Whether your writing goal is to make enough money to pay off the car, quit your job or be a USA Today bestseller, there are tools that exist to help you be an authorpreneur.

What is an Authorpreneur?

An authorpreneur is someone determined to have an author career, small or large. They are committed to making money with their writing.

To be an authorpreneur, you have to understand the market. It’s absolutely crazy out there, so you need to understand what you’re getting into.

Realistic expectations will help you set realistic goals.

• 1.6 million print and ebook titles were self-published in 2018
• 10,870 ebook titles are self-published monthly across all outlets except Amazon in 2017
• Amazon reported 1.4 million self-published print titles in 2017. That’s 116,000 books a month.

Those numbers are nuts!

But upward of 90% of those books, according to BookScan, don’t sell more than 100 copies.

It usually means an author has sold to his family and friends or hasn’t done much marketing, which tells me they don’t really want to be an authorpreneur.

Pew Research found nearly 75% of Americans read books, a December 2019 Gallup poll reported Americans visited the library more than they participated in any other leisure activity in 2019, and for the same year, Goodreads reported more than 53 million books made it to the Read shelf.

But you, as a writer, traditionally published or indie, absolutely must understand what’s happening with it and how to respond to it.

First, set a realistic goal.

Has anyone ever said to you, “Oh yeah, I’m gonna write a book too” or “I’m gonna write books for my retirement plan”? And your eyes popped out of your head?

Look at the stats above. You don’t just “write a book” and make it.

You are the CEO of your business and will need to work hard on it. But you need to figure out where you fit and what success means to you. Then go for it. Grab the Authorepreneur Playbook to get you started.

Second, keep writing your stories.

Even if your genre is in a slump now, it won’t be down the road. People are still reading and more likely than not, they’ll keep reading.

So, if you’re books aren’t selling now, work on craft, create worlds, build characters, focus on your story development.

Third, market, market, market.

Facebook ads are the cheapest they’ve been in a while. Take advantage of that for both Instagram and Facebook.

Increase your email list and run ads for your books. Now should be the time for both traditional and indie authors to launch and test ads.

 

While times are a little weird, writing is still worth your time. The world still needs books and stories.

Your career may not be as a gazillionaire New York Times bestseller, but it very well could provide you a steady income that brings you a strong relationship with readers and the satisfaction that you are a paid writer.

So, keep going.