The Don’t Skip This Introduction
Introduction
Take a look at these advantages:
•No annoying employees or bosses
•No advertising costs
•No inventory
•No overhead
•No licenses, permits, or zoning allowances
•No three-piece suits or sensible dresses. (Your power jammies are fine.)
•Shaving, combed hair, and deodorant optional
•No alarm clocks
•No commute
•No feigning illness on Monday morning
•No meetings
•No ass-kissing
You can start this job today with no more than a
rickety typewriter, a ream of paper, some postage, a kitchen table, a local
public library, and a dream.
And, you can make a million bucks. Or $1.95.
The beauty of nonfiction book writing is that the field
truly is wide open to anyone, regardless of race, sex, age, education,
financial background, or personal appearance. (In the corporate world, tall,
beautiful people rule. In the writing world, even Yoda can climb to the top
of the success ladder.) And talent? Talent is not only overrated but all too
often used as an excuse for failing to try: "I have no inborn talent, alas,
so why bother?" How much you succeed and how much you make depends almost
entirely on your willingness to work hard and persevere.
The downside of being a nonfiction book writer is the
very same downside that every entrepreneur faces. If you don’t follow the
market, remain competitive, study trends, run an efficient, streamlined
business, maintain your product (in this case your writing) at a high
quality level, and promote your business and yourself with the fervor of a
door-to-door Kirby vacuum salesman with seven hungry children and a new
litter of St. Bernard puppies to feed, you will flop. Go belly-up. Go out of
business. Choke. Suffer financial hardship. Blow it. Bomb. Lay an egg.
Yet, unlike other entrepreneurs, unless you do
something exceedingly foolish, you will have very little money invested in
your business—no employee payroll, no swank downtown office space, no
six-figure equipment leases. You’ll get in with minimum risk. In fact, it is
likely to be the smallest financial risk of any entrepreneurial endeavor
going today. And if you don’t believe this, just try buying a Taco Bell
franchise or opening even a closet-sized boutique for the price of a cheap
computer.
Are you beginning to see just how exceptional this home
business can be?
Indeed, the risks are as low as anyone could possibly
ask for any business in light of the potential rewards. Your chief gamble is
in the time and effort you invest, not hard cash. And that time, at least in
the beginning, can be your spare time. In fact, easing into this business on
a part-time basis is the wise strategy until you’ve reached a respectable
perch on the learning curve. As accepting of beginners as this home business
is, you can’t learn it overnight. You also shouldn’t roll the dice with your
family’s welfare until you know those dice are loaded in your favor.
It is my contention, however, that you can learn the
trade and begin making a respectable income much faster than most people
think possible—if you avoid the mistakes of others and stay away from both
low-reward and super-high reward (but highly speculative) writing projects.
(More on those later.)
