There are two main types of income: active and passive.
Active income is when you go to work, punch a time-clock and get paid for the amount of time you spend doing your job.
Passive income is when you do some work and get paid for it again and again. A good example of passive income for authors is your published book sells and you continually get paid royalties for the work over the years.
Writers have the ability to create multiple streams of income from their literary work, both passive and active. Additional income streams may be earned in a variety of ways, including doing something as simple as getting paid to edit work for other writers.
If you have self-published a book, you have gone through a learning process. You can conduct workshops to instruct fledgling authors about the self-publishing process. It is “do-good” way to earn additional income from previous work you have done. Moreover, if you’ve written a non-fiction book, you may have positioned yourself as an expert on your topics. This can lead to more workshops about a topic in which you are a known expert. As a non-fiction writer you may be able to offer consulting services for your area of expertise, or create a revenue-generating websites based on the concepts in your book.
Once you’ve self-published your book, you can also look into converting it into an e-book to make for easy download for customers. In today’s technological world, making your book easily accessible can generate more sales than the traditional bookstore. Think outside the text. Follow up with the technological movement, by creating an app for a mobile device related to your book. Getting into the mobile app market can be a great way to generate an added income stream.
As an author, you are the sole owner of the copyright to your book. The copyright is a generator of additional income from your work. Every publishing contract contains a clause that deals with the “grant of rights.” That clause generally gives you a wide range of rights to sell or license your work to whomever you choose. Think about the endless possibilities of your novel. Can it be turned into a movie? Might someone have use for merchandizing writes?
Writer Meg Schneider and literary agent Barbara Doyen have co-authored a book, entitled “The Everything Guide To Writing A Book Proposal.” And their Web article “What’s for Sale” is a valuable resource for authors seeking information about various rights that can lead to additional sources of literary income.
Finally, don’t forget your root. You are a published writer. Your book has already established you and generated a pool of readers. Can you turn it into a series, and capitalize on the popularity of the first novel?
There are many ways to generate multiple streams of income as a writer. All you need to do is figure out how to use your published work to move you in the direction you want.
Excellent suggestions