Part 1 of a four part series By Rhonda Britten, founder of the Fearless Living Institute

Sponsored by:

Let's start with publishing. My plan is to soothe your fears, give you the courage (and tools) to author a bestseller and the know-how you need of the publishing world so you can be wise in the pursuit of your dream. Why me? I've written four books, received the highest advance (200K) ever paid by Penguin-Putnam to a first time self-help author and my books still sell years later putting them in a special category called Evergreen.

So how does a book idea turn into a bestseller? Let me explain because once you understand the process, the pathway becomes clearer and quicker. You don't have to get bogged down with confusion or lack of information. For your sanity, here is the standard order of events:

Wake up to a fantastic, bestselling Book Idea, Scribble a bunch of notes down, Talk to some friends, Everyone says WE LOVE IT!, Scribble more notes (maybe even take a stab at writing a chapter), Get clear on publishing options, their pros and cons and opportunities for results (ebook, softcover, hardcover, mainstream publisher, small press, self-publishing, etc), Get serious and disciplined by sitting down to write your Bestselling Proposal Outline or Proposal itself, Find an Agent who thinks you are the Next Great Thing, Agent reminds you that your idea is great but your proposal (or writing) sucks, Rewrite Proposal, Rewrite Proposal, Rewrite Proposal, Give Proposal to Agent praying they love it, Agent loves Proposal, Agent sends Proposal to ten or more or less publishing houses where they have contacts, Publishing houses say they love it but they have something similar in the works, Agent finally finds your perfect, almost, Editor. You meet with Editor and ask them amazingly insightful and industry related questions that makes Editor sit up and say, "This writer is different, special, amazing." Agent, along with Editor, gets your soon-to-be-bestseller into the hands of the deciders at your dream publishing house and they say WE LOVE IT!, Agent sells YOUR BOOK, Contracts are negotiated and signed, You find out deadline to complete your book is in six months but book will not be published for eighteen months, You now have a deadline and start writing like the dickens, (Note: Do not stop writing during this entire process yet most first time authors do), Your soon-to-be-bestseller is turned in to your Editor, Three edits later it is complete, You turn in Final Draft, Now the real work begin . .

Ahhhh. The dream of writing a bestseller.

How does one start figuring all this out? What is the best publishing option for you? How do you know who to give your book to? How do you pick an agent or get one for that matter? I get it. I have been asked these questions over the years and have some answers that may help.

First off: You are more in charge of the publishing process than you know.

Feedback is welcome at ExpertSeries@choice-online.com
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This email is sponsored by The International Coaching Consortium for Coaching in Organizations ICCO invites you personally to attend the 6th annual symposium, "Leveraging Cultural Differences in the Global World" being held Oct 11 - 13 in Toronto , Canada . There will be conversations about organizations and coaching and how they interrelate. For more details see www.coachingconsortium.org/events- 0507.html.