Writing a Business Book Can Pay Off …

… if you do it right.

That’s the conclusion from a publishing industry survey of more than 300 business book authors. 

“Doing it right” means spending some money. 

• Authors who worked with ghostwriters produced books that were four times as profitable as those who did not. (That was the median return.) 

• Only about eight percent of authors surveyed worked with ghostwriters, but those who did had a median revenue of $92,500, compared to $18,200 in median revenue for all authors in the survey.

• Success comes in other forms than sales: 90% of authors reported receiving “nonmonetary value” (think invitations, leads, offers, etc.), and 89 percent said writing a book was a good idea.

• That’s good, because book sales rarely met expectations: median sales were 4,600 units for traditionally published books, 1,600 units for hybrid published books and 700 units for self published books. If sales is your major metric of success, this can be worrying.

Traditionally published books had a major edge in profitability, in part because some authors received book advances. For many people, especially busy professionals, the process of securing an agent and getting a publishing deal is difficult or impossible because their book, while good and useful, doesn’t meet publishers’ needs. That’s where self-publishing can really deliver.

A notable 68% of business book authors said they were now more credible to prospects and clients; 61% said their personal brand was worth more. Most authors completed their goals, such as elevating important topics and boosting their reputations.

More highlights next week.

To read the survey, go to: https://authorroi.com/