Will Writing a Book Make You Rich and Famous?

– by Ted JanuszJack Canfield and Mark Victor Hansen, authors of the successful

Chicken Soupfor the Soul

series

delivered a workshop on what it takes to create a

New YorkTimes

Bestsellers book.When you think of what typically goes into the delivery of a book – the writing,editing, graphic design, printing, binding and distribution – these efforts representonly

five percent

of the effort required to achieve the “rich and famous” goal.95 percent of the success of a book is how well it is

marketed

.These winning authors explained that if an author of an average book promoted itwell, it could very well make the list.Obviously, a terribly-written book would never be able to achieve such status.On the other hand, a critically-acclaimed book would not make the list either, if noone knew about it.Through the experience of writing and publishing of my own book,

Kickback:Confessions of a Mortgage Salesman

, let me share with you four valuablelessons learned from this experience.

1) Unless you write a book, it is unlikely that you will ever be viewed as anexpert on that topic.

Writing a book will lend you credibility. With all of the research that youcomplete, mixed with stories of your own experience, it is easy to see why that istrue. For instance, as a result of publishing my book, I was invited to appear onthe

Geraldo

show on FOX News Network and was the subject of an article on

BusinessWeek.com

. In fact, I was surprised to learn that Richard Williams, asociologist from Notre Dame, used a quote from my book in a recent lecture hedelivered.I possessed most of the knowledge about my topic before I even began to writethe book, but it would have been highly unlikely to achieve recognition from themedia and others without tangible proof of my expertise.Your book is the best business card you will ever have, less costly than someglossy (but not nearly as effective) marketing materials you could otherwiseproduce.

2) Begin to write a book with another goal in mind.

Let’s take a cold, hard look at the facts:

The

United

Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization estimatesthat 172,000 new titles will be published in the United States alone this year.A quick search on Amazon on books dealing with the topic of “communication”brings up over 241,000 titles; type in “leadership,” get nearly 58,000 options inbooks.

With those kinds of odds, it is unlikely that a book is going to be agoldmine

by itself

.“If you are going to write a book,” advises Carolyn McCormick of Success Coachfor Life, “make sure that you do it for another reason, such as to promote your consulting, speaking or training business.”For example, Richard E. Goldman is the author of the current bestseller

Luck byDesign: Certain Success in an Uncertain World

. The fact that Goldman isalso the marketing mastermind behind the success of Men’s Wearhouse will hurtneither Men’s Wearhouse nor Mr. Goldman’s marketing career.

3) Should you have your book published by a major publishing house or should you self publish?

Asking this question is like asking, “Should you appear in a play on Broadway, or on stage at your local theater?”You stand a far better chance of fame and fortune if you can get noticed onBroadway.Here is why:If a prospective reader were to do a search on Amazon on the topic of “communication,” what will likely appear on the first page are books that havebeen promoted by major publishing houses. The reader will most likely choosefrom among those books on the first couple of pages. That action will onlyreinforce that book’s ranking on the Amazon site, ensuring the likelihood that itwill be purchased again.Going back to the analogy, one of the best ways to make it to the bright lights of Broadway is to begin by appearing in local acts.Large publishing companies will be far more interested in your writing if you canbring with you a loyal following that you have already developed through self-publishing.In addition, self-publishing can be far more lucrative, on a per copy basis.

One of the worst places to sell your book is . . . a bookstore! Your killer book oncommunication is competing against nearly a quarter-million similar titles onAmazon. On the other hand, your book may have little competition among themembers of your association or when you offer it for sale following a publicspeaking engagement.Your editorial control and profit margins can be a lot greater with self-publishing.You can get your money almost immediately, rather than waiting months toreceive the dollar per book (or less) from sales as your profit diminishes on itsway through the channels of traditional outlets.Even Amazon may charge a 55 percent commission on the sale of a book for which they fulfill the order. One of the strategies I employed at the site was to

sell against my own listing

on Amazon. I appeared as an alternate supplier of new books on the same listing. In that case, Amazon extracted a mere 15percent commission (and also paid me for shipping).

4) Initially order your books in small quantities.

You may be tempted to print 2,000 to 5,000 copies to get a tremendous pricebreak on the per copy cost of your book. Think twice.Unless you are convinced that your book will be a smashing success, investigateprint-on-demand publishing firms, such aswww.lulu.com.Although you will pay a bit more per book copy, you may be able to order inquantities of 25 or less.In other words, instead of a high-volume price per copy of $2, spend $6. Rather than having thousands of dollars tied up in inventory, your investment may bemere hundreds. Assuming a cover price of $20, you will still enjoy a healthymargin on the sale of a book.This option is preferable to storing those many additional copies of your book inthe garage, basement or attic until they sell. (If you do find yourself in thisposition, be sure that your books are kept in a temperature- and humidity-controlled environment.)Most of all, remember that how well you

market

your book after you publish it willbe the ultimate key to your success!#####