If you want to write a best-selling book and become a millionaire, be prepared for a long hard journey and a big dose of luck!
Books, in and of themselves, aren’t usually big money-spinners – sorry to shatter any dreams you had around that!
While we like to imagine that writers spend their days focusing solely on creating their literary masterpieces, in reality very few writers only write books. Most see their writing as a side hustle to their main business or profession.
Why do you want to write a book?
Having a book under your belt is a great way to support your business (some say it’s the best business card you can have!), and it sends a good message that you have something interesting to say.
So, if you’re thinking about writing a book, have a really good think about what you want it to do for you…
- Do you want it to support your other business activities?
- Is it to record some part of your life and experiences?
- Is it to bring imaginary characters and their adventures to life?
- Or perhaps you want to have something to show for what it is you do?
These are all very good reasons to bring that book inside you out into the world.
Making money isn’t the best reason
Now, while I appreciate I’m including writing a book in a series about content for income, making money is probably not the best reason for writing one.
It’s now a crowded market and, while you might get your costs back, we can’t all be the next JK Rowling or the like, so a return on costs is likely as much as you can expect.
For the ‘how’ of how to write a book, check out my blog series about this.
What we’re considering here though is your why for doing it, because this really is just as, if not more, important. The reality is it’s going to be hard work – around 500 hours of hard work to give you an idea! So, your ‘why’ needs to be compelling enough to keep you going when the going gets tough. And it will get tough! Even the most experienced writers come up against a wall. It’s just an accepted part of the process.
Feeling discouraged?
It doesn’t mean you shouldn’t do it; it’s just important to set your expectations before you embark on the journey.
But, if you have a reasonable-sized following of people who are interested in what you have to say, then writing a book will be a worthwhile project.
If writing a book is something you’re interested in exploring and would like our expert help, book a free content review call and we’ll chat through options that can work well for you.