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By Little Mummy, June 21, 2009 2:37 am

Aruna is an ex-barrister who now makes an income producing books with BlurbNation. Read on to find out how she does it.

First, a quick introduction to BlurbNation;

BlurbNation is a community of editors, writers, designers, artists, and photographers. Blurb provides everything you need to make books for your clients, including free bookmaking software, your own online bookstore, and a print-on-demand back-end that enables you to print professional-quality books in any quantity. Anyone can become a member of BlurbNation, it’s as simple as signing up and making yourself available to make books

Q1. Can you briefly describe BlurbNation and how it works?

Whilst using the BookSmart software is very easy, there are people who can’t or don’t want to make their own books. Blurb has set up a directory of book makers called BlurbNation to cater to people who want books made but don’t have the time or technical know how to do it.

Book makers who have met certain criteria can apply to Blurb to be included in the directory. The directory is available to the public who can go through it and from details provided choose the right book maker for the job at hand. All dealings between the client and book maker are independent of Blurb who have no contractual relationship with either party.

For book makers themselves BlurbNation is a fantastic means of communicating with each other, sharing ideas and problem solving. In addition to this BlurbNation provides its members with tips on design and marketing too. It can be a lonely job sitting in front of your computer, putting a book together and the support you can gain from other BlurbNation members is immeasurable.

Q2. How did you find out about and become a member of BlurbNation?

I found Blurb very early on and was addicted, making books for anyone and everyone who mentioned an idea, whether it was a party, a business or a passion! As a result of that I was lucky enough to be asked to be the first BlurbNation member in the UK. For some time I didn’t really understand what it was all about. As the months went by and Blurb got more and more exposure here in the UK, I started getting email enquiries and then actually started getting work through it. I didn’t realise how useful it would be then but I am very grateful for the opportunities that have come my way through BlurbNation.

Q3. Did you have any previous photography or publishing experience?

No, I had no previous experience in either field! I qualified as a barrister and had a criminal and family law practice for 12 years but stopped to bring up my son and daughter (now aged 12 and 8). When my daughter was 5 and at school full time, I found a new lease of life and having received a Canon digital SLR and a Mac Book Pro lap top as Mother’s Day and birthday presents three years ago, there was no stopping me!

I had always been interested in photography but it was an expensive hobby as developing and printing film was a costly exercise, largely because you didn’t really know what you had till the film was exposed. Now you know within seconds of taking a photograph so there is no waste of time or money! I hadn’t had my own income since having my children and I became keenly aware of the fact that everything cost money! Here for the first time, I could experiment with my photography and editing without feeling guilty about mounting costs because if I didn’t like what I did I could simply erase it!

Q4. Do you think it’s possible to make a full or part time wage from book making with Blurb Nation?

In this day and age there is so much competition in every field. Blurb has created such a unique platform where your only outlay is your time and the cost of printing a book so really, there is no risk of losing capital. Realistically, when starting out, Blurb Nation can certainly provide you with pocket money. It will take your own initiative to turn it into a full income sustaining project. If like me you have chosen (and are lucky enough to afford) to stay at home and look after your children, then joining Blurb Nation and making a go of creating full time income from it is not risky. I don’t want to jump the gun and say that I am making a living from it but I can say that I am not far off from being able to!

Q5. Are there any particular skills you think are necessary or helpful to be successful with BlurbNation?

I had no qualifications in the fields of photography and design but I think I had a natural flair for it. The one thing I have gained from BlurbNation and the team who run it is confidence. That confidence, a good eye for design, creativity, and huge amounts of enthusiasm has been my secrets to success.

Q6. How could someone interested in following in your footsteps get started?

To put it very simply, download the software if you haven’t already, get creating and if you have the ability, perseverance and enthusiasm, you will be on your way over those stepping stones to success. You have nothing to lose by trying. In the world we live in it is not every day you get the chance to try something for nothing. BlurbNation is effectively one such chance!

Read more mumpreneur case studies..

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By Little Mummy, January 29, 2009 5:07 am

In December I decided that 2009 was the year I’d start making a part-time income from home. I didn’t have a plan, I still don’t really, but shortly after I wrote about my idea an opportunity came up to work from home managing and optimizing an email list for an online shop.

Working Freelance

I’ve spent a lot of time this month laying the groundwork to make this project successful, the deal is a ‘profit above trend’ model, details still to be hashed out, but I’m happy with the way things are going and hope to bring on a few more similar projects. I’ve thoroughly enjoyed the ‘work’ so far, I’ve attended technical/strategic meetings and I feel like my ideas are valued. I can be honest, after all I’m not an ‘employee’ with a job to lose. I can speak the truth even if that’s not the most agreeable. Fortunately the company are very open minded and I’m looking forward to making their newsletter a success and earning myself some hard cash!

Passive Income

I’ve also begun generating a small income from writing articles on Bukisa. Anyone can write articles for Bukisa, you make money from the pageviews your articles receive. I’m spending some spare time going through my archives and choosing some ‘gently used’ articles to polish up and publish for passive income (say that when you’ve had a few!). The thing with passive income is that it’s a slow starter and much of the work has to be done upfront for little reward. This month I’ve only made about $3.50 (approx £2.50), it’s not going to produce my £500 target, but it should build every month becoming a nice, passive, contributory element to my £500.

Affiliate Marketing

I’ve made a couple of sales, only generating a few pence, not great, but I didn’t have to ‘do’ anything, so that’s fine.

Networking

I’ve been putting some effort into networking a bit on Twitter. Not really ‘effort’ as such, quite enjoyable chatting and sharing ideas, you never know what might come up. What is it they say about not what you know but who you know I’m here on Twitter, if you fancy a chat.

Plans for February

I hope to begin getting involved with producing the newsletter, although I’m not sure if that project will generate money in February. I definitely hope to be earning by March.

I have many more articles to assess and decide whether to post them on Bukisa. My aim is to have at least 20 articles by the end of February, I currently have 9.

I’ve been approached about an affiliate marketing opportunity that I need to have a look into.

I’ll be continuing to network and investigate new money-making opportunities.