$400,000 a Year From Writing Books?
Here is his advice for us hopefuls.
Craig Martelle is a self-publishing legend. He runs the 20BooksTo50k Facebook Group and wrote incredible books about writing like Release Strategies and Become a Successful Indie Author. (these are affiliate links by the way!)
Recently, he wrote a post in the 20BooksTo50k group about his writing career.
This year, he is on track to earn between $350k to $400k for the year.
As an author who dreams of earning a full-time living from my work, this is inspirational to me.
I love reading posts about indie authors like me who are making it. The ones who are making the seemingly impossible possible. I listen when those writers speak. I take note.
So, what did Craig have to say about this $400k year?
A few really great points of encouragement actually. Let’s dive into them now, shall we?
You need a healthy backlist of books that readers love.
To quote Craig directly, he says, “The most successful money-earning authors have a healthy backlist of good books that readers love.”
This, I know is true. When I think of my favorite indie authors — Lucy Score, R.S. Grey, The Writing Gals — I think of all the books that they have under their belt.
These are not one-book wonders. These are consistent authors who have been publishing for years. These are writers who keep creating. They keep feeding the beast that is their readers.
As Craig says, “If you only write one book a year, after ten years, how many books will you have? That’s a healthy backlist. That’s something you can market the hell out of.”
You need to balance your time between writing and marketing.
This is always an issue. If you’re a great marketer, you can sell the heck out of one or two books. But most people need more books for more sales.
The other issue? How do you spend your time?
Most writers are starving for time. They have busy lives and short windows for their writing career. So… how do you spend that time? Writing or marketing?
Craig says, “There’s the rub. If you spend your time learning marketing, then you aren’t writing extra books to bolster your backlist. Which means, it all takes time.”
Craig goes on to say that he spent the beginning of his writing career writing and building his backlist. Then, he decided to expand his marketing once he had books under his belt.
This seems like a pretty good strategy. Write. Write hard. Write something great. Then, you’ll have amazing books to sell.
The road to becoming a successful author is a marathon, not a sprint.
The good news is that with enough discipline, curiosity, and creativity, you can become a successful author. The bad news is that it may take time.
Craig says, “There are fabulous rewards for those who can survive the marathon. And there are substantial rewards for those who are running in it.”
If you are a writer, you learn to enjoy the process. Focus on the fun of it. Don’t put too much pressure on yourself too early. Being a successful author means writing books that readers love and continuing to do so.
The money will follow.
It can be frustrating to wait for monetary success. We want to be able to tell our friends and family, “Look what I did! I’m self-sufficient from my books alone. I’m a success now.” But success is not just defined by your bank account.
Success is seeing your book on someone else’s Instagram page. Success is getting a 5-star review. Success is holding your completed book in your hands.
Being an author is an incredible journey. Stay the course. I’m right there with you.
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Jenny Bravo writes books and helps other writers through trial-and-error. She’s on Instagram (@jennybravobooks) and TikTok (@jennybravobooks). You can hang out at her website, www.jennybravobooks.com.
