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How to Make $8,000 A Month Writing Romance Novels (Self-Publishing)

Last updated on November 26, 2019 By Millennial Boss 16 Comments

This post may contain affiliate links which means I may receive a commission if you purchase through my links. Please read my disclosure for more info.

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Our guest has a typical corporate day job.. but a very unique side hustle. She moonlights as a romance novelist, bringing in over $8,000 per month in sales! I actually found her on Reddit which I know is a big community, especially Reddit erotica.

I asked her to share her story of self-publishing romance novels with us today.

I never knew this side hustle was a thing! Crazy!

How One Woman Started A Successful Side Hustle Writing Romance Novels

write romance novels

What is your business?

I write and self-publish romance novels. I’d prefer to keep my pen name secret but I am on twitter at @250Kto1million or email [email protected]

 

If you are still employed full-time, please share a little but about what you do in your day job.

I still have a day job. I won’t go into details for privacy’s sake (no one at work knows about my side hustle), but it’s your typical cubicle farm job, though in NYC so it pays better than most other parts of the country.

 

Who were some influencers in your decision to be an entrepreneur?

I was on the subreddit for Financial Independence on Reddit and someone posted about writing erotica for extra money. I like to write and erotica sounded right up my alley (no pun intended), so I jumped in.

Originally it was only for beer money or the occasional mani/pedi. A lot of people on the sub-reddit for erotica had made the switch to romance novels for almost ten times the money so I thought…why not? The rest is history.

 

How did you prepare to take the leap both financially and in your business?

There isn’t a lot of overhead when it comes to self publishing, especially these days with ebooks. If you have a laptop/computer and Word Program, you can jump right in!

Of course to be suc-cessful you should invest in a few things. My only real expenses are:

1. Vellum ($250): It’s a program to write and create ebooks. Some people use Scriviner, which is a little less user-friendly but does a lot more and is cheaper.

2. Photoshop ($10/mo): I make my own covers, which is a very valuable skill since paying someone to make them can run into the hundreds of dollars. A lot of people have created nice covers for free on Canva.

3. Stock photo subscription. I use DepositPhotos for $30/mo which is probably more than I need to pay, but I can afford it these days. I just like being able to download multiple shirtless male torsos to have my pick. 🙂

4. Domain. I bought my own WordPress domain and a professional email for mailchimp (which will soon require it) to send out newsletters to my fans.

 

If you are still working full-time, what would make you leave your job?

My day job is…okay. It has the same hassles that others have, namely a demanding boss. There are coworkers I don’t want to leave in the lurch. Since my ultimate goal is Early Retirement it doesn’t make sense to walk away from that added (and very nice) income, since I can currently do both.
That isn’t to say I haven’t been tempted on some days. When I reach my FI (not RE though) goal of $1 million (hence the twitter name) and am making a steady income from writing, then I’ll rethink quitting.

 

Who else works on your business with you? Did you hire anyone to help? When did you decide to bring that person on and how did you find them?

I have a few beta readers who preview my work and a good friend who edits for me. I do pay for ARC readers (Advance Reader Copies), who are readers that leave reviews to bump up interest in your book. Some of these are fans or friends, mostly just people I’ve met through forums, groups, etc. Otherwise, solo mia.

 

Can you share any financial details about your business?

These days I easily make 4 figures a month. I have six novels out now and the last one just netted me ~$6,000 by itself the first month after release. It also boosted sales of older books so total it is more like $9,000 in that 30-day period.

Each book I publish adds more and more to the monthly sales total, which is nice. So yes, I’ve surpassed my day-job, which was a goal of mine at the beginning of the year.

By the end of the year I want to make 5 figures a month, which is close at hand!

 

What was your worst day so far as an entrepreneur and what was your best day? What happened on those days?

Best Day: when my first book was published and miraculously made it to the Top 10 of my Romance subcategory. I nearly cried. I bought a bottle of champagne to share with the only other person in the world who knew about my writing.

Worst Day: Realizing I had accidentally uploaded my rough draft instead of the final book. A few readers got that version before I fixed it, but not before leaving me nasty 1-star reviews which are still there.

 

Do you have any advice for writing a romance novel.. or any novel?

Reviews. Early on, each negative review for your work is like a dagger to the heart. It can get so bad that it makes you want to give up, period. I know people who have. Readers take note! There are people behind the reviews you leave so keep that in mind when your only comment is: “This book was poop!” (Not one of my reviews…thankfully).

Constructive criticism is good, being mean sucks.

Now that I’ve got more books under my belt, it doesn’t bother me as much. I think everyone who puts themselves out there with a business needs, or at least will develop, a thick skin.

 

What is one small “trick” or piece of advice that you have learned about reaching customers or making sales? Please be specific and provide something actionable for us.

My “business” is specific so I’ll say this for other writers: reach out to other writers, even if you think they are way out of your league. You’d be surprised at how accommodating many of them are.

I love it when aspiring writers reach out to me and go out of my way to be helpful. Like any business, writing is all about getting your name out there. Ask to do newsletter swaps, ask if you can send your book to their ARC lists.

 

Give us two truths and a lie about yourself so we can get to know you better personally!

Just to keep up with the sexy theme

1. I once made money doing phone sex

2. I’ve been skinny dipping in the Mediterranean Sea

3. I’m a member of the Mile High club

 

Learn How to Write Romance Novels for Money

We LOVED this guest so we asked her to come on our podcast, Fire Drill Podcast, to tell us more!

Check out the episode here: How I Make $8k Per Month Writing Romance Novels on Amazon

She shared even more juicy tips with us on the podcast like how she doesn’t run out of creative words to describe, ahem, body parts and what her goals are for leaving her full-time job.

She also talks about trending niches and how vampires were hot one year and polygamy was hot another year. If you want to make money, you need to follow trending topics.

She covers pricing and how she prices her novels certain amounts to get more sales.

She also shares how to build her email list so that when she launches a new book, she has customers waiting to buy.

Last, she talks about how to pick her cover art and where she gets the photos for her book covers from.

This guest really made me want to start writing!

 

Writing Erotica vs Romance

Another thing I learned from this guest was the difference between writing erotica and writing romance.

Apparently it has to do with the expectations of the readers!

I think that makes sense.

Also, romance scenes could kind of “fade out” whereas erotica novels will describe them more graphically.

It doesn’t mean that romance couldn’t have graphic scenes and erotica couldn’t have romance though.

 

Elements of a Romance

One thing that this guest discussed on the podcast was the elements of a good romance story.

It makes sense that you have to pander to your audience!

Here is a YouTube video that will share those top elements with you.

 

How to Become a Romance Novelist

If you’re looking to become a romance novelist yourself, you may want to try following seven tips laid out in this article by Writers Write:

1. Write what you read. Basically, write the type of romance novels that you yourself would want to read.

2. Be prepared to work long and hard.

3. Keep your day job. You might not earn money immediately as a novelist, so it’s a good idea to keep your day job initially so that you have a reliable stream of income to support your living expenses.

4. Read voraciously. The more you read, the better writer you become.

5. Anticipate future trends. Try to write about things that you think readers will be interested in in the future.

6. Hone your craft. Practice makes perfect.

7. Cultivate laughter. Things won’t always go your way, so learn to laugh off the little setbacks.

Related Posts:  

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  • 35 Income Reports from $1,000 to $300,000 per month

Do you have a side hustle to share?

If you have a unique side hustle like writing romance novels for money, please share it with us: Get Featured on Millennial Boss

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Julie paid off nearly $100k of debt and is on her way to financial independence. She is the creator of the Make Money with Printables side hustle course where she teaches people how to sell printables on Etsy and blog as a side hustle.
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Filed Under: Feature Friday, Money, Side Hustle Ideas

About Millennial Boss

Julie paid off nearly $100k of debt and is on her way to financial independence. She is the creator of the Make Money with Printables side hustle course where she teaches people how to sell printables on Etsy and blog as a side hustle.

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Katy @ Best Life Katy says

    July 28, 2017 at 12:41 pm

    This is so impressive! I keep reading about this particular side hustle… I’d be interested to hear more about her content release schedule and how long her romance novels are!

    Congrats on all the success!

    Reply
    • Millennial Boss says

      July 30, 2017 at 5:12 am

      I know I want to ask her a million questions! I’m actually starting a podcast soon and asked her to come on as a guest so I can get the deets!

      Reply
  2. Jane @ Cash Fasting says

    July 28, 2017 at 3:04 pm

    This is such a unique side hustle, I love it! Writing books is incredibly time-consuming and difficult. Thanks for featuring such an inspiring story 🙂

    Reply
    • Millennial Boss says

      July 30, 2017 at 5:12 am

      You’re welcome! It’s super inspiring. Writing anything is time consuming. I can’t image the focus that must be needed to write a novel. My blog posts are all over the place.

      Reply
  3. Ashley Neal says

    July 29, 2017 at 4:14 am

    I really enjoyed reading this piece! Great side hustle looking forward to seeing how quickly she reaches her goal 🙂

    Reply
    • Millennial Boss says

      July 30, 2017 at 5:12 am

      Me too!

      Reply
  4. Casey says

    July 29, 2017 at 2:47 pm

    This is so interesting! I’m curious if she is self publishing on Amazon or other places?

    Reply
    • Millennial Boss says

      July 30, 2017 at 5:12 am

      I’m asking her to come on my podcast as a guest so I can find out!

      Reply
  5. Kay says

    July 29, 2017 at 3:46 pm

    Why not do a side hustle you love. This is right up my alley. Now, how do I make the switch from crazy romance/erotic fiction reader to writer. I would love to quit my day job to do something I love.

    Reply
    • Millennial Boss says

      July 30, 2017 at 5:13 am

      Right?! I LOVE that she found something she was interested in, loved doing, and monetized it.

      Reply
  6. MyMoneyDesign says

    July 31, 2017 at 10:55 pm

    I have yet to earn four figures from my ebooks “period” let alone in one month. Guess I need to switch from personal finance to erotica … or maybe there’s a market to combine the two? 🙂

    Reply
    • Vasiliki Xyfteri says

      August 8, 2019 at 11:07 am

      I would suggest you read the book Write to Market by Chris Fox. And check out some people’s websites who have made it to your genre.
      Wish you the best of luck!

      Reply
  7. LeTara says

    November 28, 2017 at 4:29 pm

    I’ve thought about trying my hand at writing romance/erotica. I tend to write straight from the heart and there usually isn’t anything romantic about it, but it would definitely test my skills to try it. Romance is one of the biggest, if not the biggest, selling genre.

    Reply
  8. Yuwanda Black says

    February 23, 2018 at 4:26 pm

    So inspiring. Talk about parlayinglife experience (phone sex operator) into cash! 🙂

    I haven’t hit your numbers yet (my best month was just over $3,200) but I’m working on it now that I’m back to writing and self-publishing romance full-time.

    Continued success.

    Reply
  9. Solomon says

    April 21, 2018 at 11:11 pm

    how can i get started as a beginner
    i just completed a very interesting romantic novel
    And i know anybody that reads it would demand for further more

    Reply
  10. Colette says

    November 14, 2019 at 7:41 pm

    I’m seeking to a way to supplement my income. Years ago, I used to write short stories in high school for my own personal enjoyment. Now, in my mid-40s, I would like to do it again as a beginner and earn. I welcome any advice that you offer a homemaker in NJ. Romance short stories I’m interested in writing.

    Reply

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About Millennial Boss

Julie paid off nearly $100k of debt and is on her way to financial independence. She is the creator of the Make Money with Printables side hustle course where she teaches people how to sell printables on Etsy and blog as a side hustle. Learn more..

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About Millennial Boss

Millennial Boss is a lifestyle and personal finance blog created by Julie, who paid off six figures of student loan debt and is now on the path to financial independence and early retirement through side hustles. She lives in Seattle and teaches others how to start blogging and sell printables on Etsy.
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