How to Make It As an Author When You Don’t Have a Lot of Money

Gina Kammer Author

How do you make it as an author when you aren’t rich to start with? How can you pay your bills or care for your family and still invest in your book?

How to Make It As an Author When You Don’t Have a Lot of Money

Ah, the money questions for creatives. I hear them a lot. How do I promote my book with a small budget? What does a good book cover cost? I can’t afford multiple rounds of edits right now. What do I do?

So just how do you make a career as an author when you aren’t rich to start with? How can you pay your bills or care for your family and still be expected to invest wads of cash into book promotion and cover art and editing?

In other words … how can you even be a career author if you don’t already have disposable income?

I won’t lie, I wrestle with the money question quite a lot! On one hand, as an author as well, I value accessibility to publishing services. I hate that money creates barriers here — for both indie and traditional publishing authors alike. 

On the other, as a book coach and editor, I also want to make sure I have the capacity to do my best work. And I want to be able to keep serving authors to help make more, better books! That means I need to be paid for my time, effort, and expertise, or I wouldn’t be able to. Unfortunately, there’s no secret fund keeping freelance publishing professionals in business either. We’re all in business. We all fight to make it work.

Being an Author Means Being in Business

Whether or not you want to relate to your writing that way, being an author does mean being in business. Yes, even if you’re traditionally publishing. And how do other businesses start? Usually through investors, loans, savings... And a whole lotta hope that it pays off in the end.

So what happens when you don't have any of those? I get it. I really do. I mean, how did I start my editing business? I did a lot of number crunching, saved up from my in-house editing job, did a little extra networking to gauge feasibility, and took a leap of faith (with a LOT of prayer). Luckily, editing has very little overhead. But you know what? Relative to other businesses, writing doesn’t have a lot of overhead either. No employees (at least not at the start, usually), no brick-and-mortar shop front to rent, not much in inventory costs with print on demand and the like… 

But that doesn't mean it's cheap. I invested a lot in professional development for business coaching and in professional organizations, as well as the tools I need to run my business efficiently — even though my budget was often really tight. Authors likewise need professional development to gain solid craft and business foundations. Authors who indie publish need to cover additional editing and cover expenses too. And book sales quite often play the long game in making back those expenses.

You’re Creative — Use That! And Invest Your Time …

You can offset some of the author business expenses through time and learning to do things yourself. But that's not always wise — especially in the case of editing and cover design. Over and over again, these two key investments have shown to result in greater author earnings. Yet, they’re not low-cost services up front. 

But editors and designers are running businesses too, and they do not likely have the means to bankroll yours through lower than standard rates. So you need to pay them their prices without compromise. (Caveat: longer payment plans, extended timelines, etc. may be fair compromises that many industry professionals will be willing to accommodate.) 

The good news is that you can find many price ranges for these services. The bad news is that you might get what you pay for. 

So then what can you do? How can you ensure quality? 

You might need to get creative in how you can invest your time first. But that's good news too! You are creative. Maybe you learn Kickstarter and how to run a successful campaign to fund your book project. Maybe you can trade services to avoid a cash flow problem. Maybe you work a less desirable job but one that leaves you time and energy for your author business — and hopefully enough pay to get you by. Maybe you do a combination of such strategies. However, you might be more successful with a mentor.

Everyone Needs a Mentor

What I don't regret in my business? Hiring mentors. In fact, one of my coaches recently made a comment to another member in the program that by not investing in the higher-priced coach she was considering (but hesitating on), that she would pay for it anyway. Either in time, wasted effort, or money put toward potentially less effective methods. 

Was it hard to give up the money to invest in coaches and professionals who knew more than I did? Certainly. I'm a little frugal in that area. I like to DIY and learn All. The. Things. myself. But I don't regret it. And I say this even having had one bad experience with a coach who was less than honest. I still learned how I wanted to coach and what I didn’t want in a coach from that experience. Mostly, my coaches have made me more effective, efficient, and balanced in all that I do. 

But also acknowledge that you may not be in a season in which you can make such investments. And that's okay. Let me repeat that: That's okay. Keep working toward your dream. Ask if your dream is worth it even if you have to wait for it ... To build up a savings by working another job. To learn what you can through resources available to you or at lower price points. To experiment with writing in small bursts of time until your kids are in school. To keep working on your craft until your kids are out of daycare and you can shift those payments toward your business investments instead. One thing my coaches have taught me is the importance of understanding what I need to prioritize for a time and do so intentionally.

Writing takes time. And it takes time to make good books ready for readers. Even if you can't yet invest in the publishing process or marketing, you can keep writing. When your season changes, you might have quite a bit of material to work from. 

And know you're not alone. Join author groups to trade knowledge and experiences with those likely dealing with many of the same things as you. The author business can be lonely (even for introverts!). But it doesn't have to be.

Join a Course + Coaching Program

In fact, as long as I’m being really transparent about the money issues surrounding small businesses anyway … these issues are exactly the reason I started the Enchant Your Readers program. Authors need support in craft and long-term mentorship through the long haul of the book writing process. They need community and writing buddies who get it. 

I wanted my services as a book coach and editor to be more accessible for authors. Even though my prices are generally mid-to-low industry standards anyway, I know it’s still a challenge for many authors to invest in things like private coaching. Especially for the long term, which is when it will most benefit them! 

So I came up with a solution that leans into my strengths as a coach, mentor, and editor with a teaching background. Simultaneously, I made sure that I could support authors both in community and individually. That solution is a group program that combines resources and course guidance alongside live, individualized coaching and a community forum for connection — the full Enchant Your Readers program to take authors anywhere from an idea to polished draft or query.

Currently, I’m offering the Enchant Your Readers program to science fiction and fantasy authors (and all the related subgenres) for $300/month. That’s less than half the price of my private coaching. It’s not only more accessible, but it’s also proving to be extra effective in empowering authors to take the next steps on their publishing journeys.

In this program, you’ll know the next steps to take. You’ll gain the necessary craft and industry foundation to make your book as strong as it can be. You’ll have tried-and-true processes for planning, drafting, and revision with step-by-step guidance. Plus, you’ll learn brain science hacks to keep your creativity sharp on the personal side. On the reader side, you’ll know what they need when for page-turning enchantment through your stories. 

So let’s enchant your readers! Join early for extra bonuses by clicking HERE.

Categories: editing, manuscript stages, novel drafting, novel planning, writer mindset