Five Reasons to Write a Book ASAP

~~~ Notes from Minnesota ~~~

Hey Freelancer,

I’ve got so much to share with you today!

First… I’m, in many regards, going back to my roots. Turns out, many new Writing Etc. readers didn’t realize Filbert Publishing is an actual… well… traditional publishing company (that means we write checks to our authors, not the other way around). I just got our info squared away with the Writer’s Market and am looking forward to another year of listings in one of the best places for freelancers to find reputable companies looking for great writing. Squee! (I’ll quit tooting my own horn now.)

In extra fun news, we just signed two new authors and I’m pretty pleased with their project, a new series called “Pocket Power.” I’m pleased with its progress so far. You can find it listed on our little “bestseller” list below. 😛

And last but not least, turns out Mini-Me (the wonky eyed Jack Russell we recently adopted) is quite the lap dog. As in, she appears to demand that our bodies touch. All. The. Time. Oy. That makes for some interesting conflicts between her and my laptop. I’ve got pics of her on the website…

Ah, the trials and tribulations at the Filbert Publishing world headquarters.

I hope you find today’s feature useful! Now, get writing.

‘Til next time,

Beth 🙂

P.S. Check out our personal bestsellers!

1. Stuck: Transforming Everything You Think You Know About Creative Blocks

2. Bob Bly’s Guide to Freelance Writing Success

3. *New Title!* Pocket Power: Become the Person You Were Born to Be

4. Advice to Freelancers: Make a Living Loving Your Job

5. One Simple Baking Mix: 50 Fast Recipes…

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Heck, it’s only 4.99 a month. AND this month’s issue is a jumbo edition! I had so much to share it’s expanded by two solid pages.

Freelancing is ever evolving… unrecognizable from when I began during the Internet stone ages…

So… let’s untangle these crazy, all important topics. We’ll gossip (just a little). Share the latest and greatest info. Perhaps we’ll have a little fun, too.

Let’s hang out at the Mocha Club.

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Five reasons to write a book ASAP
Beth Ann Erickson

If you’ve freelanced for any period of time, you likely have a book idea (or two, or three) swimming around your head. Here are five reasons (some not so obvious) to jump on that project:

Establish yourself as an expert

If you want to be viewed as an expert, write a book. If you’re trawling for clients, they’ll often hire the expert rather than a newbie on the subject. Just saying, “I wrote the book about this,” will often open more doors than if you hadn’t published the manuscript.

It’s one heck of a resume and/or business card

Whenever I’ve got a prospective client on the line, I offer to mail them one of my books. Whenever someone asks for my resume, I send it… along with one of my books.

Doing this not only boosts your credibility, but it shows you know how to tackle large projects, illustrates your tenacity, and highlights your eye for detail. All these are traits your clients generally admire.

It creates a nice additional income stream

Imagine awakening each morning, logging onto your computer, and checking how many books sold while you slept. That’s exactly what you get to do when you’ve got a book on the market. It’s an amazing feeling because you can literally make a living 24 hours a day. Plus, with more than one book in various online bookstores, you can multiply sales.

Start a sales funnel

You need a high volume of books selling to make a living wage. However, you use those lower priced items as a gateway to offering other products. This is called, “creating a sales funnel.” You sell your original book, the reader likes what they see, so they hire you to write ad copy, to coach them, for a consulting gig, the options are only limited by your imagination.

Free advertising

You can use your book to gain wonderful public relations. I recall when my first novel hit the shelves, I sent a press release to the largest newspaper in Central Minnesota. They sent a reporter to my office, interviewed me, and I received a half page, front page article! Plus, I landed a full hour interview at the largest AM station in the region. Of course, I mentioned my copywriting services in each piece.

I’d never would have been able to afford that kind of advertising.

Bonus benefit: It’s a perfect way to turn spare time into a profitable project that will follow you the rest of your life.

If you’re like me, you find yourself with a bit of time each day when you wonder what project you should tackle next. When you’ve got a spare five, ten, fifteen minutes, why not take that otherwise wasted time to build your future? (Sometimes I ding around with my latest book when I’m “watching” Netflix!)

Book writing takes far less time than you may think. Plus, it’s amazingly fun and can give you a huge edge as you pursue freelance projects. Give it a whirl.

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You can use any of these articles free of charge on your own website or zine. Just don’t make any changes and be sure to include this byline:

This article is courtesy of Filbert Publishing. Make your writing sparkle, write killer queries, get published. Subscribe to Writing Etc., the free e-mag for freelancers and receive the e-book “Power Queries.” http://filbertpublishing.com

Enjoy!