Like many of you, I’ve been operating in this space as an author for many years, and now I have the privilege of being an agent. What I’ve seen is that it’s very difficult to make a sustained income as a writer. In fact, in Publishers Weekly’s 150th anniversary edition this month, I was struck at how few authors actually make a successful living.
Around 100 authors worldwide make millions, but the rest of authors make $6,o80 (all authors, full- and part-time) or $20,300 (full-time authors only) per year based on this research from The Author’s Guild.
In the movie, Moneyball, (based on a true story and this book) we see a math person dismantle gut instinct. Someone finally questioned the status quo, the way baseball always spent money on talent. Instead, mavericks looked at boring (but important!) statistics. And then they completely changed their strategy based on which players could make it on base. This, of course, is a very simplified version of the narrative, but you get the idea.
In other words, what you assume will work doesn’t always make steady income. Money-making in writing actually may be kind of boring and less flashy.
So how does an author take the principles of Moneyball and apply them to yearly earnings?
The first step is to determine how much you’re making with your book.
Here’s a calculator you can use.
The next step is to evaluate all other ways writers make money:
- Write for hire. (You write a book for a publishing entity and get a flat fee. You don’t have to market that book. I have made a fair percentage of my author earnings this way. When I say I’ve published 40+ books, several of those are write-for-hire).
- Advertising based on platform. If you have a robust platform, you can earn steady income from advertising or partnerships with corporations.
- Patreon (same idea as above), where you have micro-crowdfunding for what you produce (podcast, writing, essays behind a firewall, etc.) Or macro-crowdfunding like Kickstarter where you fund a whole project.
- Podcasting. If you have the talent, drive, and skills, this can be a very lucrative part of your “empire.” 🙂
- YouTube. If done well, the advertising revenues here can sometimes support someone.
- Self-publishing. You can use the calculator above to figure out possible earnings. However, most self- published books sell 250 in their lifetime.
- Speaking. If you’re a nonfiction author or Bible teacher, you can earn most of your income this way. Many speakers lost much of their income during the Pandemic, which also shows the importance of diversification.
- Courses. Some authors learn a certain aspect of publishing or writing or marketing and sell courses. Bookie Peace Amadi is doing just that.
- Products and merch. Some authors sell how-to products based on their expertise. Others have art (our agency’s Tricia Goyer) or music stores, depending on their gifting.
- Audio book narration. If you have a strong speaking/reading voice, this can be another revenue stream.
- Author Coach. You can coach other writers toward publication or run mastermind groups.
- Ebooks. Creating a series of ebooks to sell either on your site or other online retailers.
- Membership sites. Here’s an example.
Now, let’s think logically about this. Honest confession: When I first started writing, I thought magically. I envisioned my days being spent writing, then raking in the royalties. Reality soon set in, and I realized that I would have to diversify my efforts to bring in a normal-ish income stream. Like Moneyball, that’s not EXCITING, but it is helpful for the bottom line.
Look over the list above. See if there are any avenues that could consistently bring in income.
What I do: I pretend I don’t make anything beyond the advance of the book I’m writing. (I do tend to earn royaltyies as well, but because it’s hard to predict, I don’t allow that into the factorization).
Here’s my particular breakdown (ish) (without taking agenting into account):
- Book writing 20%
- Patreon (podcast) 15%
- Advertising (podcast) 15%
- Speaking 20%
- Products and merch (art) 30%
When speaking died during the pandemic, other parts of my income had to pull that weight. Thankfully, we also serve a God who beautifully and surprisingly provides, and I was able to make it through.
Sometimes I have not been able to pay myself. Even so, God has intervened in those leaner moments. I’ve learned that to be successful (in terms of making an average salary), I have to be very nimble and adaptive.
What about you? How have you brought in income? What’s your unglamorous, counterintuitive Moneyball formula?
What Now?
I’m confident my words will bring
the kind of income stream
that I can grasp that golden ring
to let me live the dream,
hobnobbing with the glitterati
in Corfu and the south of France,
fêted there for being naughty,
and returning each coy glance
sent my way by heiresses,
then meeting on the sly
to plan on seeing Paris’
light-river from a Learjet sky,
and trying so hard not to laugh
when God asks me for my autograph.
As one who loves France, I appreciate this.
Mary, I see your point and believe it is valid … well, I KNOW it is valid, but I have to chuckle a bit because I excitedly believed you were headed down a different path. I thought you were going to say that one or more publishers had decided not to ride / invest in that high-profile single talent player and invest rather in a collection of writers who can “get on base.”
Alas, that is not where the article went, but it was still quite good and necessarily thought-provoking.
Thank you for sharing.
That’s a good point. Actually they do that with midlist authors like myself, but increasingly their strategy has been to be risk avoidant and go after either known money makers or new possibilities.
This is excellent guidance. May I add writers can look into the possibility of being a freelance editor and/or edit for a publishing company. I set my fees for my freelance work, getting paid immediately my work is complete, and earn a percentage of royalties for a small Christian publishing company in which my earnings come quarterly over a period of time. I attend conferences where I meet prospective clients, some of whom I’ve edited for up to ten years.
Yes, that is a good addition to the list. For a time, I did make money freelance editing.
This makes so much sense, Mary. Interestingly, I discovered that I make more from non-fiction magazine articles than books.
Isn’t that interesting! Another good addition–periodical publication. There was a time where that’s where I made more that way than any other way.
I work for an agriculture media company, writing online continuing education courses for pesticide applicators. It’s boring and research heavy, but it pays well.
Good ideas for widening the income stream, Mary! Thank you.
That sounds exciting. 🙂
But I have written curriculum and medical technology scripts! I get it.
Seems like a lot of good ideas. I also trust God. When I am at the end of my road, that’s where I go. Just as I say that, I am impressed that is backwards. I need to call on him first. Bless you Kitty
So important to trust God through the entire process!
Wow. I have limited myself in this author/book category! My revenue stream is small since it only includes my book sells. But then I’m retired, and that makes a difference. I would say it took me at least 3 years to get the learning curve of writing and marketing down to where I could take a moment’s rest. 🙂 I’m slow. But I did diligence and went to writer’s conferences, etc. I also decided to go “Indie” or independent publishing (self-pub to some). And now I have eleven books in seven years which includes two series. I am nowhere near the top earnings or sellers in the Indie publishing groups I know. Most write prolifically and market and post newsletters and sell much more than I do. When I say book sells that includes paperbacks, audio, ebooks and Kindle Unlimited. Of course, we have to figure in book covers ($75-$300 for a book ) and marketing costs (from $4.99 to $57 a promo but which greatly increases sells and which I do about every six to eight weeks these days). KDP book publishing basically costs nothing, but they do charge author fees for paperbacks (about $5-$6 for a 300 page book) if you want your own copies. The royalties for Kindle books range from 30% to 70%, and as an Indie, my Kindle ebooks go for $3.99-$4.99. So royalty on those is 70% (if you as the author drop the price below $2.99, the royalty goes down to 30%). I can charge whatever I want. Kindle Unlimited pays me by pages read. This is my highest income stream. It is good income. I cannot find your “250 books sold in a lifetime” in the article you quoted, but I might have missed it. What I do know is that most of the Indies I am friends with are selling many more than that yearly! Many sell more in a month. For instance I’ve sold 50 this month, and this is not a great month for me. And yes, there are a lot of Indies out there that have not put in the time crafting their writing. We’ve all heard that, but I pick up trad books all the time that I don’t care for. It is important to know your authors or read the “inside the book” and reviews before you pay for one. That is why I love writer’s conferences, even though many are so expensive these days. So, at my part-time, retired pace of writing, publishing, marketing, I make an average of $500 a month (I have earned less a month, but also higher). I don’t need to live on this. It’s my mad-money. Remember, I do this part-time, I have no newsletter, and many of the Indie authors I know are making more than I do. Many are doing this full time, so their income is double, triple or quadruple what mine is. And then, yes, you have the ones who are pulling in the six digit figures. 🙂 This was long, but I started with help from an editor or two, then an agent who helped me go Indie. Yes, she did. And that is just what I needed. By the way, the tracking of book sells and monies earned, etc., is all pretty easy with KDP (Kindle Direct Publishing). Not everyone will want to take the Indie route, but if they do, maybe they now have a better understanding of what it is and how it pays. It also gives a lot of freedom to do things your own way. But that also brings a higher degree of responsibility. No one tells you what your deadline is. You have to do that yourself. God bless!
When you’re indie, what’s lovely is that you have total access to your metrics. You can see what works (in terms of marketing). There are many indie authors making a living at this, and they can tend to make more when they master the sometimes-quagmire of Amazon ads. (I haven’t figured that out yet).
I do ads occassionally. Took a course, but it is another big learning curve. When I do run ads, I see my Kindle Unlimited reads go up and some regular book sells, but so far it has not paid off for me to keep doing them on a regular basis. The promos that I mentioned above (anywhere from $4.99 at 1531 Entertainment to $57 on Fussy Librarian) and doing, say, three together on a weekend shoots my sales and Amazon rating way up. Of course, I offer my book that’s being promoted at a discount, but my sales and Kindle Unlimited reads of other books jump too for awhile, so it is a win-win.
I saw your fabulous art and book offerings on Etsy today, Mary.
Two other income streams for me: editing and working a small job for a publisher. I also started my Sierra Valley Writers Retreat business last year, and that provides a little income . . . and a LOT of fun.
I love that you have figured out a way to have fun and make income!