Self-Publish Your Book in 4 Weeks!

DISCLAIMER: you need a completed book to get the most out of this class, as it is very fast paced. 🙂

If you haven’t yet completed your book, I HIGHLY recommend completing one of the following classes first:

https://outschool.com/classes/write-a-book-in-8-weeks-ZNlvzlms?sectionUid=ad16bc5e-712d-40e4-8cb8-b47e7ba7c6f4&usid=zOOx0A81&signup=true&utm_campaign=share_activity_link

https://outschool.com/classes/write-a-graphic-novel-in-8-weeks-TPKkNxmG?sectionUid=e82c53ae-5df3-4034-a4cb-3dc6cad7f651&usid=zOOx0A81&signup=true&utm_campaign=share_activity_link

So you've written a book. Your content is fun, informative, and simply YOU...

...now what?

Let's Self-Publish YOUR creative work and learn about one of the industry's biggest secrets for monetizing your work.

By self-publishing, we generally mean creating and selling a book online, outside of the traditional publishing industry — in which publishing companies pay authors advances and a royalty, working with them to edit, design, and distribute the book. As a young budding author, learning clever skills about marketing and publishing is in your best interest in this rapidly changing industry. Making it as an author is 2021 is more at your fingertips than ever before, but requires a little bit more footwork. ;)

Today, anybody with an internet connection can write an ebook and make it available to hundreds of millions of readers — pretty much for free. The new challenge is to make these books bestsellers. Many writers have risen to this challenge, however, with the help of modern methods and social media.

For reference, my first children's interactive musical eBook sold 100 copies in the first 24 hours that it was available on the market! Wow! And I can help you do it, too.

Flex Video Lesson 1:  Revision and Editing 
The focus of this lesson will be to understand the importance of editing and revision, even when we think we have a finished product.  Even when we think everything is A-OK, as writers need to realize that outsourcing editing (hello, your fantastic teacher and peers who are here to support you!) is key to success. It allows the writer to take take a step back from his or her story and propel it to another level!  
  
Flex Video Lesson 2:  Book Cover Design  
This lesson will help students understand that the design of a cover is just as important as the content of the story.  We will look at ways to create a successful book cover design, using Canva.com. Students are encouraged to share their cover design with their peers through the Outschool classroom.

Flex Video Lesson 3: Self-Publishing: eBook & Paper
In days long long past, self-publishing a book involved getting a print run and paying up-front for thousands of copies. I'm pretty sure you don't have that kind of liquidity as a young student! Not only that, you could end up with unsold copies collecting dust in your closet that you eventually just give away. Thankfully, modern publishing has provided simple solutions to this problem! In this lesson, we will look at KDP: Amazon's Kindle Direct Publishing where we can produce electronic AND paper copies without upfront costs.

Flex Video Lesson 4: Create a Solid Marketing Plan
So you have it all: the finished manuscript, the super catchy book cover, and the book fully published on KDP. It's time to step back, pour a Shirley Temple, and let the money roll in and have your name viral as "2021's Most Upcoming Young Author", right? WRONG! The bad news is that marketing can be the biggest piece of the puzzle. The good news is that there are tried-and-tested methods for marketing and promoting your title, including automated mailing lists, price promotions, and online advertising. 

Every Monday by 5pm ET, I will post the weekly video and material for the week. After each video lecture, there will be tasks to complete if you want that book of yours published! These tasks should take between 10 and 30 minutes of focused work per day.  All responses should be loaded into the Classroom no later than Friday at 5pm ET should the student want feedback on their work. 

Throughout the week, I will check in and provide feedback on questions and solutions in the classroom and engage with students in discussion, or post additional videos to guide learning if something is challenging the class. 

Feedback will be provided by the following Monday by 5pm ET for all materials submitted by the previous Friday at 5pm.

Additionally, each student will be required to comment on their fellow learners’ work at least 4 times (once per week) throughout the course in order to to develop a sense of community in the class. This is typically done through constructive criticism. For example, a leaner may upload their book cover and a student may choose to respond to it with the following:

‘Your book cover is creative and uses colours and images that are central to your story’s theme. However, your book title is in a strange font and we can’t read it well. Could you consider updating it?’