again. When the first print run is sold out - it is a milestone. Your baby is growing up and it's taken its first few steps.

When you make it into your second printing, you can see the impact of the first round's efforts and you, as a book parent, mature and enjoy how your book has grown. Now the book can support itself a little. This stage is much akin to when a child starts working odd jobs, like babysitting or lawn mowing. They create their own spending money — and they want to spend it on themselves! Hoorah! So, do — spend that money on the book, invest in advertising or flyers and postage or promotional material, memberships to authors groups or conferences or your own booth at trade show, and entry into catalogs with a good circulation. All these things the book can now do for itself and you can watch these new ventures pay off and ultimately, your second print run is sold out! You baby is growing up (but you're still probably driving them everywhere). You can see the potential of this new family member, you can see their personality develop and how they interact with the world. And you are so proud! During the third and fourth printings, you're dealing with a young adult book. They're out on their own, they're earning their own way, but they still want and need your involvement and encouragement in their lives and you love them so much, you can't imagine not being there for them.

If they make it to this point and you haven't quit on them (because it's only you who can quit), then it can support itself and in return take care of you. It has arrived! Your baby is all grown up, but just like adult children, you're still very involved in their life.

Now, what if you're a prolific writer? Just like that prolific parent, there's a second book on the way, while the first one is barely learning to walk. It happens, and with most authors, it happens A LOT! Like with a second baby, you're not so scared, you're smarter now, and you know without being told or questioning all the things that you need to do for a baby. The older sibling book many times can be helpful in raising the new book (especially if it is a series), but each will always be an individual (even if they look alike). Don't forget that, when you have a little family of books growing up right before your very eyes!

The other main point that new authors forget is that a book is a lifetime commitment — they'll have this beautiful baby all the rest of their lives and frankly, it will live on beyond them, just like our children do. Each one is a new addition to the family and must be nurtured and taken care of. You have the rest of your life to have a relationship with this baby and to watch it grow and become.

Don't rush the process, it is all a wonderful ride!

Angel On Board is now 8 years old and has two non-fiction 'brothers' and a little children's book sister. Its sibling sequel is due out in 2006 as well as more non-fiction reader's stories. To see EJ's finished works, go to Books To Believe in - EJ Thornton's page

EJ Thornton published her first book (Angel On Board) in 1998 and has sold several thousand copies. She currently runs a publishing house in Colorado where she helps other people's publishing careers get started. EJ is a author, speaker, instructor, business owner, publisher. EJ's latest book, Revenue Beyond Royalties teaches authors how to round out their talents to take advantage of all the revenue streams available to them.
Read more at: http://www.ArticlePros.com/writing_and_speaking/books/article-1702.html.
 
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