Chapter One: From $0 to Your First $500
Write a Book, Change Your Life
It’s Finally Here! I am so excited to share my new book with you!
Exclusive to my Substack subscribers 💞!
After four years of navigating the maze of the online self-publishing world and achieving financial freedom by writing about what I love, I've finally put everything I know into this book. It’s designed to help you do the same—turn your passion for writing into a reliable paycheck.
While I love blogging, for me, nothing quite compares to the joy I get from writing books. And when it comes to earning from it, nothing really beats the income a book can generate.
Maybe you feel the same way. If so, I think you’re going to love what I’ve prepared for you!
Inside, you'll find step-by-step guidance on how to plan, write, design, format, self-publish, and market your book successfully. Whether you're starting from scratch or looking to boost sales on an existing book, this guide will give you the tools to start earning right away.
Here’s what you’ll get:
Practical advice to avoid common pitfalls and set yourself up for success. Learn how to turn any idea—even those that seem destined to fail—into a success story.
Pro tips on writing an irresistible sales copy for your book, optimizing your sales on platforms like Amazon and Barnes & Noble, and choosing the best platforms to sell your books.
Proven strategies to market your book without feeling overwhelmed and start seeing results from day one!
I’ll be releasing two chapters each week here on Substack (Sunday & Wednesday), so stay tuned! And remember, this is your chance to gain early access to the content that could change your life.
If you’re serious about making a living through self-publishing, start with Chapter One today.
P.S. I’d love to hear your thoughts and feedback. I look forward to working with you and making your book a success! 🤗
Introduction
Think of your book, whether already published or yet to be written, as an apple tree waiting to grow some delicious fruit you can harvest to make the most mouth-watering and irresistible apple pie. However, how green and luscious your apple tree grows, and how much fruit you’ll be able to harvest, depends on what you feed its roots. If you take the time and effort to nurture what’s beneath the surface—the roots—your tree will grow into a source of nourishment, providing you with a bountiful harvest.
This book is about helping you grow the most luscious and evergreen tree(s). I’m here to hold your hand, plant your seed in the most fertile soil, and water it with you. Together, we are going to take your idea and turn it into something that will yield a lot of fruit. I can even show you how much return your idea can potentially generate before you write your first word. I don’t want you to waste time. I don’t want you to spend months breaking your back, stressing over crafting the perfect sentences that might never get the attention you deserve.
The truth is, there are far too many books, both online and in bookstores, that have never sold more than 100 copies in their entire lifetime. Can you imagine spending three to twelve months, or even longer, writing a 300-page book, only for it to never be discovered or read by anyone? Even more disheartening, what if I told you that the success of these books is often determined by just a few factors: a poorly chosen title, a bad subtitle, ineffective sales copy, a poor cover design, or the author not knowing where and how to promote their book?
So many unnecessary errors can occur, but the good news is that they are easily rectifiable. With the right changes, an idea that was destined to fail can become a project that is both abundant and fruitful.
I’ve been writing e-books for almost four years. I’ve written about various topics. I’ve dipped my toes into personal growth, design and technology, spirituality, writing and marketing.
I have a few e-books online, scattered around various platforms and I have now reached a point where these books earn me a full-time income without having to do much in return.
But it wasn’t always like this.
I really struggled to make a sale at the beginning. I’m a bit embarrassed to admit that when I first published my e-books, I couldn’t even give them away for free.
The truth is that I either picked the wrong platforms or wrote the wrong books. I tried to sell to the wrong people and even made the schoolboy error of pricing my books incorrectly, which drove even the most eager customers away. I don’t even want to get into the mishaps I had by promoting my books the wrong way—but of course, I will. That’s the whole point of this book. I made the mistakes so you don’t have to.
I was a novice, at the very start of my writing journey, with scarce knowledge not only about what it takes to produce an e-book that people actually want to read but also about how to sell my words. As you can imagine, it didn’t take long for my efforts to leave me with an empty bank account, feeling drained and foolish.
Despite all the ups and downs, today, with a hand on my heart, I can honestly tell you that writing an e-book is one of the most rewarding things you’ll ever embark on as a writer. But like anything in life, optimism is a great thing; the reality is that there are far too many things that can go wrong along the way. To save you some heartache, time, and possibly even a lot of money, I’m sharing my tips on how anyone can write e-books and scale them to six figures and beyond—FAST.
Chapter One: The Conception of Your Book
From $0 to Your First $500
For the longest time, I walked with my head in the clouds, skipping through life and focusing only on the good and the positive. Then one day, I woke up and thought, ‘What the hell am I doing?’ I was in a loveless marriage and freelancing for peanuts. At thirty-seven, I was broke and miserable, with nothing to show for almost four decades of life. After taking a leap of faith and leaving my unhappy relationship, I found myself alone, battling fears and anxieties that no one could have prepared me for.
Most days, I felt like a complete failure. I was still at the beginning of my writing journey. I went all in not because I was ready or wanted to, but because I had to. The weight of being a single mom living on state benefits made me want to hide under a blanket and never see the light of day again.
At this point, I was desperate for a lucky break.
I applied for every job I could find to provide for my small family. I was willing to take on anything that came my way. Yet, no matter what position I started, I lasted only a few weeks. The truth is, employers today seem unwilling to accommodate the challenges of having sick kids and single parents without support. I was fed up with hustling. My frustration with how our society still accepts shitty working patterns that are not aligned with family life—or with simple things like school pick-ups and drop-offs—was a major drive behind my determination to turn my luck around. Perhaps it’s a good reason for you to act on your idea, write that damn book, and get yourself out of the rat race. Start living your life on your terms!
The problem was that I relied on my modest skillset and a sack full of tutorials from ‘blogging gurus’ to make it happen. Despite trading a month’s rent on every ‘guaranteed’ trick in the book, nothing came close to earning enough to cover my bills. The realization that I might lose my children if I couldn’t provide for them felt like a stab to the heart every time I had to look into their eyes and say, “Sorry, mummy can’t afford it this month.”
Today, I watch many writers trying their hardest to jump through similar hoops, going through the motions—falling victim to the illusion of “Build it and they will come” or “Do this and you’ll become a millionaire overnight.”
We are hard-wired to jump on quick-fix trends, but this book is not one of them. By the time you finish reading, I guarantee that whether you’ve self-published a book that underperformed and left you feeling heartbroken, or you’re about to write your first one, you’ll clearly understand the steps that could have led to a different outcome—or the mistakes to avoid that could leave your bank account begging like a hungry puppy.
And as you implement the steps outlined in this book to help you earn from your new creation, you’ll become pretty good at marketing, copywriting, SEO, and data analytics. So, if your book doesn’t work out, you might just have a backup career waiting for you! Okay, just kidding.
Notice how I titled this chapter ‘From $0 to Your First $500’? There’s a reason for that. Amazon, the king of publishing platforms, is home to over 8 million self-published book titles. Out of this astonishing number, 20% of titles earn $0, 33% make less than $500 a year, 37% generate about $1,000 annually, and only 10% bring in $100,000 per year. Take a moment to digest these numbers—not to discourage you from writing your book, but to prompt you to ask yourself two critical questions: Why do these numbers look so bleak, and what can be done about it?
It surely has nothing to do with the growth of digital reading. The global ebook market has seen substantial growth in the last decade. In 2023, the market was valued at approximately $18 billion and is projected to reach $23.2 billion by 2026. That’s an annual growth rate of 8.4% . Thanks to smartphones and tablets, we can now read on the go. And as we all know, more eyeballs mean more income.