The Great Debt Payoff

Well, I'll be jiggered. That darn book sold...in less than 12 hours. What a trip. Either my book was a hot seller (although who wants a Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders IV?) or I'm just the beneficiary of that thing called "beginner's luck." Whatever it is, I receive it. And wouldn't it be nice if this happened every time? If so, I HAVE CLEARLY MISSED MY CALLING.

Now I'm nervous as all get out because I've gotta get this thing shipped out ASAP. Not a big deal...unless this baby decides to make his grand appearance before the Post Office opens on Monday morning.

Well, I went ahead and put my first book up for sale at Amazon.com. I figured I might as well go for it. If the book sells, I have to ship it within 2 business days. No problem...unless the book sells at about the same time I give birth. If that happens, I'll have to find someone to ship the book for me I suppose. But we'll cross that bridge when we get there.

Getting set up was relatively easy—they've made the process pretty straightforward. (You can get started here.) I really like the fact that if the book doesn't sell, I don't have to pay a dime. Very nice.

The book I'm selling is listed at $41.00. After fees and things, I should net $36 and change (if I'm remembering correctly). I'll let you know how the process goes...

Well, since one of the original goals of this blog was to come up with ways to make money online, I figure I'd better start writing about ways to make money online.

Up until now I've been trying to organize our current financial situation, but it seems like we're finally in a groove, so I'm ready to move on to finding ways to increase our income. Having said that, I'll warn you now that this process will most likely experience major turbulence since our third child is due to arrive at any moment. But while I'm waiting, I've started a little research...

So. My first goal is to find ways to make money online without having to spend any money up front. There are several ways to do this (which I'm sure I'll get to in later posts), but right now, I'm researching selling books online.

I haven't completed exhaustive research on the subject, but at first glance, it seems Amazon is one of the best places to do this, for several reasons. First, everyone knows Amazon (i.e. there's a lot of traffic). Second, it doesn't appear that you have to shell out any money upfront to get your books listed (unlike on eBay, for example). And third, I'm assuming (and it's just an assumption at this point), that given their size and reputation, most of the kinks in the selling process have been worked out by now.

I should clarify that I have not completed a sale on Amazon. After the baby comes and I can breathe again, I think I'll give it a shot. I've got lots of textbooks I wouldn't mind parting with from grad school and I'm assuming (again) that selling textbooks will be most lucrative around the time people are going back to school (i.e. the fall) and not when people are looking forward to the summer (i.e. right now). In other words, if I wait until late summer to start my selling, I think I should do just fine. I know that's a long time coming, but like I said, I've only just begun the research.

If you've got experience selling books online and can offer advice, I'd love to hear!

By the way, if you're interested in selling books yourself and would like to get started, go here.