Voxie Media Blog

Why a short book? Hint: quicker to write and delivers same business benefits

Filed as: future of books, self-publishing, writing

The cool thing about writing a short book and publishing immediately on Amazon Kindle is that you can think of yourself as a Beta Author. Why Beta? Think of it as an Agile Book Launch. Your short book will be provocative, smart and well-written. It will have a sizzling title and a click-inducing cover.

But it may be the first in a series of books. You may want to revise it. You may want to write a longer book later. No problem. As an entrepreneurial author, you’re in charge. You don’t need permission from a big New York publisher. You can connect instantly with your fans and readers.

An Agile Book Launch

The theory behind agile software development and lean startups works just as well in the new world of publishing. You launch your product – or book – when it’s good enough. It’s in beta. You gauge reaction to it. Then you tweak and improve and change course accordingly.

Update: Only a few spots left in the second session of Beta Author Boost. I may not offer the program again until fall 2012. Click here to learn more and reserve your spot.

Business benefits of a short book

Forget the word BOOK in all caps. When you write an eBook it can be as short as 30 pages. Nobody can tell how long your book is when they look at the thumbnail cover on Amazon. Nor do they care. A short book, if it is a compelling read, establishes your credibility and turns you into a published author.

The business benefits? As a published author, you can increase your speaking and consulting fees and notch up your personal brand,  whether you are a consultant, a creative entrepreneur or a corporate executive plotting a promotion – or maybe an escape from corporate life.

A short Kindle eBook can be downloaded in seconds and read on almost every device, from smartphones to iPads. Of course, you can also sell your eBook on Kobo, the Nook, Sony and Apple’s iBooks.

If your goal is to get a short book out into the world – and start selling it as quickly as possible – I would love to work with you. Please don’t wait if you are interested. There is seven one spot left for this session of Beta Author Boost. Deets and register here.