How To Make Money By Writing Books: 8 Tips For Success

Of course, releasing well-received and well-known works is the ideal way to earn money from creating books. But for most authors, it also entails turning on a number of revenue sources related to your writing job. Many authors are able to leave their 9 to 5 occupations and make a living by boosting their royalty income with additional writing-related activities. As an author, you can avail of benefits from online book marketing services.

Here Are 8 Suggestions To Aid You If You Want To Write Books To Earn Money

Write A Lot To Sell Your Work

Contrary to popular assumption, a bestseller isn't enjoyed by all people; rather, it has a devoted following. Bestsellers "target a pre-made audience," as best-selling novelist Suzy K Quin puts it. A book's "pre-made" audience may consist of readers who read in a certain genre or sub-genre or fall into a particular demographic. Eat, Pray, Love was written with single women in their 30s in mind, and their passion for it helped generate buzz, as Quin noted in her discussion at SPS Live 2022.

To put it another way, it's essential to write for a specific audience that will actually connect with your book if you want to publish one that sells. At the same event, Reedsy's Ricardo Fayet remarked that this is the startup world's version of "Product-market fit," which is when a firm develops a product that is ideal for a certain market.

Talk About Subjects That Matter To Readers That Read In Your Genre

Each genre has a tendency to be linked to particular themes, such as justice, tyranny, and freedom in science fiction; good and evil in fantasy; hope and love in romance, etc. So, looking at the themes connected to your genre is one approach to make sure your work is appropriately targeted to your market. If you're unsure of how to approach this, go back to the novels in your genre that you've already read and try to make connections between them in terms of common story ideas.

Use Genre Tropes

Since readers typically seek out new novels with the same tropes they previously enjoyed, genre fiction frequently employs clichés that readers are already familiar with. In reality, a lot of the popularity that novels gain on TikTok is based on well-known clichés, such as the "enemies to lovers" romance stereotype or the "reluctant hero" fantasy trope. Tropes have also grown to be important enough for authors to start using them in their marketing, as seen in this promotional material from author Ali Hazelwood.

Publish New Books As Frequently As You Can

Writing for the market is only one aspect of the issue. Writing numerous volumes or a trilogy or series that keeps people interested is the only way to create a buzz about your works that will generate substantial income. So keep writing, and don't give up if your first book doesn't become an overnight sensation. Visit our article on writing quicker for additional information on increasing your writing output.

Your Writing By Using An Editor

There's a reason why all of the highest-paid authors use editors who have experience. Authors typically lack the decade's work expertise that an editor may contribute to the endeavor and are frequently too connected to their novel to objectively notice its shortcomings. A developmental editor can point out any plot holes or unfinished character arcs and how your book stacks up against other books in its genre. They can also tell you whether your work's overall trajectory makes sense.

In the words of author Catherine Pettersson, "What I truly needed was the perspective of someone who also recognized what the cutthroat publishing business demanded – and Clare certainly delivered." Her advice brought my book to a completely new level. She pointed out how my manuscript's lack of suspense hindered its ability to be published and provided me with a road map for improving it to publication standards. Working together with her editor helped Pettersson get a book deal.

To give you an idea of how much money authors make, traditional publishing offers you 5-20% of the royalties, whereas self-publishing gives you 50-70% (provided you "earn out" your advance). Indie authors frequently choose to publish independently rather than through a traditional publisher in order to increase their earnings share.

Increase The Visibility Of Your Writing

You need to do more than just your "author" hat if you want to be financially successful. Treating your book summary like a business is what this entails, as Darren Hardy underlined at SPS Live 2022.

A long-term expenditure in your writing career is creating an author platform. While having a website and being active on social media is helpful, building an author mailing list wins the prize for producing results. A mailing list can help you engage your audience, let people know about new products, get pre-orders, and forge enduring bonds with your devoted followers. It enables you to make offerings to those who already know you and are interested in hearing from you while also establishing your authority and reputation.

Make Your Books More Available To Readers

By making your book available in a variety of formats, you may reach a wider audience of readers. For accessibility reasons, some people can only read ebooks, while others can only browse in-store, and others can only listen to audiobooks. In other words, publishing your work in multiple formats could increase the number of people who read it if you don't already.

The same idea applies to marketplaces in other languages; by translating your book, you can reach new audiences of readers that enjoy your genre. Independent authors typically find success in the markets for German, French, Italian, Spanish, Japanese, Indian, Chinese, and other languages; other markets, like Greece, are less profitable.

Both Your Backlist And New Releases Should Be Promoted

You may significantly boost your overall sales by promoting both your backlist and your most recent release. This can be accomplished by putting together a book package and selling your previous works at a discount to readers who purchase your most recent work. This is particularly helpful if you have a series and discount the first few books, so readers have to pay full price to find out how it ends. Get new readers interested in your collection by grabbing their attention. You can experiment with various pricing points, but make the offer time-limited and make the reduction clear.

Make the most of social media, your newsletter, and your email list to spread the word about this. Another common strategy authors use offering their most recent book for pre-order, followed by targeted advertising campaigns. This contributes to creating some buzz about your book even before it is published.

Offer Ancillary Services For Your Goods

Although writers do make money from creating books, once they have established a platform, they may also profit from all the ancillary services they can provide. Speaking engagements where you discuss your experience as an author, seminars, and classes that teach the technique of writing, or even consulting services, could be some of these (especially for non-fiction authors).

Find Out How Other Authors Earn A Living

Whether it's initiating a fundraising site or selling books directly to fans, many authors today are coming up with innovative ways to increase the revenue from their novels. Brandon Sanderson raised a record-breaking $41 million on Kickstarter for four books he wrote during the pandemic. Many other authors can use their fans to fund their works. Join our free course below if you want to find out how they do it. There are so many online professional book writing platforms