There are many genres of books out there. Of course, readers love a good plot, evolving characters, and captivating settings. But creating all of these elements can take months—years, even—and there’s no guarantee that you’ll get a good financial return on that time investment.
For many of us, that isn’t why we write. We want to share our stories and connect with readers. But if your aim is to generate passive income in the book world, there is an easier way.
There are millions of people across the world who are looking for books that are, essentially, empty. Low-content books have limited to no text or imagery. Instead, they are spaces for readers to be creative. A few examples are journals, puzzle books, calendars, recipe books, planners, and even sheet music notation books.
Low-content books offer a number of benefits to creators:
- They’re easy to set up—it should take you less than a day to create one
- You don’t need to write anything
- They’re low cost to create
- You don’t need any inventory to start
This last point is especially important. Low-content books are often print-on-demand books. They only get printed when someone orders one, so you don’t have to worry about keeping stock on hand or the logistics of shipping and handling.
Types of Low-Content Books
Your first step is deciding on what kind of book you’ll create. Book Bolt helps you out here, with a whole list of templates to get started with.
Here’s a comprehensive list of low-content books that you can create using Book Bolt:
- Journals
- Calendars
- Puzzle books
- Prompt books
- Calendars
- Planners
- Diaries
- Log books
- Coloring books
- Activity books
- Guest books
- Music composition notebooks
While this is a generic list, the possibilities are almost endless. That’s because there are niche areas that you can get into—adult coloring books, gym log books, wedding planners, etc.
Let’s look into these a bit more.
1. Journals
There are many different types of journals, from your basic daily diary to the recently-popular bullet journal. Or how about a gratitude journal? More people are beginning to practice mindfulness, so gratitude journals are becoming increasingly popular. You can create one that focuses on specific prompts to help guide your readers through the process, or you could just give them a set amount of lines on a dated page so they can wing it.
2. Prompt Books
Sometimes, people need a little inspiration. In this case, prompt journals are another genre that you can explore. Give your customers something to think about. Prompt journals are popular for writers and artists. Look for a niche, like sci-fi prompts, and get creative. This one requires a little more work in coming up with the writing prompts, but if you have a creative side, this could be your chance to help others get their creative juices flowing.
3. Coloring Books
They might seem childish, but coloring books aren’t only for kids, they’re for adults too. That’s not to say you can’t create coloring books for kids. Your options include themes like animals, shapes, landscapes, etc. Of course if you’re going after a more
mature audience, these types of coloring books can also include nudity and profane language.
4. Log Books
Log books are good for people who want to track something. That can be expenses, meals, exercises, habits—you name it. Think of your target audience, and use Book Bolt to create a cover that would entice that group.
5. Daily Planners
Daily planners take a bit more effort to create in comparison to the other types of books on this list because there’s more on the interior pages. But that’s also what makes them one of the best types of low-content books. Your unique twist will separate you from the competition. The key here is research and planning what niche and sub-niches you can target. And of course, Book Bolt offers keyword research to help you get started.
