For a lot of people,
publishing a book may look like it costs lots of money.
For example, on a short-run press, this book costs around $2.10 to
print.
For the uninitiated, self-publishing is one of the easiest ways to
make money
in the world. Of course, it requires some talent, but they are easy
to learn.
Take a look:
1. Choose a subject to write about. Select something you enjoy or
want to
know more about yourself. As just an example, we'll use "Household
Hints"
2. Now, to collect the information to put in my book about
"household hints"
I would go visit my mother, talk to my aunts and cousins, call
friends on the
phone, and in general _ ask everybody I came into contact with to
give me their favorite "household hint." After a few months I'd have
a
lot of stuff.
3. At this point I would start categorizing all this information.
I'd put
all the stuff about "kitchen tips" in a separate file from "home
remedies".
Each separate file would be a new chapter in my book.
4. Then I'd begin typing out my book on a computer or typewriter. If
I were
to type the book myself, I would simply number each tip as 1, 2, 3,
4, 5
with a heading for each tip.
5. Okay. Now the book is ready to print. You've read everything and
there
are no misspelled words or obvious grammar mistakes. You are ready
to
see the final result of your labors. How much will it cost? Let's
assume
that my "household hints" book is going to measure 5" wide by 8"
tall
(like a sheet of 8 1/2x11" paper folded in half.) There are 2 pages
on
each side or 4 pages front and back. These are the best size for
mail
order unless you write a 100-page novel.
My "Household Hints" book would be a total of 24 pages. That means
it will take both sides of 6 sheets of 8 1/2x11" paper to print each
one of my books. That includes the cover and everything.
Based on standard mail order prices, you could have 250 of these
books
printed for $109 or about 44c each. 1,000 would run even less _ $200
or
about 20c each. That's cheap! Even if I sell each one for just $3,
I'll make over $500 profit.
Another method of saving money with printing of booklets is to have
the mail order printer print them at the same price you would pay
for
8 1/2x11", 2-sided printing (around $25 per 1,000) without having
them
collated, folded and stapled. This way, your cost would only be a
total
of $150 per 1,000 or 15c per booklet.
This method is great if you want to do some of the work yourself.
Your only expense would be a saddle stitcher from an office supply
store. This is a long-armed stapler and the cost is around $45.
Of course you would not want to make this investment if you were
only
going to be publishing one book per year _ but if you plan to go
into
Page 1
heavy production, it would be worth your while. I personally don't
care
to do this myself because I'm saving tons of money. I'll get paid in
the
long run for my time.
6. Now, the only thing left to do to make my book a success is to
sell them
and make some money back. One idea would be to call all the people
who
gave me the information for the book. I'd put a price tag of $5 on
the
cover and offer it to my friends and co-workers at a discount of
$3 or $2. Everyone whose name or contribution is in a published book
will want a copy for a keepsake _ at least.
It's not that hard to create your own money-maker. There's no hidden
secret
to it. You don't have to pay $29.95 for the same information. We're
GIVING
it to you free of charge.
Every single human being has a book inside of them! Everybody knows
something that other people don't and everybody has interests that
other
people don't have the time to learn about. There is a subject that
interests
you that would interest others. Guaranteed!
So, get busy. Pick a subject, gather the information and type it up!
You'll
be a hero before you know it. Neighbors will begin to label you as a
notorious writer. You'll be able to hold your head high, and you'll
be
able to start putting ",Writer" at the end of your name on your
business
letters. Won't that be something?
