Prologue
Books can be boring. Reading a book can be even more boring to many people. To some, this is their personal qualm and sentiment, something that should be respected. After all, all people have their individual preferences. But have you heard how books and e-books have changed other people’s lives? How they become rich without having to work hard? Are these enough motivation to make you write your own book?
The Benefits of Writing a Book
A lot of people nowadays are not so receptive with the idea of writing or publishing a book. People write books for many considerable reasons. Some would say it can be self-nourishing. For others, it is self-motivating. But, generally, for most people, it is income-generating. People reading your published books can invigorate their inner souls. Inspirational books are now being embraced by more followers and subscribers for these directly benefit them financially. A great example is the popular book, “Chicken Soup for the Soul” by brilliant writers Jack Canfield, Mark Victor Hansen and Amy Newmark. For web developers and designers, writing a book or an e-book can be a productive way to enhance the writing skills and share knowledge to other people, a productive way of educating individuals of the important things in life. By doing so, it is an amazing process of giving knowledge and generating money respectively. 
Image from Flickr
You help someone
When you read books, usually, you get inspiration and guides to better lives. Some books change your outlook in life. You didn’t know it later that you became a better person. 
Image from Flickr
You learn to educate yourself
You are forced to study, do research and organize facts and figures which you are meant to digest it.
You gain respect
In writing a book, you are actually writing something for other people. You gradually become more sensitive. You tend to appreciate writing more than the way you could never imagine.
You become an effective conversationalist
Have you felt that expressing your thoughts or ideas verbally is hard? It is easier to express them through writing, isn’t it? In turn, writing becomes a tool to better communication to express your feelings very well.
You become more valuable
Image from Flickr You are THE ONE! As soon as you have a book under your name, a lot of people will value you more and give you importance. Some will hire you and pay you more.
You Can Be a Writer Superstar!
Everyone can be writer and publish your very first book. Possessing a can-do attitude, surely, there is no reason for you to become one. Yes, YOU can.
There is no passion to be found playing small – in settling for a life that is less than the one you are capable of living. —Nelson Mandela
For web designers and developers that are just starting, here are some ideas. Image from Flickr
Start fresh, start small
Big fires comes from small fires. A 400-word article a day is enough already. Later on, you just don’t know your masterpiece is selling like hotcakes.
Set a “date” with your book every day
Treating your book like partner can help a lot. You can also set a “call-off” but just don’t make it too long or else you get less motivated to continue writing.
Create an outline
Having an outline is very important. It is the skeleton of every article. It is what guides you.
Break an idea into smaller ideas
Image from Flickr Think of your book is like your life cycle. You have your infancy, adolescence and old age. Having a clear division will help you write with ease.
Find a comfortable place to write
Good ventilation and a well-lighted place can influence you write effectively. It is like giving yourself a new dimension when you start brainstorming.
How Much Income Can You Get?
Image from Flickr
What genres/categories are people buying?
There are still more people who like to spend time reading any kind of books. E-book consumers are becoming more diverse in their format preferences, though. According to Randomhouse,
“Notable trends from 2012 include e-commerce taking the lead as the largest channel for book sales, growth in the eBooks category, and paperbacks remaining the most popular format for readers. The first quarter of 2013 shows more women and older consumers buying books, continued growth for eBooks, and more iPads being used for eBook downloads. We’ve created an infographic to highlight consumer book buying trends from the past year.”
According to OnlineIncomeTeacher: There are two royalty rates offered by Amazon;
70% of the cover price if the book is priced between £1.49 and £6.99
35% for titles priced at 75p.
This means, you have to cut the price of your book down. The cheaper the book, the more it will sell. Amazon lets you sell for as little as $0.99 in the US and £0.75 in the UK. For a first time writer, that’s probably the best price to go for. It’s hard for a first time writer to sell a book for more than £1. It means you have less demand but more supply. Consequently, prices and income decline also. You can use this to your advantage. Competition is so high among writers, publishers and authors.
More Questions?
Based on research, there are 3 ways an author makes money directly from their book:
The advance
In writing a book, generally, you can expect to get an advance of $4,000 to $10,000. This is the money you pay back later. For a first timer, little amount of money is being given.
Royalties off book sales
Image from Flickr Royalty is the percentage money you can get from each book sold from publishers.
Some publishers will give you the rate-off list price or “Gross royalties”.
Some will give you the rate off from the amount of profit they make or “net royalties”. Fifty percent of the book’s price is the net money you get.
For example, if a book has a list price of $25.00 and if your contract says you get 10% royalties-off list, then you will get $2.50 per book. If you have 10% of net profits, then you will get around $1.25 per book.
Reselling the book
You buy your book for at least half off the price and sell it to any publisher except the one you already have. You can sell it on your personal website or other websites.
The Culmination of Knowledge
When does this knowledge lead to?
“Life is a culmination of the past, an awareness of the present, an indication of a future beyond knowledge, the quality that gives a touch of divinity to matter.” -Charles Lindbergh
The effort and the information that are involved in book writing take rigorous time but the output is satisfyingly worth it. You get the money on the back end from people reading your book. Writing a book will help you clarify your brand and your message.
What the Writers Look up To
They say being a web developer and a designer is like being a celebrity. You gain fame and respect but, you know what is more fulfilling? You are able to touch other people’s lives by educating them. You are able to share what you know. There are some who were successful by self-publishing their own books. They were able to turn other people’s hopelessness into positive vibes. You can become one also. Be inspired by these writers and authors. 1. Sacha Greif - Explains How he Earned $15,000 from an e-book that he wrote in 3 Weeks 2. Aaron Gustafson – wrote a book entitled “Adaptive Web Design Crafting Rich Experiences with Progressive Enhancement” 3. Mark Boulton – wrote a book entitled “A Practical Guide to Designing for the Web” 4. Adrian Shaughnessy – wrote a book entitled “American Graphic Designer 1918-81” 5. Kristina Halvorson – wrote a book entitled “Content Strategy for the Web” 6. Dan Cederholm – wrote an ebook entitled “CSS3 for Web Designers” 7. Kim Goodwin – wrote a book entitled “Designing for the Digital Age” 8. Josef Muller Brockmann – wrote a book entitled “Grid Systems in Graphic Design” 9. Dan Cederholm and Ethan Marcotte – wrote a book entitled “Handcrafted CSS: More Bulletproof Web Design” 10. Estelle Weyl, Louis Lazaris and Alexis Goldstein – wrote a book entitled “HTML5 & CSS3 for the Real World”
End of the Story
It is not too late for you to become a web designer or a web developer book guru. It just takes a splash of passion and a pinch of creativity to get the ball rolling. So what can you say? Share us your suggestions.