How would you like to write your own book, or guide, and publish it yourself! In this first article I'm going to give you ideas on what to write and why self publishing has been very lucrative for many people. Writing your own material can prove to be the most profitable and self satisfying of all. Especially when you write AND publish it yourself.
This is called Self Publishing. Many people use this phrase to describe publishing other peoples material. In fact Self Publishing is where the actual author bypasses all the middlemen, deals directly with a printer, and then handles the marketing and distribution. The writer has overseen everything from sitting down with a blank page to the final marketing and distribution.
Self Publishing has been going for a lot longer than you probably imagine. In fact it has solid North American roots - and very early roots at that! Whilst today many of the success stories are in the non-fiction business, in the 19th century onwards many fiction authors elected to go their own way after being turned down by regular publishers. Well known Self Publishers include: Mark Twain, Zane Grey, Upton Sinclair, Carl Sandburg, James Joyce, D.H Lawrence, Ezra Pound, Edgar Rice Burroughs, Stephen Crane, Mary Baker Eddy, George Bernard Shaw, Edgar Allen Poe, Rudyard Kipling, Henry David Thoreau, Richard Nixon, and many many more.
No Time To Write?
You may be thinking you haven't enough time to write. Think again. Here's a few examples of writers who have found time to put a few words down on paper.
CHARLES HAMILTON, alias Frank Richards who wrote Billy Bunter used to average writing 80,000 words a week! His lifetime output was at least 72 million words!
GEORGES SIMENON, creator of Inspector Maigret, wrote a novel of 200 pages in 8 days. In April 1973 he completed his 214th and last novel under his own name of which 78 were about Inspector Maigret. He has also written 300 other novels under 19 other pen names since 1919.
ISSAC ASIMOV, the science fiction genius wrote 76 books in 76 months! He also turned out a non fiction book in 70 hours. The list goes on and on of prolific writers. But you don't have to be prolific to write 700 words a day.
What to write about?
In the non fiction area anything that is going to help a person in some way. Here are a few ideas...
make people happier, make more money, save money, advance in business/work, more leisure time, improved health, a positive image, loved, appreciated, creative, respected, accomplish something important, enjoy life, travel to exciting places.....the list is endless. Providing people with helpful information can help make you many sales. By writing the right book, or guide, can make you a solid gold fortune. For instance a Self Publisher who wrote and published a guide on local country walks sold over 2,000 copies in the first two months of release.
Self Publishing Sales and Income Potential
To show you the potential of writing and publishing your own book I have listed below some actual sales figures and sales income released by the Small Business Research Council in the USA a few years ago. You'll notice some titles and ideas wouldn't have seemed a possible case for making money selling the book.
35,000.....HOW TO BUILD YOUR OWN SWIMMING POOL FOR LESS THAN $500 by Joe Karbo (by the way Joe Karbo's huge seller Lazy Mans Way to Riches sold 200,000 in it's very first year)
95,000....WINNING AT THE RACES MIGHT NOT BE YOUR IDEA OF FUN, BUT......by Joe Karbo.
150,000....GET OUT OF DEBT IN 90 MINUTES WITHOUT BORROWING by Joe Karbo
109,201....HOW TO FORM YOUR OWN CORPORATION WITHOUT A LAWYER FOR UNDER $50 by Ted Nichols. Ted also has nine other fast selling books.
71,000....HOW AND WHERE TO RAISE CAPITAL by David Magee who earns $5,000 a DAY from a few of his self published books.
$500,000 a year.....HOW TO MAKE MONEY WRITING SHORT PARAGRAPHS by Benson Barrett. He uses the title of his book for his advertisement headline.
10,000 - 15,000 a month....AUTHENTIC DICTIONARY OF CB SLANG by Wayne Floyd. His first edition was in small separate folios which sold so well he expanded it into a 60 page book.
$500 a day....FORMULA REPORT by Jerry Buchanan.
205,000.... VERMONT FOLK MEDICINE
108,000.....SUCCESSFUL HOMEMAKING
This is just a small section, but gives you an idea of the diverse topics that people are willing to pay money for. Don't believe you have to be a great literate writer to write a book. If you just remember to write the way you talk. Effective writing is simple writing. Pretend the sort of person who will be reading your book or guide is sitting opposite you. Be informal. Everyone has a book inside them. You are no different. What you feel may not be of interest to anyone else just might be of interest to thousands of other people. Never assume your own knowledge is worthless. The chances are your thoughts can give you an excellent extra income.
In my second article coming soon I will go deeper into peoples WANTS, which will help you decide on choosing your subject matter. I will also be covering the area of research. How and where to find the material on your chosen subject.
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