Writing for Love or Money? An Author’s Dilemma.

Writing for Love or Money? An Author’s Dilemma.

It’s no secret that I want everyone to write a book. I especially want folks who are in business to write books. The problem is – people who want to write for love think they can’t make any money. And they’re ‘ok’ with that (really?). Others want to write for money and leave the love behind. Which doesn’t work.

You can write for love. I believe all of my authors love their work and their book(s). If you don’t love what you’re writing, perhaps you should choose a different topic.

But is writing for love going to pad your bank account? The answer is, it depends.

A book is a foundation to help build or grow a business on — yes, even fiction authors are in a small business for themselves. But unlike a concrete foundation, a book cannot hold you up all by itself. You must anchor it with insight, planning, and purpose.

Insight

Insight comes with understanding your message. And who that message is for. How will you speak to the people you’re writing the book for? In what voice? Using what language (not English, or French, or Italian – I’m talking about the voice of your personality)?

This is part of the love part. If you love what you’re doing, it will show in the tone of your voice.

Planning

Planning involves preparing yourself to write and publish the book, as well as promotions and marketing. Without planning, your book will not achieve the results you hope for. Love will go out the window and money will never even make an appearance.

Purpose

Purpose is all about results. Is the book designed to support business growth by turning its content into webinars or workshops? What about speaking engagements? Do you want to ‘take your message on the road’ by turning your work into successful keynotes or TEDtalks? The book itself cannot give you a return on investment without your participation. You must know your purpose ahead of time. HINT: one of the purposes should be to serve the audience you’re writing for.

I believe there is love and money in writing and publishing a book, but money does not follow love automatically. Just because your book is the best book in your industry, as determined by you alone until it’s published, it will not throw money at you. You must have insight, planning, and purpose to achieve the kind of return your 💗desires.

Let’s look at ways your book can give you love once it’s published.

Thought Leadership

Becoming a published author enhances your professional reputation and opens doors to new opportunities.

Books create higher levels of credibility and influence. Many people may already know you’re an expert in your field or industry. But what if thousands more could discover this just by reading your book? A book immediately stands as a testament that you’re somebody. You took the time, effort, and challenge of writing to produce something most people merely dream of doing. Because you are now “the author of,” you may find yourself a sought-after podcast guest or speaker at events that support your work.

Authenticity and vulnerability

Today’s business books are not the dry read most people think they are. Most business books are written from the perspective of an author with a story to share. Notice I didn’t say tell. Too many authors ‘tell’ a story, which often lacks authenticity and vulnerability, two key ingredients people look for in their reading today.

If you’ve been in business for five years or more, you likely have a lot of experience and knowledge to share. By sharing it in a book, with stories that show how you fell down and got back up – I tell people they need to ‘bleed’ on the page – you connect more sincerely with your audience.  This connection can build a loyal following that looks to you for insights and guidance. Engaging with your readers through book tours, social media, and events can further solidify your position as someone who isn’t afraid to be honest and open about life’s trials and tribulations. Exactly what people are eager to read today!

Revenue

The U.S. book industry made $28.1 billion in revenue in 2022, including both self-published and commercially published books. Print book sales have also seen a rise, with 67.8 million more units sold in 2021 compared to previous years. ​ (Smartdataweek)​​

The Bureau of Labor Statistics shows the earnings outlook for writers, not necessarily just book authors, was $73,690 in May of 2023. Employment was projected to grow at a steady 4 percent. So, even if you’re not ready to write that book yet, you may find work in the industry to help get you started. And yes, you can do this as a business professional. Your favorite ezine may be looking for content only you can share.

Royalties and Advances

Many new writers expect to get a book contract from a traditional publisher and be offered a nice advance to support them as they write their books. This is not likely to happen. IF, and it’s a big if, you do get a contract (after finding an agent and creating a book proposal and waiting and waiting and waiting for someone to get back to you), advances can be as small as $1000. For debut authors, the highest numbers are around $10,000. Which is designed to cover a year, maybe two or three, but seldom more than that. Remember, you then have to sell enough books to cover that advance before earning a penny in royalties.

Royalties at the traditional level range from 5-15% on print books and 25% on eBooks. If your book is being sold at $15.99, how much will you earn in royalties at these rates?

On the other hand, self-published authors can earn as much as 60-70% royalties from platforms like Amazon Kindle Direct Publishing​. Some small press publishers offer better royalties than the big 5 also.

A blog post Tom has written about this topic, “Weighing the Investment in Your Book,” in which he compares Indie publishing, Hybrid publishing, and Traditional publishing is worth a read. Your choice may determine both how many people will💗your book, and how much 💲💲💲 you could earn.

Diverse Income Streams

This is where the 💰 is. Book sales can only do so much for you. If you’re planning to make money from your book you want to monetize it over multiple streams of income. We recommend various channels such as online courses, workshops, more and better speaking engagements, swag, and licensing deals. For example, for fiction, Millennial Boss notes that one romance author leveraged trends she recognized in the marketplace to earn $8,000 a month from book sales! (Not everyone can do this, but if you put your mind to it, your genre might bring in sales like this — if put in the time and effort).

If you look at successful nonfiction authors, you’ll see they do more than rely on book sales to generate income. Their focus is on creating a community to support their work going forward. And to buy their next book. 😉

Here are a few other ideas for turning your love of writing the book into money:

Consulting services — how can you use your book in a consulting gig? Make sure to bring a free book for everyone on the team that hires you.

Partnerships with other authors — can you write newsletter content for each other’s newsletters? Create a webinar together?

Courses — yes, just about every nonfiction book can be turned into a course. Perhaps multiple courses. For fiction writers, you can teach people how to write a book. Using your experience.

Merchandise — swag, as mentioned earlier. Many inspirational books are good for this.

Creating a live event — bring together other authors in your genre and host a live-person event. A book signing at a local café or your local Barnes & Noble.

Creating an online event — summits, collaborative workshops, and masterminds.

Writing more books — each successive book helps sell those previous. People like to have all the books in a series.

Speaking — where event planners, who love authors, might not pay you a speaker’s fee, but they will buy books.

There are dozens of other ideas online, but the message here is to understand that diversifying your book’s message is the best way to both make money as you increase your business. And keep loving what you do.

So, to answer the question many new authors ask themselves, “Can I write for love, or do I have to write for money?” I think you can do both.

Tell me which is more important to you. And what are you going to do about it? Write me a note in the comments.