Customer Reviews

How to Make Money Publishing from Home, Revised 2nd Edition

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Publishing is part of the daily routine at my 13-year-old, home-based marketing and public relations firm. So, I was wondering what innovative things Lisa Shaw would be able to teach me in her book HOW TO MAKE MONEY PUBLISHING FROM HOME. Well, trust me--this "old dog" learned PLENTY of new tricks! Of course, there was the usual, basic stuff: reasons to begin a home-based business, financial assessments, skills needed and exactly what to expect from your new venture. But then I learned about: new niches I could fill within my company; some areas of publishing I'd NEVER want to try based on Ms. Shaw's descriptions (which saved me time); and Zines ... never had heard of them! There were a few things I wish the author HAD included, and perhaps they can be in a revised edition: a) contract examples for independent contractors, b) confidentiality statements for use with clients and c) since the book is about publishing, more updated information on copyright laws. Her Resource List included many of the titles I have relied on over the years, and which should be "must reads" for budding entrepreneurs. And, I'd like to add two titles to her list: 1)GETTING BUSINESS TO COME TO YOU by Paul & Sarah Edwards and Laura Clampitt Douglas and 2) 101 HOME OFFICE SUCCESS SECRETS by Lisa Kanarek. It was apparent in the content of Ms. Shaw's book that she had "been there" and obviously "done that" (publishing from home) extremely well! Warning: Running a home-based business isn't for sissies! Do you homework and research BEFORE you begin to save you a lot of heartache later. And, oh yeah, GOOD LUCK!

Lisa Shaw's advice on the economics of starting a home-based publishing business is something of a conundrum. First, she claims startup capital and money for living expenses can be unnecessary luxuries that sap motivation. "In fact," she says, "I had no money in my early publishing ventures, so I had to rely solely on my creativity and my intractable faith in my own abilities." Later, she recommends this reality check to help assess the level of risk you're comfortable assuming: "How would you react if you or a family member had to spend a week in the hospital and you didn't have health insurance because you needed the money to pay the mortgage?"

She goes on to take a superficial look at a number of self-publishing enterprises (including booklets, books, greeting cards, magazines, newsletters, newspapers, software and e-zines); considering ease of startup, initial investment, time commitment required and other factors.

Each chapter contains a brief profile of someone who's been successful in each line of home-based publishing, but little detail is given. The profiles tell what each entrepreneur did, but offer only limited information on how they did it, since names and contact information for the resources they used are kept secret. Despite citing the growth of the Internet as one of the key factors making home-based publishing viable, there's scarce information on how to utilize the World Wide Web as a marketing tool for your efforts. And in a chapter dealing with computer hardware and software titled "Technologically Speaking" - a chapter one would expect would be brimming with detail based on the book's topic - Shaw's best advice is, "do your own research...."

The final chapter begins, "You now have the knowledge and the tools necessary to start your own home-based publishing business."

Not unless you're prepared to do a lot of supplemental reading.

Unless you're looking for a very brief introduction to home-based publishing, there's no "how-to" in How to Make Money Publishing from Home.

Shaw's book is drive-by writing, without the research.

As Lisa Shaw's livelihood (designing and distributing greeting cards for animal companions) is near and dear to my heart, it truly pains me that I have to pan her book, "How to Make Money Publishing from Home." However, I feel as though I'd be remiss if I were to review the many other self-publishing books I've read and skip over this guide.

Before deciding to self-publish my first eBook, I ransacked my local libraries and checked out every volume I could find on self-publishing in general, and electronic publishing in particular. Ms. Shaw's book was the first to arrive, and I digested it in one night - in one sitting, actually. "Digested" is perhaps too strong of a word, though - there's so little substance in "How to Make Money..." that there wasn't anything for me to digest at all. It's so general a guide that the author manages to say very little about a whole lot.

In under 200 pages, she briefly discusses self-publishing booklets, books, greeting cards, magazines, newsletters, newspapers, software, `zines, ezines, and websites; writing, following, and revising business plans; tax and zoning issues; accounting and finances; the necessary self-publishing technology, including computers, scanners, printers, phone lines, fax machines, networking, and software; day-to-day business operations; and marketing and publicity. Thus, no one subject is afforded more than a few pages. From the wide variety of topics covered, it may appear as though Ms. Shaw offers a wealth of information in her guide. Yet, the opposite is actually true: she tries to cover so many facets of self-publishing that she doesn't adequately address any of the topics she raises. Any one of the aforementioned subjects deserves its own guide: each is so complex and complicated that only an entire book could do it justice. Indeed, if you were to perform a keyword search for any of these terms on Amazon, its search engine would return dozens of results.

My advice is this: If you're interested in self-publishing, don't try to save money and buy just one "how-to" guide (such as this one) to answer all your questions - you'd be cheating yourself as opposed to protecting your wallet. Rather, consult at least one book on traditional publishing, another about self- (or electronic) publishing, a third on marketing, yet another on taxes and finances for small businesses, and so on. "How to Make Money Publishing from Home" is so basic that it should be called "Remedial Self-Publishing" or, better yet, "Self-Publishing for Sixth Graders." There's almost no useful information in here - you're much better off spending your money (and time) elsewhere. Heck, you can even Google "self-publishing" and find more meaningful resources (and largely for free, to boot)!

Finally (and perhaps I'm just nit-picking now), the author began by introducing the different forms of self-published material (booklets, books, greeting cards, magazines, etc.), offering a short summary of each. This left me with the distinct and distasteful impression that this book was aimed at those who want to publish their own work just so that they can make wads of money without leaving the house (which rarely happens, despite the anomalies you read about in the "author profiles"). After all, if you're self-publishing for self-gratification, because you have knowledge that you want to share with others, or just for the love of the written word, shouldn't you already have some idea of what you're going to publish? In any case, this really put me off - anyone consulting a self-publishing book should already know what books, booklets, and magazines are, otherwise they don't really belong in the publishing business. Unless they're still in the sixth grade, in which case their ignorance is forgiven!

Have you ever dreamed of starting your own home-based publishing business? Have you been hesitant to put your plans into action? This book contains all the necessary ideas and strategies you will need to successfully launch and grow your business. Lisa Shaw, a home-based publisher, reveals to her readers everything they need to know to successfully start and run a home-based publishing business.

I have read and re-read the book so many times, the cover has gotten frayed. The genius of the book is that it is based in sound business practices and could theoretically be applied to any business. Whether you want to earn your living creating newsletters and brochures, zines and postcards with this excellent book at your side you can experience the satisfaction of building your own home-based publishing business.

I read this book very quickly, It didn't have a lot of groundbreaking ideas, but I was able to pick up a couple of tips. It was OK.

Lisa Shaw explores lots of ways to develop information products, no matter where your starting point. She's been out there way before many other authors who have since jumped on the self-publishing bandwagon.