Four Secrets To Earning Income As An Author

Authors write books because they're passionate about the topic and the message they have to share with the world. But it's also nice to make a little money doing it. Your book can create a substantial stream of income for you, particularly when you use the following strategies for making your book successful.

1. Invest in Your Book
All the passion in the world can’t make up for a mediocre product. So if you are really serious about your book and you want other people to take you seriously as an author, then you should invest in making the book as strong and successful as possible. So what does that mean? Well, it could mean taking a book writing class, hiring an editor, having it proofread, investing in a cover, working with a writing coach, putting together a web site, or investing in marketing. All these strategies help ensure your book is of the highest quality and your message reaches the most people possible, and they are all worth the investment. Just like any other business, as an author you should look for ways to improve your product and your position in the marketplace.

2. Grow Your Network of Followers and Fans
As an author, you want to make growing your marketing list a priority. By marketing list, I mean followers on social media networks like Facebook and Twitter, opt-in e-mail subscribers, mailing addresses for direct marketing, and bloggers and media contacts. You want to collect these people and add value to their lives over and over again. When nurtured over time, the people on these lists can become your built-in readership. They'll buy everything you write for the rest of your career as an author.

3. Think Beyond the Book
You can sell your book for about $15 a copy, which is a slow way to recoup your investment. But you can adapt the material in your book to create speeches you get paid to deliver, courses you get paid to teach, and other products you can sell that relate to the book. In other words, your book can be much more than a book—it can be a business in itself. So as you're writing, think about how else you might package the same ideas to leverage your reading audience.

4. Don’t Be Afraid to Market Your Book
I've heard this from numerous aspiring authors: "I'm not interested in selling books; I want the publisher to handle that." Well, even if you find a publisher for your book, you still need to sell it—and oftentimes you won't find a publisher unless you can prove to them you know how to sell books. If you’re an author, you have to put yourself out there. Market your book, your ideas, and your solutions to everyone you meet. You never know who is going to be an ideal reader or strategic connection, so reach out in as many ways possible. Publish a blog, put together a web site, grow your following, and continuously market your book and yourself.

Being an author is like any other business—you need to invest in your book, grow your network of readers, think beyond the book, and get comfortable marketing yourself and your book. Making a living as an author takes work, but these four secrets can make it happen for you!

By: Melinda Copp

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Melinda Copp helps aspiring nonfiction, business, and self-help authors get clear on their story and book idea, and figure out how to put it all together so their ideal readers love it. Visit www.writerssherpaprograms.com/writeabook.html for a free copy of her "Jump Start Your Book E-course!" and get your book started now.