I. How We Can Connect With You

If available, please email us a copy of your resume or vita or provide a brief bio. You can also upload a resume, vita, or bio below. This is not required, but it is helpful.

II. Five Key Questions Every Author Must Answer

1. Who is your intended audience? Think about the typical person to whom you are writing--their age, gender, ethnicity, socio-economic status, etc. What are their common interests, common challenges, and common experiences? The more specific you are the better. You may even have a primary audience and a secondary audience in mind. If so, list both.

2. What is the central benefit to the reader? You know what your book is about, but focus here on how will your book help the reader? How will your message help make their life better? What does your book promise that makes someone want to plunk down their hard-earned lunch money to pay for what you have to say?

3. What is your unique message? What are you going to say that hasn't been said before or how are you going to say it differently? What will make your book compelling to read? Give us your “elevator speech”; that one or two sentence summary that best describes exactly what your book is about, who it’s for and how it will help the reader.

4. What is the burning passion behind this book? What compelled you to sit down at your desk after hours or before your kids got up every morning to write this message? Of all the things you could write about, why this message? What is the motivation behind writing this book?

5. What marketing opportunities do you bring to the table? What contacts, endorsements, key connections, media access do you have that could be leveraged to help get your message out to the intended audience? How many copies do you anticipate ordering in the first year? How committed are you to promoting the message of this book once it comes out?

III. Tell Us About Your Message

1. At the moment do you have? (check one):

 a completed manuscript a sample chapter and outline only an outline only

Please upload what you have.

2. What is the working sub-title and title?

3. Has your material ever been published before?

 yes no

(if yes, please provide specifics on the publisher’s name, the date published, the amount printed and current quantity unsold and on-hand.)

4. Do you own full publishing rights to your material?

 yes no

(If no, please provide specifics on who owns the publishing rights and what if any limitations or restriction are on the material.)

5. How many copies of your book do you anticipate ordering from the initial press run?

(this is typically the number of copies you anticipate selling within the first year.)

IV. How to Get Started

1. Understand your options: Today there are multiple ways to get published. There are three primary publishing models from which to choose: traditional publishing, self-publishing and of course our unique network publishing model. We want you to be well informed about the strengths and weaknesses of each type of publishing plan. So take a few moments to read through this brief summary.

With traditional publishing:

Unless you have a significant market or media platform, a traditional publisher most likely won’t be interested in talking with you. And even if they are:

• You give up all publishing rights to your message.
• Unless you are an “A-list” author, they don’t do any marketing to speak of
• Any marketing they do is focused on helping them sell copies in bookstores, where all you get is a modest royalty, typically about a dollar a book for a paperback.
• It usually takes 15-24 months from contract to see your book released.
• You must buy back books you want to sell directly at discounts typically between 50%-70% for as long as the book is in print.

With self publishing:

With this type of publishing virtually anyone can get published. However, there are drawbacks. While you do retain your publishing rights (which are a good thing), you:

• Invest all your time and effort on getting the book done with little or no strategic advice.
• In most every case, a self-published book is simply not as thoughtfully, artfully and strategically developed. Book buyers can tell the difference!
• As a result, your book doesn’t have the impact in the market it should or could have. This is a significant challenge to overcome.
• You don’t have much, if any trade sales or marketing support
• In addition to paying an up-front “publishing fee”, you wind up paying a higher price per book than you need to.

With Billion Soul Publishing’s unique “network publishing” model:

• You retain all your publishing rights
• With our Two-Day Book Development process we can help you get your book written in your voice without you taking weeks and months of your time to write the manuscript! Ask us about this.
• You pay no publishing fee, your only cost is to purchase at least 3,000 copies of your book from the initial press run…and this cost typically amounts to a 60%-80% discount off retail! Or, if you are not convinced you want to purchase that many books, we can schedule convenient monthly payments to cover our development and marketing services and provide you with just the number of copies that you need.
• You benefit from a full team of editors, designers, publishing and marketing strategists, copyeditors, copywriters, who know how to take your message and craft it as well as any New York Times best-selling publishing house would do.
• You get trade sales presentation, distribution and support including both print and e-book formats. We have two different strategies we can share with you. You will receive the full impact of “traditional publishing” into the “book trade” with immediate global reach.
• Your reprint costs are typically lower than the price you paid for your initial order; usually 80%-90% off retail!
• Your book can be published in 6 months or less. (Resources may take longer depending upon how complex they are.)
• We pay competitive royalties on the trade sales we deliver; 15%-50%.

2. Request a Publishing and Marketing Proposal. Once we have your completed application and questionnaire we have almost enough information to prepare a customized publishing & marketing proposal. Because relationships are important to us, we’d like to schedule a time to have a conversation. Please let us know when would be the most convenient time to call?

3. Tell us in what formats would you like to see your message developed?

(Check all that apply)

 Printed Book* E-Book Curriculum or Small Group Resource On-line Course Audio Book Mobile App Other**

How many copies do you anticipate selling in the first year through your own efforts?

If you'd like additional formats made, please indicate what formats, separated by commas.

4. Request a Manuscript Review - Every author should have an objective, professional evaluation of their writing done, especially if you are not a seasoned author who has already penned multiple books.

We can provide you with a professional editor’s objective, written review to help you improve and tighten your writing. The manuscript review fee is $299 for books that are 15,000 words or less or $399 for books that are more than 15,000 words. However, your manuscript review is FREE if you publish with BSP. We will deduct the full cost of your manuscript review from your invoice for your first order of books should you decided to publish with HigherLife. You (quite literally) have nothing to lose! You can always choose to skip this step if you don’t want this service.

I would like a manuscript review:  Yes No

5. Which of the following marketing services are you interested in having us provide?

 Billion Soul Network e-blast Strategy Billion Soul Network Banner ads Having us secure Key Leader Endorsements for your Book Having us secure a Key Leader's Forward for your Book Strategic Marketing Plans Bookstore (trade) Distribution Website Development Social Media Marketing Blog Tours Flyers, Bookmarks, Postcards, and Direct Mail Tabletop Displays, Banners and Exhibits Publicity and Public Relations Copyrighting Branding, Packaging and Logo Design