I got a call last night asking about publishing ebooks—which type of ebook to publish and what does it entail. I did not feel qualified to respond in any depth or detail to these questions, but I did come up with some books that might help the author. There aren’t many such books out, yet. That should be my next project, since there’s so much activity within the world of ebook production and sales.
In case you are interested the books I located are: Make Money Online: Write and Sell Ebooks by Scott Boyd; ePublish: Self-publish fast and Profitably for Kindle, Create Space, IPhone and Print on Demand by Steve Weber and How to Write and Publish Your Own eBook in as Little as 7 Days by Jim Edwards and Joe Vitale.
I had a conversation with a former student yesterday. She said she wanted to start making money writing articles. She is contemplating taking my article-writing course and she asked, “Do you make money writing articles, Patricia? How many articles do you write per month?”
Here’s my response, “While I once supported myself through article-writing—for quite a few years, actually, I no longer earn money that way. I still write a lot of articles, but they are designed to promote my books and position myself as an expert/professional in my field. Most of the publications/websites/ezines I submit to do not pay—a few do, but pay isn’t much.
So no, I am no longer relying on article-writing to support myself. My writing/publishing business has taken a different direction.
When I was at my prime, I would send out dozens of queries—sometimes as many as 50 per month. But remember, I was writing on a wide variety of topics. I would write maybe 10 articles per month—depending on how much research and how many interviews were involved. Essays and articles on subjects I know well go together much easier and quicker than those on topics I have to research and get expert quotes for. (But the latter article generally brings in more money.) I might sell anywhere from 3 to 8 articles per month—earning anywhere from $500 to $3,000 month.
There is nothing steady and nothing you can count on in the article-writing business. Some freelance article writers make much more than I did—most fail quickly. It is a pretty intense way to make a living. You have to be strongly committed and you should enjoy the process.”
This student then asked, if I thought she could earn a certain amount of money each month. I said, “It all depends on you. Someone who looks for the need, watches trends and submits enough timely ideas to the right magazines in a professional way can surely meet your goals. Someone who is short-sighted, unwilling to stretch and grow and is too narrowly focused— probably not…”
I received another nice comment from a student in my online book proposal course today. She said, “This course has been a tremendous help to me. I had written a draft of my book, but since taking the course, I realize I’m going to need to develop the story arc more. It is definitely worth the $200 and then some.” And we are only up to class number six—two more to go.
For more information about my online, on-demand courses, visit http://www.matilijapress.com/courses.htm Or contact me at PLFry620@yahoo.com