Self-Publishing Made Easy for Nurse Entrepreneurs

By Anna Morrison 

Thinking about finally putting all of your killer nursing stories into a book? Think no more.

It has become easier for nurses (and anyone with a message) to share it with the world than ever before.

Self-publishing technology has literally leveled the playing field.

No more facing rejections from traditional book publishers. You are now in the driver’s seat and you can…plan, schedule, write, publish and promote your own book, easier and cheaper than ever before.

How do I know?

My first book, ‘5 Things They Never Told You in Nursing School,’ was completely self-published, self-promoted via Social Media and hit #1 on Amazon in the Nursing category in under 11 hours on December 11, 2011… That’s how I know it can be done.

(That’s also why from that day on, 11 has been my lucky number! Sorry 34, you were really good to me for a long time, but 11 is my new sweetheart now…ahhh, but I digress…)

Back to self-publishing… CreateSpace is a member of Amazon and provides the absolute cheapest and easiest way for us nurses (and anyone) to self-publish our content and distribute it to millions of potential readers and buyers around the world through Amazon.

What are the differences between self-publishing and having a traditional publisher?

Rejections letters, for one thing. No more of those with self-publishing.

Buy-backs: Traditional publishers require that authors purchase a certain number of their own books (‘buy back’) at publication date.

Ummm…I’m pretty certain you’re writing a book to sell it, not to have to buy it back. Thankfully, you can kiss that good-bye with self-publishing.

Speed-to-market: Traditional publishers take about 18-24 months to bring a book to market. With self-publishing, you can have your book for sale in a matter of weeks.

When you self-publish, you:

• Retain control over your book’s content, design, marketing plan, timing, and you retain your intellectual property rights, which you do not with traditional publishers.
• Do not share your royalties with a publisher or agent
• Save tens of thousands of dollars vs. working with a traditional publisher
• Can bring your book to market at lightening speed
• Are 100% responsible for promoting your book yourself, which, these days is also true with traditional publishers…gone are the days where they secured interviews and media appearances for you. Today, you’re on your own either way.

The great news is that with Social Media and free Press Release services on the internet, it has NEVER been easier to connect with your target audience and promote your work through Facebook, Twitter, Google Plus, LinkedIn and your blog, if you have the skills and a great mentor to direct you.

Amazon attracts thousands of visitors and shoppers every single day.

Here are a few advantages outlined by CreateSpace about self-publishing:

1. You get an affordable publishing and DIY option.
2. You get broad distribution where your book is made available to thousands of retail and wholesale outlets including Amazon.
3. You receive professional support from the CreateSpace team who can walk you through all the steps to self-publishing.
4. You get high author royalties and get to make more money.
5. You’re able to join a community of authors at CreateSpace for awesome networking.
6. You’ll find that most tools on CreateSpace are free for authors.
7. You get feedback on your work immediately from readers, friends, family and community without needing to go through ‘red tape’.

No more rejection letters. No more buy-backs. No more prohibitive costs.

CreateSpace does not charge a membership fee and sign-up is free.

Just upload your content, select the distribution channels you’d like to sell your book through, and start selling.

Potential authors can even choose to publish eBooks only (like I did). The great news for about eBooks is that this past Christmas alone, at least 20 million Kindle, Nook and other e-reading devices were sold. Which means eBooks are an ENORMOUS share of the market.

Moral of the story is: the opportunities for you as a nurse author are endless. Thankfully, CreateSpace has revolutionized the way we publish books.

That means if you’ve ever thought about being an author, the time is now. Don’t wait.