Write Your Way To Wealth: How To Make Money As An Author (Without Selling Your Soul)

Storytelling is a foundational part of human civilization. Stories have been passed down from generation to generation. Even marketing and advertising is essentially a specialized form of storytelling.

And if you love telling stories, then you might dream of becoming a full-time author.

But where do you start?

The cliche of the penniless writer is not exactly too detached from reality. Becoming a successful author is a minefield of disinterested publishers, critical notes from editors, strict deadlines, and an endless crowd of competition. 

But making a good living with your writing is more realistic than you might think. And you might not even need to sell your soul to get there!

Read on for our guide of how to make money as an author on your own terms.

Start With A Blog

Writing a book is a huge ordeal.

The average novel is around 80,000 words. Even if you already have the entire story already mapped out in your mind, that would take the average person around thirty-four hours of non-stop typing to complete.

Do you have a spare thirty-four hours in your life? Probably not. Especially when you consider edits, workshopping, more edits…

And even when you do finish writing your novel, who will you sell it to? Building a reader base from scratch is hard work. 

A great way to build that readership is by starting with a blog. It can also be a good source of income.

Blog posts are nowhere near as long as a novel (or at least they shouldn’t be), which makes them easier to write and easier to read. Many more people are willing to read a single blog post than a full novel.

Once you’ve built up this readership, you can use your blog as a platform to sell your book. In fact, many popular blogs have led to book deals without even trying.

Choose Your Niche

If you look at the shelves of a Barnes & Noble, you’ll see thousands upon thousands of books. And on Amazon, there’s overwhelmingly more.

As an author, you might see each and every one of those books as competition. 

But let’s take a look at that. If you’re writing a novel about a man living in a magical version of modern Brooklyn, you probably don’t need to worry about the woman writing books telling stay-at-home moms how to start their own business.

Each genre has its own target audience. Marketing children’s books uses different tactics than, say, cookbooks.

This is especially helpful on Amazon, where each sub-genre has its own best-sellers chart.

When you list your book, get as specific as you can. The more specific your niche, the less competition you’ll have. And less competition means higher rankings.

And speaking of Amazon…

Go Digital

Long gone are the days when you needed to convince a publisher to print your book in order to sell it. Once thought a fad of the digital era, ebooks are now immensely popular.

Despite lagging sales of e-readers, many people are still reading ebooks on their tablet or smartphone. In fact, even while major publishers are selling fewer ebooks, ebook sales by independent authors are rising.

The best part is, Amazon allows you to publish ebooks on their marketplace for free. No more paying for printing and distribution (or waiting for publishing companies to pay for it for you). 

Give It Away

When you’re trying to make a living as a writer, giving your book away for free might not seem very intuitive. After all, the electric company doesn’t care how many people downloaded your book. They just want you to pay your bill.

But to sell more copies, you need to be seen by more people. One of the best ways to get this exposure is to rank highly on Amazon’s best-sellers lists. 

It’s a bit of a chicken-and-egg situation. You need to rank on the best-sellers lists for people to buy your book, but you need people to buy your book so you can rank.

However, Amazon’s rankings don’t consider dollar amounts. It considers reviews. 

Give away a few copies of your books to people you know. It might be friends, family members, or readers on your blog. Make a personal request for them to leave a review for your book.

With a few five-star reviews under your belt, you’ll start to get attention from other people who see your book on the best-sellers list. 

And considering that 84% of people trust online reviews as much as personal recommendations, those reviews mean a lot.

Partner With Your Readers 

Being a successful writer is all about relationships. If you’re working with a traditional publisher, you’ll build close relationships with your agent, editor, distributors, and marketing team. 

But if you go the independent route, you’ll need a strong partnership with your readers.

Your readers will be your strongest advocates. Word of mouth is still powerful. And when a reader buys into your book, they’ll tell their friends about it. Think about it: how many books have you read because of a friend’s recommendation?

These recommendations will be happening anyway, so reward your readers for it. Offer incentives like giveaways or exclusive merchandise. 

Brands use these tactics all the time to build customer loyalty. If you invest in your relationships with your readers, these tactics will work for you too.

Knowing How To Make Money As An Author Isn’t A Mystery

If you’re staring at a blank Word document on your laptop, becoming a successful writer can feel like an impossible task.

But knowing how to make money as an author doesn’t have to be a mystery. With these tips, you can focus on the mysteries that matter—like the ones your gritty private eye is tackling in your book.

So take a deep breath, take another look at that empty page, and write on!

In the meantime, don’t forget to bookmark our Lifestyle Blog!