In order to make money from a book, you have to be a New York Times Best Seller.
…just kidding.
It’s absolutely possible to make money from a memoir, and you don’t need to sell a million copies to get there.
Books are a business venture—a micro-business. It needs a good amount of time and financial investment to get started. You are going to have to work at it. But that investment will return in the form of income and other opportunities. It may even become a passive income.
Easier said than done, but there’s plenty of stats out there to back you up. Let’s take a look.
What will cost money while you’re writing a book?
The process of writing a book is more intense than most people expect, but, for the purposes of this post, I’ll break it down into just a few steps.
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Planning and Outlining
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Drafting
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Revising
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Proofreading and Copyediting
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Publishing (more on this later)
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Marketing
(By the way, you can download a more detailed version of these steps by clicking through to The Memoir Method Checklist, our complete guide to writing, publishing, and marketing your memoir!)
How much writing a book costs depends on how much of it you hire out (and where you are). However, doing all of it yourself isn’t a solid investment in the long run. If you want a quality finished product, at the very least, you will need to hire help during the editing and publishing processes (especially when it comes to cover design!).
Here’s how the average cost of these steps breaks down:
It depends! Every cost is dependent on where you are, the quality of service, and which aspects of each service you include. So take each quote with a grain of salt.
Planning/outlining, drafting, and revising don’t typically operate as separate services—they are just the basics of writing a manuscript. In this case, you’re likely hiring a ghostwriter (or maybe a writing coach).
On average, a ghostwritten manuscript costs around $40,000.
On average, you can expect to pay $1000-$2000 each for proofreading and copyediting (they are separate services, so about $2000-$4000 overall).
Traditional publishers typically don’t cost anything aside from a royalty (but you won’t get much of a say regarding the cover design).
Self-publishing typically costs $500-$5000 (according to Kindlepreneur).
How much can you make?
As we said in our last post, an April 2023 study by the Alliance of Independent Authors found that the median earnings for self-published authors were $12,749, and the median income for traditionally-published authors was $6,080.
I know—those numbers aren’t super promising. But the amazing thing about having a published book is how many opportunities it opens up.
Increase profits by self-publishing
While self-publishing costs more up front, royalties tend to be much higher.
You can hire a service company to publish your book. Packages and services tend to vary by the specific services they provide as far as editorial packages and design and marketing. Fees for each service vary widely, but always be cautious of anything that is suspiciously cheap. You put work into your book—your intellectual property—so take care to make sure it stays in the right hands.
Self-publishing services do not take any rights to your work, which means you’ll receive 100% of the profits from every book sold.
If you prefer a more DIY route (or simply want to save money on upfront costs), you can self-publish in conjunction with companies like Amazon KDP or IngramSpark. You’ll still need to cover services like editorial processes and cover design. But you won’t pay anything until your book is sold. You can expect anywhere from 30-70% in royalties whether you publish in print or by eBook (janefriedman.com).
Increase profits through bulk sales
If your book has any academic or historical application, you can seek out opportunities to have museums, schools, and even universities purchase a set number of books that they can then sell or gift to interested parties.
This is a great way to get a good chunk of sales and put your book in the hands of interested readers—who will hopefully read the book and pass it on to people they know. You can also work to build a great relationship with the entity that purchases the books. Bulk sales are often accompanied by speaking or book reading gigs, which is yet another way for your audience to get to know you and your mission.
Market
Many debut or aspiring authors wrongfully assume that traditional publishers will take care of marketing for them, or, at the very least, offer a marketing stipend. However, whether you self-publish or take the traditional route, you’re going to need to market your book if you want it to sell.
If you already have an existing platform from your business or social media (>100,000 followers), that is a great place to start. One easy way to market your book is just by mentioning it in your regular courses, interviews, presentations, etc. that you already do regularly. People who interact with your business have already shown an interest in you and your ideas, so it’s likely they’ll be interested in your book. Even if your book is closer to a memoir than a business or leadership book, people will be interested in getting to know you and your personal philosophy better.
“If you want more control over editorial processes and design, you can self-publish your book (and usually gain a higher royalty).”
Once you’ve started marketing your book in your own circles, one of the best things you can do for your book is to get into other circles, especially ones with larger platforms. Podcast interviews are excellent places to reach like-minded readers, and, like speaking gigs, they give you another opportunity to help people get to know your book and its ideas before they even pick it up. Guest appearances with other speakers and entrepreneurs (depending on who your audience is) have a similar appeal. The most important part is that you find readers who would be interested in your book, give them a taste of what you have to say, but leave them interested and wanting more enough that they purchase your book.
Social media is a very easy way to market your book, but having a lot of followers does not often offer a very sizeable return in the same way podcasts and interviews will—you can’t rely on a large following to sell out your book.
You can also go the traditional route and host book readings and book talks at local libraries and bookstores. Again, this is another great way to interact directly with potential readers, and it is one of the most common ways people market their books.
Use it for opportunities like speaking
As I said earlier, the best part about having a book is the opportunities it opens up. You may already have a business, a set of courses, or even a speaking circuit. Maybe you’re looking to begin these things.
Having a book screams expertise, confidence, and credibility.
Speakers can nearly double their asking price once they have a book under their belt. In fact, many speakers write a book before their speaking circuit just so that they can market their book at the same time.
Speaking circuits are great because they get your voice and ideas out to interested people—potential readers. Your book provides enough credibility (and a clearly-defined brand) to nail down some great speaking gigs, and you can advertise your book at each gig. It’s a win-win situation.
Other ways you can create this sort of symbiotic marketing relationship are starting an online course, offering a weekly or monthly email newsletter, or even just boosting your existing business. A book establishes you as an expert in your field, so you won’t have a difficult time nailing down speaking time alongside other experts.
Can you make money from a memoir?
Absolutely—if you’re willing to invest the time and effort it takes. Books aren’t a short or easy investment to make, but, in my opinion, the opportunities they open up are certainly worth it. And you can tailor every part of the process to your needs. If you want more control over editorial processes and design, you can self-publish your book (and usually gain a higher royalty). But if you’d like the credibility and collaboration of a traditional publisher, it will cost you nothing upfront. There are so many different ways to market your book—and just as many to make your book market you and your business.
Still unsure? You can read any of our blog posts on whether or not you’re ready to write a book and how to get started. You can always book a free consult call with us here at DAS, to find out if any of our services are right for you. We can help you write your manuscript, offer marketing assistance, and even publish your book—to name a few.
You certainly can’t go wrong with publishing a book. And who is more worth investing in than yourself?
