Would you like to self-publish an e-book and earn money with it? We don’t blame you: you can make a ton of money doing this and officially call yourself a published author The dream.
Most people think there’s no money in writing books unless you’re lucky and become the next J.K. Rowling.
But remember the blockbuster The Martians (starring Matt Damon)? It actually started out as a humble, self-published eBook. The book’s author, Andy Weir, sold the novel as an Amazon Kindle book for 99 cents a copy. It wasn’t long before it topped the bestseller charts and caught the attention of Hollywood.
With a bit of Hollywood glamour, publishing an eBook is exactly what publishing an eBook is all about: converting a text document into an eBook and selling it – and we’ll tell you how to make the biggest profit.
How Much Money Can You Make From eBooks?
Creating an eBook can be ridiculously cheap and often free, and selling your eBook can take anywhere from several pounds a day to next to nothing.
The good news is that you have a big impact on your potential income, so it’s worth checking out the numbers:
eBooks sell anywhere from 99p to £8.99 and up, but the shop (and your publishing platform) take a cut from every sale
You can sell your book at whatever price you prefer, and you can adjust the price to test different tactics, but the ideal price depends on the book’s length, reviews, and competition.
If you have money to invest (or can pay for it through crowdfunding), you could spend money on additional marketing for your book to increase its chances of success, but there are many ways to market it for free, via social media.
How to maximize the profit from your eBooks…
Tips for making money with your eBook
Follow these steps to make as much money as possible selling eBooks:
Table of Contents
1 . Write your eBook at a high level
The more time and effort you put into your eBook, the better it will be and the more you can charge for it.
To create a quality eBook, you must be willing to spend months (or even years!) writing it, and then proofreading and editing multiple drafts until it’s perfect.
Using free software to edit your eBook can greatly improve its quality.
We recommend downloading Grammarly to ensure you write without spelling and grammatical errors. And try to get feedback on your writing from as many people as possible along the way.
The writing process may take some time, but it will be worth it to create quality text. Not only does this mean you can set a higher selling price for your eBook, but your readers are more likely to recommend it to people they know, which (hopefully) means more sales.
We’ve created a comprehensive guide to writing and publishing your eBook to get you started.
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2 . Publish a range of eBooks
If you publish a successful e-book and have a growing readership, you could write a whole series of articles on the same characters or topics.
The best way to approach writing an eBook series will depend on the nature of your work (e.g., fiction or nonfiction), but follow your instincts about what feels right. Think about whether it would be a natural progression for your eBook to become part of a series of works.
For example, if your first eBook is a novel about a sophomore’s freshman year, readers would probably also like to read follow-up stories about the sophomore’s adventures.
Make sure you write a follow-up copy that is of the same quality as the first copy. And above all, you should make sure that all future eBooks in a series have an artistic value and are not written just for the money.
You can make a lot of extra money by writing eBooks, but only if your readers find them worth their time and money. Otherwise, you could face complaints, refunds, and negative reviews, and no writer wants that.
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3 . Choose the publishing platform that works best for you
Once your eBook is ready to be published (whoops!), the hard work is almost over. When considering how best to market your eBook, the next thing to do is research which publishing platform will make you the most money.
For an in-depth look at the top websites, check out our guide to the best eBook publishing platforms.
The guide contains information about:
- Smashwords
- Amazon Kindle Direct Publishing
- Alternatives to using publishing platforms.
4 . Choose a popular topic for your eBook
We recommend writing about something that really interests you, rather than just picking a topic that will make you money. If you have an idea for a book and you think you would buy it if you saw it in a store, then you have a good idea.
Your readers will be able to tell that you are passionate about the topic, and you will also find it much easier to put words to paper.
Pick a topic that really interests you, but also pays attention to what’s selling. Visit your local bookstore or check the bestseller lists at Amazon, Waterstones, and international websites like Barnes and Noble.
Fiction (especially erotic fiction) is by far the biggest seller in the eBook market, but that doesn’t mean other areas aren’t profitable too – it’s just a matter of finding your niche.
For example, eBooks on religion and spirituality, business, and money also do well.
The best ideas for writing as an eBook
- Your original novel, poems, or short stories.
- Your old essays (check with your university first!) or a study guide for your subject.
- A handy guide to something you know really well: living on a budget, maintaining bikes, creating the perfect dating app profile – everything!
- A children’s book (even better if you can illustrate it yourself) or graphic comics.
- City guides or a collection of your favorite walking routes
- Out-of-print books repackaged with annotations, an introduction, or a translation and sold under your own brand name.
- If you’re fluent in another language, collaborate with another author and publish a translated version of their work.
5 . Enter writing contests with your eBook
After spending so much time perfecting your e-book, you’ve earned a little credit for your masterpiece. Writing competitions are not only good for recognition but often also come with nice cash prizes…
Writing contests aren’t the easiest way to monetize your eBook as they tend to be highly competitive, but they’re definitely worth a try. We encourage every writer to participate in them.
With a quick Google search, you will find numerous writing contests held throughout the year. Note that some contests only accept unpublished submissions, but sometimes you’ll find contests open to published authors as well, so keep your eyes peeled.
Bonus: If you win some contests, you can share this on your social media and website to boost your author’s reputation and attract more potential readers.
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6 . Develop a marketing strategy for your eBook
Just as it pays to invest time in writing your eBook to the highest standard, it also pays to invest a good deal of your energy in marketing your eBook.
In order to make money from your writing, getting the word out about it is extremely important, and your eBook marketing shouldn’t cost you a penny.
Therefore, it pays to set up professional accounts focused on promoting your published eBook on major platforms like Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.
Check out how your favorite authors are doing online for inspiration. Successful author accounts often strike a good balance between posting about the author’s daily life and promoting their books.
It’s also worth creating a website with your writing portfolio that includes a link to where you can buy your eBook.
You could also contact book clubs directly to see if they would be interested in reading your text at a discounted rate.
Other advantages of self-publishing an eBook
Of course, money isn’t the only benefit of writing a book. Here are some other key benefits of self-publishing an eBook:
- Fast Publishing – Instead of waiting to find, submit, and be accepted by a publisher, you can significantly speed up the sales process by self-publishing your work as an eBook and being in control of how and when it gets published.
- Career incentive: Launching a book is a great work experience. It’s an excellent way to enhance your resume for many careers such as publishing, retail, sales, management, and marketing.
- Passive Income – Even if you don’t become a millionaire, publishing a book can provide you with passive income for years to come.
- Anyone can do it – Don’t be discouraged if you’re not creative or super-experienced in niche areas. All you need is an idea, some lateral thinking, and a lot of motivation and time. And of course this guide.
Pay taxes on money earned from eBooks
The money you make from each sale of your eBook is called royalties. As with any source of income, once you exceed a certain amount you must contact HMRC.
Most publishing platforms operate internationally, which means you have potential clients all over the world! Unfortunately, when you make money in other countries, their governments also want a share of your hard-earned sales.
But doesn’t that mean you’re paying double tax? That’s entirely possible, but the good news is that the UK has a number of tax treaties in place with various countries to prevent you from having to pay again.
Eligibility for tax treaty benefits depends on your citizenship, place of residence, and many other details, so we can’t go into all the fine print here. But don’t worry: each publishing platform explains exactly which forms you need to fill out.
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Are ebooks a good way to make money?
Well, ebooks are a great addition to any passive income strategy. As the? Because once an ebook is created, marketed, and distributed, it can technically sell itself. Now it takes quite a bit of effort to write valuable content.
Is selling ebooks easy?
It is very easy to make money selling ebooks and there are many ways to distribute and market the content you create. This post is a complete guide on how to make money selling ebooks online. You will learn how to sell ebooks through your website or on marketplaces like Amazon.
Is it hard to sell ebooks?
It’s not a difficult task, but there are some best practices you should follow to ensure your ebook grabs readers’ attention and drives sales. Just because you’re writing a book doesn’t mean you have to stress about it. If you have a plan, you can finish your work and put it up for sale.
Can I sell ebooks I didn’t write?
Did you know that you can earn passive income by publishing books on Amazon that you didn’t write yourself? That’s right! Amazon allows ordinary people like you and me to publish e-books and paperbacks on Amazon.
Can I sell my book without publishing it?
It is not necessary to traditionally publish a book in order to sell it. Although it can be a difficult endeavor, self-publishing is possible. It can be a big hit if the author of the book has a marketable manuscript and a commitment to get their work noticed.
What is the minimum cost to publish a book?
The cost of publishing a book varies widely, but self-publishing authors can expect to spend anywhere from $100 to $2,500 when you factor in the additional book production costs such as editing, cover design, formatting, and more that we take.
Is it better to self-publish or get a publisher?
Fortunately, the royalties for self-published books are much higher than for traditional publishers because you get to keep 50 to 70 percent of the profits from your book. With a traditional publisher, they take a lot more, and you end up getting only 10%, maybe 12% after years of proving yourself as a writer.
How many followers do you need to publish a book?
According to Forbes, a poet with 2,000 followers on Instagram can get a book deal because of the quality of their work. Another source states that an author needs 1,000 email followers. A third source says it takes more than 25,000 to get a traditional book deal.
Do authors get paid for each book sold?
Authors receive a percentage of each book sold, known as “royalty.” These royalties go to the author once the work is published. By advancing the royalties, they’re basically making money that they’ve already paid. You will only be paid again if your income exceeds the advance.
