Low content books are a wonderfully viable way to create a passive income stream—and you don't have to spend months writing them like you would with a novel.
If you are a writer, chances are high that you’ve stared at your blinking cursor or a blank sheet of paper and wondered where to start. Thankfully, low-content books are a fast and easy option for you. AND they are super fun to create.
You may be wondering: What is a low content book?
Don't worry. Today we will cover all the types of low content books you can sell on Amazon, how to make one, and how low content publishing works.
So, are you ready to learn how to write a book without spending months typing hundreds or thousands of words a day? Then let's get started!
This blog will help you create low content books by covering:
What is a low content book?
What is a low content book? Put simply, it's a book that doesn't have a lot of words in it.
Think about it. Not all bound books contain stories. And, if they don't, there is a good chance they are low content books. There are many different types of low content books out there. Let's take a look at a few of them.
Types of low content books
Here are some of the most common types of low content books:
Planners
Whether you are Type A, Enneagram 3, first-born, or simply enjoy being organized, creating a planner may be the way for you to put your next book into the world.
Let’s say you started a career in graphic design but want to transition to writing. Creating a planner may be a great place for you to start. You get to design what the inside looks like without worrying about writing much, if any, prose.
Journals
Journals are another great way to ease into the publishing world. By nature, journals are mostly filled with blank pages for the purchaser to fill with their own thoughts. Designing a journal from a writer’s perspective could help boost your sales.
Publishing a low-content journal is a great start to your writing journey—and can also help other writers.
Food logs
Maybe you work a day job as a personal trainer, or perhaps you are simply a health-conscious creative wanting to inspire those around you. A food log presents you with the opportunity to share your passion for food AND writing.
Exercise logs
Similar to a food log, an exercise log is a way for buyers to record their workouts. An exercise log should be minimal in nature and allow space for the individual to keep track of all their specifics.
Guest books
Wedding season, anyone? A guest book has a very low word count, but can be created in a lot of fun and creative ways. You can also write a myriad of guest books following a similar template (but changing the theme, color scheme, seasonality, or occasion).
Recipe books
While writing a recipe book entails a higher word count than the other options on this list, it can still be considered low-content. but this type of book is still considered low-content. It just depends on who you write it. Obviously, if you're turning your cookbook into a memoir, it's no longer a low content book.
Writing prompts
For all the creatives out there, making your own writing prompt book can be as exciting as drafting your first story. What prompts you to write? Create your top writing prompts, and then put yourself in your audience’s shoes.
How can you help writers think outside the box? Can you assist them in broadening their usual writing style or trying a new genre? Writing prompts are highly creative (but extremely low-content).
Drawing prompts
If you recently read a book on art, or are an artist yourself, you may be inspired to write a drawing prompt book. This gives inspiration for other artists to practice their craft.
Take your time coming up with drawing prompts, and don’t forget to order them in a way that engages your reader. High content and low content books follow the same rule: Put the reader first!
One-line-a-day books
One-line-a-day books are essentially a hybrid between blank journals and writing prompt books. As a writer, you likely appreciate the craft of writing, but also understand the difficulty of sitting down to do it.
Creating a one-line-a-day book can help keep other writers writing! If you write even one line daily, you will be 365 lines closer to a completed journal or first draft. One line may not feel like much, but cumulatively it adds up.
Adult coloring books
There are a variety of ways to create an adult coloring book, and because you are the author, the method you choose is entirely up to you. While this type of book treads the line between what is and is not considered a low content book, adult coloring books are popular and a viable option.
This is not an exhaustive list of all the types of low content books out there, but hopefully you are now feeling inspired about the direction of your first low content venture. So now, it's time to discuss how to create and publish low content books.
9 steps for creating and publishing low content books
Here are the steps you should take when creating low content books:
1. Choose what type of low content book you will write
With so many types of low content books out there, you first have to narrow things down. Will you write a journal? A sudoku book? A book of inspirational quotes? The world is your oyster—so pick your pearl.
2. Create a theme & title for your low content book
Once you understand what type of book you are creating, it's time to pick a theme. Will this be a Keto diet log? Will it be an astrology-themed diary? Perhaps you want to use your travel photos to create a fun travel journal!
Your theme will help you to write and design your low content books. And, when your theme is set, you can create a catchy title to entice potential buyers.
3. Have a brainstorming session
Just because your book will have fewer words does not mean you should throw it together and hope for the best. Brainstorming is still part of the writing process, even for low content books.
Ask yourself the following questions before starting your writing process:
- What do I want the reader to take away from this?
- How can I uniquely engage my reader?
- What perspective do I bring that is helpful?
- What journey can my book take the reader on?
This brainstorming session will inform the content (however limited) in your low content books.
4. Write your content!
Now that you have all your ideas laid out, it's time to actually start making your book. Creating the content for low content books is sometimes as simple as writing a list of prompts or headings.
I find it's best to write your content in a separate document from your actual manuscript. This way it won't mess with formatting when you sit down to design your low content book.
You don't need any special programs to write your content—just a simple word doc will do!
5. Format your book
Before you can get to the exciting stage of low content publishing, you need to format your book. This is usually the most time-consuming step when creating low content books.
Your format will likely be determined by the type of book you are making. For coloring books or crossword puzzles, you probably want your book to be a bit larger, and for journals, you may want to make things a bit smaller than the average hard back book. In the end, it's up to you (for the most part).
Amazon Kindle Direct Publishing (Amazon KDP) and other on-demand publishers will have specific formatting rules. First, they usually want your file to be a PDF. And they may have some size restrictions as well. Luckily, most word processing software options will be able to export in the proper formatting.
Some of my favorite options for designing low content books are Canva and Libre Office. The best thing is, they are both FREE!
And there are plenty of free templates you can download to help you create your manuscript on Amazon KDP.
6. Check for licensing issues
When making your low content book, the last thing you want is to get in trouble with the law! Make sure that you can legally use your fonts (not all fonts are accepted for commercial use) and that all art and photos is created BY YOU.
If you aren't sure if your font is okay, you can check if it is covered under the SIL Open Font license.
7. Design the cover
No book is complete without a cover! And trust me, people judge even low content books by them.
You can hire someone to design your book cover, or do it yourself with Canva or Photoshop. Just make sure the cover size meets the guidelines of your publisher of choice.
8. Decide how to publish your book
There are so many ways you can publish your book these days, and you don't need to have a book deal to get started. You can go through KDP, hire a printer, or even try self-publishing!
You can look through our list of the best self-publishing companies to get some inspiration.
9. Publish and market your new low content book!
Once you are all set up with your low content publishing process, it's time to actually publish your book! And, with that, comes a whole lot of marketing. Because your potential buyers don't psychically know that your book has hit the metaphysical shelf.
You can create a book launch website, host a book launch party, run a book giveaway, or market your low content book to local boutiques and bookstores.
If you aren't sure where to begin, we have all sorts of services for authors to help you create a successful launch of your low content book. Just reach out to the team at SelfPublishing.com to get started!
