Books don’t make much money, but they do open doors. Even on the best of days, you can’t make a living off a book. In today’s publishing world you promote yourself and your book, while still making an income in other ways. But, a book, whether self-published or published by a traditional publisher, can give you creds and provide other means for income.
Like most writers, you probably have another job. Whether a teacher or a server, use this knowledge to your advantage. Say you work at a restaurant that sells great cheeses. Cheese could be your book. You begin by speaking to your employer. Where do they buy their cheeses from? How do they get them? How do they choose the best ones? What is the difference between cheeses? You’ve been trained to sell their cheeses, so you are already informed. Now delve deeper. Learn the industry, how cheese is made, the details of cheese, its workers, distributors, their histories. You have already amassed enough material for a book.
Don’t just look at the book as your final product, though. Each step to writing your book provides you articles to publish in cheese journals, food magazines, health blogs – the very places you’ll want to promote your book later. In turn, f you’re a smart writer, you’ll use that capital to promote your book. The book can be your key to opening doors.
Let’s say you now have a book and you’ve met the key people in your subject’s industry, in this case, cheese. Of course, use the book to re-establish your position as an important opportunity to them. You may have published articles about them and that has helped promote their business. Believe me, they will be very endeared to you and because they are successful business people, they will not let such a key player like you slip away.
While you were traveling to these locations and learning about your subject, cheese, you visited factories, cheese paradises, markets, restaurants specializing in cheese, and manufacturers. What you have now is a map to a tourist trip. Take that next step. Utilize your new contacts and create a cheese tour business. Because you are the person who wrote the book, your creds are flawless. Because you promoted these businesses through paid articles, I might add, you are a friend. And now you are a friend who brings groups to their locations who buy their products and further their marketing.
You are also promoting your book by reaching new circles of potential buyers by promoting your tours. Tours generate a greater income than books and keep you close to your sources, the business owners who create new freelance articles for publishing, which promote your book in the right magazines where people interested in cheese will want to buy your book or take a tour, or both. You’ve now created a cycle of income. Congratulations.
This concept can be used for nearly any market; make up, toys, clothes, cars. While you don’t necessarily have to start a tour business, I happened to have taken this scenario and applied it to beer. After working at a famous craft beer bar for many years, I wrote a book about Italian craft beer, Italy: Beer Country and turned that into a tour company. It’s not made me rich, but I do get to go to Italy every year and drink amazing beer with great new friends. And nothing comes out of pocket; on the contrary, I’m paid to do it.
Books may not make you money, true, but they open enormous doors. So, get crackin’ and turn your everyday affairs into a possible business and writing opportunity.
BIO – Bryan Jansing’s works include, “Like Clumps of Dried Dirt,” “Bridge Party,” and “A Number on Reality,” in Fast Forward Vol. 3, The Mix Tape (2010), which was the finalist for the Colorado Book Awards. He was nominated for the Pushcart Prize in 2019. He has written for Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus. His book Italy: Beer Country is the first book about the Italian craft beer movement. His book, The Israeli Ghost, the true story about Ron Gonen, an international thief who got caught up with the first Israeli Mafia in New York City is forthcoming by Fayetteville Mafia Press. Bryan Jansing is a fiction writer who also does Italian craft beer tours in Italy and lives part-time between Denver, Colorado and Rome, Italy.
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