So, I Wrote a Book

I finally got around to hitting a bucket list item: write a book. If you’ve been following my journey for almost a decade, then you might remember that I’ve published Kindle books in the past. However, this is different. For Kindle, I used unpublished content, and I wrote a quick Korean phrasebook of sorts. This one is a much more technical book that is specifically for music artists, musicians, and producers based in the USA looking to release music online. It’s called, “The DIY Artist Guide to Releasing Music Online”.

I didn’t use Amazon KDP to publish this book. Instead, I used a service called PayHip (proud to be an affiliate partner) and linked it from another website of mine. I haven’t yet added web pages about the book on this blog, but I plan on doing that soon.

I cranked out writing a first draft of the book in a day or so. I did some minor editing. The organization/flow of the book came natural to me and I was able to figure out what I wanted to present. Then, I sent it to a fellow producer to check out, and she gave me suggestions/edits. It took me months before I revisited those edits. Once I got that done, I sent it to a family member for further revisions. Then, I got around to editing the book one last time. And lastly, I created a stylized PDF version of the book on Canva (not an affiliate).

The main reason I decided to go through the route of using PayHip is twofold. One is that I wanted to control the amount of revenue I’d make in sales. PayHip’s fees are much lower (5% not including PayPal/Stripe fees) in comparison to a program like Amazon KDP, which takes anywhere between 35%-70% depending on how you price your book. Two is that I wanted a way to distribute the book without having a singular link that could be leaked to others. PayHip has unique downloads links, and they also have an option to stamp email addresses on the top left corner of digital products such as eBooks or PDFs. PayHip also does have lower fees they offer based on monthly subscriptions, so that is something that I may consider in the future when I generate more in book sales.

I truly feel awesome about this book because I believe it provides much needed value for music creatives who want to make money online through music and don’t know the ins and outs of it. I go through all the basics in a beginner-friendly way. I even talk about music production for those who don’t know how to get music produced. It’s precisely the resource I would have wanted if I were to start off doing music online all over again from scratch.

I think at some point, I’d like to release another book, perhaps related to the DIY music artist or some other subject. I’m also interested in creating a music production course to sell.

I’m very thankful for the support I’ve received prior to and upon releasing this book. I initially didn’t tell many people about it aside from a few friends and one family member. I feel proud of what I’ve accomplished and I hope that many people succeed or do well after reading my book.

I also want to say, something like writing a high value book definitely takes patience. I think anyone could write. Anyone could write/publish a book. And then, to write a book of high value takes deliberate effort. Again, anyone could do it, but not everyone does. Overall, I’m just thrilled to be sharing this with you all.

Now on sale. Check it out here.