Can I make a living writing fiction books or novel?
This is the question I get asked on a regular basis.
And in this post, I will give you the exact ways on “How to Make a Living Writing Fiction.”
This is the exact way I had to build my writing career.
And you can also build yours and make money by writing only.
The only thing is that you have to take proper steps and implement these steps.
Only then you will be able to make money or make your living entirely on writing Fiction.
Table of Contents
Here’s How I Make a Living Writing Fiction
1. Write on a Daily Basis
Your chance of making a living entirely from one novel is really small.
Only a few Authors have done that.
So be realistic.
If you have only one novel published, then the chances are pretty small that you can make it to the top author’s list.
When I first published my first short stories on Amazon it failed miserably.
The Next did worst.
Then my third one, full love story novel, did amazing.
That’s the one which earns most of my income.
And through that novel only, was able to drive readers to my new release.
Now, I have 6 books published on Amazon.
So the key takeaway here is that try to write more books, novels, and short stories.
And to do that you have to write on a daily basis.
The Most important benefit of writing daily is:
- You will be able to complete more books.
- You will be able to write more efficiently and words will flow naturally.
- You will become a better writer.
- If you start blogging, then writing and publishing on your blog will become easier.
So what I recommend is to write for at least 1 hour per day.
Later increase it to 2 hours per day.
If you are serious about making a living by writing fiction only then writing daily will really help.
2. Read Regularly
If you want to write daily then you should be reading daily.
You can’t call yourself a serious author if you are not a serious reader.
I have a post on the Benefits of Reading Books. You should look at it.
You know all great authors read a lot of books.
A lot………
By reading you will be:
- Aware of the current trends,
- Will get new writing ideas,
- new inspiration if you get stuck on your writing,
- You will get insights on how to set up a great plot for your story.
There are endless benefits that you will find by just reading books.
3. Don’t Edit
When you complete your writing don’t edit just by yourself.
Simple editing while reading can be done after completing one book, but thoroughly editing is a definite no from my end.
This is because a writer can’t edit perfectly.
It’s how our brain works.
Your brain already knows the things it wrote. So when you edit your work, it may skip the mistake thinking it is right.
So if you are serious about making your living writing fiction then make sure to hire an external proofreader.
If you can afford, hire a professional proofreading service.
Or you can let someone with good language idea to do the editing for you.
You may use some online proofreading software also to do the hard lifting for you on budget.
I use Grammarly to do basic proofreading.
Click here to give Grammarly a try.
4. Create a Fiction Book that You have Wanted
Every writer wants to write something that they know is not written yet.
Or something they themselves wanted to read but is not yet available.
Trust me there are more readers out there who want to read the same kind of books as you.
So why not write that one.
Don’t write books that are popular right now and are selling well.
You may not do that well if you have missed the boat.
This applies only to Fiction books. Because trends play a vital role in fiction books and not on non-fiction books.
So write a kind of book that you want to read yourself as a reader.
5. Create Fiction Books in Series
A fiction book in a series will make you more money than just one short story or one novel.
Readers love series in all genres.
A reader who reads your first book will be more likely to buy your next book.
So it is easier to sell to a known customer than to find a new customer every time.
So it is better to have a fiction book in series whenever possible.
But don’t just create a book series just to sell more.
It should resonate with the story and layout.
It is not like that you should split a 60,000 words fiction book into 3 part with 20,000 words each just to create a series.
Readers are more likely to spend money on books which are lengthy.
So create your series accordingly.
6. Create Your Portfolio
Having a great portfolio is a must-have step for every fiction and non-fiction writer.
And you should be creating one if you want to make a living writing fiction.
It is a great place to show your works to your readers and be found by a newer audience.
It is not only a great place to showcase your work but you can also make a good connection with new people.
And creating a great connection with your fans, industry contacts and new authors is the key to becoming successful.
You don’t know how they can boost your business as an author or writer.
Maybe through a great portfolio, you can land a great interview on some famous blog or on a famous media agency.
You can even provide your sample work to clients or a new publishing house.
7. Be Everywhere
If you are not available on any social media platform then you are missing a great number of readers.
It is not that you have to be active on each and every social media platform.
But it is more like you have to be available on each.
So make sure to have an account on each of the social media platforms.
And be active on a social media platform especially suitable for authors and writers.
Don’t spend time on each and every social media platform.
Instead, focus on growing one platform first then moving to others.
This will help you to build authority during your initial days.
Here’s the post I have written.
Best Social Media Platform for Authors and Writers. Do check it out to know more in detail.
8. Let’s Start Blogging
You know that if you can write well, you can also blog well.
And almost every author and writer has a Blog.
A blog really creates a new passive income opportunity for writers to make a living while writing.
It is also a great place to establish yourself as an authority in your Niche.
You can provide some tips and tricks related to writing fiction as you have prior experience in fiction writing.
Creating information articles will help you rank on Google.
Thus in return, you will get a free audience from Google without having to spend a single penny on marketing.
And some audiences may become your fan too who will be purchasing your fiction work.
Or maybe they can hire you to write for them.
9. Spend Time Learning Marketing
Spend some time learning marketing especially when you are self-publishing your fiction.
Nowadays even traditionally published authors know online marketing.
And when you are new to the writing community no one knows you.
So to promote yourself you should be knowing about both free and paid marketing strategies.
I will teach you about writing and marketing.
That’s why I am here.
You can Join my Facebook community to ask me anything you need help with.
10. Build Your Fan Base
Fans are built one by one.
And I mean it literally.
You have to respond to every comment on social media, engage with every message, solve everyone’s doubts.
Each of those steps will be the foundation of your fan base.
The closer you will get to your reader, the better.
Remember that one genuine fan is like having two fans. Because they will at least share their experience with one of their friends and so on.
And when you will start your own blog, try to create your own email list.
This is your long term investment.
Now there may be few questions you need answers for.
So let me explain a little.
How Can I Make Money by Writing
I know this is what you want to hear about.
Here are some of the ideas that can make you a living writing.
1. Content Writing
If you are a regular writer whether fiction or nonfiction then you have great writing experience and you can write on any topic.
You could easily get hired to work on content for some blogs or media publications.
People are willing to pay $1 per word for good content writers.
2. Ghost Writing
They are the writers who write novels, stories, etc. for their client.
In return, they sign an NDA not to reveal their name and provide copyright to the client.
The ghostwriters are paid a hefty sum.
The only disadvantage is that they will not get any royalty.
But it’s a good deal to get huge income from your writing.
To know more about Ghostwriting read my article: How to become Ghostwriter?
3. Guest Blogging
There are many sites and blogs which pay a huge amount to guest post for them.
I will try to list as many as possible on my upcoming blog post.
There are some sites that pay writers to write for them.
But it is best practice to first establish yourself as an authority before pitching to these sites.
4. Make Money Writing Short Stories
You could write some short stories and then sell them on online sites like Amazon, Kobo, etc.
Or you could publish your short stories on your blog and monetize it with ads.
Short stories can also be shared on a social media platform like Facebook to increase engagement.
Thus promoting you on social media.
And in return building your fan base for future Books sales.
Here’s the detailed article I have written on make money writing short stories.
Do check that out to know more about how you can make money just by writing short stories.
5. Your Book Sales
Once you will get published you will definitely make some money to make a living writing fiction.
Though sometimes very little. But you will get something every month.
And even a little bit on a continuous basis will amount huge.
And all this will be passive.
Work for one time on a book and it will generate revenue for a lifetime.
You may only get small amounts each month per book but the more books you write, the more this becomes. Also, if you do write a book that reaches the top of its category, this can make some decent income.
6. Become An Influencer
When you grow a huge following on social media you can become an influencer in your industry.
And influencers are paid huge for just posting some brand images, talking about some brands, writing reviews etc.
So without doing the heavy lifting, you can make your living writing fiction.
You will be Able to Make a Living Writing Fiction – Just Give it Time
Give your writing career sometime.
One month is not enough to make you a successful or famous author.
It takes time to reach such a great position.
What’s more important is that you should maintain your consistency.
Be patient, but aggressively patient.
This was my take on “How to make a living writing fiction”.
And if you have any other tips, suggestions, do let me know in the comment section.
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