Counting The Cost Of Booklet Writing And Production: Are You Willing To Do What It Takes To Make It Happen?

Writing and producing booklets is far less costly in both time and money than writing and producing books.  But, if you think you can skate right on through your booklet adventure without ever having to pay a dime, then think again!

What Writing Your Booklet Will Cost You

There are many ways to write and publish a book today.  You can write it yourself or hire a ghost writer to do it for you.  You can self publish through a myriad of different means both online and off, or you can go the traditional route and try to find a publisher for your book.

Booklets, however, generally have only one way of being written – by you. Sure, you could hire a ghost writer, but most booklet authors enjoy writing and have something they want to say to their audience in their own words.  Either way, however, you’re going to pay something. Ghost writers don’t come cheap (and if you find a cheap one – RUN!), and writing your booklet yourself will cost you a little time – maybe a few hours, a few days, or a few weeks.

Counting The Cost Of Production

Booklet production will cost you something too.  Printed hard copies are not free.  And even if you plan to sell your booklet only as a download online, you’re going to have to pay someone to design and format it, unless you are talented in that area in which case, once again, you’ll pay in time.

Also, if you’re planning to sell e-booklets rather than hard copies, you will need a way to do that – a website, a blog, a contract with another website.  That will cost you something too.

Granted, these costs are not large ones – certainly nothing compared to writing a full length book.  But, they are something to consider.

Are You Willing To Pay The Price?

Nothing worthwhile is ever free. There is always a price to pay.  It may be money, or it may be time, or it may be some other sacrifice.  The only question is, are you willing to pay the price?

If worthwhile things were free, they would lose their value.  If diamonds were free, they would no longer be priceless in terms of great value, they would be akin to plain, old rocks – priceless because of their lack of value, and nobody would desire them.  But, diamonds are something that have to be mined and cultivated and cut.  It takes time from nature and work from men to create a beautiful diamond – making them something of value.

Your booklet and your booklet business are like that diamond.  They are a thing of beauty waiting to be cultivated.  They are something worthwhile and something valuable.  Are you willing to pay the price and do what it takes to make it happen?

To your riches!

Kim

PS: Don’t forget to click on one of the links at the top right of this page to subscribe so you never miss a single, important post!  Remember, it only takes ONE idea to start the riches flowing to you!  Also, if you like this post please share it on your favorite social website.  Thanks!

PPS: Tomorrow is the BIG day!  Watch for my announcement of my new product so you can quickly and easily write a booklet of your own!

Why The Way You Answer The Question “What Do You Do?” Is So Important

When you are asked the question, “What do you do?”  how do you answer?  Do you tell people about your day job and casually mention your booklet?  Do you tell them you’re retired and leave it at that?  The answer you give is more important than you might think.

Are You Hiding Your Talent?

Many writers don’t tell anyone that they write.  It’s a deep, hidden secret they keep to themselves.  Perhaps it’s because most people don’t like to write and so the writer feels they wouldn’t be able to relate.

Writing is a special gift.  It’s a talent, just like dancing or singing.  It needs to be nurtured and cultivated, but if the desire is there so is the gift.

Writing is a profession you can be proud to be a part of.  The general public views writers with high esteem.  Just because someone else isn’t a writer, that doesn’t mean they can’t appreciate the fact that you are.

Writer Or Author – Which One Are You?

As much as the public regards writers with high esteem, they regard authors with even more.  To be an author in our society today is to be a celebrity, even if you’re not famous.

When you tell people that you’re an author, it tells them that you’ve accomplished something great – something they could not do.  It commands respect.

Being a writer is good, but being an author is better.  Just using the word author automatically gives you more clout and credibility in most people’s eyes.

Go Ahead – You’re Entitled

Some booklet authors are afraid to use the word author because they haven’t written a full length book.  They’re concerned about giving people ‘the wrong idea’ about them or their work.

If you’ve created a booklet you are an author and you are entitled to call yourself one just as much as anyone else who has created any kind of publication.  In fact, your status as an author is in no way diminished in the eyes of the public simply because you’ve created a booklet rather than a book.  People are just as intrigued – often more so.  Everyone knows that authors write books, but you’re different.  You write booklets.  That makes people want to know more.

When you tell people you’re an author, you’re not only telling them what you do, you’re also reaffirming it to yourself.  You’re reinforcing the idea in your own mind that yes, you are an author.  The more that concept is reinforced, the more it becomes a belief for you, and the more you believe it, the more you will live it.  It becomes a part of you.  This is why your answer to the question, “What do you do?” is so important.

So, now when someone asks you what you do, how will you answer?  Will you tell them you’re retired?  Will you tell them about your day job?  Or, will you look them in the eye, holding your head high, and proudly state, “I am an author!”

To your riches,

Kim

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How To Make Your Booklet The One To Buy

Are you getting tired of hearing about the economy?  Me too!  It seems like everything we see and hear is about how bad businesses are doing, how people are afraid to spend money, how many more layoffs have occured, and on and on.  While it’s true that the economy is bad right now, most people are no longer interested in how bad it is.  They’re interested in information that will help them to get through it, or that can shed a new light on the situation and how it applies to them.

A few days ago, I came across a very interesting article in a well known magazine.  The title caught my attention, saying something about why a bad economy might be good for me.  After hearing so much dismal news, this was definitely a new twist!

I only had a few moments to skim the article, so I don’t remember much about the contents.   But, what’s really important is that they took something that is constantly on our minds, and they spun it in a new fashion.  Instead of giving their readers the same, tired, worn out news, they gave them something new to think about – something to lift their spirits.  They gave them several several reasons to be thankful during a difficult time.

This is worth keeping in mind when you write your booklets.  Don’t restate the obvious.  Find the silver lining in the dark cloud, or find the dark cloud in the silver lining.  Give a tired subject a new slant.  When you do, your work will stand out from all the rest because it will be different.  You won’t be repeating what others have already said, or what everyone already knows.  The competition will disappear, and your work will stand alone.  When there are a dozen other products created about a particular subject, and yours is the only one that takes that subject in a new direction, your product becomes the one to buy.

The riches are never in the obvious.  If it were that easy, everyone would be rich.  But, it isn’t difficult to find a new angle or refashion a subject so that it gives new information or another viewpoint.  That is where the riches are.  When you dig beyond the surface, you’ll find them!

To your riches!

Kim

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Writing A Book? Here’s Why You Might Want To Shorten That Manuscript

If you’re like most writers, you enjoyed writing when you were in school.  Your teacher asked for a page, you wrote two or three.  Writing was probably your favorite subject, or at least very high on the list of things you liked about school.  And, since you like to write so much, writing a book manuscript probably comes naturally to you.  But, you might want to rethink that lengthy manuscript and create a booklet instead.

Let’s take a look at why you should even desire to write a booklet in the first place, as opposed to writing a full length book.

The Purpose Of A Booklet

A booklet is a not meant to give every detail of information available about a particular subject.  The purpose of a booklet is to give the facts or an introduction to a subject, or to give a small amount of relevant information.  A booklet is not a book, and it doesn’t compete with books in the market place.

What makes booklets so attractive to the public is that they are a fast read.  Most people won’t make the time to sit down and read a full length book.  They want fast information that they can understand immediately.  Booklets provide this.

The Benefits Of Booklets

For you, the author, there are several benefits to writing booklets.  The first is that they are short and easy to write.  And this benefit leads to the next one – you can get your work on the market quickly and start earning money right away.

Another benefit of writing booklets is that you can actually make more money with them than you can with a full length book.  When you have a full length book that consists of 10 chapters, your book may sell for $15.00 – $20.00.  But, if you take each of those chapters and turn them into a booklet and sell them for just $5.00 each, you now have a series of booklets that sell for a total of $50.00.  It’s the same material, it’s just packaged differently.

With benefits like these, you can see why writing less, or writing less in one publication, is better.  You can become an author, make money (and more of it) much faster with a booklet than you could with a full length book.

How To Stay Focused And Keep Your Writing Concise

Now that you know the purpose of writing a booklet and the benefits you will receive for doing so, it’s time to look at your writing.  If you like writing lengthy manuscripts, you’ll need to readjust your thinking a little.  Here are four simple tips to help you.

1)  Realize that you don’t need to include every last detail in your booklet.  You only need to include the most important ones.  You can always write a second booklet to give more information.

2) Focus on one major point and stick to it.  For example, instead of general horse care, focus on just one aspect of it such as choosing the right horse, or horse grooming.

3) Know who you are writing to and write to them.  Make sure you are writing what your audience wants to read, giving them the information they desire.  Leave out the fluff.

4) Proofread and edit your work for clarity and brevity.  Cut out anything that is unnecessary.  Make all of your words count.

There’s nothing wrong with writing a book, and in fact book authors should be commended for their efforts.  Writing a book is usually a long, tedious, drawn out process.  But, if your goal is to make money fast with your writing, a booklet is the way to do it.

To your riches,

Kim

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Pricing Your Booklet – Are You Making This Mistake?

Your manuscript is finished and you’ve had it produced.  The booklets have arrived and they are beautiful.  As you look over your creation, you’re filled with pride and a deep satisfaction of knowing that you created this and you will prosper from it.  But, then, a new thought comes to your mind and you find yourself perplexed by it.  Just how much should you charge for this wonderful new creation of yours?

A Ridiculous Method For Pricing Your Booklet

Most authors will look at similar products on the market that deal with their topic, and they’ll charge accordingly.  They’ll often consider the highest and lowest prices, and try to place their price somewhere in the middle.  This is a ridiculous way to price your booklet!  Why?  Because this is what everyone does.  You are simply follwing the “herd.”  And the herd is leaving alot of money on the table!

Are You Making This Mistake With Your Pricing?

Following the herd won’t make you rich, nor will it make you profitable.  How many rich authors do you know?  There are only a handful of authors, of the thousands who write books, booklets, and other materials, who could be considered wealthy by American standards.  Pricing your booklet the way these people do will bring you the same results these people get.  What you want are better results!

Often, in addition to pricing according to what other authors are doing, many booklet authors will consider their own finances.  But, what is expensive to you may not be to your market.  You may feel that a particular price is good for your booklet because it’s a nice, round number and therefore easy for people to pay you, or because that price simply seems acceptable to you.  But, if your market won’t pay that price for your booklet, you’re going to lose sales.

On the flip side, what if they would gladly have paid you more than that nice, round number you chose?  Then, you’re leaving money on the table.  Most authors who are self published make this mistake.  But, traditional publishing houses make the same mistake, because they price according to what else is on the market and how it is priced.

A Better Way To Price Your Booklets

When you price your booklets, don’t go with the flow or with what is comfortable for you.  You are after better profits than what most authors are making.  A much better way to price your booklets is to consider your market and what they are willing to pay for your information.  Within your market there are people who can only pay a little, and there are people who can pay alot.  The majority will be able to pay a price somewhere in between, but that in between price is usually higher than you think it is, and it is usually higher than the middle price between the highest and lowest prices that other authors are charging.

Don’t trust that other authors in your genre or subject area know what they’re doing.  Don’t price your booklets according to the way they have priced theirs.  Take your market into account.  If you’re selling to doctors you can charge a little more, perhaps even a great deal more than you think you can.  If you’re selling to single mothers on welfare, you will need to charge less in order to make the sale.

Price according to what your market is willing to pay for your information and you’ll make more sales.

To your riches!

Kim

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Why You Don’t Have To Be A Great Writer To Write A Booklet

If you have done any writing at all, ever, you have probably started writing, finished a few paragraphs, and decided the writing wasn’t good and thrown it away or deleted it, and then started over.  A times you may have even finished the writing completely, and then upon reading it over, decided it wasn’t good enough for whatever reason, and thrown it out.

Everyone Makes Mistakes

This is something every writer has done more than once.  We all make mistakes.  Sometimes, the flow of the writing just doesn’t seem to work.  Other times, what you have written doesn’t quite say what you want it to, and you decide to rewrite it so that it expresses your thoughts better.  And once in a while, you can’t quite figure out what it is you don’t like about the writing.  It just doesn’t seem informative enough, or professional enough, or good enough.

When You Create A Booklet You Have To Start Somewhere

This applies to booklets just as much as it does to books, articles or, for that matter, school assignments.  It’s natural to be your own best critic.  But, many booklet authors start their booklet, then throw the writing out, then start again, then throw it out again, and so it continues.  They never seem to finish the writing because it never seems to be good enough.

You have to start somewhere when you create a booklet.  What you write originally may be only a first draft, and that’s ok.  But, there needs to be a final manuscript at some point.  How many drafts it will take for you to be satisfied with your work is completely up to you, but if you have more than three you’re probably too picky, making mountains out of mole hills and worrying over trivial things that won’t matter much to your audience.

Your First Draft Can Be Your Final Booklet Manuscript

Thanks to word processing programs, you don’t even need to concern yourself with the drafting process.  Some authors prefer to use it, and that’s fine.  But, your first draft can be your final manuscript.  All you need to do is finish the writing and then go back and ‘tweak’ where necessary.  This is a much faster way to get your manuscript completed and off to market rather than rewriting new drafts from scratch.

Your Writing Is Better Than You Think It Is

What most authors fail to realize is their writing is better than they think it is.  This is because your market won’t be as critical of your writing as you are.  They’re looking for solid, helpful information or, in the case of fiction, an engaging story.  They won’t be thinking about your thought process when you wrote what you did, or the flow of the words (although flow is important for the reader, they just are not conscious of it).   The reader won’t be reading your booklet from a technical aspect.  They’re reading to obtain information or for enjoyment.

Your Booklet Will Not Be Perfect

As a human being, you need to allow yourself some room for error.  Your booklet will never be completely perfect, even if every i is dotted and every t is crossed.  Nobody’s writing, whether book or booklet, article or blog post, is ever going to be perfect.  But, it can be good, and good is good enough.  If you really work at it, your booklet might even be great, but great writing isn’t necessary.  Good information is, or good entertainment is, and that is good enough.

Once your manuscript is completed, tweak it where necessary.  Make sure it’s good.  Make sure it’s informative or entertaining.  Make sure you’ve done your best.  Then, let it go.  It’s better to get a good booklet on the market than to forever rewrite it and never prosper from it.

To your riches!

Kim

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How Providing A Rich Resource For Others Brings Riches To You

There’s nothing better than making money from a booklet you have written.  It’s a wonderful feeling knowing that you’re doing some good in the world by helping others with your information.  But, in order for this to occur there is something you need to consider before you write your booklet.

Why Will People Want To Read Your Booklet?

After you have decided upon a subject for your booklet, the next thing you need to do is ask yourself why people will read your booklet about that subject.  You need to know which information people are looking for regarding your booklet’s topic.  Otherwise, you may write a booklet which doesn’t interest the people in your market because it doesn’t provide the right information.

Have you ever purchased a book to help you with something and then found that the book didn’t provide the information you were looking for?  The book may have contained all kinds of relevant, topic related information, but it just didn’t have what you needed.  This has happened to many people, and usually they will return the book to the company they bought it from because it wasn’t helpful to them.

Happy Readers Rave, Unhappy Readers Forget

When people return a book because they didn’t find it helpful, this is a bad thing for both the author and the publishing company.   It means that the book will be forgotten by the person who returned it.  Had they found the book truly helpful, they would have been happy to tell others about it.  This can happen any number of ways today via face to face meeting, by phone, in a blog post, or even as a recommendation on a website.

The same applies to a booklet as it does to books.  When people find your booklet helpful, they’ll gladly tell others about it.  Everyone likes to share information with others that they find useful.  But, if your booklet doesn’t give people the information they need, they may return it or they may decide it isn’t worth the trouble to return it, but either way they won’t be raving about it to others.

Give People What They Need And Let Them  Rave

The best way to insure that people rave about your booklet is to give them what they need.  And to do that, you must start by asking yourself why people will read your booklet.  What kind of information is most vital to them about your topic?  When you do this, you’re on your way to providing a rich resource for others, and that will result in riches for you!

To your riches,

Kim

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Two Groups Of Writers – Which One Fits You?

Every writer varies in their vision for their work.  Some want to write articles.  Others want to write a book.  Some just want to write, and they are willing to look at all opportunities for doing so, from articles to books and booklets and anything in between.  It’s all good.  But, there’s really only two main groups of writers, and the group which you fit into will determine whether your writing makes you rich or not.

The First Group – Writing Is Something To Do For Fun

The first group of writers don’t see their writing as a business.  They enjoy their writing.  It’s something fun to do.  They do it as often as they can, and occasionally they may make a little money from it.  They have a more casual attitude toward their craft.  For these writers, writing is a hobby.  They may love to write, but they don’t take their writing seriously enough to create a business from it.  Their writing will never make them rich because they’re not focused on it from that point of view.

The Second Group – Writing Is A Business

Writing as a hobby is perfectly fine.  There is nothing wrong with that.  But, this won’t work for you if you intend to make a living from your writing or, even better, become rich from it.  To do this you must view your writing as the vehicle for getting you from where you are now to where you want to go. Here’s an example to illustrate this.

Imagine you live in New York and wanted to move to California.  You plan to get to California by car.  Many people in New York don’t own cars, so you would probably need to purchase one.  If you were serious about moving and you wanted to do it right away, you would begin looking for a car immediately.  You would look at many different cars, but you would probably buy something nice since you’d be taking a long trip and most likely keeping the vehicle once you reached California.

In this illustration, New York represents where you are now.  California is your goals (more money, nice vacations, etc).  The car is your writing.  Notice that you are looking for a nice car, which represents giving your writing your best, and you’re putting alot of effort into finding that car immediately, which means you’re giving your writing priority to get you to your goals.

Why You’ll Never Get Rich Writing Just For Fun

Someone who writes as a hobby will put off finding the car, or they’ll look for the cheapest car they can find.  They won’t worry too much about polishing up their writing and making it a priority.  There are other things they would rather do.  They aren’t really sure California is where they want to go.  They are not focused on a destination or a goal.  They see many different places they could go, and they want to take their time and explore along the way.

This is why writing as a hobby will never make you a full time income and you’ll never be rich from it.  You must focus on your goals and take your writing seriously in order to make real money from it.  Booklets are the easiest route for doing this, but you must still view them as a business – a vehicle to get you where you want to go.

When you take your writing seriously, you’ll put in the effort to start your work, finish your work, create more, and keep going.  Do this repeatedly and you’re on your way to success.

To your riches,

Kim

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How To Make Money The Easy Way

Some things in life are hard….finding a job, living paycheck to paycheck, writing a book.

And some things are easy….eating ice cream, playing at the beach, writing a booklet.

Yes, writing a booklet is easy.  Whether you’re already writing, or you haven’t started yet, you can write a booklet!

If you’ve established yourself as a writer by writing articles, you’ve got material for a booklet.  One article can easily become a booklet, although you may need to expand it just a little depending on the length.  But, articles are not the only thing that you can turn into a booklet.

Do you have a blog?  A blog would make an excellent booklet.  Of course, you’ll have to choose which posts to use because if you’ve had your blog for any length of time, you’ll have more material than you need.  But, more material means more booklets.  A series!

Are you a note taker?  If you’ve attended classes or seminars, or if you’ve prepared a presentation, these can all be the basis for a booklet as long as your passionate about the subject.

Even if you aren’t an established writer or you’ve never written anything like an article or blog post, you can easily write a booklet if you want to.  There’s really nothing to it!  You don’t need any special expertise or any kind of degree, and you don’t need anyone’s permission.  All you need is a subject you’re passionate about and the desire to see your name in print!

I started out writing a book.  That was hard.  Then, I decided to write a booklet instead.  That was easy!  Now I have six of them!  You can too!

To your riches,

Kim

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How To Get Content For Your Booklet When You Don’t Have Enough

Are you worried that you can’t come up with enough content to fill up a booklet?  Many people have this fear, but it’s an unfounded one.  It’s another excuse that’s holding you back from achieving your goals and getting your riches.

You can’t possibly know just how much information you’ve got until you start writing.  Once you do begin writing your booklet, you’ll probably find that you’ve got more information than you thought you did.  In fact, you’ll most likely have enough information for two or more booklets.  This is what happens to many writers when they create a booklet.  They have so much information that they can’t fit it all into one booklet!

If it does turn out that your information falls short of 16 pages, that’s ok.  You can get information from other sources.  The internet is a viable resource as is your local library.  You can even go to the bookstore to find more information on your subject.

Also, there are some simple ways you can add to your information without having to write an entire page of text.  For example, in my Simple Tips & Recipe series, I have included several lists as well as a page of tips which readers will find helpful.  These were easy to do and took little time to put together.  I felt they were a natural and necessary part of my booklet’s content.  You may find that including lists or tips will naturally go with your content too.  Or, you may decide to include them as something extra.

Another thing you might include in your booklet is a check list.  If a check list is relevant for your topic, by all means include it.  However, don’t add one just for the sake of adding it.  Be sure it has a true purpose for being included and that it would be useful to your audience.

How about a photo or two to liven up your pages?  Photos are great in how-to booklets when they show how to do something or how something should look.

A page that lists resources for more information is another possibility for you to include.

Don’t think of your manuscript as a big, long writing chore.  It isn’t.  It’s a helpful resource.  You don’t have to have tons of text.  You just need to have enough helpful information to have a marketable product.

Now that this excuse is erased, you can start writing!

In my next post, I’ll deal with the mother of all excuses!

To your riches,

Kim

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