HOW TO MAKE MONEY AS A SHORT STORY ROMANCE AUTHOR
Is it possible to make money writing short story romance working only part time from the comforts of your home?
YES! ABSOLUTELY!
I won’t say it’s easy, but like anything, you have to put the work in. In the beginning, I would spend approximately 10-12 hours a week writing books.
I started publishing in January of 2018. I started making money my very first month and it grew every month.
For the month of April, only four months after I started, I made $1,951.80.
*Below is my pay information from the Amazon Dashboard.
It was then I realized that I could really make a go of working from home part time and writing short story romances!
WHAT IS A SHORT STORY ROMANCE AUTHOR?
Do you read romance? If so, you are familiar with the genre. However, you may be confused on what a SHORT story romance author is.
A SHORT STORY ROMANCE AUTHOR writes books that are anywhere from 3,000 – 10,000 words. My stories range from 5,500 – 7,500 words.
A short story romance author includes everything in a regular romance story, but in a condensed version. There is still a beginning, middle and end; it’s just shorter.
IS SHORT STORY ROMANCE REALLY EROTICA?
No, well I guess I should say, it can be. There are all different types of romance. I write Steamy Romance. This only means that there are intimate scenes in my stories, but the love story is the main focus. You can read about the different types of romance HERE.
WHY WRITE SHORT STORIES?
Authors spend months, sometimes years, on their books. When writing short stories, you invest only one or maybe two weeks into one book. There are a few reasons why writing short stories has become so popular.
- Takes less time – It takes less time to write a short story than a full length novel. And you will find that short stories are priced on Amazon for $0.99 to $2.99, the same as full length romance novels.
- Able to produce more books – Short stories take less time to write, therefore enabling you to be able to put out more books. In today’s world, it is important to have a large catalog of books.
- Get more practice – The more stories you write the more practice you get in polishing and improving your skills.
- Easier – It is much easier to write a 5,000 word book than a 80,000 word book.
WHAT DO I NEED TO BECOME A SHORT STORY ROMANCE AUTHOR?
Do you have a computer? Then you can start. You do not need a lot to start writing a short story romance! Most likely your computer will have a word processing software on it. If not, you can always use Google Drive to write your books! It is FREE!
HOW DO I BECOME A SHORT STORY ROMANCE AUTHOR?
Start Writing! No Joke. It’s as easy as that!
Here is a quick list for getting started:
- Decide what type of romance you want to write.
- Do a quick outline and summary. Some people only have to do an outline. I have found that if I do a quick summary of what will happen in each chapter really helps me.
- MOST IMPORTANTLY – Start Writing. If you are anything like me, I can RESEARCH FOREVER. You need to start writing.
- Pick a Pen Name – Make sure it is available on social media and there is not another author by that name on Amazon.
- Edit and Format your book – You can send to 3-4 friends to edit it or pay for editing services.
- Design your Book Cover
- PUBLISH!
- Start your next book!
HOW MUCH DOES IT COST TO BECOME A WORK FROM HOME SHORT STORY ROMANCE AUTHOR?
$1. Not kidding. You can start for $1. And the $1 is the price you would pay for your photo on your book cover. I could have said $0, because you can find royalty free images for your books online. BUT, I pay $1 for my book covers so I wanted to be REAL! And publishing your book on Amazon is FREE.
I have spent thousands of dollars on different side jobs, side hustles, and multi level marketing ideas. This is the one part time work from home “job” that I started with only one dollar and made money on.
DO I HAVE TO HAVE A LARGE SOCIAL MEDIA FOLLOWING TO MAKE MONEY AS A SHORT STORY ROMANCE AUTHOR?
No. I started with Nothing! Nada! I had 0 followers on Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, etc. I also had 0 subscribers to my email list. AND I write under a pen name and didn’t want any of my family and friends to read my books (because of the sexy bits), so I couldn’t share my book with them to help promote it.
You can absolutely do this starting brand new. I did!
WHY DO I LOVE BEING AN AUTHOR?
I am an introvert. I have always hated meetings for work consultations. I hate selling! I don’t like putting myself out there. Since I have started writing short story romances under a pen name, I don’t have to.
I sit at a computer (usually in yoga pants and my hair in a bun) and let my words flow! No meetings! No parties! I work when I am able to and since I am a self publisher, I work on my own schedule.
CAN I REALLY DO THIS?
Yes, you can, Sis! You can do it. I know working from home, you still have a household to manage and kids to take care of. But you can do this.
Writing is something you can do any time and anywhere. (I write my stories at my son’s baseball practices ALL THE TIME.)
There are thousands of mom’s out there writing short story romances and making money! You can too!
Since there is only so much I can write in one post, please subscribe to Short Story Side Hustle. This is where I share all my knowledge (free and paid), on becoming a successful Short Story Romance Author! Good Luck To You and HAPPY WRITING!
Hope Ford
… is an Amazon Bestselling Author and Owner of Short Story Side Hustle (AKA SSSH… Mom Writes Romance), where she helps wannabe authors fulfill their dreams.
She is also a wife and a mother to two teenage boys. She spends a lot of her time in the car and this is where most of her best stories are written!
