Anthony Copeland

Jane Mulberry wrote:What you're intending sounds good! Go for it!

Having the experience you do will be a real help. Also, that's a great selling point - you have insight about the practical aspects of your topics and real-life experience. A LOT of the cheaper non-fiction ebooks are junk books thrown together by someone whose sole experience is an hour Googling the topic then copy-pasting. So you already have something that lifts your book above the herd. (Yeah, deliberate bad pun, there!) That's something you can emphasise in your bio (which appears on your author page and on the book product page) and in each book's description.

Doing a series is also a great idea. Amazon loves prolific authors and rewards them with more visibility.

I would definitely add I am formally educated in the subject manner while also reaffirming the fact that the material is beginner centered. I plan to hit several niche topics around livestock and grazing along with some other homestead interest. But In the works I also plan on giving credit where it’s do while providing further resources if the reader wants to go beyond the beginner level. I got one idea for a book where I focus on how stocker cattle can fit well into homestead life.

Jane you make so many great points and insights thank you for the response. I’m convinced nothing is truly passive either. Everything takes work and preparation.

I went to school for agriculture where often times we had to summarize large amounts of information into presentable platforms for either beginners to a subject or those who may not even have heard of it period. Basically I was hoping to create ebooks about subjects I know and enjoy at a beginner level for prospective readers. While almost anything can eventually be found on the internet, it’s often spread over multiple articles, videos and posts. These things often get lost and deleted over time. Websites shut down, authors removed, etc. I often feel a fairly priced ebook is worth it when information is compiled in one place, organized and is accessible to the buyer in a ready form. Think this really would fit in with the cloud book cheaper option. I’m not trying to create massive textbooks but rather beginner guides to niche topics. I enjoy learning and researching new things as well as talking about the things I enjoy and sharing with people.

Jane and Leigh, you have really painted a detailed picture of the overall here. My goal is to make so many of these a year and reinvest the money into other things. As you both have said, the money isn’t necessarily consistent or tremendous, but it is there if you’re willing to put the time in.

Thank you all for the resources listed and responses.

Leigh Tate wrote:Hi Anthony. Quite a few of us are self-published here on Permies. eBooks are a pretty easy way to break into publishing, with a variety of resources to get you started. There is a learning curve, of course, especially along the lines of formatting, with a number of file choices: mobi, epub, and PDF are the most common, although there are others.

I publish eBooks through Kindle Direct Publishing and Smashwords, so I can tell you a bit about those two. I upload my book files in .doc format and the cover file as a .jpeg, and they convert the files for me. Each has their own file requirements, which you can find on their websites. It's also possible to create your own epub files.

I use KDP to distribute on Amazon, and Smashwords for all other venues except Permies Digital Market. For Permies, I convert my book files to PDFs and upload them here myself. KDP's software is a little more forgiving of formatting issues, and you can preview your files before you publish (a nice plus), but they only convert to mobi for Kindle. Smashwords converts your files to a variety of formats and has a broad distribution network (Barnes & Noble, Apple, iTunes, Scribd., etc., even Amazon). But they also have more stringent rules for creating an acceptable file, i.e., one that can be converted to a variety of formats. For Amazon, I use KDP, which also has a broad distribution network, but it all boils down to getting the best royalties. Plus, I'm not a fan of monopolies, so I like publishing through different companies.

One reason I chose these companies is that I can publish with no cost to myself, unless I choose to hire out services (which I don't). Ingram Spark is another popular choice for authors, and they do publish epub, but it costs about $25 per file to upload each time (meaning if you have to make corrections and upload a new file, you have to pay the file fee each time.) They do have the broadest distribution network, and if you sign up for their newsletter, you'll find specials for new book uploads.

Besides self-learning, the other challenge will be self-promoting. When you do your own publishing, it falls on you to promote your books and build your audience. If you do your own eBook file creation, it will fall on you to contact wherever you want to sell your books and upload them yourself. The other option, is to sell through your own website.

You're right in that you won't make a lot of money, but self-publishing can be a very rewarding way to share your knowledge and experience. Plus it's a great outlet if you have a creative writing streak.

That was a very detailed response thank you. Have you been able to grow this income over time? I know this isn’t a get rich quick thing but what are your thoughts about slowly growing this over time into a pseudo passive income stream? I would be curious since you have written so many. Do some books fall off or are all relatively consistent.

Long time reader, occasional poster. Just curious, has anyone ever self published ebooks on this forum? I see it as one of the things you do to start residual income on a majority of passive income posts. If you have, can you share some tips and tricks for me?

I have a lot of homestead related passions I love to talk about and would like to start writing about them. I’m not looking for a get rich quick but I would like to be able to be make money writing about topics I enjoy. I’m thinking I would like to focus on beginner guides to specific topics like rotational grazing and stocker cattle.

Any feedback would be great!

I’m located in an area of the US with a fairly large methamphetamine and opioid crisis. What this unfortunately means is frequent trespassing and burglary for rural residents. Less than desirable people know homesteads have a litany of valuable items and livestock. It’s fairly common for sheds and shops to be broken into; with livestock they being more uncommon but not unheard of. People have even had there livestock shot and found half-butchered in the field. Besides that you also have your poachers, ATV riders, and random wanderers. Every homestead and farm is different but there are some universal good practices:

1. If an option, place gates and chains at the entry points of your property. Make sure you can’t lift the gates off the hinges.

2. Keep all sheds and garages locked, preferably with locks that can’t be cut with bolt cutters. Keep tool chests locked at all time in these sheds. In your home, invest in a gun safe for firearms, jewelry, important documents and other valuables. Security cameras are a must have on sheds and barns as well as your garage.

3. Don’t leave ATVs, UTVs, power tools, power washers, welders, chainsaws, farm equipment, etc outside and unattended.

4. Adequately fence your property and check it often. Post no-trespassing signs and see if you are in a purple paint state. Check fences often. Make sure no one has cut or pushed them down. Place gates or chains on trails that can’t be fenced off.

5. Be wary of kayakers and boaters if you have creekside/River property. Have no trespassing signs posted along banks.

6. Don’t be public about new tool or equipment purchases. Especially on social media. Also, don’t post when you won’t be home.

7. Join your local neighborhood watch page on social media. These share insights to local incidents and people to watch. Developing good relationships with nearby neighbors goes a long way as well.

8. Be cognizant of who you give property access to as well as what permissions they have. Letting the neighbor lady mushroom hunt once can easily turn into her son and his buddies fishing out of your stock pond if not monitored.

9. Be firm when confronting trespassers. Word will get around.

You will get some push back from people for wanting to secure your homestead. You might hear someone say, “my grandparents lived in the country and never locked there home!” Or “you should let the neighbor kids take there ATVs through here.” Just remember, making sure your personal property is safe is not crazy. Let the detractors face personal liability when someone crashes there atv on there back forty or when there power tools wind up missing. Being secure does not mean being less neighborly.

Trace Oswald wrote:I checked his prices,
8x10" cowhides - 5 pack, $35, 25 pack $125
4x10" - 10 pack, $35, 50 pack $125

He sells bungees and flirt poles as well, but I don't really know much about that.

I have no idea how many of these you can get from a full cow hide.  I'm pretty sure he gets the hides free from local farmers when they have a cow die or butcher them.  He sells a lot of them, and has trouble keeping up with all the orders, but he has been doing it a while and has a good reputation.  I'm sure he isn't getting rich, but he definitely makes enough that he thinks it's worthwhile because he has been doing it a long time.

Thank you for the price points! Definitely going in my “what if business ideas” folder in my head. I think many small farmers and homesteaders are overly Dismissive when a new enterprise isn’t as lucrative as they think. As you said, it seems to me it could be a nice additional income stream for a homestead. Many streams build a river.

C Mouse wrote:

Anthony Copeland wrote:C Mouse, That’s a disheartening but but right truth; you cannot compete price wise with a massive tannery like that. I cringed slightly when you said the sustainable living groups use the Chinese products over locally made ones. Thank you for your thoughtful reply!

Well, the sustainable living groups I'm in tend to not use furs at all - they'd much rather buy clothes from thrift shops or use hand me downs than make anything new. Animal skins tend to be gifted and bartered in the sustainable living groups around here out of love more than out of need. Nobody "needs" rabbit furs after all, so don't buy what you don't need is a big mantra.... But I like to try to use them.

Ah I understand better now your perspective. That does make a lot of sense.

Skandi Rogers wrote:There is a place near us that raises sheep (which are rare here and not commonly eaten) they sell sheep skins and also horns and other bits of animal from various local sources. They sell their skins for about $150 to $300 per skin! (equivalent) They also sell wool and yarn, at equally horrendous prices.

Wow! That does seem like quite a bit. Considering most online decorative hides I’ve seen are $15-50, they better count themselves lucky!

Trace Oswald wrote:I have a friend that sells squares of cow hides to people with dogs for use on flirt poles, for tugs, things like that.  Just another stream to consider.  Hides 4" x 10" are common and usually sell for about $5.

Very thoughtful and creative! Anything in the pocket will help pay the bills in the long run.