Audrey wanted to tap into her creative side and now has self-published several works and has even created several book covers.
Tell me a little bit about how you got started?
I decided to start writing in January of 2012, never having written anything creative in my adult life. I wanted an outlet that would challenge me to learn something new, and creative writing seemed like a perfect fit.
Why did you start your Side Business.
After a friend told me that she’d made some money self-publishing, I started looking into it. At first I was just writing short erotic romance and putting them up on Amazon, but soon I branched into novellas and full-length novels. It was very much a hobby I started knowing that I wanted to make some extra cash with it.
How long have you been doing this?
Two years.
How do you make money (Hourly, By Project, Retainer or One Time Fee)?
Royalties from book sales are my primary income, but I also do book covers for a project fee.
What Areas of Marketing have worked best for you, for instance Referrals, Social Media, etc?
Focusing on SEO and copywriting have increased my sales considerably. Although I use Facebook and Twitter, my most important outlet is my mailing list.
When do you find the time to work on your side businesses with a full time job and other obligations?
I fit it in between the cracks. I write whenever I can, and if I have downtime at work I switch over and do social media stuff for my writing. It’s nice to have a hobby that pays the bills, because I can do it whenever I would normally be doing hobby stuff. I also don’t have a TV, so that saves a lot of time.
Did you set any business Goals when you started?
I wanted to make an extra thousand dollars a month, which happened in my third month of self-publishing. From there it’s just been gravy!
What has been the Best thing that has Happened in your Side Business?
Hitting the New York Times bestseller list.
What advice would you give someone just starting out?
Try writing all different kinds of things until something sticks.
If you were starting all over again, what would you do differently?
I would be more willing to give up on series that didn’t do so well.
How can people find out more about your Business?
They can sign up for my mailing list: http://aubreyrosewrites.com/subscribe/
Anything exciting coming up that you would like for us to know about?
I’m going to be starting a free tutorial series for people who want to start writing romance and possibly pick up a new side business by selling their books! The site is HowToWriteARomanceNovel.com and the tutorials will start launching in March.
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