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After writing two books with my third on the way you might think I’ve got this whole book writing thing figured out. Truth is, I don’t. I’ve made so many mistakes it’s almost funny.
I had no idea what I was doing when I wrote my first book, The 30-Day Heartburn Solution. Don’t get me wrong, I’m damn proud of that book. I put my heart and soul into it, spent countless hours researching and writing it and it’s helped thousands of people. And it continues to sell well on Amazon.
But you know what they say…
If I’d have known then what I know now I would’ve done things A LOT differently.
After I wrote it I just put it on my website as a PDF and barely even promoted it. I was just hoping it would sell. And it did… a little bit. But not as much as it should have because heartburn is a HUGE issue that afflicts millions of people. I had no marketing plan. I wrote a few newsletters and blogs announcing it and that was about it. I put it on Amazon a few years later which helped more people find it. But I could’ve reached a lot more folks in the first few years had I had even the slightest clue what I was doing.
With my second book, Fearless Broths and Soups, I decided to do put it on Amazon right away. And it sold around 500 copies on the first day. Sounds good right? Not really. I made another huge mistake with this book.
I followed the crowd.
I employed a strategy I now deeply regret and it’s a strategy a lot of people still use. As soon as they release their book, they put in on Amazon for 99 cents for one day which is supposed to drive sales in the days and weeks that follow. Guess how much $$ you make at 99 cents per copy?
About 35 cents per copy.
So after spending countless hours and months upon months writing the book, testing the recipes, retesting and refining the recipes, the day I released it, I made about $150.
Here’s a 5 second video that perfectly expresses how I feel about that…
I’ve continued to try these 99 cent promos every now and then but they rarely drive sales after the one day promo and I’m done giving my books away for practically nothing.
So when I decided to write my third book I decided to stop following the crowd and really learn how to market my books in a way that honored all the hard work I put in to them and give me a clearer idea for how to continue to do this in the future. Because I really like writing books! I never set out to to do this as a Nutritional Therapist but I’ve found I enjoy the writing process. I’ve also found I can reach a lot more people as opposed to working with clients 1:1 (which I still continue to do). And I have to admit that I really like earning passive income too.
In the past few years a colleague of mine, Sylvie McCracken, created an online course called Create Passive Income with Ebooks. Sylvie has written 3 health books herself on Paleo-related topics and also has a background in marketing and business. She’s turned that background into an online course to help others with writing and marketing books. I decided to sign up and I’m glad I did because it’s totally changed my perspective and my approach for how to write and market a book.
And the cool thing about the course is that it’s not just for health and wellness books. It’s for anyone who’s ever wanted to write a book but didn’t know where to start.
1. Writing a book is not as hard as you think.
Look you don’t have to have a degree in literature. Considering all the education we have to go through from kindergarten through college and beyond, and all the research papers and writing projects we’ve had to complete, I bet all the writing you’ve done in your life would add up to at least 20-30 books. Maybe more. But you never organized any of it into a book format. Writing a book is simply learning to be a little more structured in what you’re writing about.
2. You don’t have to write a 500 page epic that takes you three years to write.
These days more people are looking for shorter books in the 100-200 page range. That’s not that long. I have a friend that can write a book in a few weeks. Personally, I need a little more time but my first two books took me about four months and this past one has taken me about 7 months. That’s not that long either!
3. You’re really passionate about something
We’re all passionate about at least one thing. If you’ve lived on this planet for at least a few decades, you have a book somewhere in you. You’ve learned something that can help others, something your passionate about, some skill that others might want to learn. It could be about gardening or playing guitar or travel or cooking or sewing or how to write poetry or how to train dogs or how to lose weight or ANYTHING. And that passion will fuel your writing.
4. Your book can help people.
I love how my heartburn book has helped so many people get off heartburn medications and learn the truth about real food. It makes me feel great when people email me or write a positive review. When your book helps others, it truly makes it all worthwhile.
5. Your book can help you.
What if your book brought in a few hundred dollars a month for the rest of your life? Wouldn’t that be nice? How about a few thousand? Who knows, maybe more! Passive income is an amazing thing and anyone can do it. All you you need is a desire to write something, a computer, an internet connection and some guidance…
The first thing you’ll learn in Create Passive Income with Ebooks is how to really believe you can do it. Trust me, if I can do it, anyone can do it. See reason #1 above!
The second thing you’ll learn is how to take those first steps into creating a game plan by outlining your ideas, coming up with chapter titles and an overall structure. Once you have that down, you’re off and running.
Then it’s all about sitting down and writing it. That’s the hard part. I struggle a lot with getting into the flow of writing and it can certainly be challenging at times. Create Passive Income with Ebooks will help you get through the difficulties be it writer’s block, finding the time to write, setting a schedule, finding motivation, and struggling with self-doubt. These are things everyone has to deal with, self included, especially that last one.
Although you proceed through the 8 modules of Create Passive Income with Ebooks at your own pace, when you sign up, you’ll connect with other course participants in a Facebook group. This is an invaluable place to ask questions and get support. I’m in that Facebook group so if you sign up, you’ll see me in there!
And a few times a year Sylvie will offer the course in a group setting where she holds weekly phone calls to keep you motivated and on track. You’ll also have the option of an accountability partner which is one person in the group that you connect with and help each other attain weekly and monthly goals. Even though my partner was on the opposite side of the country, we found the time to connect once a week and support each other. This was invaluable.
My point is, when you sign up, you’re not just doing it alone. And that’s a big deal.
And then of course, once you’ve written your book, you need to get it out in the world. This is where A LOT of people get lost and discouraged.
Like I said, this is the biggest reason I took the course. Sylvie will help you come up with a game plan for this too. It certainly helps to have a blog with an email list. If you don’t, she’ll show you how to get started.
And she’ll show you how to design and package your book which are a big part of marketing too, especially your title and cover design.
She’ll also show you how to make connections to those in your field or niche and how those connections can be mutually beneficial going forward.
Finally, you’ll learn not to blindly do what everyone else is doing and instead employ time-proven strategies that work over the long run.
Sylvie only runs the course a few times a year so you’ll need to get on her email list so you can get notified. Simply click here and you’ll also get a free cheat sheet for 6 proven steps to create passive income with ebooks.
Now to be fully transparent, the links here are affiliate links and if you do sign up, I do get a commission for it. Please understand this is not just a product but a full PROGRAM that I’ve invested many hours in and can vouch for how good it is. I don’t promote anything I don’t believe in.
And I really believe Create Passive Income with Ebooks can help anyone who wants not just to learn to write an ebook but anyone like myself who wants clarity on how to market them.
There’s really something for everyone in this course, from beginners to those who’ve already written books. And once you sign up you have access to the material and the Facebook group forever. I plan on writing more books in the future and will continually review the modules and connect with others when I have questions. And I know Sylvie is truly committed to teaching this course in the future and will update the course as times and trends change with writing ebooks (which it certainly will).
I honestly can’t recommend this course enough. If you sign up, I’ll see you in the Facebook group. And I’ll look forward to supporting you as you bring your book to life. As someone who doesn’t have a background, degree or any sort of formal training in writing, I promise you it’s not as hard as you think!
Craig Fear is the creator of Fearless Eating and the author of three books, The 30-Day Heartburn Solution, Fearless Broths and Soups and The Thai Soup Secret. After years helping clients with digestive issues, Craig decided to pursue writing full-time. He intends to write many more books on broths and soups from around the world! Click here to learn more about Craig.
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