Writing a Business Plan For Your Book: the Development Timeline

Today we return to the series on How to Write A Business Plan for Your Book with a look at the fifth section of the business plan: the Development Timeline. The “Development Timeline” section actually consists of multiple timelines, one for each phase of the author’s work. When preparing your timelines, use a calendar and establish concrete dates (at least, to the extent you can)–but also remember, this is YOUR timeline, and unless you’re under contract, the dates can change. Sometimes, they even change if you are under contract…but that’s less common, and trickier. You can also plan your timelines in block-style increments

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How to Write a Business Plan for Your Book (Part 2: the Overview)

Today, we start our in-depth look at the sections of a “book business plan” and how to write them, with a look at the “Overview” section. If you missed last week’s overview, you can find it here. Authors should prepare a business plan for every book. The plan doesn’t have to be written (though it tends to be more valuable as a road map and a reference if it is). Business plans are helpful for authors, regardless of publishing path, and sometimes, writing the plan can help the author decide between traditional and self-publishing. Analyzing where the book fits in the marketplace, as well as

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How to Write a Business Plan for Your Book

All authors should have a business plan for every book they write, regardless of whether the author plans to self-publish or pursue traditional publication. In many cases, the business plan can even help to clarify the choice. It’s also possible to write an overarching business plan for the author’s career–and authors should do this also–but a book-by-book plan keeps you focused on each release. A “hard copy” business plan is best, but even thinking through the issues, and making a mental plan, can help the release succeed. Today, we’re taking an overview look at author business plans and how to write them. In the weeks to

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