Uploaded August 2026 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
Wondering when your writing will actually pay the bills? In this video, I break down the 4 stages of an indie author career, plus the mistakes I made along the way and what it really takes to go full-time.
This video is not financial advice. I am not a financial professional. Results may vary.
🛑 FIRST, have you planned out your author career with a series? Get my free workbook, One Book to Bestselling Series, here: kelseyhumphreys.com/writing
🖋️ Submit your in-depth author questions: kelseyhumphreys.com/writing
👋 If you’re new here I’m Kelsey—rom-com author, stand-up comic, and mom of six. I make real-life rants about writing, creating and staying delulu with our creative dreams. I am a lot. Subscribe for weekly humor, heart, inspo, motivation and zero perfectionism.
"Kelsey Q&A" street cred: I have published over 13 novels over three pen names, made six figures in just over a year from book sales, with profit!, and have thousands of reviews and over 33 Million Kindle page reads.
________________________________________________________________
🔗 JUDGE ME
🎁 Get a FREE full-length novel and see what you think: kelseyhumphreys.com/freebie
______________________________________________________________
📌 STALK ME
Instagram → instagram.com/thekelseyhumphreys
Amazon → amazon.com/author/kelseyhumphreys
________________________________________________________________
⏱️ CHAPTERS & TIME STAMPS
0:00 Can I Quit My Job?
0:18 Welcome Back + About Me
0:59 Today's Question from Kira
1:26 Don't Compare Yourself to Other Authors
2:16 Traditionally Published vs. Indie Authors
2:58 Be Careful Who You Compare Yourself To
3:20 Decrease Your Bills First
4:16 Stage 1: Pay to Play
5:47 This Is a Normal Part of Business
6:09 Stage 2: Beer Money
7:39 Build a Series to Grow Faster
9:26 Stage 3: Real Side Gig
10:13 The Mistake I Made in Stage 3
11:09 How to Scale in Stage 3
11:45 Stage 4: Real Money
12:04 The Volatility of the Writing Business
13:04 Don't Rely on Your Latest Release
14:26 Scaling Beyond One Sale Per Book
15:10 Swag, Special Editions & Merch
15:30 Audiobooks & Foreign Editions
16:08 Events & Kickstarters
16:44 Think Like a Business
17:23 Traditional Publishing Reality Check
18:52 You Still Need a Long-Term Plan
19:13 Tough Love: This Can Happen for You
19:55 Resources & Submit Your Questions
20:13 I'm Still Writing Books Too
20:57 Stay Delusional
If this helped you, drop a comment with your biggest takeaway! And if you need longer than a youtube comment don't forget you can submit your questions at kelseyhumphries.com/writing for a chance to be featured in a future video.
Stay delulu, and I'll see you next week!
________________________________________________________________
TAGS:
when will writing pay my bills, full time author, indie author income, author career stages, how to make money writing books, self publishing tips, indie author tips, author business, writing as a career, quit your job to write, Kelsey McPhee, authortube, writing YouTube, author YouTube, book marketing for authors, how to sell more books, series writing strategy, rapid release books, connected standalones, how to write a series, backlist strategy, author branding, Kindle page reads, KDP publishing, indie publishing, Amazon ads for authors, author email list, building reader fans, reader expectations, short form video for authors, BookTok, Bookstagram, romance author, rom com author, women's fiction, fiction writing tips, writing advice, author income, making a living as a writer, self publishing business, author marketing strategy, traditionally published vs indie publishing, author merch, audiobooks for indie authors, foreign editions, Kickstarter for authors, signed special editions, writing full time, author entrepreneur
Wondering when your writing will actually pay the bills? In this video, I break down the 4 stages of an indie author career, plus the mistakes I made along the way and what it really takes to go full-time.
This video is not financial advice. I am not a financial professional. Results may vary.
🛑 FIRST, have you planned out your author career with a series? Get my free workbook, One Book to Bestselling Series, here: kelseyhumphreys.com/writing
🖋️ Submit your in-depth author questions: kelseyhumphreys.com/writing
👋 If you’re new here I’m Kelsey—rom-com author, stand-up comic, and mom of six. I make real-life rants about writing, creating and staying delulu with our creative dreams. I am a lot. Subscribe for weekly humor, heart, inspo, motivation and zero perfectionism.
"Kelsey Q&A" street cred: I have published over 13 novels over three pen names, made six figures in just over a year from book sales, with profit!, and have thousands of reviews and over 33 Million Kindle page reads.
________________________________________________________________
🔗 JUDGE ME
🎁 Get a FREE full-length novel and see what you think: kelseyhumphreys.com/freebie
______________________________________________________________
📌 STALK ME
Instagram → instagram.com/thekelseyhumphreys
Amazon → amazon.com/author/kelseyhumphreys
________________________________________________________________
⏱️ CHAPTERS & TIME STAMPS
0:00 Can I Quit My Job?
0:18 Welcome Back + About Me
0:59 Today's Question from Kira
1:26 Don't Compare Yourself to Other Authors
2:16 Traditionally Published vs. Indie Authors
2:58 Be Careful Who You Compare Yourself To
3:20 Decrease Your Bills First
4:16 Stage 1: Pay to Play
5:47 This Is a Normal Part of Business
6:09 Stage 2: Beer Money
7:39 Build a Series to Grow Faster
9:26 Stage 3: Real Side Gig
10:13 The Mistake I Made in Stage 3
11:09 How to Scale in Stage 3
11:45 Stage 4: Real Money
12:04 The Volatility of the Writing Business
13:04 Don't Rely on Your Latest Release
14:26 Scaling Beyond One Sale Per Book
15:10 Swag, Special Editions & Merch
15:30 Audiobooks & Foreign Editions
16:08 Events & Kickstarters
16:44 Think Like a Business
17:23 Traditional Publishing Reality Check
18:52 You Still Need a Long-Term Plan
19:13 Tough Love: This Can Happen for You
19:55 Resources & Submit Your Questions
20:13 I'm Still Writing Books Too
20:57 Stay Delusional
If this helped you, drop a comment with your biggest takeaway! And if you need longer than a youtube comment don't forget you can submit your questions at kelseyhumphries.com/writing for a chance to be featured in a future video.
Stay delulu, and I'll see you next week!
________________________________________________________________
TAGS:
when will writing pay my bills, full time author, indie author income, author career stages, how to make money writing books, self publishing tips, indie author tips, author business, writing as a career, quit your job to write, Kelsey McPhee, authortube, writing YouTube, author YouTube, book marketing for authors, how to sell more books, series writing strategy, rapid release books, connected standalones, how to write a series, backlist strategy, author branding, Kindle page reads, KDP publishing, indie publishing, Amazon ads for authors, author email list, building reader fans, reader expectations, short form video for authors, BookTok, Bookstagram, romance author, rom com author, women's fiction, fiction writing tips, writing advice, author income, making a living as a writer, self publishing business, author marketing strategy, traditionally published vs indie publishing, author merch, audiobooks for indie authors, foreign editions, Kickstarter for authors, signed special editions, writing full time, author entrepreneur
