Authors Thinking Ahead … What’s After Your Book? Another Book … or a “Product”?

Authors Thinking Ahead … What’s After Your Book?

Maybe … Another Book … or a “Product”?

 

Whew … you’ve worked hard … your book is outselling, reviews coming in, maybe a little speaking (personally, I hope lots) … what are you going to do next?

Write another book? That would be a big “yes” from me. Savvy authors know that if they practice “I’m a one-book pony” that the probability for success comes to a screeching halt.

Have you done an audiobook to add to your print and ebook formats? That would be another big “yes” from me. Did you know that it’s projected that audiobooks will surface total sales of what ebooks do today? Bet you didn’t. Are you participating in the audiobook revolution that expert Richard Rieman has written about in The Author’s Guide to Audiobook Creation and consulted and guided so many in, including me? Suggest you join the brigade pronto. And, it gives you an opportunity for another launch!

What else?

How about a “product”? As an author, you have a product that can be morphed to other products. Books have covers. How would it look on a mug? a Tee-shirt? What about a canvas bag or a nifty pin? Note cards? Illustrations can become products that you sell … are there any in your book? Can they be made into a sellable product that is low price and an add-on to a sale of a book or stands alone?

To do this, you need to get the permission of the illustrator or have it arranged up front that you own all rights to anything and everything. How about a bookmark that becomes a “tool” vs. just a placeholder … meaning you can sell them as an “add-on” tip tool.

Some will require payment—either a lump sum or royalty arrangement–it will depend if you create it yourself with your own product/material that your own outright or one that you have to make an arrangement with the holder of the copyright if it isn’t you.

I turned one of the critters in my book Sabotage!™ How to Deal with the Pit Bulls, Snakes, Skunks, Scorpions & Slugs in the Health Care Workplace book into a 2 x 3 pin that cost 60 cents that sells for $5—markets my books whenever it is displayed or worn. We’ve got one of our logos on a mug that sells and created a tee-shirt with one of the “Keepers” from a book that has sold thousands. 

 

Taking a key tool from the Sabotage! book, a bookmark with created with a tassel that sells for $5–an easy add to each sale of a book. Then we lumped 10 of them together, tied a purple ribbon around them and sold those at a  discount for $40–we’ve sold thousands of those. Michelle Marchildon, an author of Finding More on the Mat, Fearless after Fifty has created a tee-shirt with an outrageous saying on back and front .. her audiences and readers are wild about them–selling out within days when she launched the first one. Sure, they are a bit salty–but if you know Michelle, so is she!

Don’t just stop at the book. There may be gold between the covers, on top of them and outside of them. Create products that will continue with your brand. Books have amazing lives–you never know what path they will take you on … if you will let them!

 What say you? What can you do for you next, next step?

Dr. Judith Briles is a book publishing expert and author of 36 multi-award books. She’s guided over 1,000 authors in creating their books, earned in excess of $3,000,000 in speaking fees based on her books and gathered over $2,000,000 in onsite book sales at her speaking gigs. Her latest book, How to Create a $1,000,000 Speech flips a difficult topic into a simple and easily comprehensible plan. If you want to get into speaking, this is the guide that will be the game-changer to success.