Write a book for fun and profit

Meeting report

SDForum Marketing SIG March meeting - 3/9/09

By: Mark Helfen

You may have thought that writing a book was a difficult task, taking months or years to complete, with little chance of ever getting it published and even less chance of making the effort pay off.

But at the SDForum March meeting, Mitchell Levy painted an entirely different picture.

According to Levy, CEO of Happy About Publishing, the correct thought process is that writing a book will help you gain credibility and drive customers to your service, consulting business, or company. A book you can write in as little in a few weeks to a few months.

If you have a reasonably good idea and marketing plan, Happy About will be happy to publish it for you.

“A book is the number one tool for a person or company to drive business,” said Levy.

The difference in thinking starts with Happy About’s business strategy. According to Levy, most publishers have a “venture capital” model – they fund a number of attempts with the objective that at least a few are “home runs” – very profitable books.

But Levy isn’t looking for home runs. He’s satisfied if “every book is a single.” A book can turn a profit if it sells between 200 and 300 copies. While the author can make money from the book, Levy prefers that they think of it as a form of business development.

Levy claims that being a published author gets the same credibility as getting a PhD, but faster and with much less work.

Getting Started

So if you think you want to be a published author, what is Levy looking for? If you send him an email (see below) he will respond with an outline of the marketing plan he needs. But he summarized with three main points.

1. You have credible expertise in the topic you want to write about. Someone reading a short biography would believe that you have enough knowledge to write your book.

2. You can write a good book. It doesn’t have to be a great book, just a good book. Or, as Levy phrased it, at least good enough so “it doesn’t suck.”

3. You have a marketing plan that will sell at least 200-300 copies.

The first part of your marketing plan is to purchase the first 100 of those copies, a requirement. Happy About is not a subsidy or vanity publisher, where the author pays for and buys all of the books - they invest their own money in the project. But authors do have some financial skin in the game – about $1000 for those 100 copies. Authors pay about half the list price, which is usually around $20.

If you don’t have 100 clients, prospects, or business partners to who you could either give away the book at no charge and gain resulting business, or who would pay for the book, you might not be a prospect for Happy About’s publishing program. But Levy’s entire premise is that the credibility you gain will pay this amount back many times over.

The rest get sold, either by you, directly by Happy About at their web site, or on Amazon. You promote this channel by a combination of public speaking, blogging, or being active on social media sites like Linkedin or Facebook. If you want to sell off your own web site, Happy About has the tools to allow you to do this. Their strategy is to do “print on demand,” so there is no inventory to carry.

You might make money from books sales – Levy claims that 80 to 90 percent of what he publishes turns a profit. But your principle objective should be the credibility you gain as a published author, and how a book can fit into your overall marketing plan. Writing your book will typically take 50 to 150 hours, or about 1 hour a page from start to finish.

So… pick a topic you are passionate about, fill out Happy About’s proposal and marketing plan, and start writing. I hope to see you interviewed on national TV in the near future…..

Happy About’s web site is here. Take a look at their range of titles for an idea of what they publish.

Levy’s email address is: mitchell.levy@happyabout.info, where you can request a copy of “Happy About Author Questions” to get your proposal started. ---

Mark Helfen is a Marketing Consultant and Freelance Writer. He can be reached at mhelfen@wordpixel.com

Marketing Yourself Through a Book: It's easier than you think!

By: Mark Helfen

Ever thought about writing a book?

According to Mitchell Levy, the speaker for the March 9 marketing SIG meeting, it's easier than you think, and will do great things for both your career and your business. The title of his talk is "Marketing Yourself Through a Book. It's easier than you think."

I spoke to Levy briefly about his upcoming talk at the Marketing SIG meeting. He is the author of 11 business books, and the CEO and Executive Editor of Happy About, and independent publishing house.

Levy says that the reputation you get from writing a book is the same as "spending 3 years getting your PhD." The book will take 50 to 150 hours to put together, considerably less.

"It's instant credibility."

Anyone interested in establishing themselves as a "thought leader" should consider the idea, says Levy.

He expects to publish between 25 and 50 books this year, and says that 90 percent of what he publishes is profitable, so the author makes some direct income from the book. But the key benefit is "indirect income," consulting and speaking fees.

What if you aren't a consultant or independently employed? Levy recommends a book on your product, which could bring benefits both to you and your company.

He summarizes his talk with three points:

- If you ever had an idea that you thought should be in a book,

- If you didn't realize how easy it can be,

- If you have no clue to the significant benefits having "author" next to your name will bring you,

... than the Monday meeting is for you.

You can read more about Mitchell Levy's publishing business here

For the details of the next SDForum MarketingSIG, see here

Hope to see you there..

mh



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Mark Helfen is a Marketing Consultant and Freelance Writer. He can be reached at mhelfen@wordpixel.com

Job Resources II

I attended the SDForum Volunteers Meeting last night (my first one).

I want to thank Nixon Peabody LLP for hosting the meeting. The food was at least 10 steps up from the pizza at the SIG meeting - not that I don't like pizza, but its nice to take a break.

One discussion topic was how SDForum can help people who are looking for work in these difficult times. A few things that I learned (or knew but hadn't thought about recently).

The SDForum web site actually lists jobs available. There aren't a lot there (but you only need one)

at http://sdforum.org/, -->resources-->classifieds

You kind of need to know where to look, but if you know of a job that would fit the profile of forum members you might list it here. I would vote for this to appear in a much more prominent place on the web site.

ALSO - did you know the SDForum has a Linkedin group?? Currently there are 1,235 members. I believe that you must be a paid member to join the group.

Groups on Linkedin are a great way to find out about people you are otherwise not linked to, and to communicate with them. If you are a paid member and aren't in the group, you can request membership from the web site.

We discussed how the forum can help members get work. I'm not sure we resolved anything specific, but the need came through loud and clear.

If you have an idea of what SDForum could do to help you, either email me (and I will post it here) or the forum management info@sdforum.org


Mark Helfen

Job resources I

At our meeting Monday, 12 Rules for Marketing Yourself, was packed. I would guess 75 to 100 people, maybe more - we had to move chairs in from another room.

Thanks to:

Sue Connelly,
President
Connelly Communications, Inc.
Founder of the KIT List

and

Gretchen Sand,
Senior Partner and Co-founder
Skyline Recruiting Corporation

For an excellent and informative talk.

The presentation slides (50 pages worth!) is slowly making its way to the SDForum web site. If you just can't wait, drop me a line and I will be happy to send out a pdf.

I plan to write a somewhat longer article on the meeting highlights in the next few days. But here are the 12 Rules:

1. Pay Attention to First Impressions
2. Focus on the Details
3. Make Your Interview Special
4. Choose your Attitude
5. Practice, Practice, Practice
6. K.I.S.S.
7. Dinosaurs CAN Fly
8. You Don't Have to Do It Alone
9. Button it Up
10. Dump Networking - its about Relationships
11. Have a Smart Job Search Strategy
12 Just Do One (Little) Thing More


Not much detail here - I will write more when I get a chance. But the slides are pretty complete, with lots to read and lots of detail.


Mark Helfen

Need a job/have a job???

Need a job? Please post a short bio in response to this post (ie: 1-2 paragraphs) and a url where people can see more information. Maybe your Linkedin page, or your web site.

Have a job? Please post a short description in response to this post and a url for more information.