This may seem quite difficult for most school staff, and it is, however, I very much believe every teacher and school leadership person has at least one good book within themselves. It may or may not be on the theme or genre that you initially expect, but it is there.

All school staff have particular skills, be these professional, trade-based, business, religious or spiritual, artistic, social or family-based, etc. These days people who 'have made it' want to tell us how they did it. May be this is your area. May be you are very creative, tell great stories, or consistently have people eager to listen to your every word - may be a fiction book or autobiography is your best approach.

Unfortunately, we are not going to see the fruits of all these skills as most people will not ever get to complete their masterpiece. Do not be one of these. Make the commitment, plan the process and Begin! Begin! Begin!

You will then need to commit to either a full time or part time writing schedule. Extended breaks dedicated to writing are the best options. However, a well scheduled weekly part time regime and out of work hours is another viable option.

Options to Sell Your Book / e-Book

The key approaches a new author could take are:

• Chasing a Publishing Company to Publish Your Book - often quite time consuming and with a minimal chance of success.
• Self Publishing - Printing, Marketing, Selling, etc - printing costs are high. The problem of getting your book marketed and into the stores - difficult.
• Creating Your Own Professional Website and Online Store for e-book sales - relatively expensive to do well, however cheaper options are developing right now - but this method will get your work out there in a reasonably quick time. Then there is the challenge of SEO (Search Engine Optimization), i.e. the process of getting your website high on search engines - quite difficult but not impossible.
• Selling e-Book Through Commercial Online Stores - probably the simplest and least expensive. This is the area which has taken giant leaps in the past 18 months.
• Creating a Hardcopy in a Way Which is Inexpensive and Then Sold Online Through a Commercial e-Book Store - developing now before our eyes - and often offered through the top end online commercial bookstores themselves. This way allows for both the book and e-book versions to be sold, often by the same company - doubling your marketing options.

Check out the top end online bookstores for what they offer, such as Amazon.com. At Amazon com you can Amazon self publish your books inexpensively as well as sell your book as an e-book at their Amazon Digital Text Platform.



Check out various options to build your own website in relatively simple and inexpensive ways, such as at Yahoo Business. Free Site Solution with Yahoo! Web Hosting PlanAlso see various search engines and others who offer this option, as one possible route for this to occur. This will allow for both the sale of your book as a book and an e-book online through both commercial online bookstores and though your own website and its online shop.

The more options you give yourself for sales, the more books and e-books you will sell.

You may also be interested for more information the blog post: How to Write an e-Book Yourself - Yes You Can - My Experience Writing 5 Quality e-Books

The 'Write Your Own Book or e-Book and Get it Sold - the How to for Schools' blog post was written by Bryan Foster, author of School Marketing Manual for the Digital Age (3rd ed), 2010, with the copyright remaining with SMAPL. This 369 A4 page e-book is written in summarized point form and contains an exceptional number of strategies and step-by-step guidance on how to market your school.