55 of 55 people found the following review helpful
3.0 out of 5 stars
Lots of good ideas, light on specifics, April 15 2011
By AdamSTL - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: How to Write & Sell Simple Information for Fun and Profit: Your Guide to Writing and Publishing Books, E-Books, Articles, Special Reports, Audio Programs, DVDs, and Other How-To Content (Paperback)
The book provided a lot of good ideas, e.g. taking your existing materials and making audio programs/DVDs out of them, but felt light on specifics and implementation. While reading the book, I would frequently search the web for more information regarding the specific topic. After doing that for a while, I began to wonder why I purchased the book.
For me, it's best used as a quick "ah ha, I'll do that" type book for sparking ideas, with more in-depth research done elsewhere.
44 of 45 people found the following review helpful
4.0 out of 5 stars
Good book, but have realistic expectations, Mar 8 2011
By Kyle T. Logan "Enrolled Agent" - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: How to Write & Sell Simple Information for Fun and Profit: Your Guide to Writing and Publishing Books, E-Books, Articles, Special Reports, Audio Programs, DVDs, and Other How-To Content (Paperback)
This is another good book by Bly. Keep in mind though, Bly has 30 years of experience, 80+ books published, and a loyal following of 60K+ followers. One doesn't build this type of reputation overnight. It takes time, experience, and expertise in a specific niche that evolves over time. If you have an infrastructure in place to exploit the tips Bly provides here, then yes, I do believe you can add significant income to your business using this book. If you don't however, you should realize that building a six figure supplementary income will take time as your loyal followers and infrastructure builds out. Bly estimates 12 - 24 months. I think that this depends on many factors, including: your time and ability to test ideas, you internet savvy and marketing smarts, the number of followers you have, your choice of material and audience pool (as Bly indicates), and more. Can you do it in two years or less? Perhaps. Can it take longer. Of course. My suggestion: buy the book, aim for the moon, but set expectations accordingly.
55 of 60 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars
A hands-on practical guide that absolutely anyone interested in nonfiction writing as a career must have, Sep 12 2010
By Midwest Book Review - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: How to Write & Sell Simple Information for Fun and Profit: Your Guide to Writing and Publishing Books, E-Books, Articles, Special Reports, Audio Programs, DVDs, and Other How-To Content (Paperback)
How to Write & Sell Simple Information for Fun and Profit is a straightforward, career-minded guide to creating and publishing saleable how-to books, articles, reports, seminars, or even online content. Chapters cover how to efficiently and effectively conduct research, build a reputation in one's field, avoid common pitfalls, and earn a solid living. "One of the biggest challenges for the how-to writer running his own membership site is retaining members. There is really only one strategy that can prevent your members from leaving: continually posting fresh content on the site." Making money through the creation of audio CDs, DVDs, and even selling software is also covered, in this hands-on practical guide that absolutely anyone interested in nonfiction writing as a career must have.
