How to Make Money as a Writer?

The competition may seem overwhelming if you’re trying to make a living with your books. However, it isn’t impossible. I have been doing some research on successful indie-authors and have learned that it is a numbers game. When deciding to become an author the first thing you must decide is if you are in it for the long haul. There are plenty of people who feel they have one good story to tell and there is nothing wrong with that. But if you are like so many of us looking to generate life changing income from your work then read on. I am going to discuss a few different things I have noticed that has made so many people successful indie authors. When I discuss success, I am not referring to fame as an author, I am referring to a person’s ability to create monthly income off of their books. I am currently doing a study (which has been keeping me away from UFN) and will share my findings once I have reached major milestones I have set in place.

Pick One Genre And Stick To It

Many indie authors have chosen a genre and write multiple stories under that genre. It would make since for you to select a genre you are either passionate about or one that you’re familiar with that is also popular. Writing for profit is a trial by error field. Some of the most popular genre’s at this time is Romance (pick a sub-genre) to narrow it down, Sci-fi (shifter stories) Erotica is hot all year around. What ever your taste write about it. The reason it’s good to build your author brand using that one genre is because you make more money, you’re more visible to the masses and your work is much easier to find in search results.

Make More Money By Writing More Books

This seems like it should be common knowledge but what many new and self-published authors don’t know is that you make more money with your books by having more books to sell. The bulk of Traditional publishers sells don’t come from the one in a million “who knew” New York Times best selling author believe it or not. It comes from having a large catalog of books for readers to choose from. I have been writing under a pen name for the last two months to test my theory. I have published six titles under Amazon’s KDP publishing platform. I have sold over sixty copies of my books so far, which is a great feat. I plan on writing more than 100 books before next year under my pen name and will publish a special article showing all results. By doing the bulk publishing method you will learn a few things.

What is more popular (genre & sub-genre)
What price points work best for your work
What your audience likes most/or not like

Writing is a gamble so you have to learn how to ride the waves. Increase your odds by adding more titles to your catalog and you will see more sales come in, which means more income for you.

Learn From Your Competition

To make more money as a writer you must learn how to mirror your competition effectively. We all have our own unique writing style because we all see the world differently. You should never view your literary competition as the enemy. They are the fire that keeps your pilot lit. Learn from your competition by seeing what they do. I don’t mean copying their story ideas but check out their page length, check out how well they create a description for each of their titles. See which of their titles are making it the top 100 or even the best seller’s list. Create more stories in the same genre. Eventually your titles will appear in the people who bought this also viewed this section of their books.

Read Negative Reviews

This small piece of information can save you a great deal of publishing. I look at the reviews from my competition but I spend more time reading the negative reviews. To me you learn more from what the reader say they hate then from what they love. Usually when a person loves a review they are talking about specific elements unique to the book however in the negative comments they are giving you real feedback that is invaluable. If reviews are stating there were to many grammatical errors, to much foul language, no set plot, lack of character development. Those are all things you can keep in mind when you are creating your stories. Create for your readers and they are more likely to come back for more and spend more money on your next titles.

This is part one of a series of articles. I am actively researching out more ways to become successful as an indie author and will be sharing more of my findings as I go along. If you enjoyed this tips please remember to subscribe to Urban Fiction News in the upper right hand corner. If you liked the text press like and remember to share using the social media buttons below if you believe someone else can benefit from it.