The entire plan was this:
1) We would create a company, get it registered with the state, and obtain an EIN from the federal government for tax purposes. The company would essentially be a publishing house, and we would build our branding around it. There was concern about establishing credibility with the contest, and the main thought behind the company is that it would come across with more validity than I would independently. I would essentially just become one of the author’s associated with the company.
2) The company would then publish Denver Nights exclusively as an eBook. We’d lose some of the market to those who would only read hard copies (I fell into that category myself). But…we’d save on printing and shipping costs. Besides, eBooks and eReaders were steadily gaining ground.
3) We would use an established online eBook vendor. This would avoid us needing to develop our own eCommerce website, and would further leverage the vendor’s existing customer service and support departments.
4) We would build our own website for promoting the book. To do so, we’d need to create graphics and logos, define each page and its purpose, and write out what each page would say. We would also have to figure out how to convey, as quickly as possible, the contest we were going to tie to the book.
5) The plan also called for establishing pages with the major online social media outlets. Everything would have link back to the website so people could read about the contest, and if interested, click another link to the eBook vendor where they could make a purchase.
6) In addition to the website and social media, we would also invest heavily in online advertising. Through my consulting work, I’d managed a few online advertising campaigns and had the contacts. My role would be to put together a plan that would let us get the word out to people. Lots of them. Maybe a million or more.
7) We also conceded that we would need a professional book cover designer. For as much as I was putting into the words of the book, we couldn’t let it falter when it came to the cover. And it would take more than either of us could do. We needed a professional.
8) I would use my technical background to start learning about the intricacies of creating and formatting an eBook. There were tools available, but I needed to learn them, and see what sort of an effect it had on Denver Nights. What it did the spacing…the fonts.
9) One of the most critical factors would be the legality of the contest. From a high level it sounded feasible. But there might be more to it than we were thinking. It was something else we would need outside help on.
When we finally got all of the pieces identified, I think it was a little more than I, or my dad, had anticipated.
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