Is Writing and Self-Publishing a Good Side Gig for Moms?

In today's episode, Charmaine dives into the details of writing and publishing books. She gives her experiences and advice on writing online and self-publishing on Amazon KDP specifically.

Click here to find Charmaine's self-published children's book, "Amos Takes the Skyway."

Transcript

Series Intro: Money-Making for Moms

Speaker 1 0:00

Hi there and welcome to another episode of the Mostly Stay-at-Home Mom podcast , where we chat about entrepreneurship , mom life and earning a side income as a busy mom . I'm your host , charmaine , and I am so glad you're here . Today's episode is going to be the third in a series that I'm doing about making money as a mom , so I've been giving various ideas and sharing my experiences from trying various side income opportunities . As a mom , you are looking to bring in some extra household income while still focusing the majority of your time and energy in the home and taking care of children , if you have kids . So if you go back two episodes , the series started with Amish and Mennonite side hustles . This is a group of people I personally know and I'm connected with , and they are an industrious , productive group , but they also stay family-centered . So it's really interesting to see that dichotomy at work , I think , with the Amish and Mennonite , and there's so much to learn from them . So if you like to learn from other cultures and want ideas for side income , it's a good episode to listen to . And then my last episode was all about craft businesses and whether making crafts or handmade items from your home and selling them is worthwhile , and I speak on this as someone who has tried her own home bakery , so I give some honest and raw insights there , and you'll just have to check out the episode to see what that's like . Maybe you're considering selling crafts from your home . I highly suggest looking into that episode .

Speaker 1 1:56

So today I wanted to talk more about writing and publishing books , or self-publishing books , as a way to potentially earn income on the side as a busy mom . Are there writers or people who enjoy writing listening to this podcast ? Maybe you're like me . There are

Writing & Publishing Options for Moms

Speaker 1 2:16

so many ways to write today . You can write for free , obviously , whether that's personally , for your own satisfaction , or if you want to write publicly , online or in any sort of publication , even newspapers and magazines . Those are still in existence . So there are just so many ways to write , it seems , nowadays , with all of the different platforms that have opened up to us . So , since we're talking about making money , are there ways to make money writing ? That's the big question . That's been a lifelong question for me too , because I have had this lifelong interest in writing . But is it possible , especially to earn writing and be a mom , run a household , do all of the things that we do as busy moms ? My answer is yes , but it's hard . So here are the details .

Speaker 1 3:15

If we're talking about traditional publishing , for instance , it's always seemed like it's been a long process of improving your craft , writing through those rejection letters and continuing to apply , ask , submit manuscripts . So writing has always been sort of this long slog . Even the famous writers that we hear about have usually faced so much rejection , have usually faced so much rejection . I mean , reportedly , jk Rowling's manuscript for Harry Potter was rejected 12 times before it was published and , as we know , that became one of the most popular books of all time . And so you know it's um . I'm familiar with the stories of the famous writers going through immense amounts of rejection in this traditional publishing business . Another story or autobiography I guess you could say of the writer's journey that I enjoyed personally was Stephen King's book On Writing . It's called On Writing , if you want to read that .

Speaker 1 4:27

So yeah , I've been interested in traditional publishing for a long , long time . It wasn't until recently that I was opened up to the world of online writing and all the possibilities there as well . So maybe traditional publishing isn't really possible for you at the moment . I know it's not super possible for me at this moment . It's more like a long-term goal or dream I have . That's okay . There's still other ways that you can publish your writing at a lower stakes endeavor , I guess I could say Unless you are famous or have some sort of following . Trying to publish a book with traditional publishing takes a while to build up your audience , and so , since motherhood is my primary focus right now , this isn't too much of a concern . So let's talk , then , about non-traditional publishing , the new ways to get words out thanks to the internet .

Speaker 1 5:29

Since I'm a dabbler , I've tried a few forms of this . Let's start with online writing . So , personally , I keep writing online because I just can't help myself . An apt description of me would be shy in real life but overshare online . So I love to write and I have hit publish on numerous platforms like Instagram , linkedin ,

The Reality of Online Content Creation

Speaker 1 5:56

facebook , twitter , x and blogs . So I have purchased domains to actually own a website and I've done blogging before . Actually own a website and I've done blogging before . I still run my substitute teaching blog , where I give sort of diary entry type blog posts , but also informative how-tos surrounding my journey or substitute teacher and a mom , and that blog is called Chocolate for the Teach . It's still up on the internet and I've enjoyed getting into the blogging process the past couple of years .

Speaker 1 6:29

But yeah , if you're looking to monetize that , you know all of that you can do without getting paid . I won't even say for free , because there are costs associated with um keeping your words online . Sometimes , like the example I just gave with writing on my own website with my own domain name , it actually costs something to purchase the domain and to purchase hosting to keep your website up online and running . So sometimes you don't even get paid . There are costs . I think it is harder than what some influencers or content creators would have you believe . But as far as making money from content , I do want to go into more detail about content creation in a separate episode than this , but I will say just in general .

Speaker 1 7:21

It's possible to make money from content creation or writing online . In my experience , it's not really a windfall amount right away . Even if you happened to get really randomly lucky and had something go viral , having a viral post or video isn't going to give you massive amounts of cash automatically . I mean , maybe if you were selling something I don't know you could take that as an opportunity , I guess , to make money . But being viral online in and of itself won't give you money , but there are ways to earn . I think , overall , if you want to make a quick buck as a mom , this isn't really the best path for that . It's not definitely a quick buck the best path for that . It's not definitely a quick buck . So making money online through writing and content creation is a long game .

Speaker 1 8:18

You can earn money by including either affiliate links in your writing in which someone clicks on the link and purchases through a certain window or time frame . Then you would receive a small commission from that purchase . Or you can earn money by displaying ads to your viewers and when those viewers or readers click on the ads , you earn small amounts as well . But for affiliate links or ad clicks , we are talking cents or maybe a few dollars for each one of those . So you really need a massive amount of these to create income that's worth even the initial cost and effort , let alone exceeding that . So I really I don't want to discourage you , but it really is tiny , tiny amounts and you would need a huge volume to have that even

Self-Publishing on Amazon KDP

Speaker 1 9:16

make you money making a difference .

Speaker 1 9:17

You know , I personally have affiliate links on my Chocolate for the Teach blog and also on my website , bycharmainecom , where I'm housing the blog posts associated with this podcast , and so far I think I've been an affiliate for over a year . So far I've earned $8 , if that gives you any perspective and the blog itself is two years old with over 100 posts , so I have plenty of content there , but , again , I don't have the biggest volume , I don't have the biggest readership , and so I haven't earned what I would say is meaningful . You know , eight dollars , wow so . But you know , these technologies have been out and available for a while now , I'd say , and that door has been opened to more people to try their hand at this . So this can be a good and a bad thing , right ? So , on the plus side , the barriers to entry have never been lower , so it makes it easier for you to learn how to do this in the first place . I mean , I taught myself how to create a website on WordPress , how to buy a domain name , all of that that was associated with creating a blog . It was a lot of learning , but I was able to do it because there's just a vast amount of free information out there now , and I find that to be similar for any platform you might choose .

Speaker 1 10:54

Unfortunately , this opens the floodgates and creates lots of competition , so it becomes harder for you to stand out . And you want to stand out to gain readers . And remember the more readers , the more eyes , the more chances you get to earn income from those different income paths . So if you're writing as a personal project , that's awesome , that's fine . But if we're talking about making money or any meaningful income writing , no matter which platform , you will need plenty of readers , like more than you think . It doesn't matter how good your writing is From a commercial standpoint . If no one can find you , if no one can read your work , then you're not going to earn money . So you'll need to market your writing and that becomes a job as well . So you basically are writing for the writing and you end up writing for the marketing of your writing .

Speaker 1 11:57

I know it's it's a lot , and I think it's at this point where a lot of content creators and writers get discouraged and I include myself in those numbers because if you are thoughtful in your writing , if you are really putting in a lot of time and effort to put forth a good piece of content or writing , and then all of a sudden you discover there's a whole other job which is putting it out there and marketing it , hoping that someone will read your work . It gets to be quite a lot . So , again , I'll cover more on content creation in a future episode , probably the next one , but in general , yes , while it is possible to make money writing online and creating content , it takes a lot of work and resources . So I will go more into my theories and the trends I'm seeing within content creation in that future episode , but that's my general idea about it . Please don't be discouraged from starting your own thing .

Speaker 1 13:06

Obviously , I have started all these different things . I have blogs , websites , podcasts , so many . They're all just like I , because I just love it and it's something that you can probably stick with . If you enjoy it . I will say , um , but no matter , even if you do enjoy writing and publishing online , it still takes a lot of work as well . So I just want to be honest about that and I want to give everyone as full a picture as I can . I don't want to give you these pie in the sky dreams about going viral or getting millions of followers or anything like that . I would be wary of kind of these clickbait titles and promises and videos and articles by people who you never know , if they just want the clicks , if they just want the views and there might be good information out there , but it truly is . You know , you're hearing it from just a regular average Joe person me . It is hard to get noticed either way .

Speaker 1 14:11

So another option for making money with your writing is to self-publish your work .

Honest Cost-Benefit Analysis & Conclusion

Speaker 1 14:17

There are different ways to do this , but a popular method is through Amazon KDP . I actually went this route when I wrote a children's book with my mom . We published it this past fall actually right before the holidays , and that was it sort of just worked out that way and we were able to put it out there on social media to our friends and family and a lot of people were able to purchase it for the holidays . But basically my mom and I always dreamed of making a book together , with me writing and my mom creating the illustrations , and we were finally able to do that . It was a great project that we worked on and we learned a lot about the editorial and the publishing process through it . But basically my mom taught herself with YouTube videos and the internet how to upload our manuscript or document to Amazon KDP . It was a bit of a process , but it wasn't too bad . Obviously she was able to teach herself and then the book was available for sale on Amazon . So it is printed on demand and we can buy the books at cost . We can sell them ourselves to friends or family or even shops to distribute after paying that initial production fee , or people can purchase directly from Amazon through the link and we receive whatever profit comes from the sale after that initial cost .

Speaker 1 15:48

If you're thinking about publishing on Amazon , kdp I will say the process was tedious because we wanted to put out something high quality , but it was also fun and rewarding and it was honestly like a bucket list , I guess , achievement for ourselves , just something memorable , I guess , that we made together as mother and daughter . So did we earn a lot of money ? Well , producing the book with my mom was the foremost goal . So I'll preface by saying that that we don't regret this at all because it was just . We wanted to just see what would happen . It was sort of an experiment and on that front we completely succeeded .

Speaker 1 16:29

As far as earnings , we didn't earn a windfall amount . The earnings were a nice plus , I'll say , but it wasn't anything you could really live off of . We've sold around 100 copies , so bringing in the profit from those copies , and we did have to spend some time marketing . I posted about it on my social media pages a few times and I tagged my mom as well so her friends would be able to see , and we got a lot of great responses . It was so nice to hear kind of this awesome flood of positive support from friends and family , both my friends and her friends . I can't thank them enough . If you guys supported us , if you bought our book , if you some of you like sent me pictures of you reading with your kids or your kids reading the books , I can't tell you how much that meant to us and how good that makes us feel , just that we were able to put something good out into the world and that it's being enjoyed and learned from . So that truly was so rewarding .

Speaker 1 17:36

But yeah , so we did have to . We did have to put it out there because there are so many books published on Amazon , kdp now . I mean , the barrier to entry is pretty low . People can teach themselves how to do it . It's not like going through a traditional publisher with all of the hoops . So there's a lot of competition and we did have to market , didn't spend too much time or money or resources on marketing , but you know there was some consideration that went into it . Yeah , we got a lot of positive responses from friends . I don't think any strangers have found the book on Amazon . I think all of our sales have been truly from friends , which is fine . But that just goes to show how hard it is to be found , I guess , and how easy it would be to just get lost in the shuffle . And how easy it would be to just get lost in the shuffle .

Speaker 1 18:28

If you are interested in checking it out , it's about 30 pages . It's a children's book , it's printed in color and it's called Amos Takes the Skyway , about an ambitious yet ornery Amish boy who decides to take his three-wheel bike on an adventure over the Sunshine Skyway Bridge . And the ending has a twist to it . It's sort of this silly tale , but also it gives information about the Amish culture . Here in Florida there's an Amish community and it gives a lot of information about the culture , and the last couple pages are informational pages too . So though the story is a fictional one , that ending has some real information about the area , the Skyway Bridge , the Amish and Mennonite culture . So , anyways , that is still on Amazon . It is Amos Takes the Skyway , if you're interested in checking it out .

Speaker 1 19:24

So , to summarize , publishing your writing for profit is hard , but it's not impossible , whether it's going to a traditional publisher or writing online or self-publishing no matter which option you choose to make substantial money it is going to be a long game , I think . Or maybe you start to earn a little here and there you might decide it's worth it to keep sticking it out . Like I said , it's easier to keep going if you truly decide it's worth it to keep sticking it out . Like I said , it's easier to keep going if you truly enjoy it . Or you might try your hand at it for a time period just to see what happens . And even if you do earn money , you might think , wow , this isn't worth it . You know , like I said , my blog had earned $8 in affiliate income and that's not really worth some of the cost to me , but I still do it because I enjoy it and I think I have valuable information on there for other substitute teachers to read . So I keep it up . It's a labor of love , as they say . But yeah , that's my personal perspective .

Speaker 1 20:25

I want to hear your thoughts , please . I have my email open it's mostlyhomemom at gmailcom , if you want to Some of your thoughts . Have you been successful with Amazon publishing or self-publishing or writing online ? I'd love to hear your decide and carefully weigh the pros and cons , if this is something that's worth your time and your energy . Of course , your primary focus maybe if you're here listening to this podcast , is that you want to be that present mom and runner of a household , and so you have to weigh your options to see if this is a worthwhile endeavor to jump into .

Speaker 1 21:08

It is a lot of hard into . It is a lot of hard work . It is a lot of resources too , but to me it's worth it . I enjoy it . So that's my two cents . Follow along for the rest of the money making series . A couple more episodes on that as we finish out this season too . Can't believe we're already drawing near to the end of the second season , but thank you so much for following along . If you found this helpful or enjoyable , please share it with a friend . And , of course , I always love to hear your thoughts and reviews on Spotify or Apple Podcasts , and I will see you in the next episode . Thanks ,