3 ms·
>money should not be main motivator for writing a book. I know my case is an extreme corner case, but I did finally try my hand at writing a book to make money
by asicsp 6y ago
>money should not be main motivator for writing a book.
I know my case is an extreme corner case, but I did finally try my hand at writing a book to make money. Long story short, I left my job, was living on my savings, tried a few things, etc. The only active earning came via 1/2 workshops I conducted at my college. I started maintaing materials for those workshops and expanded it on my own interest and tried to get donations. But no one did (GitHub didn't have sponsors at that time).
Finally, as a sort of last ditch effort before being forced to start working a job again, I tried my hand at converting my materials into a book. I had been working to convert "Think Python" to "Think Ruby", so that gave a bit of experience and confidence as well. Second book gave an initial sale of $250+ (enough to pay two months of my expenses), so I've continued with it.
With the pandemic, my workshops have dried up. Fortunately, I have 6 books now and looks like I'll comfortably cover my expenses this year. My monthly salary from 6 years back when I left the job would've covered my current yearly expenses, but I'm unlikely to go back to working like that again.
- jonstewart 6y agoDo you mind me asking how ~$250 is enough to cover your expenses for 2 months? That amount is so low for anyone in the US that the anecdote reads more as proof that it’s not worth it to write a book for the income. :-)
- asicsp 6y agoI'm from India and currently live in outskirts of a city. I'm living in a rented place, otherwise my expenses (currently about $150 per month) would be even lesser. I also employ a maid for cleaning/washing purposes. $150 translates to more than Rs.10000 and that puts me above the average income in my country.