The first thing you’ll do when you see that your royalty payment will be lower because of reduced sales or slimmer margins: Don’t panic. That’s the first step. Don’t panic.

Raise your royalties:

• Your book is a piece of intellectual property. We want to maximize the many ways you can make royalties from that book:
• Is your book available in all formats? Do you have eBook, paperback, hardcover, large print, and audio? You get to relaunch effectively as each new format comes out. “By popular demand!”
• Can you add more retailers? More opportunities for readers to buy your book. Even if you are KU, that contract only requires exclusivity for your eBook. You can put your print editions out wide. I am wide with my book. 50% of my income each year comes from Amazon KDP or ACX. The other 50% comes from everywhere else. Some genres do very well in KU, so I understand the hesitancy to go wide with your eBooks. Nothing is stopping you from going wide with the other formats. Once you have these new retailers, tell people.
• Have you exhausted all ways of reaching your audience? Are there reader-focused podcasts for your genre? Have you engaged with influencers to see if they would review your book in exchange for a copy? (Yes, you may have to pay to send them a physical copy.)
• If you have exhausted the no-cost options (as in non-paid marketing, yes you’re spending time to do social media promotions, you’re spending time to pitch podcasts or booktokers). I’m talking about paid newsletter inclusions? I think those give you a better bang for your buck than the pay-per-click ads that can get really expensive really fast.
• What were all the ideas you brainstormed to promote the book when you were planning for launch that you didn’t have the energy to do before? Can you do those now?

Diversify your income:

• Even with all those ideas. You will still have an ebb and flow of royalties. So let’s expand outside just book income.
• For starters, what are you really good at as an author? Did you get an agent offer in a week because you had the best query letter ever written in the history of literature? Can you sell a printable guide to help fellow authors learn from your success? Can you make a YouTube channel about your author journey or expertise? Did you design your own book cover? Can you help other authors with theirs? What can you do? I stumbled into this myself. When consults were low, book sales and YouTube revenue were up.
• BuyMeACoffee, Patreon, Substack. Let people contribute to your art and expertise. It may not be a lot, but it can be something, and you can speak directly to your biggest fans!
• If starting a whole new line of business is too daunting, I want you to think about every brand you voluntarily share about every week. Then go and see if they have an affiliate program. A friend keeps asking for tips on which writing software to use. See if they have an affiliate program. You love your book box subscription. See if they have an affiliate program. Bookshop.org has an affiliate program! You’re always excited and recommending these brands. It’s okay to get a cut.

After all this, I will say the number one best way to increase your royalties is… write another book!

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