Have you written your book yet?
I know you’ve thought about it. More than 80% of Americans say they would like to write a book someday.
Why not today?
It doesn’t need to be the next blockbuster novel on vampire love triangles, but rather a topic you know a lot about (there I go again, assuming you’re not a specialist on vampire love triangles).
Everyone’s an expert on something.
Note: I’m currently working on my third title, which I’ll definitely be sharing some strategies and learnings from here in the (hopefully) near future. Writing is a challenge for me — I’m pretty slow and have a hard time just thinking in “rough draft” mode — but I like it.
This is my most ambitious book project yet in terms of length, and I’ve already got one costly lesson/experiment under my belt — to be shared in detail soon.
Why Write?
Simply put, a book is the best business card you can have. When you add “author” to your resume, you instantly multiply your credibility.
Even if no one buys it or reads it, just putting your work out on display increases your subject matter authority. Whatever the topic may be, penning a book gives you a distinct advantage over your competition.
Say for example your business is customizing the Shopify shopping cart software for WordPress. Who are potential clients more likely to hire? The guy who wrote Shopify for WordPress, or just some random developer?
Employees as Authors
Still working a J-O-B? No problem at all. In fact, imagine how proud your boss would be to know you’re so passionate about the business you wrote a book about it.
And when it comes time to switch companies, you’ll have an unstoppable leg up on anyone else who applies for the next job.
Publishing
The publishing world is changing dramatically, and that change has largely been led by Amazon’s Kindle e-reader hardware. The data suggests Amazon is now selling two electronic books for every physical book they deliver.
And many of those ebooks are from self-published authors.
The traditional barriers to entry to book writing are gone. There’s no need for an agent or to send your manuscript to dozens of publishing companies, and then wait weeks or months for the inevitable rejection letters.
(I say inevitable not because your book is bad, but because the odds of acceptance are very low. Famously, Harry Potter was rejected 12 times and The Four-Hour Workweek was rejected 25 times!)
Today, you can create your book, upload it to Amazon, and have it available to the world in a matter of hours. And because it’s electronic, you can easily sell the same book on Barnes and Noble or other platforms without worrying about traditional distribution hassles.
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If you want a physical book, which is even more impressive to prospective clients and employers, you can use a company called CreateSpace. CreateSpace is owned by Amazon and they specialize in on-demand printing.
When someone orders your book on Amazon and requests a hard-copy delivery, CreateSpace prints the book and ships it directly to them in a seamless process.
Income Opportunity
It is very unlikely that you will get rich writing books. The type of publishing I’m talking about is more for the purpose of advancing your message, building authority, and enhancing your brand than it is about making money.
That said, Amazon and other channels do offer revenue sharing to authors and I consider publishing an important element of my side hustle experiments. On the Kindle platform you can make up to 70% of the price of the book in royalties.
Like I mentioned, I’m only a year into my adventures as an author, and am earning a pretty steady $100/mo semi-passive income from it.
The economy of the written word pays you back both financially and in perceived expertise.
So What Are You Waiting For?
I know you’ve got a book in you somewhere. Now’s the time to share it with the world.
Get started today!
Want to learn more about self-publishing as a side hustle? Check out my interview w/ Kindle author Steve Scott for all the juicy details.
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