Revenue From Nonfiction Books

 As an author, it's likely you not only want to write, you also want to make money from your writing.

If you simply want to write and have no interest in generating revenues, this post is likely not for you. However, if you want to make a living from your writing, read on.

The first thing to do is realize there are many ways for an author to make money from their writings. Book sales are obviously one way, but not the only way.

You also have opportunities through speaking engagements, consulting, coaching and information products.

To be clear, these opportunities are more readily available for nonfiction writers than fiction writers. Yet, there are a variety of ways fiction writers can generate revenues as an offshoot of their books. Just to be clear, for this post, I am focusing on nonfiction authors.

Book sales

Obviously, book sales are the first level of revenue for an author. Amazon is one of the most obvious. But it takes more than simply having your book listed on Amazon. To increase sales, you need to drive traffic to your Amazon listing.

There are many ways to do this including blogging about the book, interviews, article marketing, and social media posts.

Driving traffic is an ongoing process. The more consistent you are, the more sales you will make. It's simple mathematics.

Speaking opportunities

Many authors, myself included, make great money through our speaking. There are paid and nonpaid opportunities. Paid engagements can be a direct result of a meeting planner or decision maker reading your book, checking out your website and online presence, resulting in them reaching out to you.

Other speaking opportunities may not be paid engagements, such as to your local chamber of commerce, but you are invited to sell books and make other offers. You can make hundreds, even thousands, of dollars in back of the room sales.

However, you do need to know how to make offers. This is a skill and art unto itself. Take time to learn how to do so and you will NEVER have to wonder how to make money ever again.

Consulting

As an author, you are considered an authority and influencers. Use this to your advantage.

Let's say you write about team building and a company head reads your book due to needing team building solutions. If your book provides a great solution, they may reach out to you to find out about your consulting services.