It’s a big week here at Rebel Headquarters. I released my second book, . It quickly became a bestseller on Amazon but… …you might be thinking: “Michelle, there’s so many books on public speaking out there? Does the world really need another one?” My answer is: “Hell yes the world does!” Because this book isn’t like most public speaking books (even my first book) focus on skills. The how to’s of delivery, stagecraft, eliminating your umm’s and ahh’s, or storytelling. The book focuses on the strategy that needs to be in place in order for you to become a highly bookable (sought-after) and bankable (well-paid). The book presents a unique approach to thinking about and writing your speech so that it works for your business, and you don’t have to hustle so hard for speaking opportunities. But heck, I wrote the book. I’ll let the readers tell you about the 3 most compelling reason to read . It has everything to do with stop thinking about your speech as a speech and to start thinking about it as a business that generates revenue.
Jules Taggart wrote in her review: “Speak for Impact wastes no time answering the question we are all thinking: How do we get paid to speak? Mazur gets right to the point in an actionable and approachable way that every entrepreneur can profit from.” In chapter one of the book, we deep dive into two business models that help you get paid to speak. If you plan to make money with speaking, you need a business model and then you can write a speech that supports that model. No model = no money. Figure out first how you want to get paid. “Michelle's book has helped me realized why my scatter-shot marketing for my speeches hasn't been working. I now have a bunch of realistic action items and a plan in place to start marketing my speeches.” Sharon was the one who pointed out to me that the reason to buy and follow the strategy is that you’ll find: When it’s easier to pitch, you can easily earn more money, and you don’t have to worry about “where’s the next gig coming from?” you can focus on what matters: delivering a great experience to your audience.
“Her insights on how to approach your speech will change the way you present your material and align your work with generating revenue for your business without being a sell-out on stage.” I hate the hype that exists in the speaking industry. You’ve seen that hype I’m sure of it: These are bs claims meant to make you enroll in people’s program and claims that transforms the audience into one thing – ATMs sitting in uncomfortable chairs. I’m telling you it doesn’t have to be that way. You can make money speaking without feeling like sleazy, salesy, “run-to-the-back-of-the-room” speaker. You can earn cash while making your audience the star of your presentation. Rebecca West said it best: “The first time I heard Dr. Mazur say to “think of my speech as a product that I could sell” I was blown away. It took my speech writing from crafting a message that *I* want to share, to creating a message that *my audience wanted to hear*!” Honestly, when your audience wants to hear your message, they’ll buy-in to you and your business and that’s going to lead to sales later.
If you’ve read this far, then what are you waiting for? Click on the big red button and grab you copy of Speak for Impact on Amazon for . Ready to Book More Speaking Gigs? Join me for a 5-Day Kickstart to Land Your Next (or first) speaking gigYou'll discover how to find speaking gigs, get paid, and develop a plan to sell your speech (that's pitching, yo!)The action starts March 27th!Hillary Clinton to release new book & test paid speaker market’s appetite for influence peddlers with no influence **Written by Doug Powers Hillary’s comeback begins now: Hillary Clinton has a lot of plans for 2017, including some reflections on her stunning loss last fall to Donald Trump. The former secretary of state, senator and first lady is working on a book of personal essays expected to come out Sept. 26, Simon & Schuster told The Associated Press on Wednesday. The book, still untitled, is structured around hundreds of favorite quotations that have inspired her. The publisher said Clinton will use the quotes to “tell stories from her life, up to and including her experiences in the 2016 presidential campaign” and into her thoughts on the future.
“These are the words I live by,” Clinton said in a statement. “These quotes have helped me celebrate the good times, laugh at the absurd times, persevere during the hard times and deepen my appreciation of all life has to offer.” “I hope by sharing these words and my thoughts about them, the essays will be meaningful for readers,” Clinton added. Clinton will also resume her relationship with the Harry Walker Agency, the speakers bureau she worked with after she stepped down in 2013 as secretary of state. The book is yet untitled, but I’m thinking “‘WHY AREN’T I 50 POINTS AHEAD?’ A Cautionary Tale” would sum it up. Or maybe a motivational angle would work while simultaneously explaining a dramatic drop in Hillary’s speaking fees: “Who Moved My Influence?” blog comments powered by Posted in: 2016 Campaign,Hillary Clinton Shock poll: Vast majority of Americans think local politicians should have to comply with the law February 22, 2017 07:22 AM by Doug Powers
Top House Dems again show off their ‘fake news’-spotting skills February 14, 2017 12:50 PM by Doug Powers Michael Flynn resigns, NY Times’ Thomas Friedman takes it all to the next level February 14, 2017 10:59 AM by Doug Powers Ninth Circuit keeps Trump’s travel ban blocked; Hillary rubs it in from undisclosed location nowhere near the White House February 9, 2017 09:00 PM by Doug PowersDianne Feinstein has one (paging Harry Reid!) February 9, 2017 04:09 PM by Doug Powers Categories: 2016 Campaign, Democrats, Dianne Feinstein, Donald Trump, Harry ReidThe recent Buzzfeed post by called 24 Things No One Tells You about Publishing was fun to read. I’ve written 6 popular books with two publishers and I agreed with much of what she said. But in hearing every question and myth about my trade over the years, here’s my own list of what I wish more people knew.We’re doing “Ask the Agent” this month — your chance to ask that question you’ve always wanted to discuss with a literary agent.
Someone wrote me to ask, “What does an average first book deal pay? And can you explain how money is paid on a traditional publishing contract?” Happy to explain it. First, when you sign to do a book with a legacy publisher, most authors are paid an advance against royalties upon signing the contract. There’s a long tradition of publishers paying advances to authors, since it allows the author to survive while he or she is working on the book. This isn’t free money — it’s sort of a no-interest loan that will be earned back after your book releases. Let’s say the contract calls for a total advance of $15,000. Typically you’d get one-third of this on signing, another third upon turning in the completed work, and the last third upon publication. (That said, there are a million ways to divide the advance. Some pay half on signing, some pay a percentage when the author completes the bio and marketing forms, Random House wants to pay a portion when the book flips from hardcover to trade paper, etc.)
So when your book releases, you’re now in the red $15,000 with the publisher. You’ve been paid that amount, but you haven’t earned anything back yet. Again, that’s not a loan that needs to be paid back, but it’s advance that needs to be worked off — or, in the parlance of the industry, it needs to be “earned out.” Second, it’s really tough to determine an average first-book deal. Nobody shares the numbers. And the deal points have so many factors: the author platform, the potential media exposure, the timeliness of the topic, the bigness of the idea, the quality of the writing, etc. I’ve done first-book deals for as little as zero (no advance was paid) and one first-book deal that ran into seven figures (that’s not an exaggeration, by the way — but it was a very unique situation). Debut fiction tends to pay less than debut nonfiction, in my experience, and the size of the publishing house makes a difference — the bigger houses tend to pay a larger advance on a first book.
And if you’re working with a small press, they may not pay an advance at all. So it’s hard to determine an average — you have to think in terms of economies of scale. Okay… so have I begged the question enough? Then I’d say if you’re getting an advance on your first novel, it’s most likely going to run somewhere between $5000 and $15,000, depending on the publisher and the story you’re telling. And if you’re getting an advance on your first nonfiction book, it’s most likely going to run somewhere between $5000 and $20,000, depending on your platform, credentials, and the cultural interest in the topic. I really don’t like giving those numbers, since I just agreed to a debut nonfiction book for $50,000… but the author has huge media interest, so publishers were willing to pay more. AND I just agreed to a debut novel for $20,000… so you never know. Whenever I think I’m sure of the value of a project, I get surprised by the only interest being some lowball offer, OR surprised by a publisher going crazy for the idea and offering far more than I thought we’d receive.
Again, it’s just hard to take the hundreds of debut books each year and say “this is what you can expect on your first contract.” Third, as your book sells you are credited with money for each sale. That’s your royalty money, and with each sale it slowly reduces that $15,000 debt. Most trade publishers in the general market (that would include Penguin Random House, HarperCollins, Macmillan, Simon & Schuster, Hachette, etc.) pay a standard royalty on hardcover books: 10% of the book’s retail price on the first 5000 copies sold, 12.5% on the next 5000 copies sold, and 15% thereafter. Royalties for most trade-paper books are 7.5% of the retail price, and mass market books pay a bit less than that. Be aware: Many newer publishers, including most CBA publishers, don’t pay on the retail price of the book — they pay on the net price, which is the amount of money the publisher actually receives from the bookstore. In that case, you negotiate royalties on each book. Though those royalties may seen higher, you’ll have to do some calculating to determine which method will pay you more money.
Let’s do the math: If your book is a $25 hardcover, and you’ve got a traditional book contract with a legacy publisher, you’d be making $2.50 for each of the first 5000 books sold. (Did you see how I got that figure? $25 x 10%.) What happens is that the publishing house keeps track of that figure, and applies that as a credit to your account. So if you sell one book, you no longer are in the red $15,000 — they credit you with $2.50, so you’re now in the red $14,997.50. After the first 5000 copies have sold, your earnings jump to $3.12; and after 10,000 copies have sold, you are earning $3.75 per book. With every book sold, they credit your account the appropriate amount. Eventually you erase the $15,000 negative balance (you “earn out”), and you begin making money that will be sent to you a few times per year. Now you’re in the best possible situation — a company is going to send you checks on a book you finished a year or two ago. There’s no better feeling than getting a healthy royalty check and remembering that you’re making money on a project you’re no longer working on.
BUT be aware that not everybody is going to sell your book for the full retail price. Barnes & Noble is going to discount all new hardcover titles by 30%. WalMart is going to use their random-number generator and charge readers $18.74. Every time the sale price changes, your royalty earning changes. (Yeah… it’s a pain.) Fourth, keep in mind that each version of your book will have a different royalty, so the industry standard ebook royalty for legacy publishers is 25%, which sounds great when compared to print royalties, but in effect is low in terms of the percentage of profits. (That’s why indie publishing aficionados tend to be so negative about traditional publishing.) And remember that different companies will offer different contracts. So a hardcover book with, say, Tyndale Publishers, doesn’t use a traditional royalty structure. You might negotiate a deal for 16% of the net price. So if your $25 hardcover book is bought by Barnes & Noble for $12.50, you’d be making $2 per book ($12.50 x 16%).
If WalMart buys a slug of them for $10 each, you’re only making $1.60. In other words, the financials on a net contract are completely different than on a traditional retail sales contract. You have to negotiate them, and keep a close watch on your royalty report. AND, just to confuse this even more, many of the new era publishers are paying more often, or paying a higher royalty. Some of the start-up publishers are paying authors 50% of net on ebooks, and anywhere between 10% and 50% of net on printed books. Some of the smaller print houses are paying a very small royalty on print books. Amazon publishing is paying 30% on ebooks. It can seem like the Wild Wild West at times, so you have to make sure you’re comparing apples to apples. Sure, Amazon is paying authors 70% of the sales price on most self-published titles, and they’re sending the author a check every month… which means it’s a great deal if you can sell books. As with anything else, if you can sell your product yourself, you’ll make more money, but you’ll also have more responsibilities.
It’s why I’m happy to talk about the financials with authors — they can be confusing if you don’t know what you’re doing. Fifth, understand that every company will have its own payment schedule. Some publishers pay once a year, some twice a year, and some four times per year. Whether or not your book has earned out, you should be receiving a royalty statement from the publisher for each pay period, stating exactly how many copies of your book sold, what your earnings are, and either (A) the amount of money you are being paid or (B) the amount of money you’re still in the red. And by the way, I’ve used the terms “debt” and “in the red,” but again, an advance is really not a loan, in that you’re not required to pay back an unearned advance. Finally, the rise of ebooks has created a decline in overall advances, making it harder than ever for an author going the traditional route to make a living. Advances are down, but opportunities are up, and that means authors have more choices to make and more things to consider when trying to map out a career.