Why I’ve Diversified My Income Streams
tips for writers and creators
When I started out as a writer, I focused only on two things — The romance genre and few non-fiction books which I sold only on Amazon KDP at that time. Most of my books in the earlier days were in Amazon’s Kindle Select Program.
In case you don’t know then I highly recommend reading my previous article — Why I Prefer Wide Over Exclusivity for My Ebooks
So I had only one income source at that time. My full income was dependent on one self-publishing platform alone.
This was truly a good experience for me as this was a great way to dip my toe into starting my own writing business. I also have to add here that during my earlier days, I didn’t have much money to invest — we needed money for editing, proofreading, cover design, etc. Traditional publishing costs a lot of money compared to self-publishing.
From Amazon KDP to Wide
My romance books worked so well on the Amazon Select Program. I got comfortable with Amazon to such an extent that I never published my fiction books anywhere.
That’s where I was wrong.
2 years after I read an article where a writer got his account suspended after writing for Amazon KDP for 10 years.
Now if you are dependent on one platform and hear such news, you’ll be scared, right? I was too.
I don’t know what went wrong or whose fault was, but I need to guard myself. I don’t want my four-figure income to vanish one day completely.
I started shifting all my books (I have multiple pen names and I write tech books under my real name) to other self-publishing platforms. You can read the list here — I Sell Ebooks on More Than 9 Platforms
Gumroad was a game-changer for me
I heard Gumroad for the first time on Reddit by a romance writer who was using the platform to sell ebooks directly to her readers.
I heard Gumroad for the second time on Twitter where a Python programmer used the platform to sell her ebooks.
She made around $200 on the first day.
Wish I had listened to them at the early stage.
I have written about my Gumroad experience in detail here — Gumroad Review (2024): How I Make Money Selling Ebooks
Why I’ve Diversified My Income Streams
It’s been 10 years now since I have been adding more income streams to my portfolio. If you haven’t yet then I hope my article will convince you.
1. Risk Reduction
- Relying on Amazon KDP or any other self-publishing platform was risky for me. I have to mention here that Amazon KDP was the major earner for my fiction books. If I lose one, I’ll be losing more than 50% of my income. That’s huge for me. So I decided to go for Ghostwriting services and Gumroad.
2. Stability and Consistency
- No doubt that I get money from more than one income source now. And above that all are based on one skill- writing. This has helped me to create a more consistent cash flow. Not only it’s consistent but I have increased my writing income by almost 22% (only ebook income).
3. Explore New Opportunities
- I am a full-time ebook writer. I used this one skill to test out different platforms like Fiverr, and Gumroad. Not only this I am using my Instagram music store money for investing in stocks. It’s not much. Three-figure sales per month. Holidays are really good for my music store when my other income sources go down.
4. Financial Goals and Independence
- I had three financial goals — Traveling, shifting to a new place, and increasing my savings. I have already achieved my goals (except for savings- it tends to change every month. Some months aren’t satisfactory). I have one more goal yet to be achieved — buying a house for my family. This year this won’t be possible. But maybe in two years. But definitely, it’s my top priority and my income streams will help me achieve my goals.
5. Tax Efficiency
- Tax Benefits: Diversification can also offer tax advantages. Some income types may have different tax rates or come with deductions that can help optimize your tax situation.
6. Personal Fulfillment
- I work on different projects and ventures and I have say that this helps me a lot to keep things interesting and fullfilling. when i get bored of ebooks, I simply come to Medium and start writing my articles. Or I’ll start creating new products for my music store. I strongly advice you to keep one non-writing business as well. This will help you to increase your productivity.
7. Preparation for Emergencies
- I didn’t have emergency fund before. We rarely care about them in our 20s. But as my 20s have ended I have decided to be secure and safe as much as possible.
8. Retirement Planning
- We all need that right? Not close to retirement but for me increasing my savings each month by at least 10% is my ultimate goal.
Conclusion
I won’t advise you to diversify yourself too much. diversification doesn’t mean spreading yourself too thin. I make sure to have a balance that suits my skills, interests, and financial goals.
I hope you will add more income streams this year.
Secure yourself financially. If you don’t then who will?
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