How one indie author made $74,000 in 16 months and quit her day job (and what you can learn from her)

By Jami Albright

This is the story of how I was able to quit my job and become a full-time romance writer.

I published my first book, Running From a Rock Star, in April 2017. The book launched to 1,381 in the Kindle Store and stayed in the top 5,000 for six months until book two, Running With a Sweet Talker, released in October 2017. That book launched to 696 in the Kindle store.

As of the day I’m writing this, Running From a Rock Star is ranked 3,949, Running With a Sweet Talker is at 6,591 in the Kindle Store, and I’ve grossed $74,000, which includes audiobook sales.

I quit my day job

Due to the success of both books, last December I made the decision to quit my day job to write full-time.

Are you doing the math? Or are you like me, and you don’t math?

That’s okay. I’ll break it down for you. I didn’t release book two until six months after book one, and it’s been eleven months since I published book two. Book three isn’t scheduled to come out until November 2018.

In the world of indie publishing that is supposed to be the kiss of death. But I’ve been fortunate enough to continually and consistently make money by persistently getting my book in front of readers with newsletter swaps, Facebook group takeovers, and Amazon and Facebook ads.

Here’s what worked

Here’s what I did right:

• I put off publishing for a year to learn as much as I could about indie publishing. I listened to podcasts, went to conferences, and asked questions – lots of questions.
• I got a fantastic cover designer who created two great covers that followed genre expectations, but included my own personal brand.
• I wrote the best book that I knew how to write. Then I made sure it was the best it could be by having it professionally edited.
• I was willing to do anything I had to do to make my publishing dream happen, including selling plasma to pay for my edits. The bottom line is: How bad do you want it?
• I put my book in front of exactly the right readers. I did this a couple of ways.

First, I built an email list of 1,200 subscribers before I launched the first book by putting up a preview of my story on Instafreebie. I then joined two group giveaways where readers signed up for my newsletter in exchange for the preview.

Second, I participated in newsletter swaps with other authors. They put my book in their newsletter, and I put theirs in mine. This was a win-win because we were both exposed to new readers. It’s important to only swap with authors who write books similar to yours. Remember, the goal is exposure to the right readers.

• Network, network, network. I made friends with other authors. This can’t be overstated. It’s vitally important to find your people and form relationships with them, whether virtually or in person. I also reached out to other authors who were doing better than me. Sometimes it worked out, and a few times it didn’t, but nobody died in the process.
• I’ve tried to be the best community member that I can be. I cheer people on, I support them, I share their stuff, and I offer help when I can.

I made some mistakes, too . . .

And here’s what I could’ve done/could do better:

• Had multiple books written and ready to go before I published book one.
• Not let success distract me from getting the second book out. Book two came out months later than I’d intended. I had a tough time focusing because of social media, Book Report, and advertising.
• Stay the hell off social media. For soooo many reasons, I now have to limit my time on social media if I hope to get anything done.
• Not get caught in the comparison loop. It’s endless, and it’s caused me a great deal of stress. And sometimes I’ve let it rob me of the joy of the things that I have accomplished.
• Focus! I haven’t yet conquered this, but I am working on it and you should too.
• Cut myself some slack. It’s a marathon, not a sprint. How many times have we heard that? It’s true, and we all should have it tattooed on our butts.
• Negative self-talk. Y’all, this will kill you, and for about two months I let this paralyze me. If you’re doing this, then STOP IT! It’s my daily mission to correct this behavior in myself.

You can do it, too

I hope this helps. I’m super proud, but it would be useless to post this if it didn’t have some actionable takeaways, and the biggest takeaway should be: If I can do it, you can do it.

Thanks for reading. Now, go write!

Big thanks to Jami for sharing her success story with us! Want to ask her a question or congratulate her? Just leave a comment. 

Tip of the Month

I like to share a “Tip of the Month,” a free resource or tool for authors, on the last Wednesday of the month.

Today it’s the “Blog Audit Checklist” from The Work at Home Wife. This comprehensive, easy-to-use  form walks you through a blog audit that helps you identify top-performing posts, traffic sources, and blogging tools you’re using, among other things.

I’ve downloaded it and will use it now to help me begin planning for 2019.

To get your copy, subscribe to her newsletter (use the form at the bottom of the post). You can always unsubscribe later if you decide the newsletter isn’t helpful to you.

Be open to the possibilities – give one or two of these seven suggestions a try and evaluate the results. You have nothing to lose, and much to gain.

1. Support your book with a good website designed by a professional.

Your website has to be as good as your writing. Use your site to help us connect with you as an individual, not as a lofted author. Mystery writer Libby Fischer Hellman’s site helps us get to know her better by including video interviews and links to other media exposure. Sandra Poirier Diaz, president of book PR firm Smith Publicity, defines the two most important fiction author website must-haves in our audio program, “Nine Novel Ways to Promote Fiction.”

2. Use your content to identify promotion allies.

This could be your secret weapon because honestly, not enough novelists are doing this. Camille Noe Pagán’s novel, The Art of Forgetting, tells the story of what happens to a friendship when one of the friends suffers a traumatic brain injury, so Pagán partnered with the Bob Woodruff Foundation (Woodruff suffered a brain injury while covering the Iraq war for ABC-TV). Look, too, at your characters’ professions – there’s an association for just about every occupation. Send a copy of the book with a letter outlining promotional possibilities and what’s in it for them. You might offer to speak at their national meeting, write for their member publication, or offer a discount to members.

3. Think beyond book reviews.

Book reviews are valuable and securing them should be on any author or publisher’s book promotion to-do list, but your novel deserves more widespread, long-term, and ongoing exposure than it can get through reviews alone. (Dana Lynn Smith’s How to Get Your Book Reviewed is a valuable resource for this!) You want the press to talk about your book for as long as it’s available for purchase.

4. Use the nonfiction nuggets in your manuscript to create newsworthy material for media outlets.

Is your protagonist a radio jock? The morning drive time personalities would love to interview you by phone. Is she a jilted wife starting over in the workforce as – let’s say – an account executive at a high-flying packaging design firm who finds love with her client at a consumer products company? You’ve got publicity opportunities with the packaging and marketing trade magazines. What about locations, products, or services in your novel? And a brand name product that plays a key role could get your book into that brand’s employee newsletter. If you’re writing your novel now, work in some nonfiction nuggets you can capitalize on later.

5. Take advantage of holidays, special occasions, annual events, and seasonal stories.

As Diaz explains in “Nine Novel Ways to Promote Fiction,” you want to constantly look for special days or occasions you can connect your book to. She cited one of her clients, Paul Harrington, self-published author of Epiphany: The untold epic journey of the magi, whose publicity success included a bylined article in the Washington Post linked to – what else – the Epiphany. There’s a holiday for just about everything. Hitch your book to one of them and use it to get into the news. (Use the monthly calendars at Holiday Insights for inspiration.)

6. Leverage what you uncovered while writing your book.

Did you learn about a period in history or a specific region? Use this knowledge as a springboard for publicity. The author of a historical romance novel set in South Carolina, for example, can write and distribute a news release announcing the top romantic attractions in that state or pitch local newspapers or regional magazines on an article about the state’s most romantic date destinations. Your goal is to be quoted as an expert source because this requires using your book title as one of your credentials.

7. Get social.

Focus on one or two social networking sites and master the most effective and appropriate ways to use them to promote your book. Rachel Simon, author of The New York Times bestseller The Story of Beautiful Girl, suspects that her book’s Twitter visibility had a lot to do with Jennifer Weiner’s selection of the book as a top “Today Show” beach read. “Using Twitter effectively really got that book a higher level of visibility,” Simon says.

And this is just the beginning. My 75-minute interview with Diaz offers more ideas and how-to information. But I’m wondering: What has been your most successful tactic for promoting fiction? Please tell us about it.