Wednesday, December 19, 2007
How to Turn One Book Into a Full-Time Living By Peter Bowerman
Self-publishing: easier, more viable, and more lucrative than ever before
by Peter Bowerman
"The only reason to self-publish is because you can't land a publisher."
Call me crazy, but I disagree. For me, self-publishing was the first choice. Why? I wanted to keep control of the project and timetable, keep the rights, and, most importantly, keep most of the profits. How did it turn out? Well...
A Full-Time Income For over four years, my first book supported me full-time. Not "picking-out-chateaux-in-the-South-of-France" kind of money, but it paid all my bills (including two printings each year), allowed me to take some nice vacations, save a chunk of money and incur no new debt. When your per book profit (after expenses) is many times what you'd make with a publisher, you can be nicely profitable with much lower numbers.
A few caveats. My genre - non-fiction "how-to" - is, arguably, the easiest to self-publish (with straight non! -fiction second). Why? Not only is there an insatiable appetite for information in the buying public, but also with non-fiction "how-to," it's relatively easy to identify and pursue specific target audiences. Fiction is harder to self-publish but for first-time novelists, it's also far harder to attract a conventional publisher.
Second & Third Caveats All this advice applies if your goal is to have your book be a commercial success and if you have the time to market your masterpiece. If neither is the case, you'd be better off with a publisher or in a POD scenario, where your upfront investment is low or nonexistent (as will be, in all likelihood, your backend profits...). As for the time thing, though, if you're fantasizing that you'll find a publisher who will allow you to simply drop off your manuscript while they handle that whole "icky marketing thingy," think again.
Author Jessica Hatchigan (How to be Your Own Publicist) observed, "Authors who rece! ive modest advances for their books - and that's most authors ! - can ex pect scandalously little in marketing support from most publishers." Most publishers these days want to work with authors who come to them with, not only their book, but also a plan for promoting and marketing that book. So, if I still have to do most of the work for anemic royalty rates, self-publishing is worth a look.
Conventional vs. Unconventional Most publishing companies take the "shotgun" approach to promotion and publicity. Mass emailed press releases to mainstream media outlets. Mass-mailed and unsolicited review copies (with little or no follow up). EVERY single one of the roughly 500+ review copies I've sent out over the years went to someone with whom I'd communicated in advance. Yes, it takes more time, but yields far more "bang for the book."
As a self-publisher, you can focus on your title and find the most effective ways to promote it, as opposed to the above-described pub company model. By contrast, as a self-publisher, I go where the tr! affic is lighter, the reception is warmer and the people speak my language.
Source: http://www.articlebiz.com/article/117994-1-how-to-turn-one-book-into-a-full-time-living/
home based business idea, home based small business
by Peter Bowerman
"The only reason to self-publish is because you can't land a publisher."
Call me crazy, but I disagree. For me, self-publishing was the first choice. Why? I wanted to keep control of the project and timetable, keep the rights, and, most importantly, keep most of the profits. How did it turn out? Well...
A Full-Time Income For over four years, my first book supported me full-time. Not "picking-out-chateaux-in-the-South-of-France" kind of money, but it paid all my bills (including two printings each year), allowed me to take some nice vacations, save a chunk of money and incur no new debt. When your per book profit (after expenses) is many times what you'd make with a publisher, you can be nicely profitable with much lower numbers.
A few caveats. My genre - non-fiction "how-to" - is, arguably, the easiest to self-publish (with straight non! -fiction second). Why? Not only is there an insatiable appetite for information in the buying public, but also with non-fiction "how-to," it's relatively easy to identify and pursue specific target audiences. Fiction is harder to self-publish but for first-time novelists, it's also far harder to attract a conventional publisher.
Second & Third Caveats All this advice applies if your goal is to have your book be a commercial success and if you have the time to market your masterpiece. If neither is the case, you'd be better off with a publisher or in a POD scenario, where your upfront investment is low or nonexistent (as will be, in all likelihood, your backend profits...). As for the time thing, though, if you're fantasizing that you'll find a publisher who will allow you to simply drop off your manuscript while they handle that whole "icky marketing thingy," think again.
Author Jessica Hatchigan (How to be Your Own Publicist) observed, "Authors who rece! ive modest advances for their books - and that's most authors ! - can ex pect scandalously little in marketing support from most publishers." Most publishers these days want to work with authors who come to them with, not only their book, but also a plan for promoting and marketing that book. So, if I still have to do most of the work for anemic royalty rates, self-publishing is worth a look.
Conventional vs. Unconventional Most publishing companies take the "shotgun" approach to promotion and publicity. Mass emailed press releases to mainstream media outlets. Mass-mailed and unsolicited review copies (with little or no follow up). EVERY single one of the roughly 500+ review copies I've sent out over the years went to someone with whom I'd communicated in advance. Yes, it takes more time, but yields far more "bang for the book."
As a self-publisher, you can focus on your title and find the most effective ways to promote it, as opposed to the above-described pub company model. By contrast, as a self-publisher, I go where the tr! affic is lighter, the reception is warmer and the people speak my language.
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Bowerman is the self-published author of The Well-Fed Writer titles (www.wellfedwriter.com), multiple-award winning selections of Book-of-the-Month Club and others, and acclaimed "standards" in the field of lucrative commercial freelancing. Over 50,000 copies of his first two books in print have earned him a full-time living for over five years.
Bowerman is the self-published author of The Well-Fed Writer titles (www.we! llfedwri ter.com), multiple-award winning selections of Book-of-the-Month Club and others, and acclaimed "standards" in the field of lucrative commercial freelancing. Over 50,000 copies of his first two books in print have earned him a full-time living for over five years.
Source: http://www.articlebiz.com/article/117994-1-how-to-turn-one-book-into-a-full-time-living/
home based business idea, home based small business
# posted by Kek @ 6:01 AM 
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