Turning Niche Publishing into $20 Million Annually
This is a pointer to a USA Today article about how an ex-musician turned graphic designer took his interest in one piece of software and turned it into a personal duchy - as I'm not sure that $20 million gross quite translates into an empire. (Then again, I'd be happy with a duchy, or even an upscale neighborhood.)
The important point isn't the amount of money in this case, but seeing that writers don't have to depend on publishers. It comes down to the degree of profitability you can see from niche publishing. Say you get paid $1,200 for an article on small business. If you added a bit more information, could you turn it into something worth $1.95 to a specific segment of businesses that have the particular problem you address? It would take about 615 copies sold to make the same amount.
Yes, the trick is finding the way to make the sales - and that might include tossing the idea of doing one article, combining a few different takes, and creating a $7.95 e-book. And then you only have to sell 151 copies. Catch enough of an audience and you might even switch back to traditional publishing if it makes sense. Or maybe you'll find a way to have ads accompany the book, or an ad-supported video on the subject. But you're already selling your ideas to editors. When you broaden the potential market to the readers, you have a much easier time of some group of them saying yes.
What's necessary is to stop thinking the same old way and to stop assuming that you have to work for someone else. That may seem a strange thing to say to freelance writers, but many continue to display attitudes of dependence once they've gone out on their own, waiting for someone else to make the decision, to give them the permission to succeed. If editors say no, go to other editors, or go around the editors. Directly address readers and sell to them. You could even do that with articles you've already written. Or you could put some of those together as a free e-book and give it away as a promotion to drive traffic to your site, or to help bring in sales for another book.
It's a different way of thinking. Instead of being the supplicant, you become the business owner and act accordingly. You don't have to succeed overnight. While you're still doing editorial or corporate work, start experimenting. Try different things and see how they go. Keep the ones that work and those that don't. And don't forget a big lesson: write about something that you enjoy and where you either have or could develop some expertise. Like Scott Kelby, you might find yourself with an empire. Or a duchy. Or a comfortable neighborhood.
The important point isn't the amount of money in this case, but seeing that writers don't have to depend on publishers. It comes down to the degree of profitability you can see from niche publishing. Say you get paid $1,200 for an article on small business. If you added a bit more information, could you turn it into something worth $1.95 to a specific segment of businesses that have the particular problem you address? It would take about 615 copies sold to make the same amount.
Yes, the trick is finding the way to make the sales - and that might include tossing the idea of doing one article, combining a few different takes, and creating a $7.95 e-book. And then you only have to sell 151 copies. Catch enough of an audience and you might even switch back to traditional publishing if it makes sense. Or maybe you'll find a way to have ads accompany the book, or an ad-supported video on the subject. But you're already selling your ideas to editors. When you broaden the potential market to the readers, you have a much easier time of some group of them saying yes.
What's necessary is to stop thinking the same old way and to stop assuming that you have to work for someone else. That may seem a strange thing to say to freelance writers, but many continue to display attitudes of dependence once they've gone out on their own, waiting for someone else to make the decision, to give them the permission to succeed. If editors say no, go to other editors, or go around the editors. Directly address readers and sell to them. You could even do that with articles you've already written. Or you could put some of those together as a free e-book and give it away as a promotion to drive traffic to your site, or to help bring in sales for another book.
It's a different way of thinking. Instead of being the supplicant, you become the business owner and act accordingly. You don't have to succeed overnight. While you're still doing editorial or corporate work, start experimenting. Try different things and see how they go. Keep the ones that work and those that don't. And don't forget a big lesson: write about something that you enjoy and where you either have or could develop some expertise. Like Scott Kelby, you might find yourself with an empire. Or a duchy. Or a comfortable neighborhood.
Labels: self publishing, self-publishing
posted by Erik Sherman | 8:43 AM
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