Tweet

Self-Publishing Success: How You Can Earn $30,000 a Month with POD Publishing

Guest post by: Gang Chen

Article Overview: Turn to self-publishing, publish your own book, your own way...

Self-Publishing Success: How You Can Earn $30,000 a Month with POD Publishing

When I went to publish my book, Planting Design Illustrated, I received lots of interest from traditional publishers. But they wanted to make a lot of changes including adding a co-author. These were changes that would have made me dislike my own book!

So, I turned to self-publishing. At the time, making a lot of money was not at the top of my priorities. I simply wanted to publish my own book, my own way.

Now that I have self-published my first books, things have changed.

Yes, I still want to have full control and yes I want keep all of my rights to the book. But now the royalty checks have become a top priority, especially with the economic climate that we're in. That's why, when I self published my second book, LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) AP Exam Guide with Outskirts Press (a print on demand publisher), I took a different approach.

My book had the benefit of being published at the right time, at the right price. I earned over $30,000 in royalties ($31,207.68, to be precise) in one month. I earned even more the next month. Within six months I had earned over $110,000!

Here Are The 5 Steps I Took When I Self-Published My Second Book...

Self-Publishing Success Step #1: Write a Valuable Book

This step is easily overlooked, but it is Number One on this list for a reason. Your book must provide some sort of value or benefit for the reader. In my case, my books are non-fiction and leaders in their niche. LEED is currently revolutionizing the construction industry. In fact, I earn the lion's share of my royalties from my LEED AP Exam Guide, which provides a mock exam, study guides, and sample questions for the LEED AP Exam. It is invaluable for those wanting to obtain the title of "LEED AP (Accredited Professional).

I don't think I'm saying anything revolutionary when I say that publishing non-fiction is an easier proposition on the self-publishing front than fiction. But even fiction books are valuable if they provide the type of "escape" your reader is seeking. Whether you write non-fiction, fiction, poetry, or something else entirely, the book must deliver on its promise. You might do everything else on this list, and you might even find some short-lived success, but ultimately, the success of your book comes down to how valuable your book is to its readers.

Self-Publishing Success Step #2: Identify Your Target Audience

Who is your reader? If your answer is "everybody" you need to reevaluate your goals and recalibrate your expectations. In fact, the smaller your audience, the more success you will find. Look at my books: Planting Design Illustrated and LEED AP Exam. That small, target audience is precisely the reason my books are well-known in the proper circles.

Do I care that someone who reads Harry Potter has never heard of me? No. Is it incredibly important to me that students and professionals in the field of green building design and construction have heard of me? Yes.

Who do you think it is easier to find and market to—a person who reads Harry Potter, or a student/professional in the field of green building design and construction? Exactly! Remember, the smaller your pond, the bigger your fish.

Self-Publishing Success Step #3: Recognize the Type of Book You Are Publishing

You should be realistic about the type of book you are writing, and the type of publishing you are doing. If you are self-publishing your book (regardless of whether you are doing it yourself or through the publishing services of a POD company like I did), don't try to force your book to be something that it's not.

Your book is not a mass-market paperback like those you find in a grocery store. Nor is it the latest hardback, discounted 80%, like those you find at Costco. As a self-publishing author, both of those scenarios are too risky, and to be frank, you probably don't possess the means to take on that kind of risk.

So why try?

Self-publishing authors publish trade paperback and hardback books that can be available regionally (perhaps), locally (probably), and online (definitely).

Self-Publishing Success Step 4: Price Your Book Appropriately

No, this does not mean you should simply make your book as affordable as possible. It means you should complete market research to determine the prices of similar books in your category. Look on Amazon.com for similar books (you'll need to be aware of these books anyway, when it comes to marketing yours). Examine their page count and price point.

Now, make an honest assessment of your book in relation to the other books in your category. Does your content justify a higher price? Does your page count suggest a lower price? Your method of publishing should be considered but should not play a definitive role in the price of your book. The marketplace should.

It doesn't matter where you publish your book if no one is buying it.

Self-Publishing Success Step 5: Publish Your Book Wisely

When I chose my POD publisher for my second book, I was not considering how much my royalties were going to be. That only became important to me after the book was published. But they say hindsight is 20-20, so I'm going to share with you one of the main reasons my royalties are so high. The publisher I chose, Outskirts Press, pays me 100% of the profits of the book and lets me set my own pricing. iUniverse pays 20% of the profit. Xlibris pays 10% of the retail price. But by paying 100% of the profit, Outskirts Press allowed me to set the retail price to whatever I wanted, and now I earn the entire benefit of increasing my price.

Here's another way to look at it: If I had published my same exact book with iUniverse at the same exact retail price, instead of earning $31,207.68, I would have earned approximately $5,300. If I had published my same book with Xlibris, I would have earned approximately $4,600. Yes, without knowing any better, I would have still considered myself a successful self- published author, but probably not enough to write this article.

As you can see, self-publishing is working for me. I've made over $111,000 in six months. My royalties are increasing every month and I'm working on my third book, which I will also publish with Outskirts Press. If hindsight is indeed 20-20, I can only imagine what my royalties will be for book #3!

If you follow the steps above, you too can be on your way to earning $30,000 a month self-publishing!

Related Articles
  Why You Don't Get Results In Your MLM Home Based Business!
  Work At Home Online Business Idea - Publishing An Email Newsletter
  Publishing Options Do You Have a Book Just Waiting to Be Published
  Publishing Your eZine – the Pros
  How much money do you earn with this internet business ?
  Book Review Publishize ~ How to Quickly & Affordably Self-Publish a Book That Promotes your Expertise By Susan Daffron
  Earning Affiliate Commissions Start Today
  How to earn 1 million dollars using currency trading
  iPad App Development for Publishing Sector
  How To Attract Leaders To Your Network Marketing Business
  Four Benefits of Earning Residual Income Online
  What You Need to Know About Publishing Your Book
  Ways To Earn Extra Income On The Internet
  Use Your Business Card
  Ways To Earn Extra Income Online From Home
  Are Self-Publishing Companies "Cheating" by Removing the Hurdles to Get Your Books Published Faster?
  Billable Hours - Strong Business Credit Options
  How To Make Internet Income With An Online Affiliate Business
  Why Multiple Streams Of Internet Income Is The Best Way To Go
  The Perpetual Perks of Self-publishing

Article Tags: how to self publish, POD publishing, print on demand publishing, self publish your book, self publishing



Related Forum Posts
Lisa Shepherd Story - Great story! I love the Earn - Learn - Equity - it's very relavent for new entrepreneurs.
Re: Internet Fax Services - any suggestions? - This is a list of the best free internet fax services. Efax 1 Month Free Trial Only Receive unlimited faxes in your Efax email (or you can forward your Efax email to another email account), but your fax number may not be based in your local area. Also get free voicemail over the phone or on the web. JFAX.com Free Fax Plus 1 Month Free Trial Only This service gives you a free personal phone number (your number may not be in your local area code, so long distance charges may apply) you can use to receive voice messages and faxes right in your email. This service is available in the US and UK. Xoip Receive faxes on your Xoip number (Netherlands, Belgium, and United Kingdom numbers only) and it will be forwarded to your email address where you will be able to view it as a graphics (.tiff) file. This service also provides free voicemail.
Re: THE SECRET TO SUCCESS IS ALL IN YOUR HEAD...RIGHT NOW!!! - Success = Thinking (Head) + Heart (Feeling / Interest) + Hand (doing/ action). Success - H3 Robert
Social Media Marketing Costs? - Hi, I charge $39.99/Month to lead social media marketing campaigns and continuously add contacts to businesses pages on these social media networks, while updating these pages with special offers, multimedia and events. Is that a good price to charge or am I cutting myself short. I've seen companies charge $150-$500/month for a similar service and I feel like I'm under charging but at the same time, I think even the low end of $150 is a little extreme for a few hours a day.
Need a book recommendation for writing better - I'm always looking for ways to improve my writing skills, so I was just wondering if anyone could recommend a good copywriting or copyediting book? I was actually thinking of reading "The Copywriter's Handbook : A Step-by-Step Guide to Writing Copy That Sells" by Robert W Bly [u:w3cg00nn]OR[/u:w3cg00nn] "The Copyeditor's Handbook: A Guide for Book Publishing and Corporate Communications" by Amy Einsohn. Would anyone know if these books are any good? Thanks


Share this article with your friends. Fund someone's dream.

Leave a comment below or share on the left and you'll help support entrepreneurs in Africa through our partnership with Kiva. Over $50,000 raised and counting - Please keep sharing! Learn more.

Newsletter

Get advice & tips from famous business
owners, new articles by entrepreneur
experts, my latest website updates, &
special sneak peaks at what's to come!

Name:
Email:

Popular Articles

Four Secrets to Earning Income as an Author

The OLD Way of Advertising, May Not be so OLD

Working Across Borders

Suggestions

Email us your ideas on how to make our
website more valuable! Thank you Sharon
from Toronto Salsa Lessons / Classes for
your suggestions to make the newsletter
look like the website and profile younger
entrepreneurs like Jennifer Lopez.