Writers: let's talk financial strategies for 2025

Different ways for writers to consider and explore income opportunities

Today I want to talk about financial planning for writers – a topic I’ll look to return to this year, because it’s an area where us writers need lots of support, resources, ideas and cushioning. Is anyone aware of a financial planning service for writers?! I’m not sure such a thing exists – but if any group needs support to get more financially savvy, it’s writers. We have no job security, limited control over book sales, and the whole topic of money is an extremely sensitive touchpoint for many of us.

In my experience, writers are generally quite rubbish at thinking about and discussing earning money from their writing, and there are lots of reasons for this, such as:

1. It’s really, really hard to make money as a writer! (Insert extra ‘really’s here if you understand from experience just how hard it is.)

2. There’s a massive disparity between bestselling authors and the other 95% of writers, which brings up all sorts of emotions for writers at all ends of the spectrum. Writers who earn a lot might feel guilty and have a strange sense that they’ve just been lucky - but while luck plays some part in all our financial dealings, I don’t know any bestselling authors who have just relied on luck without also working their arses off! Meanwhile, there are many authors finding it hard/impossible to earn decent money in the midlist, and many more struggling to get a deal, for whom the lack of financial success can be horribly demoralising.

3. Authors don’t like reducing our heartfelt words and passion projects to dollar values. It makes us feel ick.

4. We don’t like looking ‘salesy’ and asking people for money for our work.

5. We’re often asked to do things for free, which makes us feel guilty if we say no, and it also makes us wonder what we *should* be charging for.

6. The industry can be secretive about contracts and sales figures and earning potential, meaning it’s hard to get a grasp of what we might expect to earn for any particular project.

7. There is nowhere for writers to go for general financial guidance and support.

8. We can see that book ‘success’ is ultimately judged on sales, rather than content or merit, which can be extremely disheartening.

9. Most writers are not in the writing game primarily for the money, which makes it hard to prioritise financial strategy - although it’s equally as hard not to be able to earn money doing what you love.

10. We don’t know how to ask for financial support.

All in all, the ongoing stress of finances is a major contributor to writer burnout.

For all these reasons, we are also a group that desperately needs to talk about money. We know that disappointing sales figures can curtail or end careers. leaving writers with no option to turn to other sources of income, so if we want quality writing and ideas to persist in our culture, we need to find all the ways we can to support the writers working hard to deliver it – now more than ever, since AI is waiting to take over and deliver more of our writing profits to the tech bros!

This anxiety around money is also becoming ever-present on Substack, and if you’ve been here for a while you’ll know there’s a lot of stressing about whether to turn on paid subscriptions, and what to charge - which sends us all into an anxiety spiral about what we should or shouldn’t do and the signals we’re sending out by providing a paid tier. There’s certainly a feeling amongst the community that turning on paid sends a signal that you’re only really here for the money, which puts some people off adding paid subscriptions altogether. Others turn on paid but try not to think about it. A few turn on paid and push their paid substack with the force of a freight train. But the phrase ‘paid strategy’ is likely to send shivers down many substack writers’ spines.

And there’s another side to this: because many of us feel guilt and shame through not being able to support everyone on here, as though we’re ‘freeloading’ if we don’t sign up for the paid version – and those who push too hard can amplify this feeling. Ultimately, this guilt causes some people to switch off, which is so sad – as at the core of substack is this fantastic opportunity to connect with one another. The paid extension is simply a chance for the subscribers who want to get closest to our work, support us and/or learn from us to have the opportunity to do so. It’s a win-win for everyone when we stop worrying about it all – and it’s a bonus that Substack also feels like one of the safer places on the internet right now (please, Substack gods, let this continue!).

I’ve been earning my living as a writer for the past fifteen years, and I’ve been self-employed for twenty-three years (I worked as a freelance book editor in my previous life). I’ve had strong five-figure months and nightmarish low five-figure years, but while the challenges remain, I feel that nowadays I (usually) have a clearer head around them. I haven’t earned as much from my writing as I could have done over the last decade because there have been other really important values in my life – such as raising my children and completing my PhD. And it’s important to acknowledge that our individual financial strategies always need to be tailored to our circumstances and our priorities, which will vary over time, and we must be kind to ourselves about that. A solid financial strategy can have both short and long-term goals, and should incorporate other things we value, like our family and our health. We don’t have to achieve everything right this moment, we can build over time, make mistakes, switch things around and try again.

There is, of course, absolutely no obligation to ask for money for your writing, particularly if you want to keep it stress-free and joyful! You may prefer to focus on your writing as a valuable hobby or a side income, and not make it a key focus of your financial planning. There’s a great amount of stress relief in taking the financial component away from writing – although the downside is that your paid job may keep you away from writing more than you’d like. However, if you want to be a professional writer, you HAVE to regularly ask for money for your work, it’s an integral part of the job description!

In which case, all authors will benefit from thinking about the following:

1) Be realistic about what you’re trying to sell.

Bestselling books sell well because they have broad, far-reaching appeal. Niche books and topics require niche markets. Make sure your strategy, your method of publication and your product are working together.

2) Don’t disregard your backlist.

Keeping my backlist rolling is predominantly how I managed to earn a good five-figure income from my writing last year despite not having published a new book for three years (which isn’t ideal at all). I’m always actively assessing where my backlist is placed and whether there are opportunities to regenerate income. Old books don’t have to die and they really shouldn’t – they become part of your portfolio.

2) Your writing strategy is vital for your financial strategy

Setting words down is always your primary strategy for income – it should come before any other kind of work. Do you have proper time apportioned to make sure this happens, or is your life being taken over by outreach and extra activities? Have you set flexible goals this year to further your writing?

3) Do you have evergreen content that you’re not using, which could be repurposed in some way?

For example, I’ve been wondering what to do with my PhD exegesis for a while – I wasn’t sure I wanted to spend the time working it into a book when I don’t think it would have a great reach. However, once I started thinking about it as course content I got really excited, and this is one of my goals for 2025. Please consider everything you’ve already written as evergreen content and look at how it might be repurposed.

4) Value your time, and analyse how your time is converting to money.

All artistic projects are valuable but not all of them will reward you financially for the time you take with them. Every decision you make places some kind of value on your time. It’s essential that some of this time is valued in terms of dollars, as you need to eat and pay the bills!

5) Set financial goals down on paper, so you can do regular check-ins to assess what’s working and what isn’t.

I have spreadsheets showing me how my books do in different territories and formats, allowing me to clearly see what is and isn’t working so well. (Note: don’t get caught up doing too much analysis work around small amounts of money, as authors often end up with a lot of different sources of income - an overview of the big picture of these smaller payments is fine.)

6) Refer to your financial strategy when considering the opportunities that come your way.

Often, people ask writers to do things for free: and if income is going well there might be more time for you to do things gratis if you want to. But please think carefully about these commitments, because I’ve watched many writers, both big sellers and debuts and everyone in between, do an awful lot for free (because writers have amazingly big hearts) and it can end up undermining their value, burning them out, and leaving them without enough time to finish their writing projects. One of the hardest things about a writing career is having to say no even when you understand that every opportunity is valuable in some way, and especially when you really want to help people out. However, if you haven’t planned out your writing and financial strategy for the foreseeable future, you’re far more likely to find yourself saying yes to too much. This year I know exactly when I’m available and not available for events, endorsement requests and so on – and while there always needs to be flexibility for important opportunities, it’s a big stress-reliever to know when I can truly focus on my writing.

7) Understand the realities of contract negotiation.

In my experience, the level of investment offered upfront often (not always) shows how much focus and push your book will be given. Less money may mean less time will be devoted to your books. This isn’t personal – and it doesn’t mean publishers won’t be doing all they can or are not committed to your work - but everyone has time limitations. Publishing is a business that needs to focus on the books most likely to bring them larger returns, or those they’ve made a substantial investment in. However, you can still ask questions around this, set out your hopes and expectations, and focus on getting all you can out of contract negotiations (hopefully with the support of an agent), because for many authors this may be the only money you ever see for your work. Please don’t include royalties in your future budget until you’ve established them.

8) Evaluate your options as a public speaker.

If you’re just starting out you might want to offer free gigs to get experience, but as you get further down the track you will probably want to charge for different types of events. The Australian Society of Authors offers a guide to what to charge for speaking gigs here, the UK Society of Authors has advice here, and the Authors Guild in the US has a Money Matters series here. Remember: you get to decide how you promote your book, and public speaking isn’t for everyone, but it can really help you get the word out and connect with readers so it’s worth considering.

9) Don’t let other people’s comments around financial strategy put you off your own game, unless they align with your own aspirations, particularly on Substack.

Writers on Substack seem to be spending a lot of time justifying their own choices around paid subscriptions – however, everyone is here for their own reasons and should be able to pursue their own paths. The angst around monetising can easily turn into a nebulous kind of doubt and shame if you don’t have a strategy.

10) Give yourself permission!

Most importantly, give yourself permission to embrace the monetary side of your writing, and not to shy away from it. Earning money from writing is usually a long game. However, the more we earn, the more money we can put back into our precious community and the more we can support other writers and projects we care about.

To sum things up: when financial planning becomes tricky it’s easy to fall victim to self-sabotage. However, to create a strong and sustainable writing ecosystem we need to champion the idea of writers earning money without putting shame or limits around these expectations. It’s extremely important that we all have a goal-orientated and flexible financial strategy – so that we don’t head down that crazy rabbit hole of a) not daring to talk about anything money-related without feeling selfish and demanding, or b) feeling guilty for asking to be paid for our work.

Thanks for reading! If you’ve found anything particularly useful when it comes to working on your financial strategy, I’d love to hear about it in the comments.

Until next time, happy writing!