Fiction vs Non-fiction — Which Makes More Money
the answer is in you
Looking back I often find myself more drawn to these questions. As a newbie, we tend to pay attention to money rather than anything else.
When you are starting and want to make writing your full-time income you often think of what to write. Because that time it feels like genres are the most important thing.
“If you wanna make this a full-time income, write XXX genre.”
I would go through YouTube or Reddit to see the author’s income report. They were engaging but there was another side to the coin.
The path to making six-figure book sales is not generally dependent on genre.
What we think as a newbie is to write what sells most.
We have eyes on the goal and not what it takes to reach there.
Three years ago I was sure that fiction, especially romance, makes more money. Chances are that this was true because I was drawn to female writers who wrote romance and women’s fiction.
But other genres of authors were making a full-time income as well.
I know writers writing about dog training and making $1k per month.
Note — It’s his side hustle. He is a blogger.
I have seen new-time guitarists writing handbooks and making tons of money. I cannot guarantee full time but yes, $1k a month is not something to be laughed at either.
So the question itself is incorrect. The question should be — how to make more money writing books? The answer to the question is in my previous articles.
But even after pros and cons on both sides of the writing world, There are some common patterns I have seen.
- Making money on fiction is a little easy than compared to non-fiction. But the royalty on each sale is less.
- We make more in non-fiction per book. We cannot sell a good non-fiction book for $0.99.
- Romance still sells the best. Romance has various sub-genres and we all know which one makes the most money.
But this doesn’t mean you should start writing the genre which sells the most! I did this myself and I left it, wasting all my energies and my creativity. This pulls you in a different direction,
Today you will find someone claiming “Spiritual books make more money” and you will start writing spiritual books.
And what if you find “Horror fiction makes more money” the other day? You will leave all your previous work and start a new completely unrelated project?
If you are confused, you will be pulled in different directions.
If you don’t enjoy writing it then it’s really painful down the road.
You make money only when you enjoy the genre. If you don’t enjoy the genre then this will be reflected in your writing. And your audience will find that out soon.
For any genre you write, there is a need for passion.
Sometimes, passion goes down. Many times because of mental fatigue or doing the same thing everything single day. And when you remember why the hell you started, you get charged up once more. But this is only possible when you write in the genre you love.
Or if you love both then you can do what I have done.
I write fiction under Hazel Paradise. And all my programming and business books under my real name. This way I get a break from my fiction world because I cannot create stories every single day. You need a break to refill your brain with more creativity.
Nowadays I pay more attention to non-fiction. But soon like any other creative, I will go back to my fiction world as well. It’s hard to stay away from fiction when you know there are still many books to write!
If you want to know more about making money on Fiverr, then you can check out my book “Small Ebooks, Big Money”. Happy Writing Journey!
Happy writing journey!
