Today, I want to share an inspiring story from Yuwanda Black, who has found a lucrative side hustle writing romance novels. In just one month, she made $3,211.57 from her writing!
Yuwanda has been a freelance writer since 1993 and started publishing romance novels in 2013. Before diving into the details of how she makes money from romance writing, let’s go back to the beginning to understand her journey.
Yuwanda comes from a legal publishing background, having worked for Matthew Bender in New York, which was later acquired by the company that owns LexisNexis. In 1997, she left Matthew Bender to join her sister’s company, Inkwell Editorial, which started as an editorial outsourcing agency. They offered services like copy editing, proofreading, word processing, and coding, hiring freelancers to complete the work. The company expanded into on-site staffing in 1998, which became their biggest source of business.
In 2002, Yuwanda wrote her first ebook, a simple PDF file about how to get freelance work as an editorial professional. This was long before self-publishing became popular with platforms like Amazon, which launched its self-publishing platform in 2009.
Over the years, Yuwanda wrote more than 50 ebooks on topics like freelance writing, self-publishing, and small business. In 2013, she wrote her first romance novel.
Yuwanda had always been an avid reader of romance novels but never considered writing one until her sister, also a writer, wrote a romance novel and uploaded it to Amazon. Surprisingly, her sister’s book sold well, earning over $1,100 in the first three weeks.
Inspired by her sister’s success, Yuwanda decided to try her hand at writing romance. She wrote her first romance novel in a couple of weeks, following an outline she found online. However, her first novel didn’t sell well, with only six copies sold in the first month.
Undeterred, Yuwanda’s sister suggested writing an interracial romance, which led to a significant increase in sales. Her second romance novella sold 241 copies in the first month, and sales of her first novella also picked up.
Here are some key lessons Yuwanda learned about making money writing romance novels:
1. **Choose the Right Genre**: The genre you choose can significantly impact your sales. Popular romance genres include romantic suspense, contemporary romance, historical romance, and erotic romance.
2. **Publish Prolifically**: Regularly publishing new books can boost sales of your previous works. Yuwanda published over 35 novellas between 2014 and early 2016, which helped maintain her sales momentum.
3. **Write Short Novels**: Short romance novels (novellas) can be very successful. Yuwanda’s novellas typically range from 20,000 to 30,000 words, with some even shorter.
4. **Book Covers Matter**: A good book cover can significantly influence a reader’s decision to buy. Invest in professional-looking covers that clearly indicate the genre.
5. **Start a Mailing List**: Collecting email addresses from your readers allows you to promote new releases directly to them, increasing the chances of immediate sales.
6. **Write Series**: Writing a series can encourage readers to buy multiple books. New releases in a series can also boost sales of earlier books.
7. **Publish on Amazon**: Despite some mixed feelings about Amazon, it remains a crucial platform for self-published authors. Yuwanda earned almost $2,800 from Amazon in one highly successful month.
8. **Diversify Your Publishing Platforms**: While Amazon is important, consider using other platforms like Draft2Digital to reach a wider audience.
9. **Price Your Books Strategically**: Yuwanda uses a simple pricing formula: $3.99 for more erotic stories and $2.99 for regular contemporary romances. She also adjusts prices for series starters to encourage readers to try them.
Writing romance novels can be a profitable venture, especially if you find your niche and regularly provide new content. With self-publishing, you keep most of the profits and maintain control over your work. If you’re interested in writing romance, start exploring this exciting and rewarding genre today!