Dummies, Idiots and Experts - what do they have in common?
Be honest - how many of us have been brave enough to stand at the bookstore counter with a copy of “…for Dummies” or ” An Idiots Guide to ..” or “…Made Easy” in our hands?
Judging by the sales figures for these series the answer is most of us. We all want a quick and concise way to learn about something we are interested in - it’s human nature, we’re all in a hurry and we need the answers fast.
Yesterday a newspaper article caused me to think about these types of books. It was about the guy who wrote The House Plant Expert Book Two: The Must-Have Sequel to the World’s Bestselling House Plant Book (Expert)
But listen to this. He created his first book using scissors and paste and sold it for 15 cents. He is now a millionaire worth $52 million dollars.
So what can we learn from this?
Motivation
It was seeing his PhD Thesis document bound in green leather with gold letters on that spurred him on to start writing.
We all need motivation . What’s your motivation - seeing your name in print, establishing an income, just the sheer love of creating things? Whatever it is you must have motivation, otherwise what is the point of doing it?
Start with what you know
From a child David Hessayon had to work on the family plot so he knew about growing vegetables and flowers. That was his Niche and he built upon that Niche to create all the “Expert Gardening” books that have made him a millionaire.
I’ll bet he didn’t know everything that’s included in all the “Expert” books he has subsequently written. But he started out from what knowledge he did have and developed it from there.
Take stock of the information you have on your particular Niche and start from there. You’ll be surprised what you can create from what seems so little.
Keep it simple
“The real secret of my work is that people feel at ease with them. People say they are the kind of books which they could have written themselves, which is really the best compliment”
If you look at his “Expert” books or books in the “idiots, dummies and made easy” genre they all present the information in a clear and structured format that makes it easy for the reader to quickly find the answer to their question. Chapter layout, heading, indexing, easy-to-look-at layout and good graphics make “people feel at ease with them.”.
You don’t need a big investment or riches to get started
David Hessayon didn’t come from a privileged family. His mother died at the age of 10 and in his words “it was the old rags to riches story. You’d nowhere to go but up and that’s a great thing in life.”
His first investment? A little knowledge, his time and some paper, scissors and paste!
If you are reading this article you have infinitely more resources at your fingertips than he could ever have dreamed of, so what’s stopping you?
Here’s a few resources that are at your fingertips:
- access to a huge source of Public Domain material
- access to a huge resource of other information, which although it may be copyrighted, you can still read and learn from to develop your knowldge base
- your own knowledge of your particular Niche - never assume that what you know is common knowledge
- today’s technology - not only for creation but for distribution also, such as e-books, articles, podcasts, CD’s and good all print, just to name a few
What “Niche Knowledge” do you have?
It could be there are people waiting for an “Experts Guide” to your particular Niche but unless you start “cutting and pasting” you’ll never know. I have worked in the information industry for many years and it still amazes me that people, who you think would know the answers, hardly know where to start sometimes. Ah Ah! I hear you say - they need an “Experts Guide”.
P.S. There’s just one thing that worries me still - why does my doctor have a copy of “Diabetes for Dummies” on his bookshelf?
Read the full article on Dr Hessayon
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