So you want to write. And you want to make money from doing so? It ought to be possible, surely? It’s work, after all.
Here are ten things you need to know…
You’re going to need to get commercially minded
This can be a tricky one. On the one hand, both here and elsewhere, I’m always banging on about the fact that one can’t write for the marketplace. You can only see a bandwagon from behind, and all that. But if you’re looking to make money from writing, especially writing fiction, part of your mindset is going to have to have a commercial edge. You have an idea for an experimental novel told in the second person from the point of view of an insect? Go for it! Just don’t expect it to sell a million copies (or at all, quite possibly). Your book might be the exception that proves me wrong — in which case, great! — but if you also have an idea that’s unusual, perhaps, but more straightforward, then maybe concentrate on that? There’s art, and there’s commercial, financial success, and managing to create both in one single project is hard. Decide which on one matters most.
Remember to resister your work
When you are published, make sure you register all your titles (and not just the titles, but each edition) of all your work, with the PLR (Public Lending Right) scheme. This makes sure you get paid a small amount every time someone borrows a book to which you have contributed from a library. And make sure you register them with the ALCS (Authors’ Licensing and Collecting Service) as well.
Remember, this includes books, ebook, articles, audiobooks, etc.
It can be helpful to diversify
Very very few people can make enough money to live on just from writing novels, even if they manage one a year. It pays to diversify your income sources. Consider freelance writing, guest blogging, self-publishing, ghostwriting, or creating online courses. Multiple revenue streams provide stability, increase earning potential and can allow you more freedom to explore some less commercial but perhaps more artistically satisfying ideas in your fiction.
For example, this Substack is one of my streams. It takes me time to write these newsletters, and to share my thoughts and advice. I don’t do it for free, or for the love of it. Or not only that, anyway. (Now seems like good time to ask, if you enjoy Compendia and you’re a free subscriber, then please do consider upgrading. There’s much, much more behind the paywall, and you’ll be helping me to stay afloat and continue my work).