In this guide, podcasters find out the best author services to help achieve their goal of publishing a book.
Some authors are podcasters, but can podcasters transform themselves into authors, too? The straightforward answer is a resounding HELL YES. Sure, it might not be the plug-play-and-upload they’re used to, but with the right gauge of your dedication to the task, you can save time and money. By delegating your non-strengths to appropriate service providers, you can focus more on yourself as the brains behind the book.
Having a robust marketing background ourselves, we at Caret Publishing have one big realisation having managed clients in the sectors of business, finance, leadership, relationship, fitness, and life in general. After working with numerous online coaches in various sectors, we’ve realised that even though a business or personality has already established their brand with a specific audience through their chosen format and platform, no one could stop them from repurposing and expanding their already existing content both to further strengthen their hold of their market but to reach out to a whole new audience as well. Such is the prime case for podcasters repurposing their episodes into a niche non-fiction book or book series.
So if you’re a podcaster, YouTube blogger, or other similar digital content creator seriously looking into authorship, read further because this article is exactly for you. We say “deeply looking” because we know that authorship isn’t a decision you make overnight. It’s a big commitment to want to be a published author and there are several ways to go about it, namely through traditional publishing, hybrid publishing, and self-publishing.
For a more in-depth explanation on what are the differences between Traditional, Hybrid, and Self-Publishing, check out our article on it.
As for Author Services, here are five recommendations for podcasters and other online content creators looking to branch out to book publishing.
Book Coaching
Have a clear concept in mind that you want to run by a professional? If you’re at the stage where you know the general topic you want to write about and have several possible directions that you’re considering but aren’t sure which way is best, then you probably need a book coach.
If you need valuable lessons about writing, you might as well get it from a professional, who is usually an established developmental editor and/or writer, and there are tons of reputable and experienced book and publishing experts that are reachable online. They usually offer paid consultation calls that last from 40 minutes to two hours. Recurring programs may also be optional and can provide more thorough lessons and training about the craft of book writing and publishing.
One reliable platform is Reedsy, where you can find coaches whose price varies around $50-$300 per hour depending on their background and list of achievements. The only thing you need to be more critical of is their chosen book genres. Also, if you’re planning to write a niche non-fiction book, say ‘How to Successfully Launch a Podcast about Financial Planning,’ it helps if the coach has some experience in business, branding, or finance.
Transcription
Supposing you’ve done the consultation and the insights from the coach have been very valuable. The next important step to take is to look at your existing content (aka your podcast episodes) and ask yourself: “Which of these fit well in my book or that I could use as inspiration for my book chapters, or outright repurpose?”
This brings us to hiring a transcriptionist. Again, there are tons of freelance platforms on the Internet that have highly skilled and experienced professionals ready to take on the job of turning your podcast recordings into text. Getting a transcriptionist will save you so much writing time. If you want to go full-on AI, there are already several good paid software and tools available. Some of them are: Google Cloud Speech-to-Text, Otter AI, AssemblyAI, and OpenAI’s Whisper.
One article explains it best: that turning your existing content into a book has several attractive benefits. Although they’re talking about the blog-to-book process, the same applies to podcast-to-book. This highlights the fact that you don’t have to start from scratch when it comes to writing an entire book. Save for making sure that you seek clearance from people who participated as guests in your program, you’re at liberty to reuse your content however you want.
Ghostwriting
We get it. Full-time content creators, including podcasters, are extremely busy individuals. We’ve worked with them and the amount of back and forth we’ve had to go through to secure meetings can take a lot of time. And we are not complaining but are merely citing an observation of just how your schedule as both the face and the production team behind your brand can get quite hectic. Thankfully, just like the transcription service, hiring a professional to help you transform your podcast words into book-worthy texts is possible in the form of a ghostwriter.
Especially in non-fiction literature, although not everyone uses a ghostwriter, it is neither an unusual nor frowned upon practice in the book industry. It’s ethical and legal, given the circumstances and a proper contract between the ghostwriter and the contractor is put in place at the start of the work. Ghostwriters are how an A-list Hollywood actor is able to find time in between making back-to-back-to-back movies and still come out with a 450-page memoir at the end of the year.
Use ghostwriters if you can’t commit yourself to finishing a book. Depending on your budget, you can find good ones on freelancer websites, such as Fiverr and Upwork, or hire through an agency, such as The Ghostwriters Agency and London Ghostwriting.
Editing
If you have finished a draft of your book (ghostwritten or not), chances are you may have cleaned it up many times, too. If you’re ready to show your work to more people other than your mother and best friend, then those people should be professional editors.
We’ve identified in another article the three main types of editing, but at this stage, unless you feel that you aren’t satisfied with the book’s content, you can skip getting a developmental editor and go straight to hiring a copy and line editor, and then a proofreader. Even if you are a skilled editor yourself, a good rule of thumb when writing books is that you should never edit your work for being “too close” to it. We at Caret Publishing proactively support this viewpoint, but you should never edit your book alone.
Graphic Design
Children’s books aren’t the only ones that need ample services from illustrators and artists. With the array of subcategories, including how-to, business, companion, memoir and more, hiring a graphic designer who can help make batch design work for your manuscript.
Not only that, but every book is not complete without a cover! People indeed judge books by what they look like from the outside. So imagine if you have a bestseller in the making in your hands, unfortunately, you settled with a poorly done, uninspired book cover, so the 10,000-sales potential turned into a measly 100 copies sold.
Conclusion
Audience expansion is without a doubt a must for podcasters, YouTube bloggers, and other digital content creators. If you are one and are planning to revolutionise your brand from being “just a hobby” or “side hustle” into a legitimate information-driven, money-making empire, turn to book publishing.
Caret Publishing is a small press and imprint of niche non-fiction books.If you are a podcaster with an idea, feel free to send us a book proposal or the first three chapters of your manuscript. Go to Submit Your Work for submission details.
Caret also provides select author services for aspiring self-publishers. Go to our Author Services page for more information.