Investing in writing and publishing your book can feel like a big step. Particularly in turbulent times when we’re experiencing cost of living increases.
But the fact is, there are ways to receive a return on your investment WAY before your book is out there in the world.
I always recommend that authors don’t rely on book sales alone when it comes to creating an income from your writing. After printing costs and retailer fees, you’re likely to receive around 40% of the sale price for each copy sold. So, if the price of your book is £10, you’re looking at around £4 profit per book (unless you’re selling directly to your audience and cut out the retailer fee – then you’re looking at around £7 per copy profit).
So, if you’re spending £5k to write and publish your book, you’re looking at selling around 1250 copies to recoup your investment.
Doable, but I like to think of book sales as the icing on the cake!
So, let’s look at some different strategies…
One-to-one coaching and mentoring
Your book can be a perfect way to attract new one-to-one clients to you. In fact, you don’t even have to wait until your book is complete to start calling in soul family clients.
Part of the Unbound Writing process is to share what’s coming through right from the beginning of your book-writing journey.
When I was writing my second book, UNBOUND, I created a series of blog posts based on what was emerging in my writing. This was long before I had a clear structure for the book and around a year before it was actually released.
One of the articles attracted two brand new 1:1 clients to me. After a short chat, both signed up to $3000 mentoring packages, which helped to support me as I was writing the rest of the book.
Make sure you have a simple call-to-action at the end of any blog or social media post inviting people to either sign-up to your email list or get in touch if they’re interested in exploring working with you. One or two new 1:1 clients can lead to an immediate return on your investment.
Group programs and memberships
Having some kind of group process can be a great way to generate income from your book, either before or after it’s out in the world.
You can invite people to work with you in a group program or mastermind as you write your book. This is a win-win, because as well as getting to be of service to your people, the work you’re doing with them can spark off more inspiration for your book.
And of course, once your book is released, it can be the perfect marketing tool for any group experiences you have.
If you sell 8 spots on your program for £750, you’ve more than recouped your investment.
Another option is to have a membership based on what you’re sharing in your book. If you have 10 members, each paying £50 per month, you make back your investment in ten months. And of course, it’s entirely possible that one of more of these members may go on to work with you in other ways.
Of course, none of these figures are guaranteed. And they don’t take account of those unexpected opportunities that come your way as people connect with your book – podcast interviews, speaking gigs, media coverage. But my hope is that this has given you some ideas to get started with creating an income from your writing, even before your book is released.
Here’s to being an abundant author!
Want to feel super-inspired as you begin your book-writing journey? Get access to my free Connecting With Your Book Visualisation here.
