Plant a Seed, Earn a Buck
A few months back, a book I wrote more than twenty years ago delivered an unexpected royalty check for $1,000.
When I originally wrote the book, I received an advance that earned out in a year or so. After a few years, the book stopped selling all that many copies (this is common), but I would get small royalty checks a couple times a year, enough to pay a bill or treat myself to something fun.
That $1,000 royalty check was a reminder that sometimes the seeds we planted a long time ago bear unexpected fruit.
And it’s one reason I’m a fan of writing what some people (including, I’m sorry to say, me) call “information products.”
These can be books or white papers or any type of content that people pay for. It’s best if the information is evergreen, or at least won’t change from this month to next.
Over the years, I’ve written a lot of books. Recent ones connect to my current business of teaching editors: The Club Ed Guide to Starting and Running a Profitable Freelance Editing Business and The Business of Storytelling.
These books don’t necessarily deliver a lot of royalties each month, but they do give people a chance to see if I have anything to say that they’re interested in learning about, and the price is inexpensive enough not to be much of a barrier for most people.
A large number of students at Club Ed have read one or the other of these books, so their value isn’t just in the royalties I earn. Their value is in helping people decide if they want to work with me.
But every now and then, these seeds (as I like to call them) also deliver an unexpected bonus—more money!
