In this article we will review what seem to be newer, or simply alternative forms of sharing your writing with the world.
One of the formats that I did not expect to become as popular as it did, as fast as it did, was pay- per- read formats. I have not yet tried it (As of the time writing this) so I will be drawing off the experience of two other writers who have tried it. I am sure there are plenty of sites that use this format, but the one I am most familiar with is Medium.
One friend of mine does not post regularly on there, it is more of a sporadic thing. She posts when she feels inspired, and it is usually small bits of prose here and there. I don’t actually know the exact frequency of her posting, but she said she makes a few cents here and there, but that is about it.
Now, on the other hand, a lovely lady I work with also writes on Medium. She used to post every day or so, and during the peak of the pandemic, she was making around $1500- $1800 a month just off of writing. Her numbers have since gone down as we all return to work and she does not have the time to write as much. She said her backlog earns her money, but not like she used to.
My one word of caution for anyone who is inspired by these sorts of numbers is to remember that this happened in the peak of the pandemic, when we were all at home and desperate for any way to entertain ourselves. I am sure there are still plenty of readers out there, I just don’t know if the numbers are quite as spectacular as they used to be. I definitely still think you should take your shot- I know that I am- but be cautious.
Another thing that seems to be absolutely booming as of late is podcasting. Most podcasts are a more conversational format, yes, or reviews, (or are there any other true crime fans out there?) but there is also the subsect of podcasts that are fictional. The most noteworthy ones are ones like Welcome to Nightvale and the Magnus Archives. I know that for Nightvale, at least, the authors, Jeffrey Cranor and Joseph Fink, make their entire livings off of writing podcasts. They can and have written novels, but the majority of their income is entirely writing these podcasts.
Naturally, these two podcasts I’ve mentioned are some of the biggest in the fictional podcast world, but it seems like there are constantly more and more podcasts coming out that are more of telling a story than discussing a topic. If you tend to write more short form, then a 20-60 minute podcast format may be ideal for someone like you.
From what I understand, podcasts make money from ad revenue, and depending on what your host platform is, you may get paid simply by how many people listen in. Ad revenue is the biggest way, though, so keep that in mind if you decide that podcasting is for you.
In the same vein as podcasts, audiobooks have also been incredibly popular as of late. I know that I have a few readers myself who constantly pester me to make an audiobook for them. I refuse for reasons I will go into soon, but it just goes to show that if a small creator such as myself already has demand, then it is definitely a format worth looking into.
For audiobooks, if you yourself do not have a high quality audio setup and experience in voice acting or the like, then it tends to get expensive to create. Even if you record it yourself, you will need to either purchase the equipment or rent out a space to use for the time being.
After that, you may need to hire someone to read it for you. These actors, I think an actor is the right word, tend to get paid by the hour. I am sure there is some out there that would take a flat rate, but don’t count on it. From the information I was able to gather online, these actors can charge anywhere from $25-55 dollars an hour, but other sources say to expect it to be closer to $150-$250 an hour. Either way, it can be steep.
Once all of that is factored in, you need to find a place to publish it. If you read my previous article regarding the way that I personally publish, then I am sure you are aware of the fact that I use Amazon mainly to publish, as well as my strong, albeit conflicted, feelings about them. They still remain the largest distributor for self-published books, but in the same vein, they have the widest distribution of audio books. I am sure we have all heard extensively about Audible through ads and word of mouth. Audible is done through Amazon.
I do not have an audiobook, and likely never will, not through Amazon. Here is why.
If all you have on KDP is physical/E-books, then you own all of your rights. You are welcome to publish through other independent publishers, or even traditional publishers. You own your rights. For someone like myself, who is trying to diversify my income, I rely on that a lot. After all, as stated in my previous article, I plan to expand into Barnes and Noble and honestly wherever else I can break into.
If you publish an audiobook through Amazon/ Audible, then you lose those rights. It is written in a lot of legal- ese that I needed to re-read a few times to understand, but from what I can gather, for 5 years Amazon owns the rights to your book, print, e-book, and audiobook. If you are okay with that, then it very well may be the easiest way to get your audiobook into the world. I will leave that decision up to you.
The last format I will talk about (in this article at least) is Patreon. For those who do not know, Patreon is a pay- per- month subscription style site where subscribers, called Patrons, can view content made by creators. There are three different tiers, prices set by the content creators, that can unlock different levels of content. The most common way I have seen this used by writers is for early release or bonus content. Others have published all of their work on Patreon, or release a first chapter for free but then you need to become a Patron to continue to read their work. It can be done in any way you would like, the platform provides a lot of freedom for how it is used. I personally used Patreon briefly, but found it rather difficult to continue creating content when I am already not doing all that well keeping up with other deadlines, so take my advice with a grain of salt.
All this being said, I must say I am glad to live in this world where we have so many options! As always, make sure you do your own research on top of reading what I have to say, and happy writing!
-Bailey
Bailey Mikkelson has written numerous novels, streams on Twitch, and has a lovely Instagram feed!