# How long did it take you to make $100 a month?



## Nice (Jul 29, 2014)

I have a few questions if anyone is willing to share. Forgive my boldness.

Are you making $100+/month? 
What genre are you writing in? 
How long are your books?
How long did it take for sales to stabilize or reach that point? 

Sorry if this is a bit intrusive, I'm just incredibly curious and starved for numbers. Thank you in advance. 

Sent from my SM-T210R using Tapatalk


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## Salvador Mercer (Jan 1, 2015)

Welcome to the boards!

I'll be brief.

Month 1, $20
Month 2, $70
Month 3, $190

I just hit one year this month (3 days ago) and have never dropped back to double digits. Key? Write the second book. My genre is mainly fantasy with one Sci-Fi/Techno-Thriller. My shortest book is 65k, my longest is 130k. It helps to read Kboards for a year too, I'd credit the knowledge on these boards for a lot of what I'm doing right.  All that I'm doing wrong, is all on me.  

Good luck!


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## PermaStudent (Apr 21, 2015)

Nice said:


> Are you making $100+/month?
> What genre are you writing in?
> How long are your books?
> How long did it take for sales to stabilize or reach that point?


Yes.
Urban Fantasy.
My novels are 60-90k words, but I recently started also writing novellas that are 30-35k.
It took more than 3 years to hit $100 dollars a month. But after I found Kboards and started making an effort to apply what I was learning here, it only took about 4 months. (I did a data post about my experience back in October. Warning, it's long: http://www.kboards.com/index.php/topic,224503.msg3142146.html )


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## J.T. Williams (Aug 7, 2014)

This will be my first month.  This is not counting sales directly from my promotion but my sell through since the promotion ended. (and normal sales/borrows from before)

From when I published my first novel it took exactly a year. I now have a complete trilogy in the fantasy genre and my books average between 80k - 100k.

Stabilize? I can't really say but from what I've seen on Kboards, you have to keep releasing new books. In March I start a new series in the same genre with releases scheduled for the next 6 months. I think I would've seen better results my first year with a more rapid release (at least every 30-60 days.) Waiting a year between book one and book three was an unfortunate event of unforeseen circumstance.

Write novels people enjoy and release often. In my experience, (which is very limited mind you  ) this seems to help reaching 100.00 per month. Now onwards and upwards!!

Russel Blake's advice may be from a few years back but it seems spot on: http://russellblake.com/how-to-sell-loads-of-books/


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## Guest (Mar 1, 2016)

Since the first book I released, month one, with some bad months along the way during times of medical issues. 
I write paranormal romance (all age groups, but I started with the 18-30 audience). Mostly full length (80k+)
I attribute a lot of it to having an audience before I released my first book.


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## Allyson J. (Nov 26, 2014)

I think by month 3, I earned $100/mo. I've been publishing for a year and a half now. I've never had a month fall below $100, though some months are better than others. I write longer romance novels hovering around 100k words.


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## Guest (Mar 1, 2016)

I do all the _wrong_ things (no series, don't stick to 1 genre, etc) but since you are starved for numbers, I'll answer anyway even though mine are small and pathetic versus a lot of others because hey, flip side of the coin 

*Are you making $100+/month?* Nope, not even close.  Released my first book last year in March, second one went out a few weeks ago. I made just over $130 last year, offset by $2k or so in expenses.

*What genre are you writing in? * Any and all, really, though first two books are YA: YA fantasy love story and YA LGBT romance. #3 isn't. No idea if the next ones will be either.

*How long are your books?* 80-100k or so

*How long did it take for sales to stabilize or reach that point? * Well, technically until this last month (yay a few sales), they were stable at 0 for most of a year...but suffice to say, I'm hoping this isn't the stable point :-D


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## Guest (Mar 1, 2016)

From book 1 and month 1, I've been making in excess of $100/month. 
I write fantasy historicals, full length (80k) novels and some spin off novellas (30-50k).
December 2014 I quit my job and from January 2015 I've been a full time author, last year (first year full time writing) I cracked 6-figures.


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## Nic (Nov 17, 2013)

*Are you making $100+/month?*

Yes.

*What genre are you writing in?*

Erotica, erotic romance and literary fiction.

*How long are your books?*

Shorts of 8k up to novels of 120k.

*How long did it take for sales to stabilize or reach that point? *

£200+ the first month, and from there it went up. The culprit for these numbers is the erotic romance, not the litfic.


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## Jordan Rivet (Jan 13, 2015)

I hit $100 in my second month, but that was a December so I'm not sure it really counts. After that, I didn't hit $100 again until I launched Book 2 in my series. That month I made $500, and I haven't slipped below the $200 mark since.

I write post-apocalyptic novels ranging from 73k to 96k words.


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## Gone 9/21/18 (Dec 11, 2008)

I first published _Rottweiler Rescue_ (cozy dog mystery) 2/7/2010, made $127.40 that month, and more than that every month since. However, I think things are very different now than they were in 2010. There are a lot more indie books, and it's harder to get noticed. Some things are better now - when I started Amazon was paying 35% regardless of the book's price, Smashwords was the only way to get to non-Amazon vendors (no D2D, no way to go direct), and there was no KU.


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## Patty Jansen (Apr 5, 2011)

Funny thing is I don't remember. I started publishing short stories, so probably quite a while, like a year or so. Although my first published short story did really well, for short stories at least.

When did I start earning more? When I decided that self-publishing was what I really wanted and started to take it seriously.

I write Science Fiction (Space Opera and hard SF) and dark fantasy. No romance.

My books are all novels and they're all in series. I'm currently in the land between "I probably won't fall below $1000 per month again" and "I'd LOVE to make $10,000 per month". I'll get there. Probably within a year.


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## MMacLeod (Sep 21, 2015)

I can't speak to long term success as my first book has been published just under a month, but it took about 48 hours to hit $100, and it has averaged about $100 per day. I write in a genre that doesn't get a lot of high quality new releases regularly, which I think makes people more likely to take a chance on a new author. The book is about 70k words. Over the month sales and rank have slowly tapered downward. I expect that if I did nothing, I would not see this level of earning for very long on just the one book as the market is not very large. I plan to have a new book out at the end of March.


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## Howietzer (Apr 18, 2012)

Nice said:


> 1. Are you making $100+/month?
> 2. What genre are you writing in?
> 3. How long are your books?
> 4. How long did it take for sales to stabilize or reach that point?


1. As of last November, yes (Thank God). Third book did the trick, released in September 2015.
2. High/Dark Fantasy
3. 130k, 54k, 56k
4. Just shy of two years...we write really slow.


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## AltMe (May 18, 2015)

*Are you making $100+/month? *Yes

*What genre are you writing in? *Sci-Fi Space Opera

*How long are your books? *Novels are 67k to 86k.

*How long did it take for sales to stabilize or reach that point?* 
Book 3, which was 2 months after book 1 was released. 1 & 2 were 1 or 2 sales a day, until 3, when it shot up to 16, and really didn't look back.

Of my Hunter Legacy series universe, only the shortest short story doesn't make $100 a month on its own. But its also priced at 99c, so even performing at the same level of sales as the rest, doesn't bring in the $.


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## Caddy (Sep 13, 2011)

Are you making $100+/month? Yes
What genre are you writing in? Psychological Thriller/Drama and 1st series was Historical Fiction/Drama. Pen name writes m/m romance.
How long are your books? First series, all were well over 100,000. Since then I've committed to 60,000 for 2nd and 3rd series. I'll stay there.
How long did it take for sales to stabilize or reach that point? For $100 a month about 1 1/2 for it to be every single month. It took 4 years to earn a living that is modest, but a living. It's too early to know if it will continue this year.


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## Steve Vernon (Feb 18, 2011)

I made over $100 a month back in October and November of 2015. I blew a horn and beat on a drum and got excited. Since then I've been hitting about $70-$80 a month. So no, I'm not doing it regularly -yet. But I've been trying to work this all a little harder and a little smarter and I am hoping to change that all soon.


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## LadyG (Sep 3, 2015)

*Are you making $100+/month? *
Not always, but more often than not.
*
What genre are you writing in? *
Contemporary romance and humor
*
How long are your books?*
Right around 38K-45K, with one novella at 18K
*
How long did it take for sales to stabilize or reach that point? *
I think I earned $100 the entire first year! I just hit my two-year mark in February, and my sales really didn't pick up until I released the third in my series last November. And by "pick up" I mean I hit $100 per month for three months and then bottomed out again in February.

I've got the first in a spin-off series almost ready to go, and a standalone humor collection coming out in April, so I'm hoping sales will continue to go up. If not, it's all still a good learning experience.


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## PearlEarringLady (Feb 28, 2014)

I hit $100+ on my fourth month, after discovering the delights of promotion (thank you ENT and Bknights!). I put out a second book in the fifth month, and after that it's never dropped below $100. I write epic fantasy, long (137K to 220K).


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## Sara C (Apr 30, 2014)

PermaStudent said:


> Yes.
> Urban Fantasy.
> My novels are 60-90k words, but I recently started also writing novellas that are 30-35k.
> It took more than 3 years to hit $100 dollars a month. But after I found Kboards and started making an effort to apply what I was learning here, it only took about 4 months. (I did a data post about my experience back in October. Warning, it's long: http://www.kboards.com/index.php/topic,224503.msg3142146.html )


This, exactly. Urban Fantasy (started out with YA). Floundered for many years with no guidance. Found Kboards, and: 
May 2014: went permafree on book one (had three books in the series at the time).
June 2014: went from making almost nothing, to around $300 that month. 
July 2014: had my first bookbub, and made $1,800 the following month (it was at the end of July).

(My income of course did not stay at $1,800 per month initially, but has been fairly consistent since then, with my lowest point [a $600 month] right after KU1 hit.)

Oh, also, my YA series that I initially started making my income with are all around 50K.


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## Some Random Guy (Jan 16, 2016)

-Yes
-Military/Thriller Sci-Fi
-110K-125K words
-Since month 1 of Book 1


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## Jim Johnson (Jan 4, 2011)

*Are you making $100+/month? *

Started publishing late Oct 2015; made +$100 in November, but haven't seen a $100 month since. Dec was eh and Jan was dead. Feb picked up a bit.

*What genre are you writing in? *

Started with a weird western series; switching over to urban fantasy.

*How long are your books?*

Weird western series is 32-35k words each. UF series I'm shooting for 75-90k each.

*How long did it take for sales to stabilize or reach that point?*

n/a; but figure for $100 a month, I'd need to sell ~50 copies a month at $2.99, not counting any income that might come in from KU page reads or print sales. Work in progress. More books will help that figure along. It's theoretically easier to sell 15 copies each of three books than 50 copies of one book. More books, more potential sales, more potential income.


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## Usedtoposthere (Nov 19, 2013)

Nice said:


> I have a few questions if anyone is willing to share. Forgive my boldness.
> 
> Are you making $100+/month?
> What genre are you writing in?
> ...


Yes. 
Contemporary romance and romantic suspense. 
90-135k. 
It took me a week to make $100. I put 3 books out at once. 
The second week, I made $2,000 after putting the first book free for 3 days. This was fall 2012. 
My lowest month was month 3 at $3500. In month 5 I took a huge jump and have done well since. 
Don't really know why except the basics. Very hooky premise, title, cover, blurb, book, word of mouth.


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## celadon (Sep 12, 2015)

Oh! I love these kinds of threads! And I've been _barely _a self-published author long enough to actually contribute something! 

My first book came out in October 2015. Followed by a second book in November. Both non-fiction, how-to, in a popular genre.

The first book was shorter and smaller, the second book longer, more thorough. (They have a lot of pictures, so giving word counts would not not be accurate. First book under 100 pages, second book over 250 pages.)

I think my earnings for Oct. were about 13 dollars? (I published the first book partway through the month.)

November about 25 dollars.

December's earnings leapt up, because I had two books, I paid for some promos, AND I had Createspace paperbacks which accounted for more of the earnings. December's earnings were $100 for Kindle (I had a big promo that month). January for Kindle was $71. Feb. for Kindle was $72. (No promos either of these months.)

Createspace is where the earnings seem to be for me. I made $180 in December and $150 in January from Createspace. (February for Createspace kind of sucked, down to about $68. I need another promo!)

I let my smaller non-fiction book go "wide," as it was too short to earn much money through KU. Earnings through Draft2Digital, while not massive, tell me that things have not been hurt by doing that. I don't know if pulling the smaller book out of KU has affected paperback sales, but I don't think so.


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## going going gone (Jun 4, 2013)

I made $100 my first month.


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## Douglas Milewski (Jul 4, 2014)

*Are you making $100+/month?* No. Not even close. Almost that per year.

*What genre are you writing in?* Fantasy

*How long are your books?* 60-70k

*How long did it take for sales to stabilize or reach that point?* Six years and counting.

All this is on me. My head must be particularly hard about not learning the right lessons.


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## Not any more (Mar 19, 2012)

MMacLeod said:


> I can't speak to long term success as my first book has been published just under a month, but it took about 48 hours to hit $100, and it has averaged about $100 per day. I write in a genre that doesn't get a lot of high quality new releases regularly, which I think makes people more likely to take a chance on a new author. The book is about 70k words. Over the month sales and rank have slowly tapered downward. I expect that if I did nothing, I would not see this level of earning for very long on just the one book as the market is not very large. I plan to have a new book out at the end of March.


There's only one reason your book has been successful. The penguins. Penguins are always best sellers. 

I hit $100 the first month (May 2012) and there have been very few months under that. I've been able to cover my expenses every year. Seven books, five in one series. 60-95K per book. Top month was $550. I'm firmly at the very bottom of the "midlist".


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## M.W. Griffith (Oct 13, 2015)

That's pretty amazing.  I focus pretty hard on my work, and haven't been able to make 100 a month.  Guess I don't have the secret handshake down quite yet.


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## AliceS (Dec 28, 2014)

Wow! So many people on here are doing so well! You go guys!

I was making peanuts until this Feb. First book came out in 2012. 5th book last year. 2 series and 1 standalone may contribute to the lack of momentum. I had my best year last year making about $160. However, in Feb. I did a Select free promo of the first book in my post-apocalyptic series and it took off. Broke $300 for the month! I'm stunned. In Jan I sold 6 books. In Feb I sold 101. I guess I was just in the right place at the right time.

Sales & KENPs have dwindled. I'm planning a little more advertising for March and hoping for another lovely boost.


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## blancheking (Oct 15, 2015)

*Are you making $100+/month? *yes
*What genre are you writing in?* supernatural thriller/mystery/suspense
*How long are your books?* 80k
*How long did it take for sales to stabilize or reach that point?* 2 weeks

I think profits and sales vary by genre. You can usually make good profit if you're on the first or second page of an Amazon top 100 list. (so #1-40) Romance, sci-fi, and fantasy are harder to get off the ground than other genres due to the number of books vying for the top 100 spots. Some genres have very few books in them, so making top 100 is much easier.


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## ruecole (Jun 13, 2012)

Are you making $100+/month? 

Yes.

What genre are you writing in? 

Middle Grade and Children's primarily

How long are your books? 

35K - 45K

How long did it take for sales to stabilize or reach that point? 

I started off self-publishing short fiction in May 2012. I earned $100 that first year and then another $100 the second year. It wasn't until I published my first Middle Grade novel in Sept 2014, that I saw my sales stabilize above $100 a month. With two novels and two chapter books out (plus my assorted short fiction), I now earn about $400 a month on average.

Hope that helps!

Rue


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## harker.roland (Sep 13, 2014)

Made it last year (1300) but barely. Once KU2 hit I went over a cliff and have never recovered to more than $20/mo. 

I am trying some new experiments this year and have hit publish yet but hope to rebound starting this summer.


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## WDR (Jan 8, 2014)

*Are you making $100+/month? *

Nope. Most definitely, nope.

Well, that isn't entirely true. I busted $100 the first and second months fairly easily. But then sales slid off. At this time, my sales are zero.

*What genre are you writing in?* Epic Fantasy

*How long are your books?* 100K-120K

*How long did it take for sales to stabilize or reach that point?*

I don't consider my sales stable yet. I'll report back on that after the second book is released and sales figures start coming in. The real test will be when book 3 is released.

I often tell wannabes and neophytes that an author's income is often boom and bust. You release a new book and suddenly money comes rolling in. Then sales begin to plateau and eventually die off. Then you release your next book and once again you get another surge in sales. The sales of the second book can often cause the first book to surge again. This can be rather synergistic as one supports the sales of the other. Get three books into the market, and then you will start to see stable and regular sales.

Sales numbers are cumulative. For each book you sell, that reader will-hopefully-buy your next book. Of course, that is assuming the reader really liked that book. For each book you have available for sale, each sale on that book will likely result in the reader returning to buy your other books.

In an idealized situation where everyone who bought your book enjoyed it&#8230;

If you only had a few sales here and a few there, but after two years you have a total of 10,000 sales, there is the possibility that when you release your second book you will get 10,000 sales in a really short amount of time. A huge surge in sales velocity like that will rapidly propel your book to very high on the bestsellers lists. Being high on those lists will likely catch the attention of other readers and that will generate secondary sales. If those secondary readers like what they are reading, it is likely they will immediately turn to buy the first book so they can start the story from the beginning.

Having multiple books for sale definitely improves your chances of reaching that $100 per month income level. But the reality is there is no telling when the above-mentioned audience will actually find your books. It could take years. Hugh Howey's _Wool_ barely sold at all until almost two years after he released. Then it began flying off the shelves at a furious rate. To this day, he has no clue as to why it suddenly caught on. The first two books of J.K. Rowling's _Harry Potter_ sold well under 3,500 copies in the first couple of years. It wasn't until Scholastic picked it up in the United States that her series finally caught on. Her name was virtually unknown in Europe until the movies started coming out and then her book sales surged like mad in Europe.


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## thenicknick (Mar 1, 2016)

I started publishing in 2011, but had no idea how to market...simply dropped a couple of romance novels onto Amazon and hoped for the best. As a mom blogger, a reader reached out and hooked me up with a moderately successful author in 2012. The end result was that I've been able to make a living of this ever since. In 2013, the first year I started publishing seriously, I earned roughly $22k. Last year was rough, thanks to KU, but now with the reads, I'm back to making around $1200 a month. My best month ever was $5k.

Currently, I'm working on growing my email list and social media platform so I can increase sales. I've even started a marketing company for romance authors, http://LoveKissedBookBargains.com, that's doing well. Feeling really optimistic about this year.


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## jillb (Oct 4, 2014)

Are you making $100+/month?  Yes.

What genre are you writing in?  NF

How long are your books?  6-30K+

How long did it take for sales to stabilize or reach that point? 
2.5 months
1st 2 weeks: $3+
Month 2: $30+
Month 3: $140+

It kept increasing with each new book release. I released 9 books in 5 months then it started dropping when I was unable to publish because of a move. It dropped every month for the 8 months I didn't publish until I reached a low of $26+. It's taken 2 months for me to get back to over $100 since.  I try to release a book a month. I haven't done any promos other than the occasional BK promo. My FB attempt flopped.


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## PJ_Cherubino (Oct 23, 2015)

Nice said:


> I have a few questions if anyone is willing to share. Forgive my boldness.


Not at all. Forums are for exchanging information.



Nice said:


> Are you making $100+/month?


Nope. I started publishing in Oct. 2015. My first novel was not a good product. I did a major rewrite and edit, and republished Feb 14. During the rewrite process, I also finished up a second, unrelated novel and published it Feb. 3.

Between the two books published in February, I've earned about $80 between page reads and mostly discounted sales. I consider that pretty good. My standards of success are not sky high, though.

Book 1 is tanking at around 400k as of this comment and book 2 is struggling at about 100k. Book 2 went all the way up to 18k for two days, then started its free fall. These are the "all books" numbers.

Book 2 is averaging 2-3 sales per day (2.5 to be precise)

I think I am on track to making $100 per month. Unfortunately, it cost me $200 bucks in promotions to get $80 in sales so .... not sustainable unless I catch traction ...



Nice said:


> What genre are you writing in?


Book 1 is Horror/Sci Fi and Post-apocalyptic

Book 2 is Space Opera

Generally, I write Sci Fi

[/quote]



Nice said:


> How long are your books?


Book 1 - 78k words
Book 2 - 112k words



Nice said:


> How long did it take for sales to stabilize or reach that point?


Not sure. Book 2 started selling 1 per day at $0.99 the week before my promo. It did that as soon as I lowered the price.

Book 1 - spiked during the promo and has sold 1 per week

The interesting part is that the promos show exactly the same pattern of sales. I am working on the graph to show this weirdness.



Nice said:


> Sorry if this is a bit intrusive, I'm just incredibly curious and starved for numbers. Thank you in advance.
> 
> Sent from my SM-T210R using Tapatalk


No worries. Whotse who find it intrusive won't answer.

Hope that helps.


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## John Van Stry (May 25, 2011)

Took about a year. The key was to write more books.


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## Carol (was Dara) (Feb 19, 2011)

For comparison, I'll answer for 2 pen names/genres. 

Pen name #1 took a year to make it's first $100 month. Pen name #2 made it the first month.
Pen name #1 wrote historical mysteries and light contemporary fantasy with romantic elements. Pen name #2 writes epic fantasy.
Pen name #1's books were novellas, short stories, and stand alone novels. Pen name #2's books are  tightly connected in serieses and are slightly longer (short novel territory)
Sales for pen name #1 were never stable (that name is now retired). Sales for pen name #2 ranged from strong to reliable straight away.

As you can see, things like genre and length make all the difference. Even though the writer is the same, so many other factors determine whether sales will be great, acceptable, or poor.


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## GP Hudson (Sep 16, 2013)

*Are you making $100+/month?* Yes

*What genre are you writing in?* Space Opera

*How long are your books?* 65-80k

*How long did it take for sales to stabilize or reach that point?* Made more than that in my first month, and have continued to do so ever since.


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## KevinH (Jun 29, 2013)

*Are you making $100+/month?*
Yes

*What genre are you writing in?* 
SF/Fantasy (One series could be classified as horror)

*How long are your books?*
Varies. Shortest is about 30K; Longest is almost 100K.

*How long did it take for sales to stabilize or reach that point?* 
I was blessed to begin making that right off the bat. I think I sold something like 400 books the first month and 1200 the next.


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## sela (Nov 2, 2014)

Are you making $100+/month? Yes. 
What genre are you writing in? romance
How long are your books? 80,000+
How long did it take for sales to stabilize or reach that point? month 2


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## Secret Pen Pal (Dec 27, 2013)

Are you making $100+/month? yes
What genre are you writing in? Erotica, erotic romance, romantic suspense, horror, thriller
How long are your books? First few weeks 5-10k, Lately 20k+
How long did it take for sales to stabilize or reach that point? A few days

I'd like to encourage anyone new or anyone whose sales aren't what they're hoping for to go easy on making comparisons with anyone else's results. There are so many different factors: genre, niche, and the quality/fit of covers and blurbs -- in addition to the skills you bring to the venture. This forum is a great resource for studying key elements to improve your results. Persistence furthers! (I Ching)


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## Secret Pen Pal (Dec 27, 2013)

Secret Pen Pal said:


> Are you making $100+/month? yes
> What genre are you writing in? Erotica, erotic romance, romantic suspense, horror, thriller
> How long are your books? First few weeks 5-10k, Lately 20k+
> How long did it take for sales to stabilize or reach that point? A few days
> ...


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## N. D. Iverson (Feb 1, 2016)

Are you making $100+/month? *Yes*

What genre are you writing in? *Sci-Fi/Apocalypse*

How long are your books? *Book (singular) - 83, 000 words
*
How long did it take for sales to stabilize or reach that point? *Well, I'm only at the beginning of month three, but I hit 100+ in months 1 and 2 and hoping to keep that up *


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## P.T. Phronk (Jun 6, 2014)

This thread is inspiring! Congrats to everyone who is doing so well. Less inspiring data:

_Are you making $100+/month?_ Almost exactly $100 per month. (Seriously, the top line of my KDP dashboard is currently at $97.59).

_What genre are you writing in?_ Horror and bizarro fiction.

_How long are your books?_ One 80,000 word novel and a bunch of short stories.

_How long did it take for sales to stabilize or reach that point?_ About 30 years. That's years of practicing writing (I started young). But from first self-publishing, about 2.5 years. And to be honest, I've had months with way more than $100, but it seems to have stabilized around that now. I'm hoping more novels in my horror series will cause that number to climb exponentially.


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## Stephanie Summers (Sep 2, 2015)

Nice said:


> I have a few questions if anyone is willing to share. Forgive my boldness.
> 
> Are you making $100+/month? *Yes*
> What genre are you writing in? *paranormal romance and contemporary romance*
> ...


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## celadon (Sep 12, 2015)

(I already gave my numbers and stats earlier, but want to comment some more.   ) 

This thread is so encouraging and inspiring. 

I do non-fiction only and I have to say that I admire those who are making over $100 in fiction. It seems to me as a non-fiction-only writer, that it is difficult to write fiction of any sort. There are so many other competing authors out there, that even a wonderful writer's works can get lost in the shuffle. I don't think that an author selling below $100 right now in fiction should feel bad about it. It's tough! But there's always hope, because with more books comes the potential for more sales!

Non-fiction writers have a different issue: If they only specialize in a few subjects, there are only so many books they can write about that subject. On the other hand, non-fiction does seem to sustain higher prices. And, print seems to do well with non-fiction (at least that's been my experience so far.)

But one lesson that every author should learn is: Keep writing! I have two books, and in my mind are at least another dozen more possible titles, on related subjects. I'm not tapped out yet, not by a long shot. I had lower-ish expectations about my earnings when I started this, and so far my income has been "cozy." (Over $100 between eBook and print sales.) If I can just get out several more books and keep 'em coming, I'd love to see some of the wonderful numbers that others here are reporting!


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## Bbates024 (Nov 3, 2014)

Are you making $100+/month? Yes

What genre are you writing in? Urban/Dark fantasy

How long are your books? 25k-88k

How long did it take for sales to stabilize or reach that point? About three months. I put my third book out September 30th, and made over a hundred dollars in October, and Over a thousand in November. I haven't come close to going under a hundred again, but I have gone back under 1000. For me, it's just going to take getting out more books, and starting a few new series. I just released the sequel to Arena my best selling book tonight so we will see how it goes. I have the third book in my origins story coming out next month, and then the third in my legacy series in June.

I have a few things in the works, a new cover and re-write for Arena. A new series. Also a few penname paranormal romance novels coming out.


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## Chinese Writer (Mar 25, 2014)

Yes, since the first month. I write cozy mysteries. It stabilized after I published book 2 one year later (had another baby between the two releases). The release of book 3 now allows me to make a cheap car payment. I also rebranded last year so I ended 2015 in the red.

It seems with each release my income float upwards. My series subplots are closely knitted even though the main mystery plot line gets resolve in each book.


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## Wayne Stinnett (Feb 5, 2014)

Welcome aboard, Nice.


Nice said:


> I have a few questions if anyone is willing to share. Forgive my boldness.
> 
> Are you making $100+/month?


Yes. And a little bit more.



> What genre are you writing in?


The same genre I read, Literature & Fiction > Action & Adventure. Specifically, in the Sea Adventures and Travel sub-genres and even more specifically, Florida and the Caribbean, a very under served niche.



> How long are your books?


50K-105K words, mostly in the 80K range, which is what I aim for. But, the story is as long or short as it is.



> How long did it take for sales to stabilize or reach that point?


For me, as long as it took to write and release the second book. Fallen Palm (originally book #1 in the series), only sold 23 copies between its release and the release of Fallen Hunter. Both then had over 100 sales each in the last two weeks of December, 2013. January, 2014 was my first full month with two books published and I earned over $2500 just in ebook sales.

A few key points here. First, I think it's important to write in the genre you prefer to read. Your passion for it and knowledge of the readers expectations will show through in your story. Second, forget those "best selling first novel" notions. It's not going to happen. Once the first one is published forget about it until the second one is released. Third, don't force anything. Just tell the story and let it unfold as it will. If it strays from your outline (assuming you make one, I don't), let it stray. Adding fluff and filler to make it longer won't help.


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## RBK (Nov 28, 2014)

> Are you making $100+/month?


Yes.



> What genre are you writing in?


Post apocalyptic and mystery.



> How long are your books?


60-80k.



> How long did it take for sales to stabilize or reach that point?


Stable? My sales are anything but. 

But if you're talking about how long it took me to start making over $100+ a month, probably about a year. But that's only because I dawdled in the year after the publication of my first novel. I only started to see moderate traction of $100+ a month as 2014 got rolling. But since late 2014 I've consistently made over $100 a day.

Personally, I'd say stick with it, be consistent, write in series, etc etc, the same advice you'll probably have heard a million times. Quite simply though, I started my career writing standalones, and not making a lot. Now, I write series, and I make a decent amount.

If you work hard and consistently release new quality material with an eye for the market, I'd say you stand a pretty damned good shot at making a consistent $100+ a month.

Good luck, and have fun.


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## M T McGuire (Dec 6, 2010)

Are you making $100+/month?
Yes, it looks like it.

What genre are you writing in?
Humorous science fiction fantasy adventure - with a dash of romance here and there but no squelchy bits.

How long are your books?
Shortest is 85k, longest is 145k

How long did it take for sales to stabilize or reach that point? 
Er hem... 5 years.

I take 18 months to write a book. I have 5 books out, 4 of them are a series. I made the first book perma free in 2014, which helped, and about this time last year I signed up for a book marketing course (your first 10k readers). I finally made my first $100 for two months in a row after optimising my amazon book listing last February. I earned about $300 a month for three months at that point and then Amazon changed the algo and my downloads fell off a cliff. 

It took me all of last year to build up to $100 again. I got a UK/Canada/India book bub in November last year and with that and mailings and promos I've managed to keep the sales steady at $100 - $200. Having a mailing list helps, the peps are lovely and there are enough of them to do mailing swaps now, which is how I can keep the sales where they are. I'm hoping that by the time I launch my next book there will be enough people on my mailing list to make a reasonable sales spike and, perhaps, activate some of the features on the retail sites where they do a lot of the selling for you. We shall see.

Cheers

MTM


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## JamesOsiris (Mar 23, 2014)

$100 a month? How long did it take: Now, yes. I made $150-ish off my first novella, succumbed to existential despair, and basically refused to significantly promote it out of depression and misunderstanding the publishing/marketing cycle. I went about 2 years without making anything. After learning more and recommitting to the process, my debut novel (Blood Hound) seems to be pulling in around $100 a month thus far.

Lesson learned: $100-200 in sales for an unknown author is good, not bad, and likely to multiple exponentially if I finish and publish more in the two series.

Genre: The novella series is military science fiction; the novel is dark urban fantasy.
Length: Novella is 32K, Novel is 97K. The novel sells a lot better.


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## RuthNestvold (Jan 4, 2012)

Are you making $100+/month?
Yes -- again. 

What genre are you writing in?
Fantasy and science fiction, mostly. 

How long are your books?
Shortest is 20,000, longest is 200,000. I also have some short stories, but they don't count because they don't sell.  

How long did it take for sales to stabilize or reach that point? 
My first month publishing, Yseult took off and I made around $500. I continued to make around that, plus or minus, for the next year and a half. Then the big algo change hit, and it got increasingly hard to sell my books. I got frustrated and quit marketing for about a year. My income from writing dropped to $50-$100 a month. A little over a year ago, I decided to relearn marketing according to the new rules, and my income has been increasing steadily since. I still can't make a living off it (last month was about $650), but I have 4 books nearly completed that I should be publishing in the next few months, and I'm hoping that will help me get there.


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## anotherpage (Apr 4, 2012)

Nice said:


> I have a few questions if anyone is willing to share. Forgive my boldness.
> 
> Are you making $100+/month?
> What genre are you writing in?
> ...


One Month.


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## Beatriz (Feb 22, 2011)

Nice said:


> I have a few questions if anyone is willing to share. Forgive my boldness.
> 
> Are you making $100+/month?
> What genre are you writing in?
> ...


Ha Ha, very cute. I wish I were making $100 a month. I've been at this game for six years now and I make peanuts (literally) but I'm lousy at marketing and I guess that's why, so fortunately I don't need the money to make a living so this is more or less a big hobby of mine. When I started this business I thought Amazon would do the marketing. I was dreaming of course but I lead a very busy life and if I write I don't have time for marketing so it's a vicious cycle but I gave myself a deadline, to write 10 books and then get into heavy marketing, so far I'm up to 8, so 2 more to go and then we'll see. Don't set your goals too high and be happy with whatever you can sell, that's my advice to you.


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## C. Gockel (Jan 28, 2014)

> Are you making $100+/month?


Yes.



> What genre are you writing in?


I started in Urban Fantasy and now am writing Sci-fi.



> How long are your books?


I write everything from short stories to 150k behemoths.



> How long did it take for sales to stabilize or reach that point?


It was when I got to part 2 in my series. About eight months into the gig.


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## AllyWho (May 16, 2015)

_Are you making $100+/month? _
Yes

_What genre are you writing in? _
Regency romance

_How long are your books?_
75k

_How long did it take for sales to stabilize or reach that point? _
I made over $100 with my first book in my first week.


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## Becca Mills (Apr 27, 2012)

*Are you making $100+/month? *
Yes.

*What genre are you writing in?*
contemporary fantasy

*How long are your books?*
The novels are 100-120K.

*How long did it take for sales to stabilize or reach that point?*
2.75 years


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## bendanarama (Jul 25, 2015)

Without going into detail, it gives me a huge sense of relief to see some of the responses on here!


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## writerbee (May 10, 2013)

Nice said:


> I have a few questions if anyone is willing to share. Forgive my boldness.
> 
> Are you making $100+/month?
> What genre are you writing in?
> ...


I write classic Regency romance (no sex). My first book was very long for the genre (160K words) and reminded some beta readers of a TV miniseries -- so I published it as a serial. ;-) And that turned out to be a smart (or lucky) decision. Because as an unknown author with a book twice as long as is typical in the genre, I'm sure it would have sunk like a stone after a month. But because I had a fairly steady release schedule, it kept visibility percolating more than it ewould have otherwise. (At least, that's my theory. Obviously there's no way to prove what would have happened if....)

I released part 1 almost 1 year ago, on March 21st. I earned $44 for March. 
I released Parts 2 thru 6 between March 31st and June 30th. With each release the sales/borrows increased exponentially. I earned $288 in April, and it kept going up, even after KU changed to KU2. Held steady during the summer doldrums, then dropped off. But sales/KENP still trickling in, and now, almost a year after the release of Part 1, I'm still getting a few hundred $$$ each month.

The numbers are crawling along the bottom of the dashboard, though, so I've got to get my new book out ASAP! 
I have to learn to write faster! Publish something as often as you can seems to be good advice :-D

DMac
w/a Victoria Hodge


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## Matthew Eliot (May 4, 2015)

> Are you making $100+/month?


February was the first month I made more than $100 (yay!), and it coincided with the (long overdue) release of book II in my series, as well as my first free promo. I still have to see whether I'll manage to achieve the same results in March.



> What genre are you writing in?


Post-Apocalyptic/Dystopian Sci-Fi. I'm currently outlining a fantasy series, and half way through book III in my current series.



> How long are your books?


Quite short: 40 - 45k so far.



> How long did it take for sales to stabilize or reach that point?


Book I of IMPACT was published in June 2015. It hit the HNR lists, and the top 100 in its categories in the first few days. After that, it sank quite quickly: I was going through an odd sort of fear, that held me back from getting on with book II. It took me 6 months to follow it up. But I'm proud of that second book, and the increased sales were a really strong motivating factor to sit down and write book III. It should be out end of March/beginning of April.

Great thread and great responses, by the way.


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## Simplehistory (Dec 9, 2014)

Are you making $100+/month? Yes
What genre are you writing in? History for children, non fiction
How long are your books? 40-50 pages per book 2500 -5000 works
How long did it take for sales to stabilize or reach that point? 1 year - Took off when one book became top seller in category


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## AnitaLouise (Feb 12, 2012)

Nice said:


> Are you making $100+/month? No
> What genre are you writing in? Contemporary Romance
> How long are your books? 70-80K
> How long did it take for sales to stabilize or reach that point? Don't know


Reading about how much success many of you are having rather quickly makes me wonder if I'm doing something wrong. I took the time to write 3 romance novels (sexy, but not quite erotica. Like Bella Andre, Jill Shalvis) before releasing any of them. Now working on #4. There will be 10 total in the series. Just made the first book free & dropped 2nd book to $0.99 to try and boost ranking. (Ranking had fallen to over a million! Yikes!

I'm open to any/all suggestions. Thanks!


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## PearlEarringLady (Feb 28, 2014)

AnitaLouise said:


> Reading about how much success many of you are having rather quickly makes me wonder if I'm doing something wrong.[...]I'm open to any/all suggestions. Thanks!


I'm not an expert, but the hive mind of Kboards will certainly come up with some suggestions for you. But rather than derail this thread, why don't you start a thread specifically to solicit advice for your books? You'll get more help if your question isn't buried way down a different thread.


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## Antara Mann (Nov 24, 2014)

M T McGuire said:


> Having a mailing list helps, the peps are lovely and there are enough of them to do mailing swaps now, which is how I can keep the sales where they are.
> MTM


Yes, that helps a LOT. I'm only curious, how do you find those peeps? I occasionally cross-promote on my mailing list but it's rather a hard bargain sine a lot of authors are afraid to email their subscribers if they don't have a new release.


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## M T McGuire (Dec 6, 2010)

Antara Mann said:


> Yes, that helps a LOT. I'm only curious, how do you find those peeps? I occasionally cross-promote on my mailing list but it's rather a hard bargain sine a lot of authors are afraid to email their subscribers if they don't have a new release.


I email the poor buggers all the time. Well, once a month and then if I have a book out I'll do 3 emails leading up to that, alongside it. They also go through 10 automated emails when they sign up which tell them about my other books, offer them the second book in my series free, as well and various other stuff.

The emails I send are more like blog posts, they get silly story - Maureen Lipman kind of thing - about my life that month and then I send them off to a giveaway or I recommend another author's book that I've read and enjoyed. Many, many authors have free first in series books out - including me - so I read one and if I like it, I'll drop the author a line to say I'm recommending it. They usually recommend me back because who doesn't love free stuff. ;-) The way I see it, if they sign up for my mailing list they want to hear from me.

That said, it took me 3 months to gather up the courage to send the first email to my list. A lot of them had gone rather cold in that time and hardly anyone opened it. Now that I chat to them, I find that lots of them reply and chat to me, so it gets more and more informal and natural to send them stuff.

Cheers

MTM


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## CarolynVMurray (Mar 13, 2015)

M.W. Griffith said:


> That's pretty amazing. I focus pretty hard on my work, and haven't been able to make 100 a month. Guess I don't have the secret handshake down quite yet.


I think the secret handshake is called -- You HAVE to write in a series!


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## cecilia_writer (Dec 28, 2010)

Are you making $100+/month? 
Yes, although I calculate it in GBP and not USD
What genre are you writing in? 
Mostly mystery
How long are your books?
Usually about 60,000 words
How long did it take for sales to stabilize or reach that point? 
I think they had reached that point after a couple of years of publishing, or when I had 5 or 6 books out in the same series. It took me a while to realise that writing more books in the series wouldn't necessarily make sales keep expanding at the same rate again. So for instance 2015 was worse for sales than 2014 although I had more books out.
I have tried to make an escape route from my main series by building up another one but sales of that one haven't been great.
I use Facebook and Twitter to interact with a core (and very small) group of fans who buy all my books - although I only have about 60 likes on my FB author page, the posts tend to be seen by at least 100 each time so I think that works quite well. I give them news of how I'm doing with the latest work in progress and sometimes give coupon codes to get freebies from Smashwords. One of my blogs goes automatically to Facebook.
My best results have been from publishing a Christmas-themed novel as one of the novels in my mystery series. If I could do that every few months I would have it made!


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## ConnerKressley (Feb 23, 2014)

Yeah, I make over 100 dollars a month. I write urban fantasy and paranormal romance. They're all full length (between 70-100k) It took as long as it took me to get the second book out on my first series, which honestly was way too long. But, since then, I haven't made less than 100 bucks any month.


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## Antara Mann (Nov 24, 2014)

M T McGuire said:


> I email the poor buggers all the time. Well, once a month and then if I have a book out I'll do 3 emails leading up to that, alongside it. They also go through 10 automated emails when they sign up which tell them about my other books, offer them the second book in my series free, as well and various other stuff.
> 
> The emails I send are more like blog posts, they get silly story - Maureen Lipman kind of thing - about my life that month and then I send them off to a giveaway or I recommend another author's book that I've read and enjoyed. Many, many authors have free first in series books out - including me - so I read one and if I like it, I'll drop the author a line to say I'm recommending it. They usually recommend me back because who doesn't love free stuff. ;-) The way I see it, if they sign up for my mailing list they want to hear from me.
> 
> ...


Agh, it seems I misunderstood you. I though you meant cross-promotion with other authors in our genre.


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## spellscribe (Nov 5, 2015)

I'm resurrecting this old thing because I can finally add my name to it! I read this back when it started, during my $40 month. I found it to be a huge inspiration and hope it can do the same for others, too. 

July will be my 4th month in a row of $100+!

My first book came out feb 25. The second launched April 25. April was my first triple-figure month and may was bigger June sank, and I didn't expect to hit it until book three came out on the 22nd and I scraped by with $15 to spare. I've almost hit the halfway target for July already! 

$100 isn't much and it isn't an 'income', but my next two pay checks should be free to go straight back in for new covers and some promo. 

Go me!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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## Abderian (Apr 5, 2012)

spellscribe said:


> I'm resurrecting this old thing because I can finally add my name to it! I read this back when it started, during my $40 month. I found it to be a huge inspiration and hope it can do the same for others, too.
> 
> July will be my 4th month in a row of $100+!
> 
> ...


Congratulations! Well done.


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## JaclynDolamore (Nov 5, 2015)

Congratulations, Amy! Third books do seem to be a tipping point of sorts. I think I squeaked by into $100 last month with my 3rd book on preorder (if I count those as June sales, at least, even though they didn't hit my account until July 2nd...but I'm going to count the point they were recorded because I want to say I had a $100 month, damnit). This month I'm already halfway there.


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## katrina46 (May 23, 2014)

It depends. If you count the time I considered self-publishing a hobby then around six months because all I really did was write a story and stick it up there. Once I took it seriously and learned something about what I was doing it only took about 1 month to make my first three figures. I made that in erotica, but my new dark romance pen name I only launched last month made about that with only book 1 of a serial, but like I said, I've learned a lot since I started out.


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## Kristen Painter (Apr 21, 2010)

Are you making $100+/month? Yes.
What genre are you writing in? PNR and cozies
How long are your books? 70K+
How long did it take for sales to stabilize or reach that point? A day or two.


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## cvannatta (Jul 6, 2014)

Brief answers to your questions.

Are you making $100+/month?

Depends on if you mean gross or net. Gross income Jan. 2015, 2nd month after book 1 publication (first Amazon payout) was $107. I make about twice that now. Net income, after editors, covers, marketing, etc., I'll be breaking even starting in July, but I'm about to go in the hole again when I invest in new covers for my space opera series on the release of book 4 in Oct. 
What genre are you writing in?

Space opera (3½ books so far; another book by end of Oct.)
Paranormal romance (1 novella so far; another by the end of the year) 
How long are your books?

Books: 70K-101K
Novellas: 14K-48K
How long did it take for sales to stabilize or reach that point? 

Steady increase, with bumps for new releases


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## PJ_Cherubino (Oct 23, 2015)

Nice said:


> I have a few questions if anyone is willing to share. Forgive my boldness.
> 
> Are you making $100+/month?
> What genre are you writing in?
> ...


I answered this post a while back, but I have new information to share based on a changing experience.

*Are you making $100+/month? *

Yes! But it took 9 months. 
I published my first novel in October, 2015. It had a homemade cover and very poor editing. It bombed. It was kind of embarrassing. Using the advice found on Kboards, I rewrote it, got a professional cover and edit, then republished it under a different title. It didn't bomb, but it didn't take off that much either. I personally love the book, and so do a few dear fans who told me so. I will write the sequel one day ...
After this, I did some serious soul searching and studying on writing craft and the indie publishing business. I attempted a write to market novel that also bombed. This novel did not work because I did not stick closely to the expected themes (tropes) of the genre I chose.

My latest novel was published June (EDIT: initially said July, meant June) 12, 2016. By the end of July, it had 100+ sales at 99 cents and 3.5+k page reads, earning about $120 bucks. It is on track this month to have about 1k page reads a day and 3-4 sales a day at $2.99. Not a world-burner, but I'm going for consistency, not "get rich quick." To me, this is a huge success. To many other authors, this is peanuts, but considering where I came from, I am very happy with this.

The latest novel was written using "write to market" techniques. This means that I studied and read books in my target genre and sub-genre. I put my own personal spin on the common themes (tropes) from the most popular novels, stories and movies, and built them into mine. The story is not original. It's a mishmash of classic themes assembled in original form with unique characters who are just familiar enough to be identifiable. I made the novel as stylistically similar to other popular books as I could, right down to the pacing and length of chapters.

In short, this latest novel serves the reader better by giving the readers what they expect from the presentation of the book as a "space opera/space fleet/colonization" story. The book has a spaceship on the cover....

What genre are you writing in? 
Science Fiction - space opera/space fleet, military scifi sub-genres

How long are your books?
1st novel 109k words
2nd novel 78k words
3rd novel 85k words
4th novel (2nd in series) will be 90-100k words

How long did it take for sales to stabilize or reach that point? 
9 months and three novels in two different genres.

I stuck with my original strategy of writing one "first in series" book until one of them caught traction, and then writing the sequel to the most successful book to build a series. I do not believe this was the best strategy. I would have been better served to commit to a series from the beginning.

One phenomenon I find strange is that my other books are selling a tiny bit more as my catalog grows, even though the books are not closely related. So, the more books you have in your back catalog, the more books you will sell. I've seen other authors report this also.

So that is my brain dump this morning.

Good luck, everyone. Keep writing!

P.S.: I am describing revenue, not profit. While I have just started to make over $100 in a single month, I am very far from turning a profit. That is the next step. Investment often out paces profit at the start of any business, so I accept this imbalance. There will come a point where I will have to decide if the amount I am investing is worth the amount of profit. Scary prospect.


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## M T McGuire (Dec 6, 2010)

I've just had a £100 month for the first time in ages. I think the secret was a lucky streak with facebook advertising and a Patti Jansen mailing but I'm not sure!


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## C. Rysalis (Feb 26, 2015)

I made considerably more than 100 the first month, and still more the second, but it won't last without more books in the series. As the reviewers pointed out, the first book isn't a complete story. Hopefully the new release on August 3rd will maintain momentum for longer.


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## cggaudet (Apr 27, 2016)

Reading through these responses I've started to wonder what I've done wrong. Hmm...
Anyway, here are my answers to make the rest of you feel better about yourselves. 

*Are you making $100+/month?*
No. I have yet to make $100 in a single month.

*What genre are you writing in?*
YA paranormal/fantasy

*How long are your books?*
40,000-70,000

*How long did it take for sales to stabilize or reach that point?* 
I published my first book May 2011 and published book 5 on Feb 2014. Best month so far was Dec 2015 and I wasn't anywhere near the $100/month goal. Maybe my next book?


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## Talbot (Jul 14, 2015)

*Are you making $100+/month?*
Noooo, but to be fair to myself I haven't promoted anything. What's the point when you're just starting a series? I released the first in April (and just now noticed it wasn't free worldwide so I had to wrangle Amazon about that) and the second is coming out at the end of this month. I have great rankings, though, so I have hopes.

*What genre are you writing in?*
Paranormal urban fantasy and a couple of standalone books for kids. They get attention when the holidays roll around.

*How long are your books?*
Above or below 40k. As long as they need to be.

*How long did it take for sales to stabilize or reach that point? *
Ooh, the lack of sales have definitely stabilized but interest is building. I got my first five star review the other day (organic!) and I'm jazzed. I can't wait to get that second book out there.


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## A J Sika (Apr 22, 2016)

Let me give me this a go

*Are you making $100+/month?*
Yes. Plus enough to live on.

*What genre are you writing in?*
African-American & Interracial Romantic Suspense (Yup! Very niche-y)

*How long are your books?*
70,000 - 100,000

*How long did it take for sales to stabilize or reach that point?*
I've never made less than $100 right from my first month of sales, but that's only because I'd already established a readership by writing fan-fiction for a full year prior to publishing. As for stability - is there really such a thing? If I don't publish for more than 3 months, my bank account starts to weep.


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## harker.roland (Sep 13, 2014)

Before the new KU hit I was making a consistent $300/mo with an erotic penname. Of course, I am probably one of the millions of people who contributed to the change in KU because of that


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## cggaudet (Apr 27, 2016)

Went through the numbers and noticed almost half the people who make $100+ started doing so within the first month. People who started making that much afterthought first 3 months usually did so by making a change to how they publish/market.
I cant say I'm too encouraged by this having first published 5 years ago, but maybe there's hope yet if I make changes?


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## miaarden (Jun 7, 2016)

1. *Are you making $100+/month?*
Well, it's the last day of my first month and I just ticked over into three digits! Because I did everything from cover to editing myself, that's all mine. ALL MINE. (I did pay for a domain name and a P.O. box, so that's some expenses). 
2. *What genre are you writing in?*
Paranormal romance / time travel 
3. *How long are your books?*
Right now, I've only got out a single 27k novella. 
4. *How long did it take sales to stabilize/reach that point?*
A month. But I could do SO MUCH better if I were actually sitting down and writing more.


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## Sebourn (Jun 18, 2016)

*Are you making $100+/month?*

Not hardly.

*What genre are you writing in? *

Most of my stuff falls somewhere in and around horror.

*How long are your books?*

Last year I published a novel that (I believe) clocked in at around 70k words. My work currently awaiting judgment over at Kindle Scout is around 75k. I've also published a collection of short stories and poetry and two novellas, both around 30k words.

*How long did it take for sales to stabilize or reach that point?*

I don't recall who in this thread mentioned doing all the wrong things... But I guess that's me. I dont cater to any certain genre, though I do gravitate towards ghosts and, well, mountains. I've never written a series. And there isn't a bone in my body that knows what the heck to do regarding social media and self promotion. I "stabilized" at around a few bucks a month back when I published my first novella in 2013-- but I'm always writing my next book, and I still submit stories to magazines and anthologies in an attempt to get my stuff out there.


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## 74455 (Jan 9, 2014)

*Are you making $100+/month? 
*
Yes. Finally.

*What genre are you writing in?*
Fantasy. A clean epic-ish fantasy series, a darkish urban Christian fantasy series, and a series of fantasy romance novellas (only two so far), along with a few shorts published on their own.

*How long are your books?*
My novels are all around 75k, novellas are 15-20k.

*How long did it take for sales to stabilize or reach that point?*
I had a couple of months of barely hitting $100 around 24-25 months in, then lower months, then another few months of slightly over $100 around months 31-32, then another period of lower sales, then things started to pick up a bit in month 34 (October 2015).

Note: These figures do not include off-line sales at in-person events. I do 2-4 events a year, all local (so no hotel expense, just a bit of gas to get there), and sales generally range from $600-$2400 (gross, so subtract the cost of the paperbacks, the cost of the booth ($75-$300), and the cost of food while I'm there). I am basically unknown, so I'm pretty happy with these numbers. I don't know that my success in this area can be replicated in other subgenres or other localities, but I love it.

*Things I did right:*
I think my covers are awesome, and my reviews have always been solid. My books are cleanly edited and professional.

*Things I could have done differently:*

I have not and do not intend to follow trends and haven't consciously "written to market." This means that my books can be hard to put in the neat categories on Amazon. I am not slamming "write to market" when it's used to mean "know the tropes of your genre and use them to write a satisfying book." I just haven't consciously decided "I'm going to write a book that hits these tropes and put my own unique spin on it in this particular way"... I am basically a complete pantser and that process doesn't work for me (or has not yet).
My first four books I basically hit publish and forgot about them. I had a website but basically did no promotion (as in, I'd get one BKnights promo and sell <10 copies of book 1 and that would be a noticeable high blip in sales on my KDP dashboard for months). I didn't do any multi-author promo and didn't really know how to even find these opportunities.
I had my first two books ready to go back in 2008 (except for covers) but didn't decide to self-publish them until the end of 2012/beginning of 2013. I wish I'd taken self-publishing seriously back then rather than waiting for a pat on the head from an agent or publisher. My books have an audience, even if it isn't huge yet, and I'm proud of them. So why did I wait so long? Ugh. I think it was lack of self-confidence and, basically, a need for approval.

I am hardly raking in the money right now... I haven't quite hit $1000 a month yet, although I've gotten close a few times. I've stabilized in the $500-$999/month range and expect that will go up soon. What has helped?

I got an international-only BookBub for The King's Sword (clean epic fantasy) back in October. I dearly wish I'd gotten a U.S. feature as well, but I'm happy with the reception the series has gotten in the UK. Follow-on sales have been good. The increase in sales and revenue gave me confidence to *start promoting *both series. I also did a bit of promotion for Things Unseen, book 1 in the Christian fantasy series, when I released The Beginning of Wisdom (book 3) earlier this year. The online launch was um... low-key, to say the least. However, I'd pre-sold almost 50 signed copies at events, and I'm immensely proud of the book. Although no one has posted reviews posted yet, I've gotten some off-line feedback that's basically "OMKITTENS, this is awesome!!11!!1!" That's not exactly useful online, but it helps keep me from getting too discouraged.

What I think will help in the future:

Building my list (giveaways, off-line events, etc.)
Box sets (both my own series and multi-author)
Facebook advertising - I know who my readers are, but I haven't had good luck finding them with regular advertising. I'm hoping that once I crack the FB advertising puzzle, I can keep sales a bit more stable.
Specific events I want to do next year
I need to redo some of my blurbs.
A sekrit projekt I'm working on


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## TaxationIsTheft (Apr 15, 2015)

Are you making $100+/month?

Yes

What genre are you writing in?

Contemporary sports romance (primarily), humorous women's fiction with romantic elements, erotic romance. All of my books contain humor coupled with some serious issues the characters are dealing with, and three of my books have featured curvier heroines.

How long are your books?

They typically average about 70k.

How long did it take for sales to stabilize or reach that point? 

I hit $100 within 16 days of releasing my first book. Since then I've had some very good months and some not so great months, but I have yet to dip down below $100 a month, even without having had a new novel-length release since November. That being said, if I don't get another book out soon that might be changing.


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## 74455 (Jan 9, 2014)

sstroble said:


> Am in the same boat. Have one book that is marketed as:
> Books > Teens > Literature & Fiction > Religious > Christian > Science Fiction
> Kindle Store > Kindle eBooks > Literature & Fiction > Religious & Inspirational Fiction > Christian > Futuristic
> Kindle Store > Kindle eBooks > Teen & Young Adult > Literature & Fiction > Religious
> ...


No, Christian Fantasy is as granular as it gets. So...yeah, you can see the problem there. It does have Fae, vampires (sort of), and a demon and an angel, and is futuristic, and has been stuck in dark fantasy (I'd really call it darkISH rather than truly dark, but whatever), so that gets me a few other categories (in which I never rank). It's currently ranking:
#8 in Kindle Store > Kindle eBooks > Literature & Fiction > Religious & Inspirational Fiction > Christian > Fantasy (the most precise category)
#25 in Kindle Store > Kindle eBooks > Literature & Fiction > Religious & Inspirational Fiction > Science Fiction & Fantasy (slightly broader)
#27 in Books > Christian Books & Bibles > Literature & Fiction > Fantasy (uh.... I guess this is broader because it includes paperbacks? I've never been sure on this one)

The categories that show up at the bottom of the page (Look for Similar Items by Category) are:
Books > Christian Books & Bibles > Literature & Fiction > Fantasy
Books > Literature & Fiction > Genre Fiction > Horror > Dark Fantasy
Kindle Store > Kindle eBooks > Literature & Fiction > Horror > Dark Fantasy
Kindle Store > Kindle eBooks > Literature & Fiction > Religious & Inspirational Fiction > Science Fiction & Fantasy
Kindle Store > Kindle eBooks > Religion & Spirituality > Christian Books & Bibles > Christian Fiction > Fantasy
Kindle Store > Kindle eBooks > Science Fiction & Fantasy > Fantasy > Metaphysical & Visionary

Despite using the Fae, vampire, angel, and demon keywords, those are not showing up. I have no idea why.

Depending on where you live and what events are near you, you may want to consider in-person events. They are very good to me, and none of them are the cons authors tend to think of first.

Which book of yours is it?


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## Taking my troll a$$ outta here (Apr 8, 2013)

Nice said:


> I have a few questions if anyone is willing to share. Forgive my boldness.
> 
> Are you making $100+/month? *Yes.*
> What genre are you writing in? *Romance/historical/time travel*
> ...


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## sstroble (Dec 16, 2013)

CJBrightley said:


> No, Christian Fantasy is as granular as it gets. So...yeah, you can see the problem there. It does have Fae, vampires (sort of), and a demon and an angel, and is futuristic, and has been stuck in dark fantasy (I'd really call it darkISH rather than truly dark, but whatever), so that gets me a few other categories (in which I never rank). It's currently ranking:
> #8 in Kindle Store > Kindle eBooks > Literature & Fiction > Religious & Inspirational Fiction > Christian > Fantasy (the most precise category)
> #25 in Kindle Store > Kindle eBooks > Literature & Fiction > Religious & Inspirational Fiction > Science Fiction & Fantasy (slightly broader)
> #27 in Books > Christian Books & Bibles > Literature & Fiction > Fantasy (uh.... I guess this is broader because it includes paperbacks? I've never been sure on this one)
> ...


It's _You Will Be Like God_.

Thank you for sharing your Amazon categories and keywords. Finding the right combination of them has been tricky. So far, have experimented with them but very difficult to know what truly works and what does not.


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## TexasGirl (Dec 21, 2011)

It's been a long time since I started in 2011 (and I did print starting 2009), but you made me curious:

I first made $100 in a month November 2009, with only print books, and it looks like I haven't fallen below since. That was my second month. Month one was $54.

Initially I had a nonfiction picture book. Then a women's fiction.

Now I write contemporary romance, middle grade, and romantic suspense. I'm trying to find the last time I fell below $100 in a day. It looks like it would have been December 2013. I only had one hit book at that time, and it slowed down after two months. I released a sequel in January 2014 and it's been a minimum of $100 a day ever since. I now have 27 books ranging from 32 pages (picture book) to 80k words.

Not sure that is useful to anybody!


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## Aaronhodges (Dec 19, 2015)

Are you making $100+/month? 
Yes, was lucky enough to have my first book to take off 
What genre are you writing in? 
Fantasy - Epic/Sword and Sorcery
How long are your books?
First book is around 90kk, and Ive just released the second which is a similar length
How long did it take for sales to stabilize or reach that point? 
I think I hit $100 about a week into my release, and have been stable for the last six months. Sales definitely dropped steadily until I released the second book six months later!


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## Douglas Milewski (Jul 4, 2014)

*Are you making $100+/month?* No

*What genre are you writing in?* Fantasy (clean, general, sword and sorcery)

*How long are your books?* 60-70k

*How long did it take for sales to stabilize or reach that point?* Nowhere close. Six years and counting.

When it comes to marketing, I began on the far left of the bell curve. At this point, my thick head may finally be up to prawn level.


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## CassieL (Aug 29, 2013)

Interesting.  I may be one of the few people who didn't hit $100 a month right away but did eventually.  First pubbed in August 2013 with a couple non-fiction titles and some spec fic short stories under a different name.  Stepped away from it after a few months to pay attention to the day job and didn't get serious again until October 2014.  My first $100+ month was November 2014 with some romance shorts.  Kept that up 'til April 2015 at which point I had eight pen names across non-fiction, romance, and spec fic.  May/June/July were over $50 a month but under $100.  Back up over $100 a month until December 2015 then under for that month.  All of 2016 has been over $100/month but I've been focused on novels so haven't released anything new since January.

Interestingly, some of the older titles that didn't do great at launch have recovered nicely due to new covers or promo or getting them into paperback or audio or taking them wide. 

Have yet to have a $1,000 month, though.


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## Brad44 (Jul 9, 2016)

My first book was a nonfiction how-to which did well right out of the gate and was over $100 the first month. The paperback edition was about 100 pages with a lot of illustrations. Sales have tapered off a bit but have held up well for over three years.

Second book was the same genre but with a narrow niche readership. Sales started a little over $100 a month but have diminished over the first year.

Third book was also a nonfiction, but a light-hearted memoir for animal lovers released just two weeks ago. Paperback is 340 pages and doing well. Has already surpassed the $100 mark.


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## C. Gockel (Jan 28, 2014)

> but a light-hearted memoir for animal lovers released just two weeks ago.


It looks like a fun book! What is your Meyers-Briggs type, BTW?


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## Adair Hart (Jun 12, 2015)

*Are you making $100+/month? *

Only on months I have a Kindle Deal. I first broke $100 in December, when Book 2 launched. January was Patty's promo and my second prawny promotion which put me over 500$, and February was 300 riding that tail. I haven't done any KCD's since March, but have done an occasional free day on book 1 since then. I lowered my first book to .99 from March to June, so that may have had an impact. If I had the sales at the 2.99 price point and you factor in audio, I would be around 100/month. Book 3 is out July 24, followed by Patty's promo, so hoping for another few months of breaking 100 

*What genre are you writing in? *

Science Fiction Time travel, Action and Adventure, Space Exploration

*How long are your books?*

Prequel (24k)
Book 1 (46k)
Book 2 (90k)
Book 3 (96k and on preorder now)

*How long did it take for sales to stabilize or reach that point? *

I am hoping next year when I launch my second series that $100/month will be the norm. (Goal is 2 series, 12 novels in 2017)


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## M T McGuire (Dec 6, 2010)

sstroble said:


> It's _You Will Be Like God_.
> 
> Thank you for sharing your Amazon categories and keywords. Finding the right combination of them has been tricky. So far, have experimented with them but very difficult to know what truly works and what does not.


You aren't the only one who is stumped there. I have a series and I find different keywords work in UK/US sites, so one is in humour categories on the US Amazon site but on the UK site it's just in Generic Science Fiction and never ranks anywhere. I've the whole series up for teen books about aliens/first contact but it never crops up there at all, either. Meanwhile, the fourth and final book in the series appears to be beautifully optimised for alien contact and teens without any problems at all. It's ... quite random and even pasting the description of the 4th book onto the first + the keywords, hasn't altered it.

Mind you the prices are even worse, I price all my books the same but they appear for a massive gamut of different prices on Amazon ranging fron 1.79 - 3.99 which is ... startling.

I just do what I can and then after that you can only scratch your head and get on with it really. I suspect half the folks who download the free, first book have got to it via the last one!

Cheers

MTM


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## Alvina (Oct 19, 2015)

Nice said:


> I have a few questions if anyone is willing to share. Forgive my boldness.
> 
> Are you making $100+/month?
> What genre are you writing in?
> ...


Frankly, I haven't made $100/month yet. But this month is very close to it! I hope I can release my 3rd book before the end of the month, and then I can start to make more than $100/month.

My genre is cooking. After I am earning $100/month, I wish I can settle down and to expand to write in other genres.

My books are still shorter than 150 pages, but my 3rd book will definitely longer than 150 pages in order to qualify for BookBub!


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## darkline (Mar 30, 2014)

Yes.
Romance.

How long did it take for sales to stabilize or reach that point? 

1st month - $70
2nd - $400
3rd - $650
4th - $1050
etc...


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## sela (Nov 2, 2014)

Earnings for my first year of being published:

Month One: $20.64 (Book 1 published)
Month Two: $292.40 (Book 2 published)
Month Three: $319.92
Month Four: $481.60
Month Five: $584.80
Month Six: $952.80
Month Seven: $1695.92 (Book 3 published)
Month Eight: $1300.32
Month Nine: $863.44
Month Ten: $911.16
Month Eleven: $18,022.16 (Book 4 published)
Month Twelve: $13,488.24

So, I made $100+ in month 2. 
I write erotic paranormal and new adult romance
My books are all full length (75,000+ words)
I quit my day job Month 17
I've made five figures per month for the past 14 months.
The most I made in a month was $45,975 in November of last year when I had a Bookbub and new release.


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## sabot03196 (Sep 14, 2014)

It was three months for me. My best months were seven and eight months in.


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## AnitaLouise (Feb 12, 2012)

J.T. Williams said:


> This will be my first month.  This is not counting sales directly from my promotion but my sell through since the promotion ended. (and normal sales/borrows from before)
> 
> From when I published my first novel it took exactly a year. I now have a complete trilogy in the fantasy genre and my books average between 80k - 100k.
> 
> ...


The article from Russell Blake was excellent. I had my first $100.00+ month in 8 months. It's the first of many goals I'm shooting for over the next many months and years. Keep writing. Keep promoting. If you believe you can ... you will.


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## JaclynDolamore (Nov 5, 2015)

Are you making $100+/month? 

Yes...I've been squeaking out four figures a month since The Sorcerer's Concubine came out in July.

What genre are you writing in? 

I started in YA fantasy in March, where I came from a traditional publishing career. The YA didn't do well at all but when I switched to adult fantasy romance it made a huge difference. Of course it also helped that I had learned from all my mistakes with the YA series. 

How long are your books?

60-80k usually. The Sorcerer's Concubine is 63k. The sequel will be a little longer.

How long did it take for sales to stabilize or reach that point? 

Basically I had 4 months of almost nothing and then immediate huge improvement in July. Indie was a bit of a learning curve from traditional but I'm glad I took the leap!


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## Evenstar (Jan 26, 2013)

My figures might cheer up those that think perseverance doesn't pay off!

I've posted these before if you want more exact, it's after midnight in the uk and I can't remember precisely at this moment, but this is roughly correct:
*
Are you making $100+/month?*
Yes

*What genre are you writing in?*
YA romance and PNR

*How long are your books?*
25 - 50 k

*How long did it take for sales to stabilize or reach that point?*

In my first three months I made a total of $15

I released book two and during the following three months I made a total of $35

Exactly 9 months after my first release, I released book three and a short story (and set book one to perma-free) and that month I made $345.

It took me over a year to get to $1000 a month. I often say that each book I add to my series makes me an additional $100 per month, so the figure keeps slowly climbing as I keep releasing. But I would never say they stabilised, there are good months and bad months, I had to keep releasing and I really should have been doing a lot more marketing to compensate for stuff like summer (always awful for me). Things change so quickly in this new world of Indie Publishing that I don't think the concept of "sales stabilising" can ever be a given.


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## spellscribe (Nov 5, 2015)

spellscribe said:


> I'm resurrecting this old thing because I can finally add my name to it! I read this back when it started, during my $40 month. I found it to be a huge inspiration and hope it can do the same for others, too.
> 
> July will be my 4th month in a row of $100+!
> 
> ...


This monster came back right when I've just got my first $100 week! I got those new covers up, went permafree and so far have spent $5 on promo and BOOM!

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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## archaeoroutes (Oct 12, 2014)

For short stories I have never hit $100 a month.
For non-fiction I did so in the first month, but as it sells mostly as class sets, it spikes then has long gaps.
My first military science fiction novel has been well over $100 a month since pre-order. I'm still waiting for it to stabilise  (I assume it will drop off).


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## Tim_A (May 25, 2013)

*Are you making $100+/month?*
Not with any kind of regularity. My first release did for the first few months, but the other books never have. most of the time $10 a month for a book has been "good". I had an ENT last year that spiked over $100. Making my first in series permafree has helped, but still not over $100. The last 30 days KDP report shows about $50 but part of that is tail from a promotion

*What genre are you writing in?*
Dystopian

*How long are your books?*
Novels: 90k - 130K, shorts: 12K - 25K

*How long did it take for sales to stabilize or reach that point? *

3 years since the first book came out. I'm on a kind of hiatus from writing for a while, while I do work that pays real money, in order to unempty my bank accounts.

I put in for a Bookbub regularly, but deity-of-choice knows what I'd do if they accepted me. Go into (more) debt I suppose.


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## JTriptych (Aug 23, 2015)

*Are you making $100+/month?*
Yes, for the past two months (finally!) 

*What genre are you writing in?*
Sci-fi mythological post apocalyptic and crime thrillers (my genres are hopelessly mashed up- I think that may be the reason why)

*How long are your books?*
One series for YA averages around 40K, main sci-fi series is 125K, and about 80K for my crime novels.

*How long did it take for sales to stabilize or reach that point?*
8 whole months! Ugh. I think its because I dont write to market.


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## Rick Partlow (Sep 6, 2016)

I've made at least $100 a month since the first month I released my first two books.
I write SF and I've been on Amazon for Kindle since mid 2011.
I think the most I've made in a month is around $2000, but my usual paycheck is in the low to mid hundreds.
I currently have six novels and a short story collection.  The shortest of the novels is slightly over 100,000 words, the longest 180,000.


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## Scotty Weeks (Sep 26, 2013)

Sela said:


> Earnings for my first year of being published:
> 
> Month One: $20.64 (Book 1 published)
> Month Two: $292.40 (Book 2 published)
> ...


So what happened (other than releasing a new book) in month 11?


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## Alvina (Oct 19, 2015)

This month finally, just a few more sales before end of the month and I'll be making $100/month!


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## archaeoroutes (Oct 12, 2014)

Alvina said:


> This month finally, just a few more sales before end of the month and I'll be making $100/month!


Well done. We've been watching your struggle and feeling for you.


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## Alvina (Oct 19, 2015)

archaeoroutes said:


> Well done. We've been watching your struggle and feeling for you.


Thanks Archaeoroutes for your concern, also I would like to thank Kboards and the helping hand of fellow members. Without you all this would be impossible!


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## S.L. (Jun 6, 2016)

1st month I made $70 in sales plus about that much in Kindle Page reads.  It remains to be seen what the future holds, but I am hard at work on book 2.  !st novel is a post-apocalyptic romance around 45,000 words.


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## Cherise (May 13, 2012)

Carol (was Dara) said:


> For comparison, I'll answer for 2 pen names/genres.
> 
> Pen name #1 took a year to make it's first $100 month. Pen name #2 made it the first month.
> Pen name #1 wrote historical mysteries and light contemporary fantasy with romantic elements. Pen name #2 writes epic fantasy.
> ...


Awesome covers matter, too. 

I got to $100 a month after my second novel was out and I made my first permafree -- 14 months in. *Yeah, don't drag your feet writing that second novel!* I had two non-fiction books out then as well, and I've made at least $100 every month since then, sometimes enough to be asked to pay for Book Report.


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## Abalone (Jan 31, 2014)

It took me around five months to get to $100. It slowly went up from there. I sit on money I've made through writing. But I did buy a snazzy couch set and a nice coffee table to treat myself.


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## Guest (Sep 12, 2016)

I am just about there at present consistently doing around $100 / month without advertising; I have been higher in the past - consistently around double at one point. I don't know what happened; it might just be more competition.

I write under my own name plus 3 pen-names.

Genres:

- Self Help (this is a difficult nut to crack in my experience, but it's a passion so I stay with it)
- Business (has been the most successful niche for me)
- How To Books (sometimes I manage to get it right)
- Fiction (just started writing fiction; 2 x novellas released, no joy yet)

The word length I like is around 20K; works well for the business books I have been writing, and my fiction books are novellas, so I have kept to the same word length.

As for 'how long?' - I have been writing and selling ebooks for about 13 years, well before Kindle came along and I was doing very well back then. But I began on Kindle in 2011, so guess it has taken me 5 years to get to where I am with Kindle sales.

I still have not found the niche/genre I should be focusing on; and that is, I think, the main reason that my income is where it is at present. For the future, I intend to find the intersection of interest and demand, within romantic fiction and then write my socks off.

Will


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## Steve W. (Feb 23, 2011)

*Are you making $100+/month?:* yes
*
What genre are you writing in?:* Children's - MG and YA

*How long are your books?:* 20K to 110K

*How long did it take for sales to stabilize or reach that point?:* 3 books, which was about the same time I realized i needed to do some marketing and when I started learning about places to sell kid-lit.


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## Decon (Feb 16, 2011)

I hit $150 a month right off the bat when I started back in 2011, with of all things, a collection of 12 x 5-10,000 word short stories. All that was earned on that one book in the UK, despite all the stories being set in the US and priced at 99c. That lasted 7 months through 2011, until I made the mistake of publishing all the shorts as individual stories and increasing the price of the collection. To get there with sales, think I was lucky that I published the first story in the collection wide as free and that I assume is where the sales came from originally for the collection. Once it had a cat rank, it seemed to be self-perpetuating, until as I say, I goofed things up. Saying that, Amazon didn't help when the stopped price matching my first short in the collection as free in the UK.

I think that Amazon reverting my short from free to 99c is what has prevented me from wanting to write series where I'd be relying on a price match to free to market the the first book in the series. 

After that I wrote a mixture of shorts and standalone full length stories and it was all downhill from there.

I dropped down to $5 per month by last X-mas, and I considered hanging up my keyboard, but then after a thread on here seeking advice, I changed direction. First I tried new covers for the shorts, but that didn't work. So I deleted all but three of the individual shorts, and some of them I'd had translated to German, to hone my brand to full length and to tidy up my author page. Really I need to delete all the shorts, but it's so hard to do as two of them have decent reviews.

Never looked back really since I deleted the shorts, especially after the intro of KU 2 and more recently getting a hang of sponsored ads which has proven to me that you don't need to gamble on a series to make more than $100 per month, or run as many free days, because you can specifically target readers who enjoy buying standalones with an interest in the particular type of story. Sponsored ads have also increased my borrows. At the moment I'm nearer the $200 mark and rising. My thriller books average 100,000 words. Two of them venture into sci-fi as cross genre mysteries.


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## suliabryon (May 18, 2009)

I started making $100 a month with my first release back in March...with the caveat that I spent more to launch that book than the $ it made. But my goal was visibility, not profit. I'm in this for the long game. It made over $100 for the first two month, then dipped below $100 for the next two. Month five, I released book 2 and it shot up to over $300 that month, and has remained higher for the next two. I'm hard at work on book 3 now. It's clear to me that there is definitely something to be said for consistent releases in a series, whatever the time gap between them.


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## KingSweden (Dec 16, 2013)

I'm roughly there now. It took 3 years, but I did a lot of stuff wrong (I also had a good run with my first book when it first came out then a long, sad dry spell)


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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## CallMeRed (May 12, 2016)

Steve W. said:


> *How long did it take for sales to stabilize or reach that point?:* 3 books, which was about the same time I realized i needed to do some marketing and when I started learning about places to sell kid-lit.


Sorry to hijack this thread, but do you have any advice for selling kid-lit? I've struggled with this, but have a series for kids (ages 12ish-16) that I have kind of just let go because I haven't been able to figure out how to market it.


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## Steve W. (Feb 23, 2011)

CallMeRed said:


> Sorry to hijack this thread, but do you have any advice for selling kid-lit? I've struggled with this, but have a series for kids (ages 12ish-16) that I have kind of just let go because I haven't been able to figure out how to market it.


Will PM you


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## CallMeRed (May 12, 2016)

Steve W. said:


> Will PM you


 Thanks!!

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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## MarcyLooWho (Dec 14, 2013)

Nice said:


> Are you making $100+/month?
> What genre are you writing in?
> How long are your books?
> How long did it take for sales to stabilize or reach that point?


Yes
Horror/post apocalyptic (zombie)
60-85k words (series)
I first published late Sept 2012 and sales began late January 2013. I want to say my first 2 months of "stable" sales maybe brought in $40-60? After that it's been 400 on the low end and 4000+ on the high end. I'm hesitant to say stable...since each month can vary so much. Regular releases are key, IMO. And promote promote promote!


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## lyndabelle (Feb 26, 2015)

*Are you making $100+?* 
When I first started writing erotic shorts, it was the KU1 period. It took 3 months to get up to $100 a month. Then, a month after I hit that much in earnings, it changed to KU2. I dropped down to a trickle, and I've only managed to get up to $50 for the first time since the KU crash.

*Genre: *Erotic Romantic shorts/Erotica Shorts

*How long are your books?*
3.5K-7k is the average for a story. I started writing longer shorts once KU2 kicked in.
I'm now putting each series together into Omnibus editions. That is helping with page reads.

*How long did it take for sales to stablize or reach that point?*
Originally in KU1, took me about 3 months to establish myself. When KU2 hit, I'm still recovering and only half way there with an average of $50 a month. So, I estimate it will take another year to recover from the KU crash.


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