Books, like Blogs, Are Great at Spreading Ideas, Not at Making Money

The attached article by Lincoln Michel made me think of two articles by Seth Godin. Both contain precious advice to authors.

The main point Seth Godin made is that non-fiction books are a tool for ideas to spread, not a way to make a living.

In 2005:

1. Please understand that book publishing is an organized hobby, not a business.
The return on equity and return on time for authors and for publishers is horrendous. If you’re doing it for the money, you’re going to be disappointed.

On the other hand, a book gives you leverage to spread an idea and a brand far and wide. There’s a worldview that’s quite common that says that people who write books know what they are talking about and that a book confers some sort of authority.

And in 2006:

1. Lower your expectations. The happiest authors are the ones that don’t expect much.

14. Consider the free PDF alternative. Some have gotten millions of downloads. No hassles, no time wasted, no trying to make a living on it. All the joy, in other words, without debating whether you should quit your day job (you shouldn’t!)

At the age of blogging, books make excellent business cards. There’s a higher barrier to entry and so writing a book makes you little bit more special—even though not richer.

I recently referred to Ryan Holiday’s take on this idea:

“Books are no longer simply books, they are branding devices and credibility signals.”

What Ryan Holiday observed is very true.

Many of the books I look at don’t end in my reading list for the only reason that you get the feel that the author wrote a long business card instead of an interesting book…

Let me finish on the best piece of advice I came across regarding writing:

“Either write something worth reading or do something worth writing.”
— Benjamin Franklin.