WaiterRant is probably the best place for inside stories from the restaurant business. He writes exciting and (at least it seems so!) true stories about his life as a waiter in a bistro. If you don’t believe me, just read this piece about “Daddy’s Little Girl.”
Strenghts of the blog:
Really good stories from a real waiter.
We all have a good idea of the restaurant business. We all think we know it. It is a topic that it’s easy for people to relate to.
Weaknesses and threats
The stories he writes are really looooong… it is well written, but it’s a bit tiring to read in front of the screen. People generally like quick stuff.
The blog is really popular and the dedicated server costs $170 a month. He now had to ask for donations to avoid losing money on his blog.
The opportunity
I thought of this when I was thinking of what books to bring for my beach holiday this year. Last year I read “Hotel Babylon” about the life on a luxury hotel in London. This year I wished I had a book of some of the Waiter’s best stories.
Why not look into self-publishing your own book? It seems like an ideal candidate. Successful blog, thousand of readers. Publish a “best of collection”, the initial spark of interest generated from your blog makes the title fly up the chart at Amazon and then the wheels start turning.. By searching in Google for “how to publish your own book” and “publish my own book” I found several companies specializing in it. You can print a paperback version from a few $ if you buy in bulk.
With such a talent for writing it would be very nice to see him cash in on it. What do you think about this idea? Does it have potential? Or is it better to focus on the PayPal tip jar?
Hmm.. this publishing thing? Here are some blogosphere links about publishing books:
An literary agent in stilettos throw in some advice for “Publish On Demand” people.
Bookseller chick explains how a book ends up in her book store
Big important person complains about peole who can not accept their novel being rejected