Author Income Diversification

by Susan U. Neal RN, MBA, MHS @SusanNealYoga

Income diversification is prudent in any business. Writing is a business. As an author, there are many facets to obtain multiple streams of income including, book and digital product sales, articles, courses, coaching, and speaking. 

Book Sales
The largest income source for most authors is through book sales. How do you sell more books? My previous article, “Marketing Strategies to Improve Books Sales,” reviews numerous marketing tactics.

Have you thought about creating an audiobook or large-print book? Do you own the audio rights to your book? Check your contract. If you do, you could create an audiobook and obtain additional sales through this source. This year, I created an audiobook of my bestseller, 7 Steps to Get off Sugar and Carbohydrates. Now I sell dozens of Audible books each month.

Have you thought about creating a large-print book? It is not difficult to do, and you would gain a new audience who may not be able to read your normal-sized print book. Audiobooks and large-print books expand your target market without having to write a new book.

Start writing your next book soon after you launch your previous one. You never know which book will be your best seller. Have you started working on your next book yet?

Book-Related and Digital Products

After I published my first book, Scripture Yoga, I created Christian Yoga Card Decks to provide another type of product related to my book. I also sell Christian Yoga DVDs. Brainstorm and think of other book-related products you could create.

It is easy to create and sell digital products. Place them on your website or add a link to the bio in your articles and blogs. My best-selling digital product, “How to Prevent, Improve, and Reverse Alzheimer’s and Dementia,” sells several copies every month. Check out the selection of book-related and digital products that I sell on my website, ChristianYoga.com. If you would like to learn how to create and sell digital products, watch the training I did on Patricia Durgin’s, The Write Start Online Summit. There are twenty, free author-related training sessions available through this summit. 

Magazine ArticlesPublishing magazine articles is another source of revenue. I found that starting with smaller, non-paying magazines and then moving to more significant publications worked best. After you have a proven track record, larger magazines are more likely to accept your articles. I keep an annual list and corresponding link to all my publications on a Word document and the Mediapage of my website.

Courses
Have you thought about creating a class on a topic that you specialize in? You could make a course and sell it on your website. Recently, I created a course through Serious Writer Academy, “How to Sell 1000 Books in Three Months.” This will be a new income stream for me. If you are interested in this course, please use the discount code NEALTWC20 for 20% off.

Coaching and Speaking
Do you provide coaching services? I am a certified Christian health and wellness coach and provide coaching services directly from my website. Could you offer author coaching? I do. Check out my author coaching page. 

Do you speak at conferences? This is another income generator. When you do, you sell more books at the conference bookstore. List the type of speaking topics you do on your website.

Diversification
Whether you are investing in stocks or a writing career, diversification is vital. There are numerous audiences you could tap into through different sources. This year, I created an audiobook in the spring, a course in the summer, and I plan to create a large-print book in the fall. What steps can you take to diversify your author income?

TWEETABLES
Author Income Diversification - @SusanNealYoga on @EdieMelson (Click to Tweet)

Writing is a business and diversification makes sense - tips from @SusanNealYoga on @EdieMelson (Click to Tweet)

Susan U. Neal, RN, MBA, MHS

Susan’s mission is to improve the health of the body of Christ. She has her RN and MBA degrees, as well as a master’s in health science. She is a CERTIFIED HEALTH AND WELLNESS COACH with the American Association of Christian Counselors. She published five books, the Selah award winner 7 STEPS TO GET OFF SUGAR AND CARBOHYDRATES, CHRISTIAN STUDY GUIDE FOR 7 STEPS TO GET OFF SUGAR AND CARBOHYDRATES, HEALTHY LIVING JOURNAL, SCRIPTURE YOGA a #1 Amazon best-selling yoga book, and YOGA FOR BEGINNERS which ranked #3. She published two sets of Christian Yoga Card Decks and two Christian Yoga DVDs that are available at CHRISTINAYOGA.COM. Her digital product HOW TO PREVENT, IMPROVE, AND REVERSE ALZHEIMER’S AND DEMENTIA is a great resource. To learn more about Susan visit her website SUSANUNEAL.COM You can also connect with Susan on FACEBOOK, TWITTER, and INSTAGRAM.