Self-Publishing: How Much Money Can You Make as a Writer?

The amount of money an author – self published or otherwise – makes is entirely dependent on how he or she markets books.

Recently I read about one of the biggest success stories in self publishing. What I remember from that story is the extensive advertising, marketing and selling that the author did. Top notch landing page design, well placed ads in social media and print media, connection with journalists and many other such activities helped boost the sales of her book.

You too can do all this – start small, never lose sight of the fact that active selling is very important.

Now if you are still curious to know what some of the overall trends in author earnings are, here are some resources for you. We have put together a curated list of stories about the top selling self-published authors, as well as some surveys about the trends in self-publishing. Read on!

Please see the author earnings report here: February 2017 Big, Bad, Wide & International Report: covering Amazon, Apple, B&N, and Kobo ebook sales in the US, UK, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand

Another survey about money self published authors (indie authors) make: Survey Indicates Indie Publishing is Pot of Gold for Some, Work in Progress for Many

Smashwords conducted a survey too: 2017 Smashwords Survey Helps Authors Sell More eBooks

So far we have discussed primarily eBook reviews, how about print on demand: Here is an eye opening survey from SFWA – Print-on-Demand Self-Publishing Statistics

Here is a story to inspire you: Publishers rejected me, but I went on to earn six-figures selling 1,000 books a day

Here is a selection of real life success stories about some of the most successful self-published authors: https://www.zavesti.com/stories-about-self-published-authors/

How much money you actually take home depends on how well you manage your taxes. So this article is a good read: A Tax Cheat Sheet for Kindle eBook Self-Publishing

In conclusion

This is one of the best times to be a kindlepreneur – the online book market is thriving!

We at Zavesti believe that while general trends in author earnings are important, those authors do well who take matters in their hands and market their books actively.

Happy selling!