From $0 to $400/Month: The 3 Tools That Transformed My Self-Publishing Income

The software stack that actually generates consistent income

Photo by Nick Morrison on Unsplash

Remember my experiment where I made a whopping 42 cents with zero marketing? Well, that was just the beginning.

Over the past months, I’ve scaled that tiny start into my first $400 per month from my self-published books, and I’m on track to hit $500 month. The difference between 42 cents and $400? I stopped trying to do everything the hard way.

Don’t get me wrong, I’m all for scrappy beginnings and free tools. My debut novel was written entirely in Google Docs, and I spent hours manually formatting it (badly, I might add). But there’s a difference between being resourceful and making your life unnecessarily difficult.

After publishing several more books and actually seeing real money come in, I realized that investing in the right tools wasn’t just about convenience — it was about looking professional, saving time, and ultimately making more sales. The three tools I’m about to share have been game-changers in helping me go from hobby writer to someone who actually earns decent money from their books.

Disclaimer: The links to the paid tools are my affiliate links. That means if you purchase through them, I’ll earn…