Does writing make you rich?

by Lee Hopkins on February 17, 2006 · 9 comments

in miscellaneous

Scoble might have said blogging improves your sex life, but writing a book looks like a great way to make a $millionScott Ginsberg, the effervescent chappy who has been wearing a nametag for the last few years (yes, even on his pyjamas!) recently read a book released by one of the publishers of his print articles.

Entitled “The Business Impact Of Writing A Book: Data, Analysis, And Advice From Professional Service Providers Who Have Done It” (US$149), Scott

read the entire book cover-to-cover as soon as my editor sent it out.

And in a paragraph guaranteed to excite Sallie Goetsch, according to the book’s authors:

Survey respondents claim that the average DIRECT revenue (money from book sales) from getting published was $210,728; while the average INDIRECT revenue (money from consulting, speaking and related services) was $1,194,082

That’s some molasses, Agatha!

The question begs itself to be asked of renowned business author Shel Holtz — can you verify these figures? Are they wildly inaccurate or wildly accurate? How busy can Sallie Goetsch become before she explodes?

Or is this another case of the only people who make money are those who are telling you how to make money? Like in the goldfields in Australia in the third quarter of the 1800s, where the only group who consistently got rich were the people selling the pans, picks and shovels…

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Related posts: A new internal comms blog – welcome Ron!, BCR Podcast #25 – An Interview with Shel Holtz & Neville Hobson

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  • http://www.author-izer.com/ Sallie Goetsch

    I wouldn’t get too excited. Among other things, that survey (as I mentioned in my own blog) states that for authoring a book to have a really substantial impact, you have to sell at least 10,000 copies, and to sell more than 10,000 copies, you have to shell out quite a bit on marketing and promotion. Look at who some of the authors who responded to that survey are and you’ll see that, as with the publishing industry generally, a few big successes skew the average considerably.

    Just do the maths. A typical royalty on a traditionally-published $20 business book is $0.80. To make $210,728, you have to sell 263,410 books. Given that few stores will re-order a book if it doesn’t sell out in the first 3 months, authors have very little time in which to build the momentum required to keep the book selling steadily for years.

    The difficulty in making substantial income from book sales is one reason I prefer working as a ghostwriter–I get paid for my work regardless of how well the book succeeds.

    Nevertheless, even if a book sells only in the hundreds, the fact of having published one does increase the fees a speaker or a consultant can command and the quality of clients s/he can get.

    It’s a bit like having a PhD in academia: it takes considerable work and time (and frequently money) to get, but without it, there’s only so far you can advance.

  • http://www.author-izer.com Sallie Goetsch

    I wouldn’t get too excited. Among other things, that survey (as I mentioned in my own blog) states that for authoring a book to have a really substantial impact, you have to sell at least 10,000 copies, and to sell more than 10,000 copies, you have to shell out quite a bit on marketing and promotion. Look at who some of the authors who responded to that survey are and you’ll see that, as with the publishing industry generally, a few big successes skew the average considerably.

    Just do the maths. A typical royalty on a traditionally-published $20 business book is $0.80. To make $210,728, you have to sell 263,410 books. Given that few stores will re-order a book if it doesn’t sell out in the first 3 months, authors have very little time in which to build the momentum required to keep the book selling steadily for years.

    The difficulty in making substantial income from book sales is one reason I prefer working as a ghostwriter–I get paid for my work regardless of how well the book succeeds.

    Nevertheless, even if a book sells only in the hundreds, the fact of having published one does increase the fees a speaker or a consultant can command and the quality of clients s/he can get.

    It’s a bit like having a PhD in academia: it takes considerable work and time (and frequently money) to get, but without it, there’s only so far you can advance.

  • http://blog.holtz.comS/ Shel Holtz

    Sallie has pretty much said it all, Lee, and I would echo what she has said. This may hold up if you write “The Tipping Point” or “In Search of Excellence.” My royalties for my books have allowed me to take my wife out for a few nice dinners. The real value (indirect, of course) is enhanced credibility, which makes it easier to market your services.

  • http://blog.holtz.comS Shel Holtz

    Sallie has pretty much said it all, Lee, and I would echo what she has said. This may hold up if you write “The Tipping Point” or “In Search of Excellence.” My royalties for my books have allowed me to take my wife out for a few nice dinners. The real value (indirect, of course) is enhanced credibility, which makes it easier to market your services.

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  • http://www.howto-getrich.com/ make money online

    Great article, that was interesting

  • http://www.howto-getrich.com make money online

    Great article, that was interesting

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