Want to make $1.75 a year – just write a book…………..

October 27, 2011 in Marketing, Writing with 15 Comments

I love writing in all its forms: blogs, articles, books, etc.  However, the statistics for choosing this as a career are
dismal.  One in four Americans does not read one book per year.  Over 1,000,000 new books were published last year.  Average book sales for a Christian book put out by a major publisher are about 4,000 copies.  AuthorSolutions reports that sales of their self-published titles average about 150 copies each.  The average sales overall for a book published in America is about 500.

Garrison Keillor recently commented on the sustainability of the publishing industry in the Chicago Tribune:  “I think that book publishing is about to slide into the sea.  We live in a literate time, and our children are writing up a storm, often combining letters and numerals (UR2 1derful)…The future of publishing: 18 million authors in America, each with an average of 14 readers, eight of whom are blood relatives.  Average annual earnings:  $1.75.”

If you care about statistics and averages, the information above is enough to discourage and redirect anyone.  But what if writing is your passion?  Dan Brown’s The Lost Symbol hit the #1 spot last year at 5,543,643 copies sold.   Sarah Palin’s Going Rogue sold 2,674,684 copies.  Obviously, there are still some amazing opportunities in writing books.  Have you identified why your book should be written?

I currently have two major book projects in the works with a publisher – the first to be released in September 2012.  In addition I create at least one new short project each month.  I can’t imagine doing anything else that I would enjoy as much – or that could bring me more success.  The bad news doesn’t discourage me but it does remind me that I must write (AND SELL) with excellence – as success in any area requires.

Last year we had three maxed out Write to the Bank live events here at the Sanctuary.  The dates for 2012 have now been posted and people are quickly securing their places for those events.

If you have ever attended a Write to the Bank event here you should have received a notice that I’m doing a live call tonight (Oct 27) just for all past WTB participants.  We want to know your successes – and obstacles.  And of course once you’ve attended you can return for any future WTB event at half the registration fee.  If you did not receive that invitation please let ashley@48Days.com know immediately and she’ll give you the call-in number.

I tell everyone that getting the book completed  - and even published – is a small detail – the key is getting people to purchase it, and that’s the goal of our live events.

If you live in New Zealand and find it challenging to come to Tennessee, we did just release our new Write to the Bank Toolkit.  This is a resource every WTB LIVE attendee gets for free, but we have it available for our larger audience as well.  This is an excellent resource for writers of all venues.  Write to the Bank Toolkit.

Okay, yes I make more than $1.75 a year – and you can too!!

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  • http://www.prolificliving.com/blog Farnoosh

    And the Lost Symbol wasn’t even close to his best book. The other ones were much better but Dan Brown could write about his uneventful childhood and he’d reach those figures ;) ! Of course, he build himself up too, and I happen to love his writing.
    Oh to sell, that is the least concern of a passionate writer and that’s the hardest part of the game for me, Dan. I have my eyes on a Write to the Bank event for 2012, so I sincerely hope to make it to Tennessee and learn from your wisdom.

    • Anonymous

      Farnoosh – ah yes, the passions of a writer vs the requirements for selling books.  Most authors wish those were two unrelated tasks.  But in today’s world we, the authors, are the sales force.  That’s bad in that it may require that we learn some new skills; it’s good in that we don’t have to wait for the “publisher” to do anything – we just go ahead and make things happen.

      • http://www.prolificliving.com/blog Farnoosh

        Dan, the good outweighs the bad so I am good with the new world model of publishing :) !

  • Prairieology

      You are really opening my mind about what writing is and what writing isn’t.  Thank you!  Also I love your shelfari.  I am discovering some real gems there and through there, with the similar books function of amazon.  I found Creative is a Verb that way and am looking forward to checking it out.
      I am using a lot of your advice and you answered a question of mine on a podcast a few weeks ago (thank you!).  I mention you quite a bit on my website if you want to check it out as you are one of my top sources for inspiration.  http://www.prairieology.com

    • Anonymous

      Summer – wow, fashion accessories from Kansas.  I’d say that’s a creative idea. Thanks for the references on your beautiful site. 

      • Prairieology

        Thanks for checking it out Dan!

  • Kathi Collins

    Hi Dan,

    I have loved writing since I was a young teenager and have been working on a screenplay for awhile now. I am thinking of turning the screenplay into a story as well. Does your WTB Toolkit cover writings of all types, or is it mostly for writing books?

    Also, I want you and your readers to know that I am a copyeditor/proofreader in the process of expanding my
    resume, and I would love to add Christian
    books, newsletters, blogs, etc. to my experience. I will proofread a chapter of
    anything you are writing at no charge. Materials should be no shorter than ten pages
    and not longer than thirty. I will return the pages to you with corrections in
    Microsoft Word format, tracking changes. In exchange, I ask that you allow me
    to include your name and the title of work on my resume. I will not plagiarize
    your work or share it with anyone else.

    Thanks so much for all the informative and encouraging newsletters!

    Kathi

    • Anonymous

      Kathi – thanks for your note.  Is that offer just for me or do you want me to pass that on to other writers?  

      I’ll shoot you one I just finished a few days ago – 1+1=3   Creating Your Own Success Team

      • Kathi Collins

        Dan – I got your email with your work attached and will be emailing you about it shortly. It would be great if you would pass my offer on to other writers as long as they will allow me to add their name and work to my resume. Thanks!

    • Bob Johnson

      Kathi,

      I have a completed feature length screenplay.  Would you be interested in critiquing my first 30 pages?   Thanks.

      Bob

      • Kathi Collins

        Hi Bob.

        I would love to read your screenplay. Feel free to email it to me and let me know if there are any specific areas you want me to critique other than the usual.

        I look forward to reading it.

        Kathi

  • Tim Roddy

    Dan,

    I work for a self-publishing services provider for Christian authors, so I routinely check out what you have to say. You give very wise and real advice to prospective authors. I know there are a lot of independent publishing companies out there, and many of them mislead potential authors into situations that are very unrealistic. It’s good to see someone who is publicly trying to help authors, without taking advantage of them in what could be ‘dangerous situations.’ By this I mean that I’ve seen authors mortgage their houses in order to produce their books, after being led to believe that their book would ‘take off and start selling’ once they got it done. Not so. But the dream of authors can and should remain alive, because it can work out quite well if only the publishing and self-promotion landscape is fully understood!…

    Thanks,
    Tim
    http://www.believerspress.com

    • Anonymous

      Tim – thanks so much for your comments here.  Yes, we need level headed, realistic, optimistic dreamers – and I do think that’s possible!

  • http://www.liveitforward.com Kent Julian

    Great blog, Dan. Write and SELL!  10-20% is writing; 80-90% is marketing and selling.

    What’s more, for those who are a bit timid about the marketing and selling…I always challenge them with the thought of why did they write the book in the first place if they don’t want to get that message into the hands of readers. Writing is the process of developing an important message; marketing and selling is the process of getting that important message into the hands of readers.

    • Anonymous

      Kent – yep, a lot of writers can’t really describe why they are writing a book – other than the fact that they enjoy writing.  If that’s the only motivation then they can continue writing but be realistic about not selling much.