I’ve also written many times about my fellow blogger Darren Rowse, founder and a principle author of Problogger.net and one of the all-time "good guys" of blogging.

Darren monetizes about as well as anyone you can think of, and he does it cleanly and smartly … he’s always "white hat", his methods are above reproach, and he doesn’t have to resort to stupid tricks like "rick rolling" people and then writing follow-on posts about how he doesn’t care if people didn’t like his technique.  You won’t get take for a ride with Darren.

What you will get is sound, useable information about making six-figures a year from blogging, and the nitty-gritty details of how to do it.  Darren has a co-author on this book, Chris Garrett.

ProBlogger: Secrets for Blogging Your Way to a Six-Figure Income

I’m buying this myself because I always find it handy to have a written reference next to my desk, even though I virtually live on line.  I don’t think you’ll go wrong on this one.

I’ve discussed here and recommended others who have expert views the advisability of self-publishing or going with an established publisher.  I think in the long run it’s a good idea to get one book published "conventionally", just because of the market penetration and the authority it adds to your profile.

I do not recommend making a career or of writing books like this one … at $16 (already discounted) Darren and Chris will be lucky to share between them a dollar or so per sale … and they will wait a year or more before they ever see any real returns.  And the $.99 "Kindle" version?  Words fail me.  I don’t know anyone out there whose specialized knowledge isn’t worth more than $.99 cents, no matter how "off the beaten path" it may be.

I highly recommend you go read my friend Jack Reed’s web site and buy his book, How to Write, Publish and Sell Your Own How-To Book.  It costs more than $16, it won’t be available on Amazon’s ridiculous Kindle and Jack doesn’t even give me a commission, but I own this book and feel it is the tops in the field, bar none.

top sitting and start writing (message to myself as well as the rest of you still on the fence).

We discussed how Darryl might want to set up his own consulting business, capitalizing on his years of managerial and technical experience.  Today let’s look at another way Darryl might put that knowledge of his to work … write a book.

Am I talking about an eBook?  not necessarily, although I’ve talked eBook’s before an I will again … but eBook’s have certain limitations and in particular, many folks of my (and Darryl’s) generation prefer a good old traditional ‘dead tree’ paper book with words printed on it in ink.

Certainly if you are thinking about a book that describes technical procedures or physical activity … like the ‘care and feeding’ of a dry cleaning plant (a "how-to" book, the very best kind) a traditional book you can hold in your hand, leave open on a counter top for reference, etc. is vastly superior to looking up an eBook on your lap top.

I can hear you now, though, with the ‘impossibles’ and the ‘it won’t works’ … book publishing, especially for profit, is something the average person knows, or feels they know quite a bit about.  However. most of what you know about traditional publishing, at least since the Internet, is likely to be dead wrong.

Perhaps it’s because most writers for traditional print media are frustrated John Gresham’s or Earl Stanley Gardner’s … they have everything they need at their fingertips to write a best seller except two things … the skill and the ambition … so they fall back on what their college professors (also frustrated writers) told them.

Be your own boss

Writing books for a living is a great life. You are your own boss, work at home, wear comfortable clothes, take midday naps if you wish, set your own hours, attend no meetings, and get paid for your knowledge. There is no office politics. If you write a good book, you will do well. If you write a mediocre book, you will do less well. If you write a lousy book, you will not do well. In short, you will be judged, and paid, by your work, not by your ability to suck up to the boss…  John T. Reed

If you click on the picture above, or go to this web site you’ll find out about a guy you have likely never heard of, but he makes much more money than many of the guru’s you have been following, works when he wants and exactly has he wants to, in his own home, and leverages the power of the Internet for a large portion of his success .. John T. (Jack) Reed.

Jack doesn’t even write what many would classify as a blog, either, although I found him originally through his informed opinion writings on real estate subjects.  He writes often on his wealth of life knowledge, but it’s not in WordPress, so you can be your own judge as to the ‘blogginess’ … the purpose is the same, though … put the words on line, help people find them and readers, and even customers will follow.

If you like the idea of your own 6 or 7 figure per year business, without any ‘magic’ formulas and without any Internet trickery … and with virtually no investment … chance are you already own everything Jack recommends to get started … then you need this book.  I bought it and I am amazed at the value.  This is not an ‘affiliate link’ either, dang it, if you click on it and wind up buying the book I don’t make a cent … but take if from me, I fully believe that if you are like our friend Darryl, with a lifetime of job skills locked away in your head … and an empty, perhaps under-funded retirement stretching out before you, this might be the best $29.95 you have spent in years.  Recommended.