How much you think one could make writing a book

Iceman · Feb 26, 2010

Curious to get opinions on this.

No it's not a how-to gambling book and no it's nothing to do with my story of betting in Vegas either.

Being a big reader of gamling type books for years, I have what I think would be a great idea on a book that no doubt in my mind many people would find very interesintg to read. This goes from serious to recreational players.

Not sure how long this would take to write but I think I could rip through it pretty fast as I have had been laying this out in my mind and on paper for some time now.

The big question for me becomes (like anything in life) "Is it worth the time to do this?" Can one make much money doing this?

I know the owner down at Gamblers Book Shop in Las Vegas faily well and he thinks this is a great idea also.

I just don't know a thing about doing this so any ides, suggetions, thoughts or opinions would be great.

I know there are actual printing companies out there that only print what you sell type thiing today on the internet. But how do you get this idea to a small type publisher and get a book on the shelves at book stores? Is that even a possibility?

Any help or thoughts are greatly appreciated.

Iceman · Feb 26, 2010

Let me state again this has nothing to do with the math one needs to know to win at sports betting or picking winners.

OnWisconsin · Feb 26, 2010

if you're looking to get paid, your best bet is to secure a literary agent. if you're working on a nonfiction book, a lot of agents will listen to a sales pitch and want to see an outline. if it's a novel, most agents require that the book be finished and revised. if you know someone who has a connection, that's huge and can get you past the hardest part -- getting someone to pay attention.

you can pay a vanity publisher to publish your book, but you'd be lucky to recoup your expenses. don't expect any help from them.

most agents these days do it this way: send them a cover letter with a detailed synopsis and the first five pages. if they're interested beyond that, they will tell you to send in the rest.

there are success stories where writers have managed to sell their work to a major publisher without representation (tom clancy), but you gotta put in the footwork and not take no for an answer.

if an agent represents you, it's still no guarantee. they still have to sell your book. once they find a publisher, they negotiate. you'll be offered an advance, usually piad in installments: once upon acceptance, and once upon publication. you won't get paid royalties for the finished product until the publisher has recouped the advance you were paid.

i could go on and on, but i won't. i have a lot of resources and can make some recommends if you're interested (from the fictional perspective). just pm me. the main thing is, if it's a work of fiction, get it written first unless the guy you know has a good hookup. an agent won't give you the time of day unless you have a finished product.

WorldNumberOne · Feb 26, 2010

i think it depends how many pictures there are to color...

be sure to include crayons .. its a nice touch..

festeringZit · Feb 26, 2010

My wife writes text books part time. She'll clear
about 8K this year from her books.

Though, she's in a niche market.

I do love the residual income...

Iceman · Feb 26, 2010

Thanks Sooner. Great stuff and what I expected that is why I posted here.

Not looking to make big money or anything like that. Just do okay would make it worth my time.

I have been thinking about this for quite some time and actually think I would enjoy doing it and no doubt many qould read, IMO.

OnWisconsin · Feb 26, 2010

hey, check out donald maass....i can't think of the exact website, but he has his own agency and has written a couple of very good books (IMO) about what an agent looks for. there's one agent there who has her own blog on the site that she updates weekly -- she gets about 200 queries a week, and she accepts only 2 to 5, but she offers some very good tips on what they look for. well worth the time to check it out and give yourself an idea of what you can expect.....

OnWisconsin · Feb 26, 2010

kind of motivates me to blow the dust off my piece of shit.....but my critics say i take myself too seriously

barman · Feb 26, 2010

festeringZit said:
My wife writes text books part time. She'll clear
about 8K this year from her books.

Though, she's in a niche market.

I do love the residual income...

Just another $42K per year and you're pretty much set for retirement

:toast:

barman · Feb 26, 2010

FZ, I'm just screwin' around.

Honestly feel that creating residual income is the key to financial independence for 99.9% of us

Dante · Feb 26, 2010

you could write a book on the drama on all the gambling forums and characters in them.. it would be the first of its kind

festeringZit · Feb 26, 2010

barman said:
FZ, I'm just screwin' around.

Honestly feel that creating residual income is the key to financial independence for 99.9% of us

The good part about it is, she writes about one book per year. I'm
hoping in another 8 years or so she'll be making 20K a year
from her books. By that time I'll be pretty close to semi-retiring
to some easy part-time job.

:103631605

skrtelfan · Feb 26, 2010

Sklansky and Malmuth made millions.

Scoops · Feb 26, 2010

I'll buy a copy.Let me know when it's done.

TomGshotput · Feb 26, 2010

Up to one billion dollars if it sells as much as Harry ******

Mr.Smith · Feb 26, 2010

I know someone who got a fiction novel published. The editing, re-write time was insane and like most books, it sold few copies.

Odds are very bad to make a lot of money. If it has anything to do with showing people how to win gambling, the general public is only interested in "easy systems", thus crap, than reality of difficult work and low odds of success gambling. The latter type of book is very unlikely to sell.

If its gambling related you could try Anthony Curtis at Huntington Press, I have no idea how to pitch a book. Obviously you dont want them to say no then proceed on their own if they like the idea

mplastered · Feb 27, 2010

barman said:
FZ, I'm just screwin' around.

Honestly feel that creating residual income is the key to financial independence for 99.9% of us

You were born to be a Republican. Hey, add some music to that and we gotta hit.:toast:

barman · Feb 27, 2010

MP, I was an enthusiastic Republican for each of my first six election cycles (1980-1990).

That was until the national and most state level GOP allowed their economic messages to be co-opted by the far Religious Right.

I might even have had a modest interest in returning by 2002 but unfortunately it was the military-industrial complex that had seized the reins of the federal purse strings.

And They maintain control even today...thus why I've used the past three to four years to fully grasp that we have to build a life independent of what goes on Washington DC - "Repub" or "Dem" or even "thirdparty" (lol).

barman · Feb 27, 2010

The previous post must stand alone and any retort must be rechanneled into the Politics Forum.

We now return you to the Topic at hand - How To Make Money Selling a Book

mplastered · Feb 27, 2010

Well, I have published a book. However, it was subsidy published. They paid half, I paid half. I made a couple thousand. It was more for my kids than anything. There were eight short stories. All included charactors based on friends and family. Unfortunately the publisher and editor were very poor at what they did.

How much you think one could make writing a book

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