Marjory Lyons

Think you can't write? Think again! Marjory Lyons

Are these surprising ideas? Probably not or you would not have picked up our book titled, Think you can't write? Think again! A foolproof guide to publishing and marketing your book at last! In fact, you may be chuckling a bit because of the broad scope of the subjects--publishing and marketing-- and knowing it will take more than reading our little book to accomplish these tasks. Or you may be startled and swallowing back a feeling of concern or even fear about undertaking such subjects by yourself. As we point out in Chapter One, you do have a lot of work yet to do. But you would be wrong in your thinking that you will be on your own. We are here to help, Beverley and Marjory, your authors and guides.

The two purposes of this book are to provide you with specific steps in pursuing the publication of your book, and specific steps in marketing your book before, during and after publication. To provide you with these suggestions, we have drawn on our experiences and insights as well as on research on current affairs in the ever-changing book industry.

The format of the book is that each of us wrote chapters on subjects that we knew about best from our professional and life experiences. Marjory wrote Chapter One which sets the tone for telling others about your book; Chapter Two which contains a rubric or list of essential elements that all good writing exhibits; Chapter Six which contains marketing ideas and suggestions for you to follow; and Chapter Ten which discusses how to use book a review in marketing your book. Beverley wrote Chapter Three about how to get your work in print; Chapter Four, which discusses pursuing the traditional route to publishing; and Chapter Seven which presents Beverley's special twelve hints about marketing, and Chapter Eight in which she discusses using social media. We wrote Chapter Five, Independent Publishing and Chapter Nine, Think Outside the Box, together, offering our ideas of unusual marketing strategies.

As educators we know how important it is to summarize the main points of the subject, and we have included a summary at the end of each chapter. And we also know that recalling the specific actions to be undertaken is equally important for readers as they articulate a publishing and a marketing plan. So, we have provided check lists at the end of each chapter as well. We hope these aids help you to identify the steps you need to take in publishing and marketing your book.