Make Bank as a Writer

Statistics to think about, a resource list, and a link to the recording.

The Rhizosphere serves as a mycelium, an underground support system, for writers like you. I send weekly updates on Tuesdays with one flash essay that dives into a subject of craft, structure, or technique, as well as info on the business end of writing. I do this to inform you, encourage you, and inspire you.

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Important Points on Making Money by Writing

1. By far the majority of writers are not full-time. Most writers have a full-time job to support themselves and their families, and writing is a side-gig. An Author’s Guild survey in 2022 shows

• the median book income for writers who responded was $2k.

• the median writing income was $5k. Non-book income includes editing, blogging, teaching, speaking, coaching, and freelance writing.

2. Indie-published writers make up over 50% of Kindle’s Top 400 Books for 2023. They also make more money. Even so

• the median book income was $12.8k.

• the median writing income was $15k.

3. Here’s the breakdown by earnings:

• #1—romance & romantic suspense

• #2—graphic novels

• #3—mystery, thriller, & suspense

• #4—biography

• #5—literary work

4. Gen Z folks are reading a lot, including in paperback—not just online—and also love libraries and diversity.

5. Women, LGBTQ+, and neurodivergent authors are doing well in self-publishing.

6. Library revenue is up. (If you self-publish, you must load to IngramSpark in order to distribute to libraries, bookstores, and universities.)

Some Means of Making Money as a Writer

• Traditional Publishing (Big 5, midsize, small, academic)

• Indie Publishing (You retain the rights to your intellectual property.)—paperback, hardback, special editions, ebooks, audiobooks

• Subscription (Substack, Medium)

• Patronage (Patreon, including running a membership-like site)

• Crowd-investing (Kickstarter, Indiegogo)

• Crowd-funding (GoFundMe)

• Teaching at university or high school

• Professional speaking, live or online

• Performing & live events

• Courses, webinars, events, & membership sites

• Physical products & merchandise

• Affiliate income

• Advertising & sponsorship

• Consulting & coaching

• Freelance writing & ghostwriting

• Licensing foreign rights

• Licensing subsidiary rights (film/TV)

When you impoverish a nation’s authors, you impoverish its readers.

James Gleick, Author’s Guild

Did You See This Essay?

On May 13, 2024 Elle Griffin released an essay called “I’d rather have an investor than a publishing contract.” It’s a clearly written and passionate breakdown of the problem of writer poverty.

Resource List

Alliance for Independent Authors ($89-$149/year)

**Best, Morgana S. Stop Making Others Rich: How Authors Can Make Bank Selling Direct. I got this book by supporting her Kickstarter campaign, and I don’t see it on her website. But you should check out her direct-sales offerings, because her Shopify site appears as if it’s a regular website.

Ferriss, Tim. The Tim Ferriss Show. A number of his episodes are helpful to author entrepreneurs. Be picky.

Godin, Seth. This is Marketing. Can be obtained at your library.

Kindlepreneur.com

Penn, Joanna. Author Blueprint. (Free with email sign-up.)

Penn, Joanna. Business for Authors.

Penn, Joanna. How to Make a Living With Your Writing.

Penn, Joanna. Successful Self-Publishing.

**Penn, Joanna. The Creative Penn Podcast.

Rodgers, Rachel. We Should All Be Millionaires. This is the book that changed my life.

Self Publishing Authors Podcast. Here is the show with Morgana Best.

Six Figure Author Podcast

Poverty is a form of censorship. That’s because creation costs. Writing requires resources, and it imposes opportunity costs. Limiting writing to the financially independent and the sinecured punishes authors based on their lack of wealth and income.

T.J. Stiles

Writing Prompts

What is your dream as a writer, or what does success look like to you?

What do you want your life to be like?

What can you not live without or with? What is non-negotiable?

Write about your mindset around money? What ideas about money did you inherit or learn?

How can you make $10 as a writer today? Truly brainstorm.

If you already make money as a writer, how can you make $1K? Make a list.

Link to View

Here’s the presentation and our conversation afterward. Please note that a setting for recording a slideshow was not “on,” and so a strip of audience faces covers part of the screen. The audio helps you during those parts. Watch Ways to Make $ as a Writer.

Photo by Crumbstarz

Why I’d Like You to Be Part of My Kickstarter Pre-Launch

Crowd-funding is not the correct word for Kickstarter and Indiegogo. These are crowd-investing platforms. But who am I to mess up their lingo?

If you want to launch a new product, on these sites you can amass a group of backers for your work. A book is a product.

KS uses words like

• “campaign” = sales launch

• “rewards” = products

• “donation” = cost

• “backer” = investor

My guess is that there’s a reason KS uses this language, and I’m going to support that reason.

I’m employing Kickstarter to help me launch my book on the craft of writing, Craft & Current. It’s an experiment for me, and if it’s successful, I’ll share with you everything I learn.

KS provides a landing page that serves as a pre-launch. This is not an order page. When you go there, you have the option to click a button that says “Notify me on launch.” The day the KS goes live—which is June 4, 2024—you will get an email notice from KS that your chance to get the book has arrived.

My goal is 500 people notified the moment the book launches. Right now I’m halfway.

Five Reasons to Click On My KS Pre-Launch

1. You get access to the book first.

2. You get quick and early access to the limited-number items I am offering along with the book, items such as workshops (live via Zoom.)

3. You get to learn how KS works.

4. You’ll already be set up in their system.

5. You may want to launch a product on KS one day, and supporting others is a big plus in their algorithm.

   I invite you to get notified first about the book launch.