Writing a Book? Here&39s How Authors Make Money

YOU ARE READING: Writing a Book? Here&39s How Authors Make Money – DIYMarketers AT PhebinhvanhocEN

Have you been thinking about writing a book? then you want to know how authors make money. Well get ready because that’s what you’ll find out and:

How much money does an author make per book?
Whether you write books about making money or romance novels, this advice is practical.

what is the difference between authors and writers?

There is a big difference between authors and writers. authors are people who write books, while writers are people who write for a living. many times, the authors are also journalists, bloggers or screenwriters.

You are reading: How to make money by writing books

Do writers make good money?

yes! writers often make more money than authors. I haven’t found any formal statistics on this topic, but in my 25 years of online publishing experience, I can tell you that writers who specialize in one topic will earn more than general writers.

For example, an industry-savvy writer can earn up to $500 for each 1,000-word article. assuming your content is of high quality.

In this article, I will focus on book authors. So if that’s you, you’ll learn about the best ways to make money from your book.

As a regular book reviewer on small business trends and someone who helps authors market their books, I found a trend that has been steadily on the rise. Now more than ever, authors are expected to market their own books, regardless of whether they are traditionally published or self-published.

that means you are not only expected to be an author, but also a marketer. Now that we’ve put that aside, it’s time to talk about money!

how much do authors earn?

According to data from a new survey from digital book world and writer’s digest, the median income range for self-published authors is less than $5,000, with nearly 20% of self-published authors reporting no income from their writing.

By comparison, authors published by traditional publishers had a median income range of $5,000 to $9,999 and “hybrid authors” (those who publish themselves and publish with established publishers) had a median income range of $ 15,000 to $19,999.

At the higher end of the spectrum, 1.8% of self-published authors earned more than $100,000 from their writing last year, compared to 8.8% of traditionally published authors and 13.2 % of hybrid authors. (source: forbes)

How much do best-selling authors make per book?

A best-selling author can earn around $3.50 for each book they sell. So, if you wanted an author salary of $200,000 per year, you’d have to sell over 57,000 books each year.

A traditionally published best-selling book earns 5-20% royalties to the author on their printed books.

can you make a living as an author?

Most people assume there are two types of authors when it comes to money, the best-selling authors (like J.K. Rowling or Dan Brown) who get millions of dollars on their publishing deal, or the struggling author who just You earn income when you bribe a family member to buy a copy.

The truth is that there is no fixed number that you can estimate because there are many factors that go into an author’s potential income. There are some authors who make millions, more who make thousands, and many more who can’t reach the $500 threshold. Some authors even lose money.

To understand if you can make a living as an author, it’s helpful to look at different types of books and the people who write them.

fiction writers. famous fiction writers like tom clancy, jk rowling or stephen king make millions of dollars from their books. they enjoy big advances from traditional publishers that allow them to support themselves exclusively by writing fiction. however, they are a small minority of people who want to make a living writing fiction, and it can take decades of work and luck to achieve that kind of success in traditional publishing. On the other hand, many fiction writers make a living writing full-time by publishing e-books and marketing them directly to readers. they may never become famous, but they can earn between $5,000 and $8,000 per month.
non-fiction writers. When people think of “authors,” they often think of famous novelists. Yet Dale Carnegie’s How to Win Friends and Influence People is still selling more than 250,000 copies a year, a hundred years after it was written. Nonfiction writing can be a great way to make money, especially if you can offer useful and meaningful information to your readers. Topics like health and wellness, money and finances, and dating and relationships can help authors earn up to six figures a year.
e-books as digital products. Today, there is a specialized form of nonfiction writing that focuses specifically on one product. For example, an instructor can sell online courses and create an e-book as part of the course material. An entrepreneur can create an e-book as a marketing testimonial or guarantee for his products and services. A business can produce an e-book as a gift for new or returning customers. in these cases, the book is a component of a larger business or marketing strategy, and can be a powerful way to achieve those business goals.

As an author, it’s up to you to determine how to benefit from your hard work. for some people, just publishing a book is enough. however, most authors wouldn’t mind earning some money for their words.

how do authors make money?

Authors often make money through a traditional book publisher or through a self-publishing market. in either case, the author earns money based on the number of copies of the book sold. In traditional publishing, the company often gives a writer an advance on her book, so he can cover his cost of living while he writes, and then pays the advance out of royalties from the finished book.

Some writers also choose to ghostwrite, where they earn a flat fee for writing the book, then allow the person who hired them to claim authorship and earn income from book sales. Let’s take a closer look at the two main methods authors use to make money.

Your first step is to learn how to get that money. As an author, there are two basic ways to make money, from selling books or from things he sells based on the content of his book.

Method 1: : Direct Book Sales with Traditional Publishing

[tweet_dis]Authors earn money from the sales of their books in two ways, royalties and/or advances[/tweet_dis].

what is a book advance?

A advance is money that a publisher gives an author before the book comes out. Advances are usually given to authors who have a history of publishing best-selling books or who have a very high chance of becoming a bestseller. only authors with a publishing contract can earn advances.

For the average author on a first-time book deal, receiving an advance is very rare. it is usually from $5,000 to $20,000. it’s called a retainer because you have to pay it back with the sales of your books.

The average author with a first-time book deal can expect to receive an advance of $5,000 to $15,000. once her book is published, she won’t see another penny until she has recovered that advance ($1.25 at a time) until the advance is paid in full.

what are royalties?

Both self-publishers and authors working with a publisher can earn royalties. Royalties are money given to an author after a book is published and sold. As an author, you receive a percentage of the sale, depending on how you published your book.

If you work with a publisher, a portion of your royalties must go to the publisher, to an agent, and then to you. If you’re a self-published author, you still have to pay the company that helped publish your book. In many cases, this is Amazon. By ditching a professional publisher, you get a higher percentage of your book sales.

Another strategy to make more money from direct book sales is to create your book in different formats. this includes digital, paperback, hardcover, and audio. this will help you reach a wider audience, because each consumer chooses the format with which they feel most comfortable.

how much do authors earn per book?

On average, traditional publishers pay authors $1.25 per copy sold. clearly, you’ll need to sell a ton of books to earn a nice paycheck for your work. Of course, with a large publisher backing your book, you may not have a problem selling tons of inventory. One other thing to keep in mind, that $1.25 per book is only yours after you’ve covered the cost of your advance.

Alternatively, most self-published authors pay $5 to a company like Amazon per copy of their books sold.

How do you know which one is right for you? Let’s say your book retails for $20. if you go through a publisher, you get $1.25 per copy. if you publish yourself, you’ll get $15 per copy.

While the math makes self-publishing seem like a better option, consider the benefits you can reap with a major publisher, like your PR team and in-house editors.

Which genres generate the most money for authors?

While there are a wide variety of earning possibilities for different types of books, the genres that generate the most revenue are non-fiction about health and wellness, money and finance, and dating and relationships. In fiction, the genres that earn the most money are:

romance and eroticism. Romance and erotic novels earn nearly $1.5 billion every year
from crime and mystery. thrilling crime and mystery novels earn over $725 million a year
religious and inspirational. inspirational texts earn about $720 million a year
science fiction and fantasy. science fiction and fantasy novels earn about $590 million each year
horror. horror novels make just under $80 million a year

While there’s no question that some genres have larger existing markets than others, it’s also important to remember that a book’s success is also based on a variety of other factors, and that authors who use smart marketing techniques they have a better chance of financial success, no matter what genre they write in.

Method #2: Generate sales based on the content of your self-published book

Smart authors look for income opportunities beyond their book sales. the main reason is the limited selling capacity of a book. after you sell a book, the transaction ends until you write another book. however, if you sell things based on the book’s content, you have an unlimited number of ways to earn money.

What do I mean by monetizing your book content? seven examples include:

product sales
conferences
consulting
teaching
pre-sale
crowdfunding
special events and tourist trips

There are several known authors who do all of these things. For example, look at Dave Ramsey. he is famous for his books on how to make money, pay off debt and create a legacy of wealth.

He leveraged the success of his first book, the total money makeover, into multiple sources of income. these include podcasts, live events, workshops and digital courses. With a net worth estimated at $200 million, she can see that she has done a great job promoting her books.

but most of their income is based on their content, not the actual copies of the book. he earns his money from his online courses and advertising revenue from his radio show and podcasts.

how much money do authors make from e-books?

Before considering how much money authors typically make from e-books, it’s important to clear up some misconceptions about desktop publishing. While it’s possible to write and publish an e-book with no out-of-pocket costs, the most successful self-publishing authors invest capital in their books to increase sales. Just like in traditional publishing, factors like the cover, quality of writing, and page layout can influence sales.

In online marketplaces, ratings and reviews are incredibly influential, so it’s worth making an initial investment to create a reader-satisfying book. Successful e-book authors hire editing services, book cover designers, professional formatting, and often spend on marketing and paid advertising, all of which cost money that impacts the book’s overall profit.

Each eBook publishing platform has different revenue agreements with authors. retailers like ibooks, kobo, barnes & noble/nook, and the like all offer different royalty rates. these platforms also reach different markets on different devices, which affects a writer’s target audience. Despite all of these differences, authors can expect to earn 40-70% of the cover price for each copy sold, often amounting to ~$1.25 – $2.00 per copy.

how much money do authors make per book on amazon?

Amazon controls about 80% of the e-book market, making it almost impossible for authors to ignore it. The Amazon Publishing Agreement is multi-layered and should be read carefully. Generally speaking, authors agree to grant Amazon exclusive distribution rights to their book, in exchange for access to a preferred Kindle Marketplace and participation in the Kindle Lending Library. A standard Amazon deal typically offers authors royalties of 35-70% of the cover price per copy sold.

kindle unlimited and lending programs pay authors by the number of pages read, rather than the number of copies of the book sold.

People who want to create physical copies of your book can also use Amazon’s Authoring Space to create paperback copies of your book for distribution in physical bookstores and access an expanded paperback market through the programs. from amazon. The CreateSpace Agreement typically charges authors a flat fee, a cost per page, and a 40-60% Amazon commission per copy sold.

Over 40% of Amazon authors are self-published eBook authors, and only about 1% of them earn more than $10,000 a year. On the other hand, there are plenty of success stories of authors happily working as full-time writers and supporting themselves through Amazon.

Is desktop publishing or traditional publishing right for you?

If you dream of becoming a full-time author, you may be wondering if you should go into traditional publishing or desktop publishing. Here are some of the key factors to consider:

traditional book publishing:

harder to get. the publishing industry is more interested in books with great appeal and high commercial potential.
slower to achieve results. It can take years to create a book from initial treatment to bookstore shelves. it can take even longer for a traditional book to start earning royalties that are paid to the author. new authors typically receive only small book advances, so expect to hold down a part-time job to cover your cost of living for quite some time.
more prestigious. traditionally produced books they are more visible and more prestigious, and traditional book authors are more likely to go on book tours, win award nominations, and have more media visibility.

desktop publishing:

fewer barriers to entry. instead of trying to secure an agent and get a publishing deal, authors can simply write their books and publish them.
smaller audience. self-published books can be a faster and more efficient way to target specific audiences and interest groups.
wide range of skills. while traditional book publishers take care of the details of finishing a book, like editing, publishing, and marketing, self-published authors need to do that work themselves. authors must hire or design their own cover, hire or do their own editing and proofreading, and manage their own marketing and advertising.

However, authors do not always have to make one decision or the other. It is well known that Fifty Shades of Gray and Eragon were originally self-published before they were picked up by traditional publishers. If you can’t decide which option is best for you, try discussing your book idea with a literary agent and explore your options.

6 creative ways to make money with your book

Sell t-shirts, coffee mugs, or other promotional items featuring characters or phrases from the book on your website. You can also sell on sites like cafepress or zazzle. if you’re particularly crafty, try etsy.
offers traveling tours in which the author takes a group of readers through the places that inspired your book. use a site like goble.
set up a crowdfunding campaign on sites like indiegogo to raise spending money.
sell exclusive bonus material, such as bonus or extra chapters, poems, or short stories through your website or fiverr.
you get ad revenue. sell ads based on your book on sites like wattpad futures. or try earning through affiliate programs like amazon associates
offering a fiction writing workshop.
if you are a non-fiction author, create and sell an online course . or use one as a lead generator for your consulting services. use sites like udemy or skillshare.

book marketing ideas that work

Unless you’re already a celebrity or best-selling author, traditional publishers will expect you to do much of the heavy lifting when it comes to promoting your book. it doesn’t matter what you’re writing; fiction, nonfiction, ebooks, or even blog posts, if you want to make money, you’ll have to become a marketer.

Many authors feel at a loss when it comes to marketing their book and will therefore hire a PR person to introduce and promote their book to critics and the media.

Follow these tips before you go out and hire any type of marketing or public relations professional. You will find that there are quite a few book marketing ideas that you can do yourself. For the ones you’re delegating, you’ll save a lot of time and money by doing most of the research and strategy work.

Understand that you’re in the marketing business, not the writing business.

This is useful even before you sit down to write your first word. When you think of yourself as a marketer first and an author or writer second, you’ll immediately focus on what matters; What problem do your audience face? and how can you help them solve it?

This is also true for fiction writers. John Locke, who has sold millions of eBooks on Amazon and made over a million dollars selling books for $0.99, did it exactly this way.

He saw that many successful authors were charging almost $10 for a book and decided he would cut them down, selling his own work for $0.99 cents. even in 2019, most of his books retail for $2.99. that’s well below the average price.

locke had a business background. he thought very carefully about who his ideal audience was, how they spent their days, what frustrated them, and what kind of content they were likely to consume.

Don’t get me wrong, it was not an easy process. And it had its moments of trial and error. but you can see that simply writing from the context of your writing as a money-making venture rather than just a creative exercise can be helpful.

create a simple marketing plan for your content

You’re probably wondering why you should have to do this when you intend to hire a marketing expert to do it for you. You need to do it yourself first so you can choose the right book marketer or PR person to help you make money from your book.

here’s the template: click on the image and then download it yourself or make a copy on your own google drive.

With this plan in hand, you’re ready to start playing around with some specific marketing ideas to make money from your writing.

create a video trailer: a book is nothing more than a movie that you play in your mind. Create a short video trailer to get people excited about your book. you can use tools like adobe spark, animoto or magisto.

Take a virtual book tour: In addition to sending copies of your book to book reviewers and book review sites like goodreads, create a list of podcasts, tweet chats, and online sessions. i live on facebook… anywhere people are talking about your topic, you want to be there and you want to be there for a blast. this virtual tour should last 4-6 weeks.

create a facebook group or fan page: create a space where your audience, followers and potential readers can interact with you.

Build a website: You can create a simple book or author website on your own for less than $100. invest in a great design, picture book and head shots. also provide some free content, like a table of contents, a chapter or two or even better: create a series of downloadable resources and tools for your audience.

These elements are just the tip of the iceberg because authors who know how to leverage their content make more money with less work. As an author, you’re not limited to sitting back and waiting for your book to make you money. You can use the content of your book to create income opportunities. the only limits are your time and your imagination.

Other content

Writing a Book? Here&39s How Authors Make Money – DIYMarketers