How To Increase Your Income as a Professional Author

Before now, you struggled to make enough money to pay your bills as a new writer, but with time, persistence, and hard work, you managed to drag yourself out of that phase.

Now you want to do a lot more than just pay bills.

You need to increase your current revenue so you can put money aside as savings on a regular basis. You’d also like to give yourself and your family a few treats from time to time, without having panic attacks. 

Not to mention, you also want to be able to afford that vacation you’ve been dreaming of so you can travel to exotic locations around the world.

Bottom line, you want to bring in more income as a professional writer and make a living from your writing, but you’re not sure if it’s possible or how it can be done.

Want to hear the good news? It’s possible!

You can actually make more money as a professional author, as long as you can think like a smart entrepreneur and take steps to create multiple sources of income around your writing business.

Ready to take your business to the next level? Then here are six profitable ideas you can use to increase your income as a professional author, writer, and entrepreneur.

Let’s get started. 

Publish Your Book in All Formats

Do you know that some of your target readers may prefer reading eBooks while some others may prefer audiobooks?

To make your book appealing to as many people as possible, no matter their preferred book format, simply make your book available in every format, such as: 

Print Book

This is one of the oldest book formats available and many people still prefer reading printed books for various reasons, like the feeling of holding a book in their hands, turning the pages, and even smelling the paper—among others.

A printed book can also be produced in a variety of formats, such as hardcopy, paperback, or large print, and you can now print on demand without having to keep any kind of stock. 

eBook

This is a very popular book format that came into existence with the birth of digital devices. Different types of eBook files are available such as PDF, MOBI, and ePUB.

When your eBook is available in all these file types, you can sell through your website, Amazon, and all other book retailers around the world, giving you more avenues to sell more product and make more money. 

Audiobook 

This is another format that has been growing in popularity in recent years and is currently the fastest-growing market in publishing, with the potential to grow even bigger.

If you haven’t heard, some people only listen to audiobooks. So, if your book is not available as an audiobook, that means they won’t be interested in buying your book.

Also, some people with special needs only listen to audiobooks because they can’t read print and eBooks. In some cases, it’s too difficult for them to do so.

By making your book available in all these formats, you can attract different groups of people and increase your chances of making more money.

Accept Speaking Engagements and Become a Speaker

Even if you don’t see yourself as a speaker because you write for a living, speaking engagements can help you generate an additional stream of income.

You can speak about a subject or topic you’re knowledgeable about, in front of people gathered at conferences, schools, places of worship, seminars, workshops, libraries, and so on.

Apart from making extra money when you accept speaking engagements as a professional writer, it will also help you to:

• Create awareness for yourself and your brand as a professional writer, entrepreneur, and now a professional speaker
• Sell your books to everyone listening to you at every event where you speak
• Generate word-of-mouth advertising
• Connect with some of your readers face-to-face
• Showcase your knowledge and expertise in your chosen subject or niche

All this sounds great, but where do you begin?

Start by offering your speaking services in your local area through free speaking engagements. This will help you practice, gain experience, improve, and, at the same time, get your name out as a speaker.

Once you have some experience under your belt, you can target bigger events like conferences, seminars, conventions, and so on, even on a regional or national level.

To achieve the best results with your speaking engagements as a professional author, remember to speak on topics within your niche and give preference to your target audience when choosing the type of audience you’ll be speaking to.

Sell All Formats of Your Book Globally

If you’re still selling your book only in your country of residence, you’re missing out on a very big opportunity.

Thanks to technology, the world is now a global village and it’s possible to sell your book all over the world without leaving your home base, simply by using aggregators and distributors like Draft2Digital, PublishDrive, Smashwords, and StreetLib.

These companies work for only a small percentage of the sales, and before you know it, your book will be available for sale in many different countries around the globe.

To make more money as a professional writer and entrepreneur, you should avoid selling your book in just one country or location.

Even if there are no sales at first, just be patient, and sooner or later, the sales will start to trickle in and even grow over time. Don’t be surprised if the little amount you have coming from different locations starts to add up to a significant change in income.

As long as your target readers can be found in different countries all over the world, make it your mission as an entrepreneur to get all formats of your book over to them so you can put more money into your pocket.

Create an Online Course 

Do you know that the global e-learning market has been growing for some years now and is expected to reach $325 billion by 2025?

In simple terms, this means that teaching sells.

So, apart from writing a book on a particular topic, you can go a step further and teach that same topic through an online course and go more in-depth—much more than you can do in a book.

You’ll also have the ability to connect better with your students, since a course is more interactive and engaging. Sure enough, you’ll be able to charge a lot more and put more money in your pocket.

For example: 

• If you’re a professional writer and you’re very successful, you can create a course on how to become a successful professional writer
• If you’ve built a very strong writer brand that contributes to your success, you can teach beginners how to build and grow their writer brand successfully

Whether you want to turn your book into an online course or you have other expertise and skills you think people want to learn about, simply do your homework and create an online course so you can start smiling all the way to the bank.

Publish Your Book in Different Languages

With so many languages spoken by millions of people globally, it’s possible to boost your income as a professional writer by translating your book into other languages apart from English.

But first, consider your niche and investigate different parts of the world where people are looking for the type of books you write.

Even if the English version of your book sells only a few copies, it’s still possible for the same book in another language to end up selling thousands or even millions of copies.

Let’s take a look at some of the most spoken languages in the world: 

• Mandarin Chinese, with an estimated 917 million native speakers and 198 million non-native speakers
• English, with an estimated 379 million native speakers and 753 million non-native speakers
• Spanish, with an estimated 460 million native speakers and 74 million non-native speakers
• French, with an estimated 77 million native speakers and 202 million non-native speakers
• German, with an estimated 76 million native speakers and 56 million non-native speakers

To increase your revenue, take steps to investigate the viability of publishing your book in languages that a lot of your target readers speak and read fluently, apart from English.

Start a Podcast

Another way to increase your income as a professional writer is to start a podcast.

Similar to a radio show, a podcast is an audio show that people listen to, on their phone or tablet, whenever they want. Podcasts are produced in episodes that are released at regular intervals, for example, on a daily, weekly, or even monthly basis. When you subscribe to your favorite podcasts, you’ll be notified when a new episode is available.

Check out these facts about the growing popularity of podcasts: 

• As far back as 2006, only 22 percent of consumers in the United States were aware of podcasting, but this number has grown to 70 percent in 2019
• The estimated number of podcast listeners in the United States is expected to grow to around 132 million by 2022, all the way from 73 million in 2018

No doubt about it, people enjoy listening to podcasts because you can listen whenever you like and wherever you may be, on the road, at home, and so on. In addition, you can also listen while you’re busy with other tasks such as cooking, driving, walking, ironing, and exercising.

As a professional writer, you can make money directly from your podcast through sponsorships, affiliate marketing, and crowdfunding.

But there are so many other benefits of hosting your own podcast, which are indirect ways for you to make money, such as being able to:

• Use your voice to develop a stronger connection with your target audience
• Build and grow your writer platform
• Convert your listeners into loyal subscribers and fans who buy from you
• Advertise your brand, books, courses, and any other service you provide as a professional writer and entrepreneur

With your own podcast, you can generate additional revenue directly and indirectly, and boost your bank balance successfully.

Increase Your Income With Confidence

To increase your income as a professional writer, you just need to have a global mindset toward your writing business and consciously take steps to explore other streams of income around your writing.

Joanna Penn is a real-life example because she’s been earning a lot more by making good use of all these ideas for years.

Apart from being an award-winning creative entrepreneur, she is an independent fiction and nonfiction professional author whose books have been sold in 84 countries and translated into 5 languages. She’s also a professional speaker, podcaster, and YouTuber who has also created online courses.

She is a strong advocate of publishing wide to make your books available on every platform, in every country, and in every format so you can make a living with your writing and earn more on a long-term basis.

In essence, once you start putting these six ideas into practice, expect your income to shoot up significantly.

Before you know it, you’ll be able to provide treats for yourself and your family, go on vacations all over the world, and put money aside for the future—without feeling anxious or worried.