There are those who are often bombarded with this question: can you make money just writing? Well, if you are one of these folks who had been asking this bugging question for years then here’s a straight to the point answer: YES!

According to John Hewitt:

Genre novels tend to be the easiest to market. There is a built-in audience for genres such as romance, horror, children, mystery, science fiction, fantasy and thriller. A new genre, chick-lit, in which the protagonist is a modern single woman experiencing relationship and career issues, is currently popular. Novels that fall outside of these genres aren’t necessarily doomed, but they are harder to market, and most major publishing houses are looking to publish novels that they are confident they can sell in great numbers.

So if you are thinking about getting yourself published, pat yourself on the shoulder for making a good decision. Contrary to how others fear writing, it is actually something that anyone can do. In fact, there are many publishers that encourage new writers to join them, although the problem is that they do not have enough money to go against some major publisher. More often than not, they will first publish 5000 copies and once all books are sold, that’s the time when they will publish more. But the good news is that your chance of getting published with smaller publisher is actually higher.

How many books should you sell before you start making money? A good way to estimate your income is by looking at a dollar book wherein you will need to sell 50,000 copies per year to earn a good living. Although there are those who can write more books per year, but a typical novelist can only work on one project each year.

An estimate made by Poewar says:

While the Stephen Kings and J.K. Rowlings of this world have no trouble selling millions of books, the typical novel sells about 5000 to 10,000 copies. Less than ten percent of published novelists manage to sell 50,000 copies or more of their book, and selling 50,000 copies of a book in no way guarantees that you will find a publisher for your next book. Major publishers are looking for big wins. They want to sell hundreds of thousands of copies, and they are going to stick with the writers they think will deliver them those numbers. Keep in mind as well, that the delay between having a book accepted for publication and getting that book published is generally about two years and often longer. That is a long time to wait to see profits from a book.

So it all boils down to answering: how many books can you write? When you write more, there is obviously a bigger chance for you to earn high. On the other hand, while it may be easy for you to scribble a lot, but you have to keep a certain balance. Writing for the sake of quantity is a sure-fire way to ruin your career. You need to offer quality, more than anything else.

Pricing is another factor that must be taken for consideration when answering the question of whether or not you can earn by writing. Here’s a good explanation made by Online Income Teacher:

There are two royalty rates offered by Amazon;

  • 70% of the cover price if the book is priced between £1.49 and £6.99
  • 35% for titles priced at 75p.

So, try to keep your price as low as possible! The cheaper the book is, the more it will sell. Amazon lets you sell for as little as $0.99 in the US and £0.75 in the UK. For a first time writer, that’s probably the best price to go for. It’s hard for a first time writer to sell a book for more than £1.

In a nutshell, you can surely earn an income by writing a book. You simply have to have a game plan on how you are going to do it. Are you ready to start writing? Find a great tips from the video below.