Low-content books are an effective means of generating passive income.
These days more of us are realizing the importance of generating a passive income stream through several sources rather than one sole source. With low-content books, you can boost your income with little time and energy spent in the process.
This article will explain what low content publishing is, what low-content books are and how to create one yourself. We will also discuss how you can publish them.
Whether you want to create a low-content book for fun, as a side hustle, or get your foot in the door of the world of publishing, this article is for you.
What are low-content books?
Low-content books are those with little to no text throughout the book. They are not meant to be read like a novel or magazine but used as a guided journal, diary, or planner.
Coloring books are also low content, though more design is involved in their creation.
Find below a few examples of other low-content books:
- Puzzle books
- Guest books
- Music composition paper books
- Crossword puzzles, Sudoku
- Quote collections
- Notebooks
Some examples above feature some text, such as the clues in a crossword puzzle or a collection of quotes, but online generators exist and allow users to generate crosswords or find quotes about a theme.
What is low content publishing?
Low content publishing is the act of publishing these books for profit.
But why would one publish a crossword puzzle? Or a guided journal? Or a daily planner?
These simple books are in high demand, which means there is money to be made.
Adult coloring books are a popular and profitable example of low-content books that sell. Journals and diaries are also incredibly popular and make for great gifts.
With the right approach, it can be lucrative. They are easy to create, and with some practice, you can get a low-content book completed and ready for publication in less than a day.
Benefits of low content publishing
Low-content books can help you generate a passive income with minimal effort.
Of course, some work is involved, but it’s not much, and the payoff can be significant.
Don’t expect significant profits from the book straight away because other factors influence its success, but when you get low content publishing right, it can be highly lucrative.
Some of the benefits of low content publishing include:
Efficiency
You can think of an idea and create and publish it in a matter of hours or days.
Working on your first book may take a little time as you get used to the overall process, but if you decide to continue publishing low-content books, you’ll notice that you can complete them in less time.
Given that the entire process can take place in a single day, you could theoretically create one on a weekly or monthly basis.
No special skills are necessary
You don’t need to be an established author or an academic to write a low-content book.
Programs and online software for book creation are also incredibly easy to use.
Almost anyone can create a low-content book worthy of sales. You may feel intimidated at the thought of publishing your book, but the process is simple, and all it takes is a little research and some work.
Little investment
Unlike other types of publishing, low content publishing is extremely cost-effective. As mentioned, a day can be enough time to start and finish the process.
No paid advertising or other marketing effort is necessary once your book has been published. You may not even have to spend a cent. Still, it may be worth your money to hire a designer for your cover.
You find low-cost designers who will spend a few hours designing your cover files on sites like Fiverr or Upwork.
If you don’t want to hire a designer, you’re free to design the book yourself!
No storage
Kindle Direct Publishing (KDP) offers a print-on-demand (POD) service for writers. That means you don’t need to spend money on printing the physical book.
Books are kept digital and are only printed at a purchaser’s request.
POD saves authors and publishers a lot of money – creating and storing hundreds if not thousands of print books is costly.
So, how do you create a low-content book, and how do you make money with it?
How to create a low-content book
The process of creating and publishing a low-content book is simple. Decide on the type of book you want to publish, then assess your choice’s likelihood of success based on other big sellers.
Once you’ve decided, create the manuscript and cover files and upload them to a publishing site.
Let’s take a look at each step in more detail.
1. Decide on the book type
First, you must decide which type of low-content book you want to create. As mentioned earlier, adult coloring books are trendy and profitable.
However, you need to design the images (or hire a designer). Creating such books is slightly more costly than a bullet journal or a notebook. Journals and notebooks require the least input, but an attractive or pleasant design is still important.
To generate your idea, write a list of the pros and cons of each type.
Once you’ve got an idea, brainstorm ideas for layout and design. Search for examples and references – plenty of inspiration is available online, even with a quick entry in the Google Images search bar.
There are several categories of low-content books, such as journals, notebooks, and planners. In each of those categories exist sub-categories.
For example, a prayer journal, a feelings journal, and a workout journal. A daily planner, a weekly planner, a monthly planner. Lined journals vs. blank pages.
In your search, you’ll notice common themes and designs, and you’re free to take inspiration and create a similar design as long as it’s not an exact copy.
Once you’ve got a few ideas on paper, narrow down your choices.
2. Refine your idea
With a list of ideas for your low-content book, now is the time to refine your choices.
Eliminate the weaker ideas and focus on those with the most potential. Books with the highest chances of sales (and profit) are those that are already selling well.
Use diligent keyword research and analytics to determine which books, titles, and taglines are most popular. Use these keywords in your book’s meta-description or title to boost its visibility on online book stores.
3. Create the book
Here comes the fun part – the creation of the book. This step is relatively simple.
You’re not writing a novel, so don’t let the fear of failure or sense of inadequacy or impostor syndrome stop you from sitting at the desk and getting to work.
Design the manuscript and covers
You need to create both the interior and exterior of your book.
The interior is the pages, the manuscript. In creating a bullet journal, bullet points and lines are needed on each page.
If you create a planner, you need times, days, and dates (and lines).
Create the manuscript
The design of the book’s interior should be appealing.
People will spend personal time with this book, whether a journal or a coloring book, so give them a pleasant design.
You do not need a degree in graphic design, and you don’t need to hire a designer for this part of the process.
There are plenty of styles and themes you can find online that are copyright-free and simple to create.
Design the cover files
The exterior of the book means the book cover (cover files, the front and back of the book). Again, simplicity is key and is often the more popular style than more complicated and attention-grabbing designs.
Consider the simple beauty of gold-colored text on a black or white background.
For this stage, you may want to hire a designer. They can be inexpensive and save you time as you can be working on your content while they design your cover.
There are templates and themes you can find online and use for inspiration if you want to design the cover and save on the design costs.
Still, you can also find a freelance designer without spending too much money, given that the design process won’t take long.
4. Upload and hit publish!
Amazon’s Kindle Direct Publishing (KDP) is one of several self-publishing platforms available for free online that are helping new and seasoned writers take the reins over the publication of their work without the hassle of dealing with a traditional publishing house.
Amazon’s KDP is free to use and can help you go from never having written a book to being a published book creator on Amazon.
The KDP is also incredibly easy to use. Simply sign up to create an account and follow the steps outlined.
Once you’ve got the interior (manuscript) and exterior (cover files) polished and uploaded to KDP (which may take only a few hours!), you’re ready to hit publish.
As long as you’ve considered the design, the function, and the market for your book, and all looks promising, you’re ready to make your first sale.
Stuck for inspiration?
Online generators are your best friend when it comes to creating low-content books.
Try this online journal prompt generator for journal prompts. Gather a long list of prompts and group them by theme.
This is a straightforward way to create a feelings journal or diary-type book in which people will love to write.
Consider sites like Canva or Flipsnack to help you create custom planners. There are also generators available online that help you create original crosswords and sudoku puzzles.
Conclusion
The simplicity of creating and publishing low-content books means that you can make a noticeable profit and generate a passive income stream with very little investment of time, energy, and money.
Once you get the hang of it, you can find a low-content publishing business and boost your income stream even more.
Creating and sharing valuable and engaging low-content material has never been easier. These days, publishing power lies in the hands of anyone with an internet connection.
Finally, do not be afraid to try different types of low-content books. Try journals, planners, or puzzles and analyze each one’s success.
