187. The Ultimate Guide to Monetizing Your Book: Self-Publishing Success Secrets

Life After Corporate

Are you ready to truly transform your career and establish yourself as a thought leader?

Host Deb Boulanger welcomes Erik Westrom, a former professional hockey player turned author and strategist from selfpublishing.com. Erik's journey from the ice rink to the world of self-publishing is a testament to the power of writing a book. He shares his self-publishing success strategies, including how to write a best-selling book and the art of monetizing your book as an author. The conversation explores Erik's transition from sports to entrepreneurship, offering a unique perspective on building credibility through book writing. As they discuss best practices for promoting a self-published book, Erik reveals how authorship can open doors to speaking engagements and lucrative business opportunities. From mind-mapping ideas to crafting compelling titles and cover designs, this episode is packed with practical advice for aspiring authors.

Whether you're considering transitioning from corporate to entrepreneurship or simply curious about the impact of becoming an author, this conversation begs the question: Could writing a book be the key to unlocking your true potential and skyrocketing your influence?

[00:03- 11:40] Book Writing Success: From Idea to Bestseller

• Mind map your ideas and create an outline to structure your book

• Focus on writing about topics you're passionate about to overcome obstacles

• Consider which book idea can be monetized quickest for your brand or business

• Treat your book as a key to opening up speaking engagements and other opportunities

[11:41 -19:10] Mastering Amazon Best Seller Strategy for Self-Published Authors

• Find relevant categories and keywords to drive people to buy your book

• Aim to get over 100 reviews as quickly as possible within the first 30 days

• Use a mastermind community of authors to help review each other's books

• Optimize your Amazon page keywords, similar to SEO for Google

[19:11 - 28:01] Book Publishing Timeline and Launch Preparation

• The 5 rounds of editing: developmental review, developmental edit, content edit, copy edit, and proofreading

• From finished manuscript to publication usually takes 4 to 6 months

• Building a launch team is crucial for getting initial reviews and purchases

• A 90-day social media campaign is recommended, focusing on promoting rather than selling

[28:02 - 36:02] Self-Publishing Success: Avoiding Common Pitfalls

• The 5 rounds of editing: developmental review, developmental edit, content edit, copy edit, and proofreading

• From finished manuscript to publication usually takes 4 to 6 months

• Building a launch team is crucial for getting initial reviews and purchases

• A 90-day social media campaign is recommended, focusing on promoting rather than selling

Connect with Erik Westrum

Website: Becoming Elite with Erik Westrum

Facebook: Facebook

Insta: Erik Westrum (@ewestrumhockey) • Instagram photos and videos

X: @‌erikwestrum7

LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/erikwestrum7

YouTube: Becoming Elite - YouTube

Erik’s Book: Becoming Elite Becoming Elite: What it takes to transform your life using 4 proven pillars of performance - Kindle edition by Westrum, Erik. Religion & Spirituality Kindle eBooks @ Amazon.com.

Go to https://lifeaftercorporatepodcast.com/ for all episodes

169. Lisa Durante's Strategy for Mastering Your Content Marketing Plan!

153 A 3-Step Guide to Skyrocketing Your Income

137 Marketing, Management, and Metrics: The Keys to Consistent Success

Tweetable Quotes:

"Anyone who would come up to me and if they said they had written a book, instantly, there's credibility, there's thought leadership, there's authority."... Erik Westrum on the Power of Authorship

So you take that mind map and then you're going to focus on looking at an outline. Because once you have the mind map to an outline, I'm not saying it's easy, but it's a lot easier because you have an outline in each day or each week or each month."... Erik Westrum on the Journey of writing a book

**TRANSCRIPT AVAILABLE UPON REQUEST**

SUBSCRIBE & LEAVE A FIVE-STAR REVIEW and share this podcast to other growing entrepreneurs!

Get weekly tips on how to create more money and meaning doing work you love and be one of the many growing entrepreneurs in our community. Connect with me on LinkedIn; https://www.linkedin.com/groups/12656341/ or on Instagram or our website at www.lifeaftercorporatepodcast.com .