I’ve been in the publishing industry since 1987. I started freelance writing in 1993 and got into self-publishing in 2002. At the time, it wasn’t even called self-publishing (not that I know of). I just wrote up a pamphlet of frequently asked questions about freelancing that I was being asked about all the time, turned that word doc into a pdf file and uploaded it to my site. That was my first “eBook.” It had no cover and of course I didn’t do any marketing for it – none of the things successful publishers do today.
Making Money Self-Publishing
From that first eBook, I went on to publish 15-20 more. In 2010, I looked up and realized that over half my income came from info products I created and produced. That’s when I had a light bulb moment, going, “Hey, if I really focused on this income stream, I could make a full-time living from this.”
Fast forward to 2015, and that’s just where I am more or less. I still take on freelance writing projects, but the bulk of my income comes from eBooks, e-classes and seminars I write and sell online.
Now, I tell you this not to brag, but to tell you first-hand that when I say that self-publishing is one of the easiest home businesses to start, I know, because I’ve done it. Let’s look at three major reasons why.
1. Distribution Outlets: Self-publishing has exploded in recent years. Author Earnings, an advocacy group that reports on the independent author industry, reported in July of 2014, that self-published made up of almost a third ( 31 percent to be exact) of daily eBook sales on Amazon. This includes fiction and non-fiction titles.
Most thing of the Zon (Amazon) first when they thing of publishing independently. But, there are many more outlets to publish on once your book is done. I’ve received royalties from as many as six outlets – and I’m not on a lot of the biggies.
Royalties Received from Self-Publishing
FYI, the six I’ve received payouts from are…
Amazon
Barnes & Noble
Smashwords
Lulu
All Romance eBooks; and
Google Play.
But get this, there’s also…
Google Books;
iBooks;
Kobo;
Page Foundry;
Scribd;
Tolino;
CreateSpace; and
A whole lot more springing up every day!
So once your book is done, it’s not like you have to work hard to find where to sell it. There are a plethora of outlets – and they’re all FREE! Yep, you don’t spend one dime to upload to these sites. They only make money if you make money. How cool is that?
2. Best-Selling Online Products: Did you know that information is one of the top-selling products online? Proof? According to a 2015 Forrester Research, Statistic Brain Research Institute study, Software, books, music and flowers were the top-selling products online, comprising 26% of all products sold (over $37 Billion dollars’ worth!).
And do you know where books ranked on this list? Second. Yep, number two on the list. The only item that outsold books online during this period was women’s apparel. So information (eBooks) sell – there’s no doubt about it.
3. $O to Produce: I spent nothing – not one red cent – to produce and start selling my first eBook back in 2002. To this day, I spend very little, but the truth is, you don’t have to spend ANY money to write and sell eBooks online. You can self-publish for $0. Nothing! I can’t stress this enough.
BUT, that does not mean it will be easy. And don’t believe anyone who tells you otherwise. It does take time – writing, proofreading, copy editing, eBook cover design, etc. Writing is hard work; catching your own errors when proofreading and copy editing takes a long time; designing a cover when you don’t know how to use software like Photoshop can be harrowing.
You can hire freelancers very cheaply on sites like Fiverr (starting at just $5) to do all of this stuff for you by the way. But if you have absolutely no money, all it takes you is time.
Conclusion
I’ve written and self-published close to 100 books since 2002. The vast majority of them, I spent no money (or very little money on). You can do the same. In fact, there’s never been a better time to be an independent publisher.
Source by Yuwanda Black
