6 months ago
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Posted On: April 30th 2026, 01:14 am
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How to make money as an author. I self-published a memoir that sold 5000 copies in the first week and continues to sell thousands of copies a year. I advise my clients to do one thing very differently than how I did it.
I ask them to focus on selling direct.
In addition to setting up clients to have their book available through all online channels, independent bookstores, and libraries, I ask them to set up e-commerce on their website so they can sell signed copies themselves.
The book-buying and social landscape has changed and a huge number of your potential readers would rather buy a book directly from an author than give any money to Amazon.
If you have a website with e-commerce, you can easily set your book up as a product and link it to Meta and Tiktok to tag your book in social media posts. Readers can buy the book directly from you without the leaving the apps, making it an easier user experience than buying almost anywhere else.
And authors can easily charge $30 for a signed copy of their book.
An indie published author can get author copies of a paperback for less that $5. A traditionally published author can get them for around $10.
USPS media mail allows you to send books for less than $5 postage. With a bubble mailer and two pieces of tissue, indie authors can get a book out the door for $10 and traditionally published authors can buy and ship their books for $15.
I recommend authors price their books at $30 with free shipping. After accounting for the cost of the book
Profit = $15 - $20 per book
Compare that to the $2 royalty a traditionally published author will get on a paperback or the $5 royalty an indie published author will get if someone buys their book on Amazon or from an indie book store and you can see how selling direct changes the $ game considerably.
I’m sharing 30 days of writing and publishing advice. If you’d like to write a book or sell more copies of the books you already have published, stick around.
Along with my real life friend and favorite editor, Jamie McGillen, we help authors indie publish (and sell) books they are proud of. Reach out so we can tell you how.
I ask them to focus on selling direct.
In addition to setting up clients to have their book available through all online channels, independent bookstores, and libraries, I ask them to set up e-commerce on their website so they can sell signed copies themselves.
The book-buying and social landscape has changed and a huge number of your potential readers would rather buy a book directly from an author than give any money to Amazon.
If you have a website with e-commerce, you can easily set your book up as a product and link it to Meta and Tiktok to tag your book in social media posts. Readers can buy the book directly from you without the leaving the apps, making it an easier user experience than buying almost anywhere else.
And authors can easily charge $30 for a signed copy of their book.
An indie published author can get author copies of a paperback for less that $5. A traditionally published author can get them for around $10.
USPS media mail allows you to send books for less than $5 postage. With a bubble mailer and two pieces of tissue, indie authors can get a book out the door for $10 and traditionally published authors can buy and ship their books for $15.
I recommend authors price their books at $30 with free shipping. After accounting for the cost of the book
Profit = $15 - $20 per book
Compare that to the $2 royalty a traditionally published author will get on a paperback or the $5 royalty an indie published author will get if someone buys their book on Amazon or from an indie book store and you can see how selling direct changes the $ game considerably.
I’m sharing 30 days of writing and publishing advice. If you’d like to write a book or sell more copies of the books you already have published, stick around.
Along with my real life friend and favorite editor, Jamie McGillen, we help authors indie publish (and sell) books they are proud of. Reach out so we can tell you how.
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