The Profitable World of Self Publishing
Five years ago I was a professional speaker desperately in need
of my own book. After each presentation members of my audience
would approach me and ask if had a book or a tape for sale. The
need was obvious. The market existed. All I needed to do was
write a book and bring it to my audiences. This is how my first
book was born.
I wrote nonstop for two months and finally had it written and
illustrated with my own original cartoons. The question facing
me now was who would be chosen from among thousands of
publishers to bring my masterpiece to the waiting, eager
multitudes. After many submissions to numerous publishing houses
and many rejection slips, I finally found one who agreed to
publish my book. The problem was that they couldn't get around
to it for about a year and a half. I would receive 20% of the
retail cost of each copy sold and would have to do most of the
promotion myself.
This arrangement just wasn't satisfactory. I needed the book as
soon as possible and I wanted to receive more than 20% of each
copy sold. It was then that I decided to enter the world of self
publishing and started Lifeline Publications.
Five hundred copies of were printed as a test run and I sold
them all within the year as " back of the room" items at my
speeches and seminars. Since I wasn't on the road speaking 365
days of the year I wanted to have my book available for purchase
seven days a week whether I was speaking or not. I had my
webmaster create a store for me and connect it to my speaking
website. I was in business.
With well chosen and well directed advertising online and off I
began to receive orders in my mailbox and by email. As sales
increased so did the number of published items in my store. At
present I have a total of nine information products, manuals,
books, tapes, and special reports available for purchase.
In my first year as a publishing tycoon I sold 300 copies of
my products online alone and another 100 offline. Add these
sales to those at my talks and you can see that I was off and
running as a self publisher. The orders seem to increase in
number each month.
Writers are no longer dependent on the acceptance and approval
of editors and publishers. Using the internet as well as offline
classified ads in popular magazines you can bring your writing
directly to a wide and eager market. People are always seeking "
how to" information. In fact the most sought after items on the
internet are information products. So if you research peoples'
needs, wants and interests then write to satisfy them you are
going to sell effectively..
Self publishing is simple and cost effective especially if you
print on demand. You don't print a copy of your product until
you get an order for that product. By doing this you avoid the
cost of having 500 copies printed plus having to find storage
space in your already cluttered basement.
If you have the writing bug and have received enough rejection
slips to wallpaper a bedroom, try self publishing. When that
first order comes in you will feel great satisfaction and a
surge of self confidence which will, inevitably, result in more
sales. You will be on your way to conquering the world of self
publishing. GOOD LUCK!