6 steps to publishing a book to inspire others and generate sales

Publishing can help you elevate your image and marketability. I have published six books so far, and my Amazon bestseller is called “Is Your Child a Money Master or a Money Monster?” It was featured on CBS News along with several other local media.

Some of you might be asking, “Does she have nothing else to do but to write books all day?” or wondering if I have some kind of magic wand to create books one after another. I wish! I am a financial planner just like you, juggling work and family every day. My days go by super-fast! There is no magic formula, no gimmicks, no cutting corners, no shortcut, but there is a lot of genuine effort and dedication.

I’d like to share with you the six most useful and practical steps you can put into practice right away:

1. Understand why it is important to publish your own book. My first book helped me become a columnist for an economics newspaper, which generated a lot of leads that helped me qualify for MDRT my first year and every year since then. I used my book as my business card, my resume, my gift and, most importantly, my best marketing tool, and it worked like magic.
2. Make sure you have a burning desire about the particular topic(s). Without passion, neither you nor your reader will get anything out of it. You must find a topic you feel absolutely passionate about and start from there.
3. Be real and authentic about your feelings and experiences. On the day when I found out I was pregnant, I was so thrilled that I wanted to write something beautiful to my baby right away as I was experiencing pregnancy for the first time. “Dear My Baby” was a series of love letters to my children. I wanted to journal my real and authentic feelings and experiences for them, and that’s what I did. Your book is your baby, so be real. Own your story.
4. Capture the moments and collect the data. How thoroughly do you want to prepare for your book? It is very important to capture, gather and store all the related ideas, thoughts, images, visions and even timely dialogues. I used all of those treasures for many of my books. Don’t let them pass by. 
5. Keep going until published. Whatever system works best for you, the important thing is that you keep going. Keep writing until you are finished Don’t give up. When giving up is not an option, the only option you have is winning. When you are done writing, the next step is editing and polishing. Bring it all together.
6. Celebrate your success and do it again! It may take months or even years. Some of you might become bestselling authors, and some of you might not, but so what? I believe that you will experience one of the most beautiful journeys that you can have in your life that can change your future and the lives of many around you forever.

Sunny Istar Lee, IAR, is a nine-year MDRT member from Los Angeles, California. Hear more in the November episode of MDRT Presents: