#107: Building a $5K/Month Author Business

Read Time: 3 Minutes

I love seeing authors celebrate their first $100, $500, $1,000 month.

It's a genuine milestone – you've proven readers will pay for the words you've poured your heart and soul in to.

Here's the thing though... you shouldn't stop there (if you want to build an author business).

That celebration moment is the perfect time to shift your thinking, because what got you to $100, $500, $1,000 won't get you to $5,000, $10,000+.

How to Think Like a Publisher, Not Just An Author

Publishers don't hope their books will sell.

They have systems to make them sell.

Here are a few of the most important fundamental shifts you need to make:

Authors think: "I hope readers find my book."
Publishers think: "How do I get my book in front of the right readers?"

Authors think: "I'll write the best book possible and hope it sells."
Publishers think: "How can I deliver a quality book to the market profitably and enjoy writing it?"

Authors think: "Marketing feels icky and sales-y."
Publishers think: "Marketing is how I serve readers and connect them with books they'll love."

The difference isn't talent or luck.

It's approach.

Publishers treat each book as a product in a portfolio.

They analyze market data, test positioning, and scale what works. They think in systems, not single titles.

When you start thinking like a publisher, you stop waiting for lightning to strike and start building the infrastructure to reach your goals.

The Scarcity Mindset Keeping You Stuck at $500 Months

Authors who celebrate too early often plateau there for years.

Why?

Because $500 feels "good enough" when you're thinking small.

The scarcity mindset tells you:

• "I should be grateful for any income from my writing"
• "Most books sell 250 copies in their lifetime, so $500 is amazing"
• "I don't want to seem greedy asking for more"
• "Real money in publishing is only for the lucky few"

The abundance mindset recognizes:

• $500/month is $6,000/year – less than minimum wage for the hours you're putting in
• If you can make $500, you can make $5,000
• Your readers want more books from you, not fewer
• Every successful author was once where you are now

Here's the brutal truth...

If you're making $500/month, you're not failing. You're proving there's demand for your work.

The problem isn't your books – it's your business model.

The authors stuck at $500 are typically:

• Launching one book and moving on to the next without maximizing the first
• Treating marketing as a one-time event instead of an ongoing system
• Focusing on getting readers instead of keeping them
• Thinking in single sales instead of lifetime reader value

The Publisher's $500 to $5K Playbook

When publishers have a book earning $500/month, they don't celebrate and move on.

They ask: "How do we 10x this?"

Step 1: Maximize what's working If one book is earning $500, review everything about it. Which ads? Which keywords? Which book description? What can you double down on?

Step 2: Build the backend Money isn't in the first sale – it's in the second, third, and fourth. What's your plan to sell more books to the same readers?

Step 3: Scale systematically Take your $500/month book and methodically test increasing ad spend, expanding to new ad platforms, trying broader keywords.

Step 4: Think in portfolios One $500/month book becomes five $1,000/month books when you approach it systematically.

The difference between $500 and $5,000 isn't usually talent.

It's thinking bigger and building systems to support that bigger thinking.

Your Next Move

If you're currently making $500/month (or dreaming of it), I want you to try this mental exercise:

Instead of asking "How do I make $500/month?" ask "How do I build a business that generates $5,000/month?"

Notice how different that question feels?

Notice how it changes what actions seem logical?

This subtle shift in the questions you ask yourself will kickstart your brain into a different thinking-mode entirely and it will start figuring out answers to those questions.

Ask your brain to make $500 per month, it will find a way.

Ask your brain to make $5,000 per month, it will find a way.

Ask better questions, receive better answers (and change your author business in the process).

That's the publisher mindset in action.

The authors making $1,000's per month aren't necessarily writing better books.

They're building more structure and systems into their business.

And business building is a skill you can learn.

That's it for this week.

Thank you so much for reading. 

Enjoy the rest of your weekend and see you again next Saturday.

To Your Success
– Matt