How to actually make money with books.
I’m presuming you’re reading this book because sales and money are, at the very least, a component of how you define success. Therefore, we’ll discuss how to genuinely profit from books in this part.
Write more novels, first
Although it may seem apparent, it’s remarkable how many writers believe they can support themselves well with only a few, or even one, book.
But consider every other company in existence.
- Any store that bases its operation on a select few products?
- Does any publisher rely only on a small number of books for their revenue?
The world’s highest-paid writers often have a large number of books published and have been working as writers for a considerable amount of time. Several people publish books each year. If you like writing, you shouldn’t have any trouble with this.
Here’s some more good news, and this will be the enjoyable part. The more books you publish, the LESS marketing is required since you’ll have a waiting audience, a critical mass of volumes on the digital shelves, and many revenue sources.
You will still earn more money over time than someone with only one book, even if you only sell a few copies every day of each of your twenty books. If a book has a successful launch, sales may increase right away, but they will eventually decline until another book appears to reinforce the signal.
You will sell more books if you have more of them. Of sure, you will improve as a writer as you produce more novels.
(2) Create books that readers will want to purchase, either in terms of genre or category.
How much marketing you do is irrelevant. You won’t be able to support yourself as a writer if you work in an unpopular genre or subgenre.
Yes, it’s harsh. yet accurate
Obviously, you need to write the book that is in your heart. I most definitely did with my first book and a few of my other works. That’s crucial for maintaining your artistic integrity. However, if you’ve spent years penning poetry and literary short stories, you shouldn’t whine if you can’t support yourself with your work.
Look at Amazon’s best-selling books to find out what people are purchasing. You might also verify the information on AuthorEarnings.com to speed up the procedure.
Fiction in the genres of romance, mystery/thriller, sci-fi, and fantasy makes up 70% of the top 200,000 ebooks.
How do you write at the point when what others like reading and what you enjoy doing collide? That is crucial.
I read a lot of books in many different genres, such as poetry and literary fiction.
However, I used to read thrillers to escape the stress of the day when I had a bad day at work. It was a method for me to temporarily forget about my own life and live vicariously through someone else.
For many individuals, books provide that purpose. As a result, I now write thrillers of that kind since I like reading them and so do many others. Furthermore, writing them is a lot of fun. Although romance sells better than other genres, I don’t read it, so I won’t be writing it.
To write it well, you must devote yourself to the genre. Readers are not foolable!
Consider the structure of the subgenres and how they are organized. I’m aware that many authors detest “boxes,” but if you self-publish a book, you must choose two subcategories, and if you want a conventional contract, your agent will want to know what you’re writing.
You must be aware of your comparison writers so that you may research the various genres and determine which ones sell the best. For instance, I create works that may be classified as Action-Adventure, Conspiracy Thriller, or Supernatural Thriller. Espionage or Medical Thriller don’t apply to my novels. Literary fiction is a genre in its own right, and there are several subgenres today.
To find out which books are selling the best, look at the lists of the best-selling titles in each category. Examine the titles, covers, sales descriptions, and back covers. What pictures are being used?
What do readers of these novels often anticipate from them? What features do the best-selling novels share? What can you do to make your book better?
How does your book compare?
(3) Create publications that readers will want to purchase based on search keywords
People seek out books for knowledge, inspiration, and pleasure. Your non-fiction book is more likely to be found if it provides a solution to a reader’s issue or answers a question if you aren’t already a well-known author.
So where do folks get these books from? They utilize the search bar and category search in the bookshops to try to discover anything relevant.
They enter keywords or keyword phrases into Google or Amazon to see what results they get. You want your book to appear in relevant searches since Amazon is essentially a search engine for consumers who are actively seeking to make a purchase.
Try it.
To concentrate just on ebooks, go to Amazon.com and set the search filter to Kindle Store.
Now enter “how to” and see the results.
A list of the most popular search keywords that start with these words will appear for you.
“How to advertise a book” should be entered. My book should be on the first page.
The book’s title was chosen with discoverability in mind. I didn’t name it something smart.
I just gave it the greatest search keyword I could think of to describe its content.
But I had to learn this the hard way. How to Enjoy Your Job or Find a New One was the title of my first book, published back in 2008. Not really a title that inspires, is it? I revised the book’s title and updated its content in 2012 after quitting my job.
Career Change: Stop Hating Your Job, Find What You Really Want to Do With Your Life, and Start Doing It is currently in style. People may still discover the book even if I don’t sell it and it has nothing to do with my internet platform since it ranks well for the search phrase “career transition.”
For your own themes, use this search strategy. It’s fascinating what people look for, and this practice can provide you some further inspiration for writing future books.
(4) Create a series and grab readers.
Our culture of consumption has changed since individuals are now used to binge-watching and reading. For instance, people prefer to watch a series’ whole boxset over its individual episodes since it takes less time. We spent a long weekend watching the most recent season of House of Cards since it is a great program and we wanted to lose ourselves in it.
As a result, if you have a series of novels and readers purchase one and like the characters, they are likely to buy the following book in the series and stick with you.
In contrast, if you have solitary novels with no connected characters, readers could read one and not pick up the remainder of your publications, which reduces your income per customer.
Personally, I discovered that after I had three books in a series, my revenue increased from hundreds to over $1,000 per month. Anecdotally, many writers claim that five books in a series is the true tipping point for regular sales.
The goal is to be compulsive. Particularly excellent at doing this are romance writers. To discover how the true experts handle this, look at series by Bella Andre, Barbara Freethy, and H.M. Ward.
It also applies to non-fiction; for instance, S.J. Scott has written several books in the habits genre, each of which focuses on a different facet of developing healthier habits. Those who purchase one are inclined to purchase more.
To keep people interested, constantly advertising the first book in the series. No matter how long ago the book was released, someone will still find it to be novel. At whichever point in the series they find you, they will probably go back and consume the whole backlist.
You’ve probably done it yourself as a reader. I have, for sure. As I do with Stone of Fire, ARKANE #1, which is free on all ebook shops, you may utilize a free ebook to draw readers into the series. It’s a taster that ought to pique interest.
If you write in series, you can write more quickly. You just need to think of a fresh narrative; you don’t have to completely reimagine the universe or the characters to do so. This will help you add books to the list and increase your revenue.
(4) Consider the long-term, global, digital, and mobile.
The majority of writers have a limited understanding of where they wish to market their novels.
They take into account either domestic sales or nearby physical bookstores. But times are changing, and you may now sell your books anywhere in the globe if you have the legal right to do so.
Although the US, UK, Canada, and Australia continue to be the top markets for ebooks, I have already sold books in 66 countries and have books available for purchase in 190 countries. Although sales in sub-Saharan Africa, South America, and Asia are now modest, they didn’t exist a year ago. Because of the emergence of the mobile hyperconnected economy, readers are finding books via apps.
Since many of them don’t have access to bookstores, they will mostly shop online for their enjoyment, motivation, and education. It’s amazing to think that individuals from all around the globe can read your works.
Therefore, keep in mind that the rest of the world has just begun if you’re concerned about the US ebook market contracting. Global sales will see tremendous growth over the next 10 years, and I personally anticipate that this will contribute more and more of my yearly income. Ensure that you are situated for this shift.
(5) Write in a variety of genres and lengths: Expand your horizons as to what you can write.
Avoid limiting yourself to a single genre. This kind of silo thinking seems to have its roots in conventional publishing when writers were required to adhere to a brand in order for the marketing department to more easily sell their works onto a certain retail shelf. But there are no longer any restrictions in the realm of internet commerce, which is more complex.
Diverse genres of books may also act as a buffer against the ups and downs of the book sales roller coaster. My non-fiction, action-adventure, and crime books all sell well at different times of the year. I completely plan to continue this spreading effect by embracing other genres.
During the day, I also find that switching between fiction and non-fiction is simpler.
I can write non-fiction for a bit to “clear my palette” since I can’t generally write fiction for more than two hours at a time. Because it engages a new portion of my brain, I can eventually produce more novels.
If you’d like, you may use different author names. When you have a variety of audiences, this works effectively. For instance, since the audience overlap is so little, I use J.F. Penn for my thrillers and Joanna Penn for my non-fiction. Using various names is also a smart idea if you write both erotica and children’s novels. Otherwise, though, there are none.
Because of the digital age, readers are less picky about shorter works. A novella (20,000–40,000 words) won’t be published in print, but you may sell it online as an ebook.
Novellas and shorter non-fiction books like this one are more convenient for people to read and provide excellent value at a lower cost. Additionally, writing them is considerably faster and simpler.
(6) Think about the up-sell
For books, there is a set pricing point. Typically, the cost ranges from nothing to a maximum of $100, with the majority of pricing falling around $15. Despite the enormous value that is contained therein, people have been educated to only pay so much on books.
Consider how you may repackage your non-fiction writing, for an instance, into multimedia courses that readers would be willing to pay more for. People value audio and video more than text, therefore when the same information is presented in a different medium, they will pay more for it.
In addition, consumers value community and personal time more than any of these, so selling consulting services, events, or access will allow you to upsell even further. Part 2 will cover these alternatives in more detail.
(7) Expand your email list.
The top-selling writers I know, the ones who are generating substantial money with their books, only do a select few of the many marketing possibilities available. They produce a large number of books in well-liked categories and expand their own email databases.
On their websites, they give out something alluring for free, and they interact with viewers. They notify their admirers through email when new books are ready, and sales to those fans alone may propel them to the top of bestseller lists.
If you simply want to earn money from books, this is actually all you need. However, if you wish to diversify your income, keep reading.
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