This post was provoked by the many Christians (followers of Jesus) who have asked me questions about authoring and publishing books over the years. So I thought I’d jot down my answers in one post for ease of future reference.

Presently, I’ve written ten books published by five different publishers. And thankfully (surprisingly), virtually all of them have done well.

A few of the points below apply only to first-time Christian authors. But most apply to all authors, aspiring and established.

1. Be sure your book contains unique content. Over 1 million books were published in the United States last year. A small portion of them (at least in the Christian genre) have unique content. (In the U.S., the average non-fiction book sells less than 250 copies a year and less than 3,000 in its lifetime.) So before you set out to the formidable task of writing a book, do some research and ask yourself: “Does a book like the one I’m wanting to write already exist, and is it in print?” “What’s unique about my book that hasn’t already been said the same way in another book?”

If I was voted “Christian Book Pope,” I’d choose to have only 100 titles published each year. Only the best and most unique books would be published. I think if that were done, some of the most amazing Christian books wouldn’t get lost in our overly-saturated market. And we’d see enormous changes in the world.

2. The reason why anyone would want to write a book is to spread certain ideas far and wide, and hopefully, watch the Lord use those ideas to change lives. Books are still the greatest way to spread a message. Even more effective than magazine articles, blogs, videos, audios, etc. Nothing can replace the book in this particular game.

3. Build a readership base. This is vital if a publisher will look at your work. It’s also vital if your book will be purchased by people beyond your best friends and family. Even if it’s self-published. The best way to build a reader base in our day is to start a blog and work on building it well. Make your first goal 1,000 regular readers (subscribers) who will be inclined to spread the word about your blog to their friends. Then build from there.

4. Be involved in choosing the title, the cover, and the back cover copy. These three ingredients are key to the success of any book. As the author, you want to be involved in the process. Don’t let the publisher decide without your input and involvement. It’s your book, so you need to feel that it properly represents you and your message in every way.

5. Don’t expect your publisher to sell your book. This is perhaps one of the biggest assumptions that new authors make. Yes, publishers have marketing departments and publicists. But those will be about as effective as what you put into promoting the book yourself. You need to help them spread the word about your book. What the publisher does in this area is far more limited than most people think. When it comes down to it, you’re the one who will let people know about your book first and foremost.

David Morrell, author of “First Blood” (which inspired the movie “Rambo” with the Italian Stallion) says, “Unless you are Stephen King, the chances are you’re going to get no promotion from your publisher and you have to become an expert in publicity.” That’s not exactly true, but pretty close.

6. A few people – not many – will resent you for just mentioning your book. I’m not sure where they get this idea, but to their minds, mentioning your own book is a mortal sin. Expect this, but don’t worry about it. If you have a readership in place, and they find your message valuable, the number of people who want to know that you have a new book out will far outweigh those who have issues with you mentioning it.

7. If you are challenging the status quo in your book, expect opposition, character assassination, and even threats. If you aren’t prepared for such things, you really shouldn’t embark on writing that kind of a book. However, whatever you end up writing about, you will receive criticism from some people. If nothing else, they won’t like the title, they’ll whine about the book cover, or they’ll trash the writing style. So authors cannot have thin skin.

The rest of the list will be presented at The Buzz Seminar.

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