Unlock a NEW Way to Publish Books Online and Get Paid More

About this video

Dale Roberts argues authors can repurpose a book into a video course as a fourth format beyond ebooks, print, and audiobooks, and describes turning two of his old lead-magnet books — Secrets of the Perma-Free Book and How to Write a Book in 48 Hours — into courses, noting the book manuscript converts readily into a teleprompter script because he already scripts his videos. He offers access to both courses and over a hundred other videos via theselfpublishinghub.com at $9.99 per month. His action plan: pick a published book with proof of concept; assemble simple gear — a webcam or phone camera, decent audio (he cites Logitech’s Blue Snowball USB mic at about $40 to $50 and a Boya lavalier at around $15), and ambient lighting; use a teleprompter to keep eye contact on the lens, contrasting his Padcaster Parrot (a little over $100, now unavailable) with the DIY foam-core, duct-tape, and picture-frame teleprompter he built for about $3 from Dollar Tree and used for two years; record by chapter or sub-chapter rather than in one day; and edit with free tools like iMovie, Windows Movie Maker, or DaVinci Resolve (his Camtasia costs a few hundred bucks), warning that intricate editing can take an hour per minute of footage, or outsource to a service like Floxy. Courses should sit behind a paywall; the sponsor Uscreen provides customizable sites, marketing tools, payment processing, and mobile apps, with a 14-day free trial via his referral link. If platform fees are unaffordable, he recounts crowdfunding his first course in early 2018 without Kickstarter: he calculated the annual membership cost, offered early buyers a lifetime bargain price, and says he needed 27 customers to cover it and nearly doubled that — while cautioning that lifetime deals create long-term hassle and monthly memberships are smarter.

Key takeaways

• A published non-fiction book can become a video course with little new writing, since the manuscript converts directly into a teleprompter script.
• Start with cheap, passable gear: a phone or webcam, a roughly $40–$50 USB mic or ~$15 lavalier, ambient light, and even a ~$3 DIY teleprompter.
• Record in chapter-sized chunks and keep your eyes on the camera lens so the course feels like a conversation, not a lecture.
• Budget editing realistically — intricate edits can take an hour per finished minute — or use free editors like DaVinci Resolve or outsource the work.
• Fund hosting before launch if needed: the creator presold lifetime access, needing 27 buyers to cover an annual membership and nearly doubling that, but recommends monthly memberships over lifetime deals long-term.

Episode details: published December 2, 2023 · 11:48 long. Summary written by Self Growth Videos from the episode itself. Business results and any income figures mentioned are Dale L. Roberts’s own claims, shared for education — they are not typical or guaranteed.

← Previous: STOP Publishing Your Book Like THIS, Boost Sales NOW! · Next: 10 Effective Book Marketing Strategies for Authors →

All Dale L. Roberts videos · Dale L. Roberts profile · Dale L. Roberts on YouTube