Joining me today is JJ Virgin, who has been inducted into the Fitness Hall of Fame, television and media personality, and a four-time New York Times Best Selling Author. She has launched over 10 businesses and is a 2-time Inc 5000 Founder. She is recognized as an authority on transformational leadership, as a Top Ten Finalist for the John C. Maxwell Award, as well as winner of the Mindshare Summit Pinnacle award.
JJ’s first experience writing a book was with a screenwriter she was dating at the time. She had a connection with the publisher of Chicken Soup for the Soul, who offered her several thousand dollars for the book. Instead, she decided to self-publish her book and sign a contract with her boyfriend that gave him 50% of everything she did for the rest of her life.
Her second book, “Six Weeks from Sleeveless to Sexy,” went out to lunch with a publisher, went to an editor at Simon and Shuster, took off her jacket, and the editor immediately wanted to buy her book! However, JJ says, “If you are going with a traditional publisher, that’s not what you want to do!”.
When creating her cookbook, The Virgin Diet, another author published a cookbook with the same name six months earlier. The only reason JJ wasn’t able to get out ahead of the other author is that she was traditionally publishing, which takes a much longer process to get your book from idea to print.
She recommends self-publishing as you can easily create a second edition of your book with updates without a huge issue. Traditionally publishing costs a large amount of money to make changes to your finished first edition. JJ also gives advice about marketing and the creation of cookbooks that every cookbook author needs to know!
Listen in to find out how cookbooks are different from regular books, why a cookbook is harder, and what you should and shouldn’t do when you are writing a cookbook. Learn why you have to make sure your cookbook numbers are dialed in before you publish, and her tips on self-publishing cookbooks.
Show Notes
[02:52] JJ’s first book was created while dating a screenwriter. [04:54] How JJ made the mistake of traditional publishing her second book. [07:01] JJ’s process of frameworking her books as she doesn’t like to write. [08:47] Pairing up cookbooks with a regular book. What’s the difference between writing a cookbook and a regular book? [13:25] Why she can’t trademark her book name “The Virgin Diet.” [17:43] The best way you can find mistakes in your book is by doing a verbal readthrough out loud. [19:21] Differences between self-publishing and traditional publishing a cookbook. [22:57] Her tips and advice on creating a self-published cookbook. [28:34] How her product line and her books evolved over time. [32:07] The backend for her physical products - what she is doing and how she is marketing her products. [34:19] How JJ creates multiple income streams with her books and products. [39:29] Building loyalty to the brand gives your company a raving fan base to buy your products. [43:48] The process of getting people on board with your brand. [46:10] Advice for new authors that JJ wishes she knew before she published her first book.Links and Resources
Visit Self Publishing School Online SPS Free Training Course Circle of Profit Designs for Health on the Web JJ Virgin on the web Grab one of her books here Check out her Mindshare Summit Connect with on LinkedIn Follow on InstagramSPS 106: Hybrid Publishing 101, Audible Originals, And Why You Should Focus On Audiobooks with Phil Jones (Exactly What To Say To Get People To Buy & Read Your Book)
SPS 105: Using Partnership Marketing To Sell Books, Change Lives, And Grow Your Business with Pedro Mattos (An Immigrant's Guide To Affiliate Marketing)
SPS 104: How To Create A 1 Page Marketing Plan For Your Book with Allan Dib
SPS 103: Using Books & Thought Leadership To Grow My 200 Person Marketing Agency with Robert Glazer
SPS 102: How To Write A Memoir That Actually Sells Copies (Without Being Famous) with Justin & Alexis Black
SPS 101: Relationships, Radio, And 3 Ring Binder Books: Create A Life You Love & Sell Generate Millions In Revenue with Dan Miller
SPS 100: The "Duct Tape Marketing" Book Launch: Sell More Books & Get More Referrals with John Jantsch (And How To Negotiate Your Publishing Contract)
SPS 099: 8 Figures Ecommerce Empire: How I Sold 1 Million+ Journals & Planners (And How To Create GREAT Products) with Cathryn Lavery
SPS 098: How I Wrote & Launched 6 NYT Bestsellers...And What I'm Doing Differently With My Newest Book with Jon Acuff
SPS 097: Crush It With Challenges: Launch Bigger, Sell More Books, And Grow Your Business with Pedro Adao
SPS 096: Launching My First Traditionally Published Book Using What I Learned Self Publishing Books & Journals with John Lee Dumas (And How I Negotiated a $350k Advance)
SPS 095: The Five Love Languages: Behind The Scenes Of The Book, The Series, And Selling 15 Million Copies with Gary Chapman
SPS 094: YouTube Secrets: Using YouTube To Sell 2k Copies/Month & Get 1,000+ Reviews On Your Book with Sean Cannell
SPS 093: Permission To Prosper: A Faith-Based & Copywriting Approach To Sell More Books & Grow Your Business with Ray Edwards
SPS 092: Using Books To Start Multiple 7 Figure Companies (And How I Sold 700k Copies Of 1 Book) with Mike Michalowicz
SPS 091: Publishers Hate Him! Thinking Like An Agent & Getting Publishers To Compete To Give You A Massive Book Deal with Nathan Latka
SPS 090: How I Sold 25k Copies Of A $37 Ebook That Isn't Even On Amazon (And Using Copywriting To Sell Books) with Sean Vosler
SPS 089: How To Sell More Fiction Books & Build A Full-Time Fiction Career with Ramy Vance
SPS 088: Using Personalized Marketing & Hand-To-Hand Combat (Instead Of "Broad Marketing") To Sell More Books & Get 100's Of Reviews with Brad Lomenick
SPS 087: How To Sell 2X More Books After Launch Than During Launch Week & Get 100's Of Reviews with Ryan Moran
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