02 Sep Get Paid to Write Short Books

Why get paid to write for others when you can write short books and keep the profits for yourself?

Seth Godin, multiple bestselling author once said:

“One of my books took more than a year to write, ten hours a day. Another took three weeks. Both sell for the same price. The quicker one outsold the other 20 to 1.

A $200 bottle of wine costs almost exactly as much
to make as a $35 bottle of wine.

The cost of something is largely irrelevant,
people are paying attention to its value.

Your customers don’t care what it took for you to make something. They care about what it does for them.”

Many of my clients spend years writing their book(s) and I like to call that “slow money”.  What if you could write one short book a month and earn an average of $277 per book like I did? In this blog post I am going to outline exactly how I help my clients and myself write short books t0 make money.

In the past, big publishing houses could charge more for longer books. There was also a high demand from consumers who wanted to read longer books.

However, times have changed, and people now have less time and decreased attention spans.

Readers want short books!

Top 10 Reasons To Write Short Reads Books 

1. Time and attention are in short supply, so there is a greater demand from readers for quick reads.
2. Writing short books focused on one topic is easier than writing a long book with multiple topics.
3. Fewer words require less time to write (it took me three days to write the bulk of this book.)
4. Volume boosts your visibility (especially on Amazon). You can attract repeat readers who will follow you.
5. Short books involve less risk. Because you are not investing a considerable amount of time or money in creating these books, less than expected sales will not greatly impact you. In fact, you will learn what works and what doesn’t work and then use that knowledge when writing additional books.
6. You can create a series of short books that explore your favorite subjects in greater depth than you could do in a single, larger book. 
7. Much of the data shows that people do not finish reading books. Since shorter books
   require less time to read, there is a greater chance people will actually read your entire book.
8. Amazon has a specific category for these books called “Short Reads.” You can’t select this category when publishing on KDP, but if the number of pages in your book matches the criteria in that Short Reads category, Amazon will include your book in that category giving it more exposure.
9. You can set a lower price for your eBook and get a higher quantity of sales. 
10. You can choose a niche and grow rich by writing short books in very narrow categories and do extremely well.

I love writing shorter books!

In 2020, I decided to write one short book a month as an experiment, and in 12 months I created $3,300+ per month in passive income.

One of the books I wrote during that time was “How to Find Your Passion: 23 Questions that Can Change Your Entire Life” which took me about three weeks. I published it within 30 days, and it has been one of my top income generating books. I believe it’s because people want shorter books with action items they can use to get quick results. 

Of course, some books will do better than others. You never know what topic will appeal best to readers. The market decides what they like and don’t like. All you can do is write the best book possible, do your research, launch like a pro, and then move on to the next one. 

We live in a high-tech, fast-paced world. Most of us are extremely distracted and our time is fragmented. Gone are the days when people buy a manifesto type book and block out their entire weekend to leisurely read.

These days, our time is broken up into short and often disjointed periods. We face constant interruptions from emails, texts, phone calls, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and more.

Consequently, attention spans have diminished. The desire to learn new things still exists but most people want to learn faster.

Consider this when writing books. Instead of writing a book on the A-Z of Marketing, write a series of short books that each focus on one narrow topic. For example, the series could include books on these topics: 

• Writing Persuasive Sales copy
• Creating Facebook Ads
• Building a Profitable Blog
• How to Create a Webinar 
• Think micro-topics instead of macro-topics.

TIP: Think micro-topics instead of macro-topics

8 Types of Easy-to-Write Short Books

1. List or tip book in your niche (example “50 Fitness Tips You Wish You Knew” by Derek Doepker)
2. Positive Affirmations in your niche (example, 500 Affirmations for Wealth and Success by Taylor Andrews is 37 pages)
3. Step-by-step guide (example, 3 Steps to $10,000 a Month in Instant Passive Income Streams  by J.P. Clarke  is 63 pages)
4. Inspiring Quotes book (example, Thomas Sowell Quotes by Diana is 37 pages)
5. 7 Secrets in your niche (example, The 7 Secrets to Becoming a Wealthy Contractor by Brian Kaskavalciyan  is 64 pages)
6. Collection book such as top strategies, top recipes, or top performers in an industry (example 50 Top Paleo Recipes by Emma Green is 60 pages)
7. Low content books like planners and journals (example, The Miracle Morning Companion Planner by Hal Elrod is 23 pages)
9. Check out my other blog post, How to Write a Book in Seven Days to learn even more

When I was writing one short book a month, I came up with some tips and tricks that I call my RAPID WRITING SECRETS that helped me get my book done and I also use these with my clients.

Here are my 16 Rapid Writing Secrets that will help you easily write short books and make money:

• SPEAK YOUR BOOK

Many of my clients do NOT like to sit down and write. So, I have them record what they want to include in their book and then have the recordings transcribed. An editor or assistant puts all the recordings in cohesive order and creates the book. You can do this yourself by downloading the “Rev” app to your smartphone. Then, create recordings for your book and have them transcribed. This is a very quick way to get your book done!

• HAVE SOMEONE INTERVIEW YOU

Have someone who isn’t familiar with your topic interview you about it. Come up with questions for them to ask you and record the answers and then have them transcribed. 

• WRITE THE FIRST PARAGRAPH

When writing a book, the hardest part is writing the first paragraph. Once it’s written, though, the rest will flow. You can even write the first paragraph for each chapter and then go back and add the remaining content. Also, you don’t have to write the chapters in the order they will appear in the book. Start with the chapters that you feel the most energy around.

• WRITE THE CHAPTER SUMMARY FIRST

Many books write themselves once you start writing, so creating a chapter summary will help get the ideas out of your head and give you a place to start.

• WRITE IN A FRESH ENVIRONMENT

Because of distractions at home, you might get more writing done away from your home office. Go to a coffee shop, your local bookstore, or sit outside, anywhere that you won’t be distracted from writing.

• WRITE IT OUT OF SEQUENCE

Many writers get too focused on the sequence of the chapters and never write anything. That’s why you need an editor who will review your book and move things around if they seem out of sequence. Or you can move the chapters around yourself once you’ve written them all. Don’t be too concerned about the order of the chapters because the main goal is to get it out of your head. For me, trying to figure out the sequence as I’m writing slows me down tremendously. Just knowing I can rearrange the chapters when I’m done allows my writing to flow with ease!

• WRITE WHERE THE EMOTION IS

You should write about a topic you have strong emotions around because it is important to connect with your readers’ emotions. Write down ideas that are high on your emotional scale. You’ve probably heard the saying, “Make Your Mess Your Message.” What messes can you write about?

• WRITE THE STORIES FIRST, THEN MAKE YOUR POINTS

Everyone loves a good story. People easily remember stories more than a list of facts. There is power in the phrase, “Once upon a time…” So, write your stories first, and then add the points. 

Method: 

• Write a Story.
• Make three points. 
• Rinse and Repeat.

That’s it!

• KEEP AN IDEA OR BRAINSTORMING JOURNAL

Once you decide on the book topic, you’ll start getting ideas when you’re out walking, showering, drinking a cup of coffee or tea, eating a meal, etc. As these ideas come to you, write them in a journal (let your subconscious write your book for you). When we aren’t trying to chase ideas, they will often come to us effortlessly. Have a way to capture your ideas either on your smart phone or you can use something like this:  https://www.amazon.com/Eccolo-Collection-Go-Getter-Hardcover-Spiral/dp/B06XXNS6XP/

• TEXT YOUR BOOK TO YOURSELF OR USE THE NOTES APP

When we text others, we get right to the point. Text your book via the “Notes” app on your smartphone instead of sitting in front of a computer staring at a blank page. Sometimes, we need to trick our brain in order to get things done.

• WRITE YOUR BOOK WITH POST-IT NOTES

I’ve used this method and it’s amazing. You’ll need some Post-it notes and something to stick them on, like a poster board or a white board. Do a brain dump and write everything you can think of about your topic on each Post-it note. Then, sort them out and group them together around a theme to create the outline for your book. 

• BLOG YOUR BOOK

I have done a couple of books for clients who collected past blog posts they have written. They edited the blog posts, rearranged them, and sometimes added new content to them. Then they repurposed those blog posts into a brand new book. 

• PODCAST YOUR BOOK

If you have a podcast, transcribe each episode and use it for a book chapter, and voilà, you have a book!

• POWERPOINT YOUR BOOK

Many people love using PowerPoint to create content, so why not use it to write your book? Create a slide for each topic in your book, then fill it in with more details.

• START WITH POWERFUL QUOTES

When I see a great quote, I feel inspired. Many books I’ve read include a powerful quote at the beginning of each chapter. An easy way to get your book started is to collect 10-12 quotes related to your topic and write a chapter based on each of those quotes.

• WRITE YOUR BOOK WITH BLOCK TIME

We do our best work when we are in a “FLOW” state, which is when we are completely absorbed in the activity at hand (also known as being “in the zone”). To accomplish this: 

• Do your highest value work early in the day. 
• Set this time aside as your block time. 
• Don’t do any tasks that are distracting beforehand (email, watching the news, scrolling through social media, etc.).

What are your favorite Rapid Writing Secrets? Use what works best for you!

If you’re interested in how to write short books to make money and would like my help, sign up for the waiting list for my upcoming group coaching program, Digital Retirement Academy, based on my #1 bestselling book, Digital Retirement!