The economics of writing a book – not exactly a road to riches, but wait……..
An interesting blog by a very interesting guy. Michael Marnewick is mad about sport, knows online publishing and loves to write. He has combined all three in a company which, inter alia, makes sure the website of The Sharks is full of fresh information. Michael is busy completing his third book and in this blog, shares his thoughts about finding a new business model for authors. – AH
By Michael Marnewick*
As an author, much like a farmer (and I was that too), one is at the mercy of middle men and end suppliers. The book Joe Public pays R180 for will net the book shop around R80 for opening a box, packing shelves and ringing up the sale (OK, so there are other physical and associated costs the book shop must cost in, but they do that over the thousands of titles they stock). The author, meanwhile, has gone through a year's pregnancy and childbirth to deliver the finished product, for which he will earn the princely sum of R15. (Less Tax).
In a country like South Africa with a small reading and book-buying public, this is not good news for the wannabe author, unless his quest is that elusive five minutes of fame and the great feeling of accomplishment when he sees his physical book in the flesh (much like a father or mother when their child is born – hence the earlier metaphorical reference to pregnancy and childbirth).
Recently I keep happening upon a common theme – people doing things differently. Virgin's Richard Branson pioneered thinking out the box and we are seeing it more and more.
I enjoyed reading about the success of Elon Musk. I had never heard of him and don't expect too many others would too. After founding his first company (Zip2) and selling it for $300 million, he subsequently created PayPal which was bought out by eBay. He has since been the mover and shaker behind Tesla (electronic vehicles) and SpaceX which was the first company to privately fund a vehicle to put a satellite into space. Like Mark Shuttleworth, who, at the age of 22 founded Thawte, a digital certificate and internet security company which he sold to VeriSign for $575 million, Musk is a South African who has left our shores, explaining of his move to the US that "It is where great things are possible."
We've seen with the technology (dot.com) explosion and IPOs that entrepreneurs are often focused on creating something and making it great, so they can sell it to create something even greater. Some even have the short term plan of building a thriving business with the express aim of being bought out.
Which brings me back to traditional book publishing which, I believe, is currently in a state of flux and about to approach a new era where the author (those with the balls to challenge the status quo) holds greater power. The world is an oyster for those who can creatively find different ways of doing the same thing with a completely different outcome. The eBook revolution has turned part-time writers into global success stories (think EL James's 50 Shades Trilogy, originally published on her own website as an eBook and going on to sell over 70 million copies worldwide).
"Work like hell. If other people are putting in 40 hour work weeks and you're putting in 100, then even if you're doing the same thing … you will achieve in 4 months what it takes them a year," said Elon Musk.
Because, after four months, there are new roads to travel, new vistas to imbibe and new mountains to conquer while the 40-hour-drones are still slogging away, caught on the treadmill of life.
* Michael Marnewick is currently co-authoring Inspiring Champions in Sport, Business and Life with Dr Henning Gericke, his third book (due out in November) after Quest for Glory: Successes in South African Sport and A Life Less Ordinary: Our Journey with ADD.