2/ "In 1991, hedge fund manager Seth Klarman published a 250-page book about investing. The publisher, HarperCollins, sold just 5,000 copies. With relatively little fanfare, the $25 book faded into obscurity."
This 5k sales volume is typical for a business book. This is reality.
This 5k sales volume is typical for a business book. This is reality.
3/ Selling 10K copies = home run sales I was told by a veteran business book author. Sometimes you get really lucky like my book on Charlie Munger and it's a grand slam, but that's due to him and not me. Giant sales of Hagstrom's The Warren Buffet Way were a rare positive outlier 
4/ "Klarman said he had considered issuing a limited edition of Margin of Safety to raise money for charity, but otherwise didn’t seem interested in reviving the book." google.com/amp/s/qz.com/1….
There isn't much gain in writing a book, but managing money can create billionaires.
There isn't much gain in writing a book, but managing money can create billionaires.
5/ Many business books are written as content marketing for business X. If you write a book that sells used for $1,000 it is good marketing for what X does. What Klarman would receive financially on a reissue of Margin of Safety is tiny compared to existing marketing benefits.
6/ When I think about the fact that I am reading more papers and books I have read before than new books, I wonder if it is because too many books are just content marketing. Exceptions include Michael Lewis (he is so talented I would read a book he wrote about a leaky faucet).
7/ One quaity I look for in a book is a real desire of the author to educate readers. I put writers like Michael Mauboussin and Jason Zweig at the top of my list on that dimension. Sometimes a great story makes the book valuable like Shoe Dog, Cable Cowboy or the Les Schwab book
8/ People sell pirated PDF and photocopy versions of Seth Klarman's book on the internet. It's easy to find one downloadable for free tho.
In summary, never write a book for the money. Write is because you want to do it for yourself and/or to educate people. You won't get rich.
In summary, never write a book for the money. Write is because you want to do it for yourself and/or to educate people. You won't get rich.
