How to Create Multiple Products from One Book to Multiply Your Impact and Profits

This is episode 17 of Author Audience.

Welcome to the Author Audience show, the podcast that helps you reach more people with your message. Create a book, connect with your audience, change lives. Here's your host, Shelly Hitz.

Welcome to Author Audience, where I'm on a mission to help you reach more people with your message. It's time to let your light shine. Today I'm rolling out the red carpet and inviting you into my community for a behind the scenes look at what's working for authors just like you. My name is Shelly Hitz. I'm the owner of Author Audience Academy. And the most rewarding part of my job is helping others get results and reach their goals. In this episode, I want to position the spotlight on one of my members, Mel Edwards. Welcome, Mel.

Hey, Shelly. How are you today?

I am doing great and I just want to tell everyone just a little bit about you from your bio. Mel Edwards has been a lifelong writer. How many years have you been writing for? Most of your life?

Yeah. 40 years, probably. Yeah, Since I was a little kid.

Yeah. Yeah. So she says she wrote her first song at age 5.

Wow.

She also earned her Master of Arts in curriculum and instruction with an emphasis in storytelling. Very interesting. From East Tennessee State University. And her personal interests beyond writing and education include performing and visual arts, bodybuilding, and anything with a heavy dose of nerdery. Yes, she made that word up. Writers do that. So I'm so excited to have you here, Mel, and for this week's sake, Center Stage Spotlight training, I'm going to have you share a specific strategy that's been working for you. And we talked a little bit about it beforehand and just about how you've been able to take one piece of content and create multiple products. But before we get into the meat of today's training, I just want you to share how you were able to finally reach your goal of published authority recently this year after joining Author Audience Academy.

Well, you know, it was one of those things where I thought, oh, I'll get to it one of these days. And I was a public school teacher for many years. This past year, I've been working in the university setting and I just always put it on the back burner. And I had four file cabinet drawers full of my writing. So when I say I've been writing forever, I'm not kidding, but I hadn't done anything with it. And so I, I saw one of your webinars telling about Author Audience Academy and I was interested and I still hemmed and hawed about it. And literally I was the last person that you let into your beta group, I just got in under the wire, and I'm so glad that I did, because you said, all right, you're going to write something in a week. And I thought, a week. And.

I thought, oh, just take something I already had. And that's really what I was going to do. I was going to take something I had already worked on and just work it up and make it pretty or whatever. Well, then you started challenging us and getting us thinking, and I thought, all right, I can suck this up. I've been an English teacher. I can do this. And so I actually wrote the Bold Way in one weekend.

Yes. And that is awesome. You finally are a published author after years and years and years of writing and have been able to give birth to that dream. And I just. That was so rewarding for me to see you taking that step. But you are really on a roll. You're really just doing the. You're taking in the training and you're applying it. You're a lifelong learner. You're obviously in education, but I just see you growing and blossoming so much. So tell us a little bit about the Bold Way and what has become of it in the last few months.

Well, the focus of the Bold Way is about living your truth, who you truly are. A lot of people talk about living your passions and working in your passions, and people say, well, I'm passionate about a lot of things, you know, but who you essentially are doesn't change whether your passions change or not. And so the book was to help people address those. And the reason why I did that was because I see a lot of people suffering from depression and other problems, and those things often stem from the fact that they don't know who they are, what they want to do. And so I thought I would start with a Bold Way and just learning to say, this is me. This is what I do. This is what makes me who I am. And then using that to guide them with their choices from there.

Yeah. And that's such a freeing thing to be able to come to that place of acceptance. This is who I am. So you wrote the initial ebook. It is a Kindle book. And then what other types of products have you created based upon that one book?

Well, the next thing I did right away, within a matter of a couple of weeks, is I did a workbook with that, because one of the things you taught us is that even though you have one book doesn't mean that's the end of things that you have to start all over and start a brand new book that you can do other things that are iterations. And so then I did the workbook because a lot of people will read a book and go, oh, that's nice, I should do something about it. Yeah, they're like me with A4 file cabinet drawers.

Get around to it. And so I thought if they had a workbook that they could sit down and just spend a few minutes a day on that they could get around to finishing and identifying who they truly are. And then after that I started thinking about who else can I reach and who am I preventing from reaching. And so that's how I got into the next couple of steps where I'm up to translation mode.

Yeah. And that's awesome. And I think, you know, whether it's a workbook or a journal or a discussion guide or for some, you know, I have some of my books, I have like a Bible study guide. There's so many different ways we can have a corresponding book that doesn't take a ton of extra writing. And you can just change the COVID a little bit, you know, and then you have a second product. So you're also. You have it in ebook and then you have your workbook and then. Are you working on an audiobook?

I am working on an audiobook. Had a little hiccup there. I had it all under contract and the producer did not deliver.

Oh, wow.

So, yeah, that kind of set me back. But I've decided actually I want to try to produce it myself. I spent a whole month waiting for somebody else to come through and they did a wonderful sample and I thought it was going to be fantastic. And then it just fell through and these things happen and I thought, you know, if I really want to meet my deadline, I don't want to have to wait another month. So I've put together my own little recording studio and am working on that.

That'll be interesting to see how you how it goes for you. I know for me, when I record my own audiobook, it gives me so many more options. And you may or may not already know this, but with acx, when you choose the non excluding exclusive rights, when you have recorded it yourself, then you can use that audiobook in any way you want. You can sell it from your website, you can give it as a bonus to those who buy your book during a book promotion or at a live event or things like that. There's so many other things you can do with it. You can upload it for free to places like Soundcloud and different things. So that, that's definitely something to consider. If you're willing to take a little less royalty since you're recording it yourself, you can always do so much more with and have so many more options. So you have the ebook, the workbook.

The audiobook, and now Spanish translation.

Spanish translation, how has that been for you?

Really fantastic. I found a guy through what used to be Odesk and he did a fantastic job and I'm lucky enough that I have several friends that are Spanish speakers as their primary language and so they've been reading through it, noting a few things here and there that, you know, just little typos, you know, tiny stuff. But it was really inexpensive to have him do that because it wasn't a huge book to begin with. And now I went through Fiverr and have a cover that's already made and actually today it's already up for pre order.

Awesome. That's really exciting. Yeah, I remember when I did my first book and I only have one currently in Spanish. It was just such a fun feeling because it's like, wow, my book is in another language and it's gonna be able to reach and it completely, completely different audience. And so that is awesome. Yeah, I use someone on Elance, which I think they're both Odesk and Elance are now upwork.

Is that right?

Yeah.

Right.

So yeah, that's a great way to do it. And I also had a friend that is fluent in Spanish that helped me with the proofreading and so that's what's really, really good. And that's something, you know, that I teach all of these things in author audience academy and it's so awesome to see you taking action and doing it, you know, having it. Now. Are you planning on a print version as well?

Well, what I'm actually looking to do is a little bit down the road as I get more feedback on the book and the workbook. I'm actually thinking of combining them because they're both pretty short and to print them as two separate short editions may not be as much value to some readers as having it all printed together. And so I'm thinking of adding updates because another thing you taught us to do was to quotes from our books.

Yes.

And so I have about 30 different quotes that I have created and I thought, you know, those would be fun pictures to put in a print version. And so yeah, that's what I'm thinking of doing next.

That is an. That is actually a really good idea. I like that idea of combining your Ebook with your workbook in one print book. And I love the fact that you're getting feedback and that's the great thing about Kindle books. You can put something out there, get feedback, update it, improve it, and then when you're ready to release that print book, you know, you have a really good polished book and it's a business card people won't throw away. It's something that you can hold in your hands and it's, it's just a really great feeling. But that, that definitely does take a little bit more work and, you know, it'll be exciting to see the full continuum. So ebook, workbook. And the workbook's an ebook as well, right? Right, yeah. Ebook, workbook, audiobook, Spanish translation, and then a print book. So that's really exciting and I just love hearing all that you're doing.

Anything else all been within five months.

Yeah, it's amazing. Yeah, really is. How many books do you have published now?

The print book, the ebook, poetry and photography book? I have a fourth book in progress due out in October called Depression Smackdown, which is related to this.

Because I believe that we all have bad days and that if we keep smacking down the bad days, focusing on the good days, that we can live our truth. And so I'm looking at, with that also having a podcast and a blog. So I'm looking for this to be my full job.

Yeah, this is, you know, it's definitely exciting to see what you're doing. And are you working on a product too, on the back end for this?

I'm looking at a course for the Depression Smackdown.

Yeah. So I mean, you're just going to have the whole continuum and that's another product based on the same information. Right?

Right.

Yeah.

Piggyback and fit into each other kind of like pieces of a puzzle.

Yeah. And I love that, I love that. That is exactly what I hope for members of Author Audience Academy to do is just to take the whole continuum, publish the books in multiple formats, have the marketing that will be your blog and your podcast, and then create the back end products to be able to have more income, to be able to support yourself. So it'll be so exciting to continue to watch you in these next few, few months and years. And what is your one take action tip for our listeners today, that when.

You'Re thinking about all these things that you can create, whether you want to do workbooks or quotes or podcasts or whatever, to think about your audience and what do they need to achieve what you want them to achieve with your work, especially if you're looking at nonfiction, which is my area. You know, I want people to be able to physically take action and to move ahead. And for a lot of people, they need different tools to do that. So of course, for Depression Smackdown would work really well for some people. For other people, they just want to do it on their own. So the workbook was a good answer for them for the bold way and just to pay attention to your audience as you're making those choices and they'll come naturally.

Yeah, that's a really good tip. And so, you know, just take a minute and brainstorm. Do what I like to call brain dump and write out all of the ideas that you have of how you can provide value to your audience and what could help them the most. You may also want to consider a survey or surveying people on Facebook and finding out what is it that they like to consume most. Ebook, print book, audiobook. You know, what are their needs too. So thank you so much, Mel. This has been really fun to hear your progress and where can people find you if they want to connect with you or find out more about you online?

Thank you, Shelley. Anybody can reach me@missmsmeledwards.com and I'm also on Facebook as Ms. Meledwards.

Awesome. Ms. Mel Edwards. Well, it's been awesome to have you. Before we end, I want to give you a backstage pass in this week's Godly Gains segment. Mel talked about creating multiple products from a single book today, and I highly recommend using this strategy. It's one I've used over and over again. It reminds me of planting a seed and reaping a harvest for multiple plants, vegetables, fruit, and so forth. A fruit tree will yield fruit for years to come. And when we write a book, it's like planting a seed where we will reap a harvest. And we can reap it in many different ways in many different formats. Galatians 6. 9 says, Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up. And I think the same is true for for writing and publishing your books or creating your book in multiple formats. I want to encourage you not to become weary in doing good, in doing the work that God has called you to do, in sharing the message that he has given you to share. For at the proper time you will reap a harvest if you do not give up.

Thank you everyone for joining us for another episode of Author Audience. This was a special episode, a behind the scenes look and what's working for authors in my community, and I hope it's inspired you. I hope that what Mel is doing and all the different things she's doing with that one book has inspired you. That there is so much more than just publishing a Kindle book or a print book, but there's so many more options for you. So thanks again for joining us and we'll see you next time.

Thanks for listening to this episode of the Author Audience Show. Connect with us online at Authority.

Where.

You'Ll find all the resources mentioned in today's episode. While you're there, grab Shelley's free video training on how to write and publish your book using her Six Step Ascent method. Join us again next week to learn how to reach your audience with your message.