Income Streams For Authors
Who Doesn’t Wants To Know Different Sources An Author Can Earn?
There were times when the only income stream that authors had were through traditional publishing or agents. Authors used to wait for a long time before they could get their first paycheck. Writing a book takes years and then waiting for money. It felt like a loop that had no way out. And it was a major reason why people in the past didn’t want to make writing their career.
Not anymore! Now we all know that authors can earn money directly by self-publishing ebook platforms like Amazon, Barnes and Noble, kobo, google play, and more! There are two ways to publish direct — This is when authors want to directly publish their ebooks without any middleman and that even means you have to do all the tasks. (there are two ways to do it but will save that for further posts.)Aggregators — aggregators distribute your books to other retail shops. We have PublishDrive, Draft2Digital, and Smashwords. While Draft2Digital and Smashwords are free to use and take a small cut through your earnings. While PublishDrive takes a small monthly fee to distribute your books and you can take your 100% royalties. Sounds interesting? You can choose anyone you like. I go with Draft2Digital. I know people who have had success with PublishDrive. I’ll say experiment and see what suits you the best. Now, this was all the basics. Let’s jump into the enormous streams that sometimes authors miss out on. Remember, having only one income stream is never good. Maybe you’ll earn money quickly but in long term, you’ll have to add more to it.
- Ebook sales — As said above, sell ebooks directly or indirectly. Or you can combine it. But make sure that you don’t distribute the same book twice. I did this one mistakenly and had few sales. When I realize it, I quickly turn it off. Do work and stay within the rules, you’ll be just fine.
- Audiobooks — Not applicable to those who are starting. Wait until you have earned your let’s say first $100. That will give you the confidence to go further. Audiobooks are costly but there are some share plans (see Findaway Voices for more). To date, after having 44 books, I don’t have a single audiobook. I am missing out a lot but writing and publishing consistently take too much toil. But if you can do it, go ahead. Many of my friends prefer audiobooks instead of ebooks.
- Print Books — This can be costly but there is still a large market for that. If you are romantic then probably you should concentrate more on ebooks and consistency because romance readers read a lot. A lot. Like two books a week on average. So better you don’t miss out on that part! But if you write non-fiction then the print is famous. Non-fiction readers are willing to pay higher for good quality print book versions rather than ebooks. They prefer to read less but want quality. And when I say quality, you have to be an expert in what you do. Ghostwriting can be an option too.
- Translations — Only a few do this but still they earn where the English market is not there. Remember, when you target smaller markets, that’s where you earn continuous money each month. Try to be a big fish in a small market. I remember someone from Reddit selling ebooks on music-related topics. He has made enough of what an average romance author can dream of. But the main thing is that he wrote for Germans in german. Clear?
- Youtube — Cannot stress this enough but after having some books under your belt, go and start your youtube channel. You don’t have to have much expensive equipment, just a subscription to Filmora (I recommend) and a camera. You can use your phone too. At the start, try for less. Do not spend money at the start. Let the views first roll in.
- Patreon — Not many do but I started Patreon because I wanted to connect directly with readers. I wanted a place where there was no middle man and I could sell my articles and stories for free to my readers. I have just started so let’s see how it goes. I’ll be making a series on my Patreon journey which will be available for free.
- Gumroad/Payhip — If you want to sell your ebook directly to your reader then use this lucrative option. Both have something that the other doesn’t offer. I won’t go into detail here but I have a Gumroad setup for my store where I can sell ebooks directly from my website. I have seen top authors recommending Payhip as well. Both are good, you choose. I’ll leave that to you. But do give them a try. After all, we are here to try as many income streams as possible and will be left with what works best for us.
- Blogging — You can write stories, web serials, or writing advice through blogging. Although I have Patreon, blogging doesn’t seem to be a great idea for me. Maintaining two sites that play the same role can be more stressful and with low income. I’ll say you choose anyone. Authors mostly go with blogging but I was getting recommendations for using Patreon, and I went along with it.
So this is all! Let me know if you know more income streams and I’ll add them up here mentioning your name.
If you want to know more about making money writing ebooks, then you can check out my book “My Mistakes in Self-Publishing”. Happy Writing Journey!
