Good morning ( or afternoon or evening wherever you are in the world). I know it has been a while since I last posted on my website. I have been busy doing a lot of things (not to mention me fighting a bad cough) but I did take the time and the opportunity to write this really great post.
I had found a website some months ago that mentioned side hustles and I wanted to share it with authors who are struggling to make a living off of their book sales alone (Both traditionally published and self published authors might be going through this now considering the current circumstances right now).
My advice: It’s never a good idea to depend on book sales alone to support your writing full time.
I know a lot of people will be offended by this but that’s okay. I’m willing to take the backlash from this because I have done my research on this topic and have watched numerous videos and read thousands of articles on this topic and the majority of them will tell you the same thing.
And for people who has day jobs while juggling a writing career at the same time? Another word of advice: Keep your day job until you are able to make enough money to cover ALL of your expenses on a monthly basis and have a nest egg in case of an emergency to keep yourself afloat.
But what about authors who took the leap anyway and are now struggling to keep going on a month to month basis? Well, I want to share a website that I found by Mark Dawson that will give you some ideas on the five side hustles he recommends to add some extra income to your pocket whenever you are in-between book sales. Some of the things he mentions are:
Editing and Proofreading
Cover Design
Copywriting
Teaching and
VA work
I think that having these great ideas to start with will get you an idea of what you can do to survive between book sales. Enjoy!
Mark Dawson Six Steps to Author Success

Dominique Gibson knew she wanted to be a writer ever since she sat down at her plastic table and started writing stories out of sheer boredom at eight-years-old. Several years later, she decided to pursue a Bachelor’s Degree in Fiction Writing from Columbia College Chicago. After pursuing a degree in Early Childhood Administration, Dominique decided to go back and pursue a degree she had always wanted: An MFA in Creative Writing which she is now pursuing at Southern New Hampshire University. For more information, Check out her website at dominiquegibsonauthor.com.