I’ve written a 12-Day series on self-publishing tips and guides to help you start your Kindle publishing, building a passive income and ultimately quit your day job!
If you’re new to ThinkMaverick, you might want to check out how Kindle Publishing changed my life and make sure you go through this 12 Days Self-Publishing series:
Day 1: 5 Things Beginners Need to Know About Kindle Publishing
Day 2: 7 Reasons Why You Should Create an eBook for Your Business
Day 3: How to Write and Publish an eBook
Day 4: How To Find Profitable Niches To Publish Online
Day 5: The Biggest Mistake I Made In Self-Publishing and How You Can Avoid It
Day 6: 6 Steps To Sell More Books on Amazon
Day 7: Designing Book Covers That Sell
Day 8: 7 Most Common Self-Publishing Mistakes You Should Avoid
Day 9: 40 Ways to Promote and Market Your Book
Day 10: 49 Inspirational Marketing Tips From Top Authors
Day 11: Top 10 Best Tools for Self-Publishing Authors
Day 12: 12 Best Platforms to Self-Publish Your eBook and Make Money
That was Sunday.
“Hell (hell), what the matter with your head head
Hell (hell), what the matter with your mind and your sign and a ohohoh…”
It’s 8 o’clock. And that’s my alarm clock, the song “Come and Get Your Love” by RedBone
I had a hard time dragging myself out of bed especially on a Sunday morning. I hated my job. What I hated more was I have to work during the weekends, 10am-10pm. (In Asia, a 12 work day is a norm).
I hardly had time for myself, let alone spending time with my family.
I felt unfulfilled, underutilized and unhappy.
But… it’s the only job that I know how to make a living from, a profession that I’ve spent 4 years studying at University.
For nearly 3 years, I had faced my alarm clock with the same dread.
Do I have to do this for another 40 years?
Looking into the mirror, beyond the soulless eyes, I didn’t know who was looking back. I was lost.
I didn’t know exactly what I wanted. But I did know what bored me to tears, and I told myself I’m going to make a change.
“Change doesn’t happen overnight but you can change your direction overnight.”
So, I started learning the art of book publishing from my boyfriend then (now my husband). Spending my day off and all my spare time working on my side hustle. It’s my only ticket to exit the rat race, so I thought.
I didn’t know how to write. I didn’t know what to write. But once I started taking actions, it’s easier than I expected!
Till now I don’t think that I’m very good at writing. But I try to practice the craft by writing at least 500words every day, that’s also part of the reason why I started this blog.
I have written a helpful guide on how to start a blog for serious beginners. If you are interested in starting your own blog, click here to get started now.
English is not my mother tongue. And I never thought that someone would buy and read my book. It never came across my mind that one day I would be a self-published author.
In less than a month, I have my first book published, it started generating sales from the very first day and I have never looked back.
Things have changed since, which is great but perhaps the most surprising is the 6-figure business we’ve built through self-publishing books. And I’d be able to quit my job and working from home full time!
The minute I stopped exchanging happiness with money, is the moment I start living.
As you’re reading this, our 500++ books continue to sell on Amazon and generating our passive income. We worked because we wanted to, not because we had to.
So, Why Self-Publish?
Self-publishing is one of the best and easiest business models for both authors and non-authors.
1. It’s free and easy to set up
Unlike other startups or businesses, you can self-publish with literally zero cost.
There’s no inventory, no middle men. All you need is your Internet.
For my first book, I spent less than $30 to get it done and I earned $183 for the first month, that’s over 500% profit. What I did next was reinvesting the profit and keep publishing more books.
It’s like an ATM machine. How much would you put into it if you know it almost always has positive revenue?
2. Time
The Internet has remarkably sped up the book publishing process.
It takes a few minutes to upload your book on Amazon. Your book will be on sale in less than 24 hours.
And self-published authors can now receive royalty earnings on a monthly basis.
For authors who publish traditionally, even after striking a deal with publishers, it may take weeks or months to get the book available on the market and get paid.
3. Consistent and scalable income
For every book sold, you can receive 35-70% of the sale price. It’s better than every traditional publishing deal out there that may only offer 5-20% royalty.
The best part, there’s no income ceiling. Every book you published will add to your financial bottom line.
You’re no longer selling your time and building other people’s business.
The more you publish, the more you earn.
4. Passive income
In the beginning, you’ll need to invest some time to put out your best content- writing, editing, designing book cover.
Once you hit the publish button, you can earn passive income by selling it over and over again.
Want to sell more books?
You can market and promote them. Here are 40 ways to promote and market your book effectively.
5. Creative Control
Unlike traditional publishing, self-publishing allows authors to be in total control of the entire creative, marketing and selling process.
From your book title to cover design to book pricing, you decide! You don’t have to ask for someone else’s permission to write.
You can work at your own pace without having to meet deadlines or certain criteria.
6. Ownership
If you self-publish, you own your copyright and all the rights to your book.
7. Global market
With the click of a button, anyone can start selling any title they wish to millions of readers worldwide instantly.
8. Leave a Legacy
I have never thought that besides making money, self-publishing allows us to leave a legacy, share our knowledge, experience and build a business.
For example, helping my father-in-law self publish his first health book, where he shares his personal experience and his little secret to cure heart palpitation and irregular missed beats. He hopes by sharing his personal experience will help others who have the same heart-related problems do the same.
Each and every one of us has a story to tell and a little secret to share with the world.
If you can grasp that, you can look beyond the profits.
Are you interested in publishing books on Amazon? Sign up this free publishing mini e-course below.
One more thing, be sure to check out this 12 Days Self-Publishing series. Have a read and jump in the comments if you have any question.