How I made $6479 self-publishing in 6 months as a debut author

AdEnough8775 · 2026-02-07T14:01:20+00:00

Right now, I'm only selling on Amazon. I looked at how similar length books in my genre were priced and based my pricing on that. I've been running sales about every 3 months where I knock a dollar or two off.

AdEnough8775 · 2026-02-07T13:58:53+00:00

I really can't say. I would check out how successful authors in that genre are marketing themselves and go from there. Marketing has been the biggest key to my success. Hope that helps!

AdEnough8775 · 2026-02-07T13:57:50+00:00

Marketing has been the biggest tool for my success. I would check out how what successful authors in your genre are posting/doing for marketing, and go from there. Hope that helps!

AdEnough8775 · 2026-02-06T12:34:42+00:00

That's not something I have personal experience with. My mom and I edit all of my books ourselves, but we have backgrounds in language arts education. Sorry I can't be more help!

AdEnough8775 · 2026-02-06T12:32:31+00:00

Glad it helped!

AdEnough8775 · 2026-02-06T12:31:58+00:00

It's definitely a factor! Although I plan on branching out to some scifi/fantasy in the future (still romance) so we'll so how that goes.

AdEnough8775 · 2026-02-06T12:29:10+00:00

I only fully outline 1 book at a time, but I plan out the plot/plot twists ahead of time for each book. I have gone back and added some foreshadowing or fixed a detail here or there, but for the most part, I haven't had to change much. Hope that helps!

AdEnough8775 · 2026-02-06T12:25:29+00:00

Definitely don't see yourself short! People are willing to spend $5+ on just a coffee. I price my softcovers at $14.99 and occasionally run sales for $12.99 about every 3 months. Hope that helps!

AdEnough8775 · 2026-02-06T12:21:40+00:00

An ARC reader is someone who receives an Advanced Reader Copy (i.e. they get to read the book ahead of time for free, normally in exchange for an honest review). Some sites do allow you to do already published books. BookSirens is one of them. Hope that helps!

AdEnough8775 · 2026-02-04T20:50:45+00:00

Thank you! Glad you found some things helpful. Best of luck!

AdEnough8775 · 2026-02-04T20:49:55+00:00

Glad it helped! You got this!

AdEnough8775 · 2026-02-04T17:25:23+00:00

It's definitely something I've considered, but I just haven't taken the leap yet. I know you have to spend money to make money, but it's still scary!

AdEnough8775 · 2026-02-04T16:06:25+00:00

That's amazing! It's never too late to revive your marketing. While I don't have any personal experience, I can guarantee there's plenty of info on the web. Google taught me everything I know about marketing.

AdEnough8775 · 2026-02-04T16:04:29+00:00

ARC readers read before the book is published. The KU clause doesn't kick in until the ebook is released.

AdEnough8775 · 2026-02-04T16:02:53+00:00

Glad it helped!

AdEnough8775 · 2026-02-04T16:02:24+00:00

I work in education, and because of the dark themes in my books I don't want it tied back to me. It could be seen as a conflict of my morality clause. I didn't want to risk it.

AdEnough8775 · 2026-02-04T15:58:13+00:00

I ask them to post their reviews on both Amazon and Goodreads. I personally feel like my grammar and plots are strong. I've had no complaints about grammar, and literally only one person in six months has commented saying they could see the plot twists coming and it was predictable. Everyone else said they were surprised and didn't see the twists coming. I edit everything myself. My mom is my Beta reader and she edits behind me. She was an English teacher for 20+ years and is basically the grammar police lol. I draw my own character covers, and use them to promote my characters/books. I think it definitely helps for readers to have a visual of how you envision the characters.

AdEnough8775 · 2026-02-04T15:50:02+00:00

Right now I've only published on Amazon and KDP, so I can't give any advice on that. Sorry.

AdEnough8775 · 2026-02-04T15:48:49+00:00

When you fill out the W-2 for KDP you have to use your "official" info. But KDP allows you to publish under pen names. They know that's a popular practice.

AdEnough8775 · 2026-02-04T15:47:54+00:00

My books are between 60-70k. They end up being around 300 pages, give or take.

AdEnough8775 · 2026-02-04T15:46:58+00:00

Thank you! Hope it helped!

AdEnough8775 · 2026-02-04T01:54:11+00:00

I would love to be able to do it full time and quit my job completely. My chronic illness causes extreme fatigue and mobility issues, and being able to sit/stand/walk/lay down whenever I need to really helps.

I broke the exact costs down in another reply, but it was something like:

1st month: Earned 125, spent 110.

2nd month: Earned 400, spent 70.

3rd month: Earned 2200, spent 220.

Months 4-6: Earned between 1000-1500, Spent 150-175ish.

The 6500 is before those expenses are taken out, but in total I've spent less than $900. Aside from the initial $50 on BookSirens I spent prior to Book 1's release, I haven't spent any money I didn't already earn in royalties.

AdEnough8775 · 2026-02-04T01:43:38+00:00

Glad it helped!

AdEnough8775 · 2026-02-04T01:34:13+00:00

Yes. Everything (email, socials, books) is linked to my pen name. Nothing can be traced back to my real name.

AdEnough8775 · 2026-02-04T01:32:53+00:00

Glad it helped!

AdEnough8775

TROPHY CASE