To promote herself and her business, JL wants to write a book.
But she isn’t quite sure how to get her book into print.
“It feels like getting a book published is challenging,” she writes. “Would it not be easier to self-publish?”
Others have asked me the same question over the years. “What’s better?” an interviewer asked me just the other day. “Self-publishing or traditional publishing?”
It’s the wrong question.
Self-publishing is not inherently better than traditional publishing. Nor is the reverse true.
Actually, there are three basic options: traditional publishing, self-publishing, and electronic publishing. And the choice of which is right for you depends on your reasons for writing a book in the first place.
Option #1. Traditional publishing
Of the three options, selling your book to a mainstream publisher is the most prestigious. So when you want to write a book to help establish yourself as an expert in your field, that is often the best option.
Most stock market newsletter editors, for example, write at least one book for a mainstream publishing house.
Reason: It adds to their credibility, helping them sell subscriptions.
The drawbacks of going with a mainstream publisher are twofold.
First, book publishers are notoriously lousy at marketing, so your book may not sell very many copies.
Second, you earn only a small royalty — on average, 10 percent or less — for each copy sold.
Option 2. Self-publishing a physical book
Self-publishing your book as a paperback or hardcover makes sense when you want to use it as a marketing tool. As information marketing pioneer Jeffrey Lant says, “A book is a brochure that will never be thrown away.”
Professional speakers, for example, typically send a free copy of their book, along with their sales materials, to every potential client.
The more professionally written, designed, and printed it is, the more impressed your prospects will be. Ideally, your self-published book should look no different than hardcovers or trade paperbacks from major publishers.
When you buy your own book from a traditional publisher, you get a 50 percent author’s discount. With self-publishing, your cost per copy is much less. As a result, authors who give away a lot of their books can save a lot of money with self-publishing.
Option 3. Self-publishing your book as an e-book
Self-publishing your book as a downloadable PDF file — an “e-book” — is the clear choice when you want to (a) sell your book on the Internet and (b) maximize your profits.
Why are e-books so profitable?
For one thing, you can charge more money for less content than you can with a regular book.
Most traditionally published business books are at least 200 pages — around 80,000 words. They sell for at least $15 in paperback or $20 in hardcover.
For an e-book, you can charge anywhere from $29 to $49 per copy. More if it is on a specialized topic. And although length varies, a $29 e-book can be only 50 pages — about 15,000 words. That means it costs as much as — or more than — a paperback or hardcover containing only one-fifth the text.
Plus, you deliver an e-book to the buyer over the Internet as a PDF file. There are no printing, storage, fulfillment, or shipping costs, so your profit margin on each sale is extremely high.
By comparison, authors who publish with mainstream publishers get a royalty averaging 10 percent of the book’s cover price. The margin in self-publishing physical books is usually about 50 percent. But with e-books, the margin can be close to 100 percent.
Option 4. Traditional publishing/self-publishing
Some online marketers, including Michael Masterson, take advantage of a fourth option.
They sell their books to a mainstream publishing house for bookstore distribution. But they retain the right to sell the content as physical books or e-books — or both — to their own customer lists.
“In golf, there’s an old saying,” says Michael. “You drive for show and putt for dough. Trade book publishing is driving. Direct marketing to your list is putting.”
In my ETR home study course, the Internet Cash Generator, I share a simple yet proven process for publishing and selling e-books online.
It has worked for me, generating a passive Internet income of more than a thousand dollars a day.
For more information, click here now
[Ed. Note: Bob Bly is a freelance copywriter and the author of more than 70 books. To subscribe to his free e-zine, The Direct Response Letter, and claim your free gift worth $116, click here now: www.bly.com/reports]
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More wealth, health, and wisdom from Masterson…
Ever since “Cash for Clunkers” was announced, I’ve said it wouldn’t work. And when the government said it was a success (and the mainstream media parroted that view), I didn’t change my mind.
Yes, auto sales jumped during the program. But that reduces future demand for new cars. Time will tell how much.
The immediate concern, says Investor’s Daily Edge Investment Director Bob Irish, is the effect it’s had on dealers. Turns out 60,000 or 70,000 rebates have been rejected. The $3,500 to $4,500 credits were already knocked off the sales price, but the claims were denied by the Fed.
Denials caused by simple clerical errors can be fixed. But if a denial is upheld, the dealer will have to absorb the loss. For businesses already operating on the edge, too many denials could shut them down.
Here’s something to keep in mind when you meet with a professional — an attorney, accountant, broker, doctor, etc. The practicing professional, like all businesspeople, has two jobs:
- To provide a service
- To sell that service
Your job, as a consumer, is twofold:
- To evaluate how good his service will be
- To make a buying decision that is best for you, not him
To accomplish your goal, go into introductory meetings with specific objectives in mind. To evaluate the quality of his services, bring a list of questions to ask him. Prepare that list by talking to friends and colleagues and by researching articles about what to expect. If the meeting will be an hour long, spend two hours preparing for it.
If the professional is really good at what he does, his answers will impress you. But resist the urge to make an immediate decision. At the end of the meeting, thank him for his time and tell him that you will be sending him a memo responding to what he has told you.
Go home and review your notes. (Did I mention that you should take notes?) If you are happy with his answers and suggestions — and you have a good gut feeling about his character — write a memo outlining the benefits and services you want him to provide. Be specific. And tell him what you don’t want, too. At the end of the memo, ask for a written proposal. (When you receive his proposal, you can call or write him back to negotiate a better rate.)
Send the memo within 48 hours, while the details of the meeting are fresh in your mind.
Don’t try to make him like you. Don’t try to be his friend. Don’t allow him to use his expertise to humble you. He is going to be working for you. You are in charge of the relationship, not him.
Prescription anti-depressants have been linked to birth defects, suicide, and violence. “So why take the chance?” asks Total Health Breakthrough’s Melanie Segala. Especially when there are so many natural therapies that can help.
Take acupuncture. In a review of 35 studies, researchers from the University of Hong Kong found:
- Acupuncture was just as effective as anti-depressants in improving the symptoms of major depression.
- In people with post-stroke depression, acupuncture was better at improving symptoms.
- With acupuncture, the incidence of adverse events was much lower than with anti-depressants.
Pretty convincing evidence, in my opinion. So if your doctor tries to give you pills, try acupuncture instead.
There is a way to get the same results as acupuncture — without the needles. In fact, you can do it yourself, relieving pain and stress while improving your well-being. Check it out here.
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“I love your information, and think you are right on.”
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