Every writer on earth dreams of seeing his books fly out of bookstores on golden wings, leaving a trail of golden coins behind them. While it's true that selling lots of books has its merits, the dividends on maximum sales isn't usually of the golden coin variety.
What are the actual benefits of book sales?
o To circulate the author's name
o To give the author credibility as an expert
o To gain the attention of news media
o To provide a platform for receiving large honorariums
o To develop a basis for consulting services
Did you notice that making millions of dollars is not included in the above list? Here are some reasons royalties are absent:
1. Royalties are short lived. The average book's shelf life is a month or less. If your new release sits in inventory with little action for 2 weeks, the bookstore owner will pull it out to make way for other new titles. They hustle those unbought volumes into shipping boxes and start them on their way to the distributor to be sure they'll arrive within the 30 day no-penalty limit.
2. Royalties are such a small percentage of the profit on a book, usually between 50 cents and a dollar per volume. When you consider that most books sell less than 5,000 copies, it's no wonder that the vast majority of authors never see a dime above their advance checks.
Whenever I talk to authors about their financial straits, they immediately begin to talk about more publicity and more book sales. But why continue in a vein that only brings you a buck a book when there are so many other ways to create income by focusing on the information within the pages rather than the paper and ink? Why center all your resources on what isn't working instead of reaching out for the real power behind the words?
Teaching the material in the book will reach more people with more depth and impact than the book itself will ever do. Teaching the material in the book will bring in multiplied income like royalties will never do. Think of electronic delivery items: reports ($7-97), ebooks ($17-297), and ecourses ($97-250), all delivered automatically with instant payment. Then move to more personal training: seminars, live events, mentoring, coaching, consulting services.
Sound out of your range? Widen your mindset. If you have enough knowledge and experience to write that book, you are more than equipped for all of the above. You can begin building your information empire today.
