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Home | Featured Articles | Making Money with Books
 





Making Money with Books
By Bill Quain
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Making Money with Books

In this four-part series, author and publisher Bill Quain, Ph.D. tells speakers, consultants and authors how to create multiple income streams with self-published books.  "The money is out there," says Quain.  "From writing your own book to publishing books that others write, there are plenty of opportunities."

Bill Quain is the author of 17 books, and the owner of Wales Publishing Company.  Bill has sold 2.2 million copies of his own books, in 20 languages.  He travels the world speaking to groups of all sizes on free enterprise and wealth building.  In June of this year, he will release "The Publisher's Toolkit - A Complete Guide to Making Money as a Publisher."

Part I - Writing Books That Sell

If you are writing a book, why not write one that sells?  Your book can sell a lot of things.  It can sell itself, but it can also sell you, an idea, or your publishing company.  Books generate income by giving you credibility and exposure.  A book allows people to literally "feed" on your ideas over time.  The reader can pick the book up, read, pause, think about what you say, then read some more.  It is difficult to go out and buy this kind of exposure.

Books have a certain feel to them.  They hold a ton of information in a small package.  Even the new electronic book by Amazon, the Kindle, is popular.  Readers can still hold it in their laps.  It has substance.

I want to show you how easy it is to actually write a book, and how simple it is to write a book that makes money.  In later articles in this series, I will show you how to make money by setting up your own publishing company, while letting other people do the writing.

Books That Sell

You need two things in order to sell books - a topic people care about, and an audience that reads.  Sound simple?  Well, in theory, it is.  But I have seen many, many authors who miss one, or both of these targets.  They write a book that interests them, not their audience.  And, many people write books that have no audience - or at least not an audience that reads (and buys!)

I once saw a Dilbert comic strip that really captured the spirit of what I am saying.  Here is how it went.  (Dilbert was talking to Dogbert.) 

Dogbert:  "I am going to write a book and make a lot of money."

Dilbert:  "What are you going to write about?"

Dogbert:  "I am going to write a book about compulsive shoppers."

Dilbert:  "What do you know about compulsive shoppers?"

Dogbert:  "I know they buy books!"

Isn't that a great story?  Dogbert (a talking dog) did not say he was going to write a book for dogs.  Why?  Dogs do not buy books!  Instead, he decided to write for a market that buys.  You need to do the same thing.

Remember, you are not writing a book that you want to read.  You may not care if anyone actually reads the book.  You only care if they buy the book.

One of my early books was called Selling Your Services to the Meetings Market.  It only sold about 7,000 copies.  My friend Dave bought the book, and liked it so much that he gave it to all his salespeople to read.  He told me one day, "I require every one of my new people to read this book.  It is falling apart because so many salespeople have read it over the years.  Doesn't it make you feel good that your words have been seen by so many readers?"

"No," I cried.  "I hate it.  I would feel much happier if you bought them each a copy!"

Now, Dave is a fantastic guy, and an incredible businessman.  He has booked me for a lot of events, and he really knows what he is doing.  He was just kidding when he asked me this question.  But it raises a great point - why are you writing a book?  If it's not because you want to make money, then this series of articles is not for you.

There is nothing wrong with writing books for reasons other than money.  It just isn't something that interests me.  I was a college professor for over 25 years, and there was always pressure on us to write and publish articles and books.  But, the college HATED it when we made money on our writing.  I decided, early in my career, that I would not let that stop me. 

How I Started Writing for Money

One of my good friends, a professor like me, made a fortune writing textbooks.  I asked him to help me get started, and he did.  But he was in a subject area with lots and lots of students (book buyers) and my discipline had far fewer.  It soon became apparent that I needed to do some other kind of writing

I turned from textbooks to trade books - books on marketing and selling that were aimed at people in business.  This was a slightly better market, but, as you can see from the example above, it still did not make a lot of money.  However, as I did more speaking, and pushed my books at every opportunity, I started to get requests from trade associations to do special editions of my books just for them.

Credibility through Association

Trade associations are an excellent sub-market for business writers.  Trade associations have members, and those people buy information from authors that the association recommends.  It is instant credibility.  My book How to Write a Marketing Plan became How to Write an Exhibitor Marketing Plan for the International Exhibitors Association.  10 Places Where Money Is Hidden in Your Business... & how to find it!  morphed into editions for the Restaurant, Hotel, Special Events, and Bowling Centers industries, as their trade associations asked for specialized books.

It was during this time that I learned a very valuable lesson - one that produced some substantial income streams.  When you write a business book, use a formula that makes it easy to customize.  For example, in my 10 Places Where Money Is Hidden series, the first five chapters are almost identical in each edition.  The big difference is in the sixth chapter, the last chapter.  This is where I put the "10 Places Where Money Is Hidden" for that industry.  When I get a call to do a specialized book it is not difficult to create a customized product.

Develop Sponsorships

It was during my "Trade Book" days that I learned the value of sponsorships.  Most trade associations have two kinds of members - full members, and allied members.  For example, the exhibitors' association's full members were exhibitors.  They traveled from trade show to trade show.  They were from large companies, like Xerox, Johnson & Johnson, etc.  The allied members were companies that sold things to the full members.  (Almost every trade association is the same.)  It turns out the allied members are always looking for ways to promote their products and services to the full members.  As an author, this is a golden opportunity to make money!

For example, when I was asked to be a speaker at the Florida Restaurant Association's annual trade show, I wrote 10 Places Where Money Is Hidden In Your Restaurant... & how to find it!, and pre-sold advertising space throughout the book to EXHIBITORS who would be at the show.  Each advertiser received copies to give away.  I had the books at my presentation as well.

We called the book "permanent advertising" because of the title.  Think about it.  Who is going to throw a book away that has secret information about where money is hidden?  It was an easy sell to the advertisers.

Another Lesson - Motivated Readers

Although my trade publishing has been a good source of income, it cannot compare to a marketplace where people are looking for information.  In 1993, a young man introduced me to the Direct Selling, Multi-Level Marketing (DS/MLM) world.  This is where the vast majority of my book sales take place, even today.  People in the DS/MLM industry have one thing that every book author wants in an audience.  They have PROBLEM RECOGNITION.

DS/MLM distributors are driven.  Each of them is in his or her own business to make money.  However, no one learns how to make money in school or on a job.  It just isn't taught.  So, the distributors get into their business, and all of a sudden, they realize they do not know how to sell, recruit, or build their business.  They are looking for some training materials to solve that problem.  This is exactly what you want in an audience - people with a problem, who want your books to help them solve that problem.

I love the DS/MLM industry, and the people in it.  They are dreamers and achievers.  My first book for the market, Reclaiming the American Dream, sold about 175,000 copies.  Later, Pro-sumer Power sold over 1 million copies.  It landed me in the Independent Book Publishers Hall of Fame.

One of the other advantages to the DS/MLM field was the number of distributors who sold my books wholesale.  This made my job a lot easier.  Yes, it meant giving huge discounts, but that is the way to get a lot of books into the market quickly.  Unlike book stores, these distributors did not burden me with a lot of unsold returns.  When they ordered books, they never returned them.

My Self-Publishing Education

Reclaiming the American Dream was my sixth book, and the first one I self-published.  I had a big advantage, however.  My parents owned a small publishing company called "Wales Publishing".  My mother was an author, and Wales published some of her books, as well as a few other authors.  They helped me get my books into print.  I was hooked immediately on the concept of self-publishing.

You will learn more about the advantages of publishing your own books in a later article, but let me just tell you the biggest one - you get to keep all the money!  In addition, you can customize books, get them into print more quickly, negotiate sponsorships, etc.  I was amazed at the benefits.

Build Your Audience

As my reputation in the marketplace grew, it was easier to sell more books.  My readers wanted more.  Not only did my books help them solve personal business problems, they could give my books to other people as recruiting and training tools.  This, in turn, made my readers money as their downline distributors grew in both number and effectiveness.

More importantly, by meeting with my readers, I learned even more about their problems, and created new titles to help solve the problems.  I was traveling widely, speaking at conventions and meetings.  I learned to develop multiple income streams by combining speaking fees with back-of-the-room sales.  With every tool, and every new title, my business base grew.  This led to even more demand.

Markets Change, Keep Moving Forward

Unfortunately, the demand for books in the DS/MLM industry is not what it used to be.  However, there are still many great markets out here.  You just have to stay flexible, and adjust your message to find opportunities.  You can sell books in so many new ways, without depending on a long chain of resellers. 

Bill Ashby, my partner in the "Publisher's Toolkit" program, is a printer in Tampa, Florida.  His company, A & A Printing, is printing 40 different titles per month, year-round.  That is about 500 new titles from just one printer!  And these books are selling.  Bill gets reorders from many of the self-publishing authors who use his service.  (Look for "The Publisher's Toolkit" in June, and you can start making money from authors too!)

Many of Bill's customers are speakers.  Most of them are not getting rich from book sales, but almost all of them are adding impressive income streams.  They are learning to find sponsors, co-branding with organizations, and developing packages with books and electronic media.

Let's Talk About YOU

Are you ready to start making more money, booking more engagements, and developing joint ventures with associations and organizations?  If so, then you need a book!  Here are ten steps to help you.

  1. Find a Market - You want to identify people who will buy your book.  If you are a speaker, this is greatly simplified.  Who hires you to speak?  These are the people who want to hear more from you.
     
  2. Choose a Topic - Again, this is easier if you are a speaker already.  You probably have several topics.  Which one is the most popular?  Which one gets people most excited?  You want readers who are passionate about a subject.
     
  3. Solve a Problem - The best-selling books for speakers sell briskly because they solve a problem.  Clearly identify people who have a problem, who know they have a problem, and who want you to solve it.  Then, write the book that makes them happy.
     
  4. Save Some Things for the Next Book - Do not put it all in one book!  Keep your books short.  Solve one problem at a time.  Once you establish yourself as a problem solver, your readers will want more.  If you put it all in the first book, you will have nothing left!
     
  5. Finish Your Book by Starting - There are a lot of unfinished books out there, but not nearly as many as un-started books.  Just start writing.
     
  6. Hire Professionals - If you have never written a book before, think about hiring a good editor.  The editor can save you a lot of time.  You can also find layout and cover designers, marketers who help you create a title, and even ghost writers who will do the whole thing!
     
  7. Use Blogs to Help Write the Book - Does the task of writing an entire book sound too daunting?  Start off with a Blog and write a little at a time.  Get feedback and comments from readers, and grow your book.
     
  8. Do Not Wait, Find Sponsors - You do not have to wait until the book is finished to find sponsors.  Start selling as soon as you have the outline.  (Many new authors are worried that someone will steal their idea.  While it can happen, it is unlikely.) 
     
  9. Copyright Everything - Did I scare you with #8?  No problem.  Put a copyright statement on everything you do.  Send yourself a sealed copy in the mail.
     
  10. Plan to Self-Publish - It is easier if you plan to self-publish from the beginning of the project.  Budget some money for the layout and design work, and for an initial printing of 100 copies of the book.  You can always send copies of the self-published book to agents or publishers if you think they might be interested.  However, self-publishing allows you to quickly recoup the costs of writing a book. 

Coming up...watch for the next three articles in this series:

Part II - Anatomy of a Self-Published Book, From Manuscript to First Run

Part III - Create a Successful Publishing Company, Your New Low-Risk & High-Profit Income Stream

Part IV - Branding with Books - Capture Mental Real Estate in your Customers' Minds 

Bill Quain, Ph.D.
805 5th Street
Ocean City, NJ 08226
 
(609) 399-2119
 
Bureau friendly site: www.achievemoreworkless.com

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

     

 

 

 

 

 




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