"It's worth giving up some profits to get the book into the hands of more people," Richards says. Initially, that meant a five-day launch period during which the book could be digitally downloaded for free. Richards also made sure her book was available and attractively priced for different types of readers. "For me, at the time, there weren't many books out there that made finance funny - that had humor and were sassy and sarcastic. Why would somebody buy my book over the thousands that are already out there?" she says. "You have to have a unique value proposition. She found a market nicheĮven with a solid launch, Richards doesn't think her book would have enjoyed sustained sales had it not occupied a particular niche in the market. "Amazon will put your book in front of more organic people if they see you have a lot of reviews and activity."Īfter its first few days on the market, Richards' book had 60 reviews. "Getting reviews early on is as important as getting sales," Richards. Her other big ask, besides downloads: Reviews. "I would personally message people and say, 'Hey it's out. Once the book was published, Richards began interacting 1-on-1 with anyone and everyone she thought she could get interested in the book. "They became emotionally invested," she says. She asked her fellow group members to vote on potential titles and cover designs. Richards began introducing the idea that she was working on a book. "These Facebook groups really helped me build credibility with these women." After a while, she says, Richards became the go-to person in the groups for financial advice. The groups weren't necessarily financial, but I would go on and say, 'My name is Rachel. But in 2017, she didn't have a large social media following or an email list of clients.īut she was involved in several Facebook groups filled with younger women. She launched her book strategicallyĭuring the course of reading books on self-publishing, it became clear to Richards that she would need a launch team - a dedicated group of supporters who would buy and champion her book. These days, the e-book version of "Money Honey" sells for $9.99, the paperback goes for $15.99 and the audiobook costs $17.46. Self-publishing on Amazon has also given Richards the ability to offer her books in different formats for different types of readers.
She spent $3,500 putting together her second book.
Thinking her book wouldn't sell and hoping to limit her losses, Richards spent just $561 to hire an editor and a cover designer for "Money Honey." She says a more "realistic" minimum budget is at least $2,000 and ideally would include an interior formatter as well. She also says that self-publishing guarantees creative control, even if it comes at a cost. When you publish on Amazon, you earn a 35% to 70% royalty." (Royalty structures vary between different formats, such as e-books and paperbacks, and factor in costs such as shipping and tax.) "When you get a book deal, you earn a 10% to 15% royalty. Once she learned she'd have to flog the book herself no matter what, Richards was far less inclined to give a publisher a big chunk of her royalties. "If you're an author with no platform, they're not going to send you out on a national book tour."
"The more I asked authors about their experience, the more I learned that publishers expect you to do 99% of the marketing and promotion," Richards says. She also hoped that with a traditional book deal, the publisher would handle the labor-intensive task of promoting the book. Richards, like many aspiring authors, dreamed of seeing her name in print through the window of her local bookstore. In 2021, royalties from the two titles netted Richards more than $97,000 in profit. All told, through the end of July 2022, Richards has sold about 25,000 copies each of "Money Honey" and her second self-published book, " Passive Income, Aggressive Retirement," a 2019 release which details her strategies for early retirement.
The robust income she earned from publishing didn't hurt. Soon, income from her rental properties would allow her to retire in 2019 at the age of 27. In the same year, Richards had begun building a thriving real estate business. "After that, it was pulling in $1,500 a month pretty consistently," she says. In its first month, the book brought in $600. By just about any measure, it was a massive success. Richards began writing her first book, " Money Honey" in January 2017 and self-published on Amazon that September. "So I thought to myself, 'How can I make this topic sassy and fun and simple?'" And few were targeted toward young women. Then it dawned on her: Most of the financial books she'd come across were boring and esoteric, bordering on intimidating.
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