When we’re trying to make money, be it a fortune or just some extra cash, we come up with ideas that seem impossible or maybe simple, but we don’t know their extension nor difficulty until we evaluate them closely.
This is why, when we’re doing our homework, questions like “does it work?” come to mind. This isn’t different if the idea that you have this time is writing an e-book.
Here’s a question that many people ask themselves: “Should I write an e-book?”
The answer is yes, you should. But the following question to ask yourself is: “Is it really simple?” It can be difficult for some to know where to start or how long it will take them, and after all the work and effort put into it, the final question is if it will actually make you money.
This article aims to make it easier by giving you some steps to write and sell your e-book and don’t die in the process.
How Simple Is It?
Going back to our main question on the title (no, it wasn’t there just to catch your attention), the truth is that writing an e-book can be considered simple and challenging at the same time.
After all, this side hustle is about sitting in front of a computer and start typing your story or book.
Now, the concept of how things take form is simple but how reality is at the moment of doing it is another.
Writing a book isn’t simple. If it were, people would do it, and everyone would be a fantastic writer or sell books anywhere. However, this isn’t how things develop.
Of course, comparing e-books with printed ones is a bit too much, and you will understand why later on, but the concept of having to go over an idea and story isn’t easy. Not even close to it.
Does this mean you should give up? Not really.
If you feel like you’re able to write a book that is worth some money (or maybe a lot), this side hustle will be less complicated for you if you focus on the central idea and determine how long it takes for you to pull everything.
Finally, we jumped a bit too much into details before mentioning a crucial part: this side hustle is all about selling digital books.
You probably guessed that already or have enough knowledge considering that we all consume e-books nowadays. However, we wanted to make it clear before continuing.
Do You Need to Be Talented?
This is one of the first questions that come to mind since it is commonly known that novelists or writers overall have talent.
If we focus on the literature world and think carefully about the context, we need to be talented to sell books.
However, e-books work differently, and people aren’t always looking at masterpieces but rather some books that can help them burn some time, find relief, and maybe discover new things.
What does this mean? That you don’t need to be like J. R. R. Tolkien or J. K. Rowling to sell e-books, but we admit that you still need a bit of talent to make it possible.
Writing is art, and although everyone can do it, you will need to work hard to make up for your lack of talent if you don’t have it and are planning to dedicate yourself to this side hustle idea.
In short, you don’t need that much talent; just work hard (mostly).
Let’s Talk About Numbers: How Much Do You Need to Start?
If there’s something that will convince you to give it a try or, at least, make you consider it more than ever, it is definitely the fact that you don’t need investment.
Some people will tell you that you need it, but everything depends on how you choose to sell your e-books.
One of the options is to create your own website, use some ads and SEO to rank it, and offer your books in PDF format while readers can pay you through a simple link.
However, building or creating a website that can rank on Google and bring the leads (traffic) you want can be difficult if you don’t pay for services that help you create it and keep it alive.
Those free and open options are not usually good alternatives since it is hard to do all it takes to start selling your books. In the end, you will end up using money anyways and putting more effort than necessary.
This is why third-party sites are much better: you don’t have to build anything from zero.
It is hard enough already to deal with writing e-books from now on to add managing a site to your list.
The most common site is Amazon, and so far, you must have heard about its platform for digital books and how they allow any author to publish them: Kindle.
The best part is here: you need $0 to publish them and just pay a commission every time there’s a sale.
If you don’t sell books, there’s no need to pay for anything.
Commissions can start to be annoying when sales are frequent or finally happening. However, the good thing about Kindle is that it is easier to reach people without handling an initial fee or investment.
Instead, you can just leave your e-books there and pay some for each sale, but maintenance or services aren’t required.
Later, when you are earning some money and can afford to build and open a website, you should do it as long as it is profitable in the end.
Will You Be A Millionaire?
Let’s set the record: we’re talking about a side hustle, not creating a business that should make you rich.
Selling books can make you wealthy, but when it comes to e-books and depending on if you have talent or not and enough time to invest in it, the most common outcome is to make the extra money people look for with a side hustle.
Therefore, the short answer is no, but we aren’t the type of people who bring some dreams down to earth when there are always the first in something.
But keeping our mindset in cash, you will usually make; you won’t be a millionaire, but you can make enough money worth your time.
E-books are usually sold between $5 to $15, and there is no one to tell you how much you can ask for yours.
This means you set your price, and people decide if they want to pay or not.
However, considering that you want to sell fast to at least make yourself a name, you can’t go overboard with the cost of each e-book.
This is why we will give you an estimate in income based on a range of $9 per book sale.
Most people, when starting, sell between 1 to 5 books in a month or two, and if they’re doing their homework (again) right.
From there, things can scale easily and reach the point in which you can sell about 25 in a month. This will make you around $200, considering the commission you have to pay to Amazon.
It isn’t a lot of money but just thinks about this: it is passive income, and after writing the book, you don’t have to move another finger.
Of course, people can also make more based on the e-book’s price and sales. Everything is volatile and changing.
However, there are people that make over $1.000 every month after publishing a few e-books or even from one only.
When Can You Start? (Spoiler: Anytime)
There’s no such thing as “perfect timing” when it comes to this idea. Instead, it is more like starting whenever you feel like it and are capable of doing so.
Kindle is always there. Building your website is always possible. All you need to do to start any of the two is to write your e-books.
Indeed, the difficult part is to come up with ideas, stories and organize them to make sure you come up with a worth buying book.
But when it comes to limitations and an age that is perfect for this or any factor you can think about, well, just stop thinking about them.
As long as you are excited, trying to make money in this way, and willing to invest some time in it, you’re ready to go anytime.
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