Have you ever thought of self-publishing your book as an artist? In today’s blog post, I am going to share a few reasons why artists should consider self-publishing their books. What are the benefits for you as an artist? How it can help you be credible and influential in your niche?
As an artist, we are not just tied down to colors and paints, textures and patterns. Thus, the creativity that we have as artists keeps on flowing. Writing your own book is not an exemption. There are many ways you can self-publish your book as an artist and in this post, I share 6 reasons why you should consider self-publishing your book.
Author and Artist
I’ve been publishing my own books since 2008. We’ve actually published over 50 books between the two of us, me and my husband CJ. It kind of blows me away when we talk about it.
In this post, we’re going to talk about the benefits of self-publishing for any artists out there. And so, let’s start out by sharing just a few reasons that we believe artists, in particular, should consider self-publishing your own book.
6 Reasons Why Artists Should Consider Self-Publishing a Book
- It’s an additional stream of income.
We’ve talked about this in a past episode about diversifying your income. And I also share that in-depth on my webinar, Get Paid for your Passion. You can find more information about that here.
It’s a great way to diversify your income and not just get paid for your art. But also getting paid for a product, like a book. right? There are a lot of different ways to self-publish.
- Use your book to conduct an in-person workshop.
This can also be a huge income-earner because people love in-person workshops, right? When you’re with people, you’re looking at them in the eyes. You’re talking with them and you can’t replace that online.
It is the best scenario when you have a book with you. You can leave in the person’s hands your book. It’s even more substantive than a business card, right? Or you can create worksheets or something like that to leave with them.
Last year, I did a brush lettering workshop at the Gathering of Artisans conference. I’m doing it again this year, and I was able to use my Brush Strokes Workbook. Everyone loved the fact that they got a full book included with their workshop fee. They got to take it home and continue practicing what they learned.
Also in that workshop, I earned thousands of dollars teaching brush lettering. So, it’s a great option for having a book. And to also be able to use it to teach during an in-person workshop or event.
- Gives you credibility.
Anytime that you’ve taken the time and effort to write a book, you’ve put blood sweat and tears into it. There’s a lot of effort that’s gone into it.
And it gives you some credibility, like, “Oh, you know, this person’s, they’re a published author. Hey, they’ve done some research. They’ve put together content in this specific area that they developed expertise in it.”
You know what?
Self-publishing is still publishing. Some people think like, “Oh, I’m not a published author, unless I’m traditionally published.” That’s wrong! You are still a published author. And it still gives you credibility that can open new opportunities for you.
- Speaking Engagements
Then, going along with increased credibility, a book can open up speaking engagements for you. Because once you have a book, there’s just something about it. Once your book is out, you tend to also be able to get some of those speaking engagements more easily.
- Marketing
So we kind of alluded to this earlier. But it’s basically a business card that people won’t throw away, right? You’re going to leave something of substance in their hands.
Have you ever thrown away a book?
If you have a short book and you’re able to buy them for a fairly low cost to give away or sell at a low price, people are not going to throw your book away. Unlike business cards and flyers that people can easily throw away or leave somewhere.
So it can really be a way to get the word out about your business. Plus, people can pass them around, right? Once your book is out there, people might give it to someone else.
Your book can actually generate leads for your business.
How many of you have ever searched for something you want to learn on Amazon?
Amazon is where a lot of people now will search for things similar to Google. Let me give you an example: My book Calligraphy for Beginners.
I specifically chose that phrase for the title of my book because people search for that specific phrase. They search for it on Google and Amazon. And when they search about it, my book has the opportunity to come up in their search results for them to be able to find my book and buy it.
The Book Calligraphy for Beginners is a short Kindle ebook. It introduces people to me. They are able to sign up for a bonus training on my email list. Then, potentially buy my Brushstrokes Workbook or take my Skillshare classes. It’s an entry for people to find me and my business.
- Influence
So finally, you can help and influence more people out there. Your book can be bought by someone in Germany or India, or up north in Canada, internationally as well as throughout the United States. You never know where your books are going to end up.
You can potentially reach more people with your book sales online. And it will increase the number of people that you can buy your products or classes.
I truly believe there’s no reason that any artist shouldn’t self publish at least one book in their career.
Types of Books that Artists can Create
There are so many books that artists can create and that’s one of the fun things. In the last few years, as I have been exploring my visual arts, I’ve been drawn back to incorporating art into my books.
- Full-Color Art Book
The first option is very standard for artists. It’s a full-color art book. You might think about this like a coffee table book.
- Instructional Art Book
This is basically what I created with Brush Strokes workbook and the Calligraphy for Beginners book. Both of those are instructional art books. I believe all of you have some form of art that you could teach someone else. You only need to be one step ahead of the person you’re teaching.
I think there’s such a hunger for this right now. Think about your own purchasing habits. Have you purchased an instructional art book in the last year?
I’d probably say that 99.9% of you just said yes. I would probably guess that you’ve purchased more than one. So there is a huge market out there for this type of books.
- Journals
Recently, CJ and I co-authored a journal. It’s called the Illuminate Prayer Journal. It is where we put together a number of things to help you grow closer to God in your prayer life.
In that book, I included my artwork and calligraphy. This one is not full color, it’s black and white.
That was a really fun project. I think that you as a creative, you could come up with so many different options for different kinds of journals. Think about what you would want. What we did with the Illuminate Prayer Journal is created what we wanted.
- Devotional
Think outside the box when you’re thinking about a devotional book. So it could be that you have a piece of artwork. Then you share a reflection related to that artwork. It could be that you have space for them to write. A little bit of journaling in there, too. There are so many different ways that you can be creative with that option.
- Coloring Books
These are still popular, you know? I put some coloring book pages in my book Broken Crayons Still Color. That’s another option too, is just a sprinkling, coloring book pages in a book that you’re writing. But you can also still create full coloring books which are still popular.
- Short Kindle eBooks
This is what I was talking about with my Calligraphy for Beginners book. And this is a great option to use for marketing. Like I said, just getting new people to find you and to sign up for your email list or to purchase your products. But short eBooks are a great place to start.
In addition to teaching about Etsy, I also have an online program where I teach you to write and publish your book. If you’re interested in this, come join us at that Christian Book Academy. We would love for you to be able to publish your book and be able to accomplish all of these things.
Writing Week Challenge
If this blog post piqued your interest, we have a free experience for you. It’s called the Writing Week Challenge and is a 7-day writing challenge for all genres.
We’re going to help you overcome the barriers keeping you from making progress in your writing.
Plus, you’ll discover what works best for you.
- Be able to download resources for free like our writing week, journal, our calendar, affirmations, productivity software, and more.
- Develop a daily writing habit, and personalize the step for what works best for you.
- Get accountability through the challenge.
- You’ll get tons of resources for free.
Join us at the Writing Week Challenge. I look forward to seeing you there. See what’s possible for you as you start writing and dreaming about what books you can create and publish.
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