Do It Myself Blog – Glenda Watson Hyatt

BREAKING TRIVIAL NEWS…in the past couple of hours, the Amazon sales ranking for my autobiography I’ll Do It Myself shot up from #67,557 in the Kindle Store – after being at about #797,998 for weeks – to #41,004!

And I have screenshot to prove it:

I usually don’t pay much attention to the sales ranking; ranking does not not necessarily equate to dollars, which, really, is the only one number that really counts But when it jumps 26,553 points in an hour, that caught my attention!

Thank you to the Kindle readers who made that happen.

In the next hour, my book dropped slightly to #44,297 in the Kindle Store.

Did you know you don’t need a Kindle device to read Kindle ebooks? These ebooks can also be read on your PC, Mac, iPad, iPhone and other devices.

My question is: do we, together, have fun with this and see how high we can get the sales ranking? Is there anything better to do on a wintry weekend? What do you think?

Last month Amazon announced Kindle Direct Publishing (KDP) Select – "a new option dedicated to KDP authors and publishers worldwide, featuring a fund of $500,000 in December 2011 and at least $6 million in total for 2012! …"

Understanding that early adopters would have a greater chance of substantially gaining from this opportunity, I opted in right away by making my autobiography I’ll Do It Myself available through the Kindle Owners’ Lending Library, which allows eligible U.S. Amazon Prime members to borrow the book. I would earn a royalty – based on a percentage – for each book borrowed.

December’s results

The numbers for December on now in: based on the number of total books borrowed and the month’s available fund of $500,000, each eligible borrow earned a royalty of $1.70. My sincere thank you to the lone Prime member for borrowing my book. It’s a start!

For fun, I did the math…doubling the number of borrows each month for a year, the royalty cheque for November 2012 would be $3,4581.670…and that doesn’t include any book sales. Now we are talking!

Of course, that number is purely hypothetical because as more authors opt in and as more Prime members borrow books, the available fund – increased to $700,000 for January – will be divided amongst more eligible borrows. The royalty earned per book could drop significantly from the initial $1.70. But seeing the potential income generated is exciting and shows me that promoting this revenue stream may be well worth the investment of time.

Now save 25%

Keeping a closer eye on the Best Seller in Kindle Store list for the last month, I realized my ebook was over priced, particularly for an unknown author. Taking a gamble that a lower price would increase sales, and, hence, increase royalties, I have dropped the price by 25%. $6.49 seemed a lucky number! We’ll see how that goes.

Requesting a favour, please

If you have purchased I’ll Do It Myself from Amazon, first, thank you. I do appreciate everyone who takes a chance and spends their money on my book when there are thousands to choose from. Thank you.

Second, if you enjoyed the book and found some value inside the cover, please consider writing a review. This may encourage other Amazon customers to also buy it.

ORDs still available

For those who prefer ORDs (old reading devices), there are less than 150 autographed paperbacks left. Once they are gone, they are gone. I likely will not have another print run done. An empty corner in the living room might motivate me to get going on my second book!

A tweetchat – a chat held on Twitter; typically with a guest host sharing an expertise with a specific group indicated by a hashtag (#). By the very nature of Twitter, anyone interested can participate in the chat.

Thanks to Association for Women in Communications (AWC) organizer and my friend Sheila Scarborough, yesterday I had the pleasure of guest hosting #AWChat, sharing my expertise in web accessibility.

Prior to the chat, I prepared my responses to Sheila’s questions as a series of tweets in SocialOomph – a handy tool for scheduling tweets and other such tasks. I also copied my tweets in to Notepad, just in case…having a back up plan is always wise!

During the chat:

• I had the #AWCchat tweet stream open in Hootsuite on the left side of my screen,
• my prepared tweets in SocialOomph on the right side of the screen, and
• my WordQ word prediction/completion hovering in the upper right corner.

When Sheila asked a pre-set question during the chat, I hit “Publish immediately” on the corresponding response tweet in SocialOomph. Except for a 60-second delay in publishing, the system worked amazingly well.

In between Sheila’s questions, I was able to respond to questions from others on the chat. By the end of the hour, my left thumb was on fire (in a good way)! A transcript from the chat is now available.

A few years ago I would have never imagined myself guest hosting such a lively discussion in real life. But, because Twitter is largely text-based and because of the other handy tools, I now have something else to add to the “Can Do” column!

Before I had wrapped up the #AWCchat with Sheila, I was slated for my next tweetchat guest hosting: #SOBCon on February 16th, 10-11am pacific. Join us! 

If you run a tweetchat and if my experience or expertise may be of service to your group, tweet me (@GlendaWH) or leave a comment below with the details.

Since choosing this self-employed, solopreneur route – or, more accurately, having the decision, more or less, made for me – I have spent much time reading, observing and listening to how other entrepreneurs and business owners have found success. Strategies, methods and formulas that have and haven’t worked have caught my attention. I have tried implementing a few, and have discarded many others that didn’t fit or make sense for me.

Last week I watched a news clip on our local self-made billionaire Jimmy Pattison, the sole owner of the third largest private company in Canada. His net worth, according to last year’s Forbes’ list of billionaires, is $5.8 billion. When asked for advice on how to get ahead, he typically responds by asking, “What time do you get to work in the morning?”

Oops! Dragging my butt from my warm, cozy bed – where nothing is hurting and I am not constantly fighting against gravity – is not the easiest thing I do in a day. But, in my defense (assuming I need one), that is where I do my best thinking, planning and even writing. Many blog posts and other content get partially written in my head while laying in bed. That is what works for me.

Interestingly, on the same day as watching the news story, I came across successful internet marketer Clay Collins’ bio page. He admits that he needs eight hours of sleep, preferably 10 hours, and that he cannot drag himself out of bed before 10AM. (I’m liking this guy already!) He goes on to explain that he can only get one thing done all day, i.e., writing a blog post, responding to emails or scheduling a week’s phone appointments all on one day. He doesn’t switch between umpteen tasks in one day.

If Jimmy and Clay are the extremes along one continuum, I am definitely leaning toward the Clay end. Who needs billions anyway?

Another continuum i have discovered has to do with work or effort put forth. Years ago, when flipping through a book entitled something like The Secrets of Millionaires, one short passage jumped off the page. Paraphrasing from memory:

Your time is finite. By selling your time, your potential income is limited. To get ahead, do not rely on selling your time.

Given my limited energy, this insight makes so much sense! In other words, rather working by the hour or by the project, create something once and then sell it repeatedly.

That is the concept behind “passive income”; a concept I am still having trouble believing. Once created, the product still needs continuous marketing. How is that passive? For example, having my book available on the Amazon Kindle is not enough. I need to keep mentioning, in different places and in different ways, that the book is available in order to make a sale.

To me, that isn’t truly passive income, but rather “less-effort income” (if you ignore the four years I took to write the thing). But now that it is written, I can sell it countless times and the income generated is limitless. That appeals to me!

People are making decent money from passive (or less-effort) income; Pat Flynn is grossing each month what is my goal for the year. Seeing his monthly numbers do not discourage me (not totally), but rather shows me what is possible and confirms that my goal is not crazy, is not unattainable.

By implementing a four-hour work day (which is taking some practice to get the hang of) and by balancing per-hour work with less-effort income, I am confident I can generate enough of an income to become financially self-sufficient. By repurposing existing content, I  will soon have a few more ebooks available on the Kindle. And, as soon as I can draft the sales page, I will be launching an accessibility review service for blogs and websites. Details coming soon!

After being at this solopreneur game for nearly fourteen years, I am now confident that I now have my own strategy, plan or formula that will work for me.

2012 is going to be a good year because that is what I am choosing to make it.

2011 was amazing!

I had record year for travelling: Honolulu, Austin and San Diego with an unscheduled quick sleepover in  Phoenix, Mississauga, Portland and Los Angeles. My travel agent even suggested that it now might be worthwhile to get an air miles card.

I had the opportunity to present at South-by-Southwest (SXSW), the 26th Annual International Technology & Persons with Disabilities Conference (CSUN 2010) and Successful Online Business Conference (SOBCon);

I had the pleasure of meeting new friends and happily reconnecting with old ones.

However, all of this – and more – has left me feeling tired for several months; more than “go have a nap” tired, more like “too tired to fight any more” tired. This may partially explain my four colds in the last four months. (Although coughing for 2-3 weeks per month has done wonders for my abdominal muscles!)

Changes are definitely needed to get my health back, to create some balance, and to feel like a million bucks again.

For the next while, at least, I am committing to a four-hour work day without any crazy deadlines (no matter how urgent clients claim it is). This isn’t as drastic as Tim Ferris’ 4-Hour Workweek. (Is that even possible? Seriously?)

In preparation for keeping me focused and on task, I have created two columns with the question “Am I Doing What I Should Be Doing Now?”. In the “Yes” column, I have listed:

• Client work
• Writing blog posts or other content
• Research
• Webinars
• Relevant Tweet chats
• Marketing activities (if I must)
• Paying bills
• Filing papers
• Bookkeeping
• Packaging books
• Work-related email

In the “No” column:

• Twitter, other than to share posts and other “just can’t wait!” tweets
• Facebook
• Housework
• Personal email
• Google+ without a real purpose

My plan is to work from 10 (realistically) until 2. By focusing on work tasks for four hours, without interruptions, I am hoping that I will be as equally productive as sitting here all day.

I will break for lunch when my stomach tells me it is lunchtime – typically around 2:30. I will hang out with friends and family on Twitter, Facebook and email while eating lunch.

After a reasonable amount of time at the virtual water cooler, I plan on doing something radical: turning off my computer! …and going to do something else. It might be:

• Doing scheduled housework
• Decluttering a specific nook or cranny
• Trying something new in the kitchen (Did I just say that? Publicly? Oops.)
• Napping with my kitty
• Reading a book
• Going out
• Exercising
• Connecting with local friends
• Anything that isn’t on the computer

I might turn on my computer again later in the day; my second book is begging to be written. Or, I might be content doing whatever I am doing and leave it off until the next day.

Sounds like a plan for restoring my health and balance in my life, right?

Feel free to hold me to the “Yes” and “No” lists to help me stay focused and on task. Once I have given this a fair try, I will report on whether a four-hour work day can be as equally productive an all-day shift.

Meanwhile, I would like to wish you health – physical, spiritual, emotional, mental and financial – and hope – hope that tomorrow will be better, or, if today was great, hope that tomorrow is equally as great – for 2012.

Happy New Year to you!