Where's the Money - Alternative Author Income

Girl cat in a sunny spot for tax because this will be a short blog post. 

In order to diversify one's money-making schemes as an author, one must first be making money as an author. 

Making money as an author. Haha. Who told you I make money as an author? Perhaps I did at one time. Currently, the cash comes in the door because I picked up a gig as a technical writer. Boring af but it pays the bills. Other than that, all of my effort goes toward trying to get a book written, edited, and out the door in the fragments of time outside of the day job and the demands of family. 

Plenty of people in the writing world have made fantastic alternate income streams for themselves. I pay for some of the services offered via those streams. But honestly. I'd like to get back in the swing of being an author and maybe being paid a little bit before contemplating other business opportunities. Maybe I lack imagination, but I do feel like I might ought to nail the titular entrepreneurship effort first.

Beyond Book Sales: Other Ways to Earn Income as an Author

 This week at the SFF Seven, we're asking about book-related income that is specifically not from book sales.

There was an asterisk to that, specifying that the question was in relation to the Authors Guild 2023 Income Survey, which I didn't read. (I have Opinions about that survey, which I won't go into.) But I assume the question comes from the survey dividing author income into book-related and not, and the person asking is wondering what the "not" might be. It's a good question because I'm a firm believer that long-term success in this fickle business relies on diversifying income streams. 

I actually have a line on my income spreadsheets that says "Other Writing Income," as opposed to the "Book Sales" line. What kind of income is that?

1. My Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/JeffesCloset. This is how I offer mentoring and coaching to other writers. Plus, it's a great little community that's truly supportive and positive in a non-toxic way.
2. Other kinds of coaching. I also offer various kinds of one-on-one mentoring and coaching.
3. Workshops, presentations, and master classes. I love giving talks and I especially love it when they pay me!
4. Articles and similar nonfiction writing. Love getting paid for those, too!
5. YouTube. I have a podcast, First Cup of Coffee with Jeffe Kennedy, with enough subscribers that I earn income from the views.