Your First Impression Matters

Once readers discount the quality of an author’s work, few give them a second chance.

Embrace the opportunity to exceed their expectations. They want an author who will grab their attention from the start and keep it all the way to the story’s satisfying end. A remarkable opportunity that you don’t want to waste.

Seize the opportunity by evaluating your work, make whatever changes required, and maximize your chances of winning the hearts and pocketbooks of readers.

Errors Happen If Writers Skip this Critical Step

You’ve devoted months, maybe even years, to getting your book ready to publish.

That’s commendable, and you’ve done more than most. However, what you do right now can make the difference between garnering a few sales and developing a loyal fan base. The latter means you’ll attract readers who can’t wait for your next book.

You can eliminate the problem of irritating errors slipping into your final draft by completing this step’s worksheet.

A Guide to Toughen Up Any Writer’s Thin Skin

This step is really a guide that will help you adopt a thick skin, one that will withstand the potential for less than ideal reviews.

You can’t please all the people all the time, and thus, you cannot eliminate all critical reviews because you’re dealing with people. What’s important is knowing and delivering what will please most of your target readers.

The worksheet serves as your checklist, building up your confidence that you’ve done everything possible to write a book readers will love.

The Worksheet Gives You a Plan to Reduce Errors

The worksheet asks you to consider the chief preferences of your target readers.

It’s like a scoresheet, but there’s no such thing as getting 100%. Instead, your aim is to do everything possible to:

• Deliver what your readers want.
• Get rid of those things that tick them off.

Your efforts will help to maximize the satisfaction readers perceive when they read your book.

Complete the Worksheet

The worksheet orders the questions in parallel with the Trellis Method steps.

Although you may feel as if you’ve already done everything possible for these steps, don’t discount the value of re-evaluating each. By design, your answer to each question will help you fulfill the expectations of readers. Thus, addressing each before you publish gives you another opportunity to please your target audience.

If you find something you feel would benefit from an update, it’s best to invest that time now.

Avoid the Problems that Disappoint Readers

At this point in the writing journey, some writers feel tired and they’re tempted to ignore the subtle but important signs that something needs their attention.

When that happens, embarrassing errors stay within the pages of their books. When readers find those errors, some write reviews that dissuade others from buying the book. Unfortunately, even if they fix and upload revised editions, those poor reviews from the earlier editions remain on retailers’ sites.

Avoid dings to your reputation and lost sales by completing the worksheet, and as needed, making updates before you publish.

Way Forward

By design, the worksheet will ask you to consider a wide range of story elements that influence the quality of your story and book.

• Think of it as a brief Trellis Method review.
• Many of the questions you’ll answer immediately based on your working knowledge of the manuscript.
• Other questions will ask you to double check, such as verifying the category where your book will show on retailers’ sites.
• All questions have the same purpose: deliver the best story desired by your readers.

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