I’ve been writing and selling eBooks online since 2002. I’ve written about 60 books to date. I do everything from cover making to editing and proofreading. So, why am I bringing this up?
Well, a niche that is growing exponentially in the online world is self-published authors like me in need of services. prove? A 2012 Taleist Self-Publishing Survey of 1,000 authors by Dave Cornford and Steven Lewis found:
** 70% of digital publishing authors format their own eBooks.
**70% of authors using print-on-demand designed their own internal layout.
** 45% of self-published authors designed their own cover.
But I must say, this is changing. Self-published authors earn more and start investing to make their books as professional as possible. This means they are willing to spend money on things like professional album art, development editing, proofreading, and typesetting.
prove?
Returning to the survey, the researchers found that the number one service that self-published writers pay for is copy editing — 29% of respondents paid money for it. Proofreading is the second most popular service they pay for (25% of respondents). Finally, story editing is the third most popular service; one in five (20%) writers pay for the service.
Note: Read more about these statistics in the article Should Writers Pay for Professional Services? On Bubble Cow.
Other services that freelance writers can offer self-published authors
Screenplay Writing: Yesterday I did some research and checked out the popular site Fiverr. I came across a service I had never heard of – the “hot” scene of a romance novel. Obviously, many novelists have a hard time writing these specific types of scenes in their books – but someone will write them for you!
Ghostwriters: Of course there are also people who write entire books for you, from romance to science fiction.
Social Media Marketing: If you take writing seriously, you don’t have much time for things like social media marketing. And it’s a service that goes hand in hand with any type of writing, making it easy to sell.
Search Engine Optimization (SEO): Many writers have never heard of this, which, by the way, is at the heart of making money by promoting something online. Remember, SEO teaches you how to market anything online – so tweaking it in place (e.g. helping self-published authors find their ebooks online) is one way to differentiate yourself from other aspiring authors.
General Marketing: This covers all areas. Self-publishers need press releases, blog posts, web content, and more.
Again, if you’re a writer and spend most of your time doing this, it’s very difficult to effectively market your book once it’s finished. So having someone “start there” (that is, once you finish the book) and get it out into the world is critical to your long-term success as a writer. prove?
finally
The Taleist study found that self-published authors who do not pay for certain professional services (such as editing, copying, and proofreading) earn 58% less than the average author.
This opens up opportunities for freelance writers smart enough to step up and sell themselves to this niche market.
