APE by Guy Kawasaki & Shawn Welch - A Book Review




APE: Author, Publisher, Entrepreneur - How to Publish a Book by Guy Kawasaki and Shawn Welch is the book to read if you want to self-publish a book. Guy states in the preface - 'these roles are challenging but they are not impossible - especially if the people who have done it before explain it to you' -  Totally agree! If you ape the processes illustrated in APE, you can be a successful Author, Publisher and Entrepreneur in no time!

The first section of the book deals with being an Author – the theory and practice of writing a book. The second section - Publisher explains the process of turning a manuscript into a book and the third section - Entrepreneur lets you know that as an author you need to continue marketing your book as long as you want people to buy it.

I want to write a book one day and as someone who has this goal and who has never done it, this book answers the most basic and nerve-wrecking concerns that I have in the Author section itself:-
  • Should I write a book?
  • What should I write about?
  • Will anyone read my book?
  • Will it sell?

The most remarkable feature of the book is the way in which it is written. It is so simple and easy to understand. You feel as if a friend is talking to you.  APE has many real-life situations and stories that cover the self-publishing process. Links to actual tools including the Word Template used for preparing the manuscript of APE, software and an entire chapter on how Guy and Shawn fit into the roles of an author, publisher and entrepreneur with APE, add immense value to the book. 

The book shows you the advantages and disadvantages of both Traditional Publishing and Self Publishing, thus helping you make an informed choice about how you want to go about publishing your book.

Guerrilla marketing tactics for authors, creation of your own personal brand, using Social Media to leverage your personal brand and sell your book are other valuable takeaways from this book.

APE is a thorough guide, to which you can come back again and again. I recommend this book to anyone who loves writing regardless of whether they want to write a book or not.

APE Related Information:-

Title: APE: Author, Publisher, Entrepreneur--How to Publish a Book (ISBN 978-0-9885231-1-1)
Cost: $9.99 ebook, available at http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00AGFU5VS
Photos and cover: http://apethebook.com/bookassets/
Additional information: http://apethebook.com/



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