Outandabout March 2022 Issue195

WALSH’S WISDOM FEBRUARY 2022 | 39
Writers are undeniably kings and
queens. Their rivals in other creative
pursuits have little or no chance of
sharing their achievement with others.
Try selling your dresses, jewellery, your
paintings, your wife’s portrait, busts
and figurines, or your sheets of music.
Yet, for comparatively little outlay
the writer can be his own publisher.
He or she can order their books from
a reputable book printer. After having
his book printed and delivered the
writer can sell copies and put in their
bank both the publisher’s fees and the
royalties.
Let us imagine 200 or maybe 500
copies of your book are delivered to
your door. Do what I did on a number
of occasions. Each time I did so I hit the
jackpot.
Each book cost perhaps €3 to be
printed and has a cover price of €8.95.
Copies can be sold directly to buyers at
fetes, soirées, charity events, home book
signing functions, shared market stalls,
writers’ circles, garden parties. The
seller pockets €6 profit.
I also used the Sale or Return method.
Wherever appropriate, booksellers,
retailers, tourist offices, giftware shops,
etc, say a dozen books are left ‘sale or
return’ so no risk to the vendor. The
retailer receives the usual one-third
(€3) for each book sold and the author
slips into their purse a profit of €3. You
don’t wish to do this yourself. Offer the
salesman’s job to a friend and pay them
€3 per copy sold.
Finally, or beforehand, you need your
book edited or ghost-written before
being published. If your book is expertly
brought to retail standard then you sell
a lot more copies so your ghost writer’s
fee is a super investment. Well done,
writers of this world. Michael Walsh is
a professional book editor. He can be
contacted by email: keyboardcosmetics@
gmail.com