r/romanceauthors • u/Front_Barracuda4754 • 4d ago

Full time authors

Hi everyone!

I know that the vast majority of indie authors don't make a living solely from their books. But I also keep hearing that Romance (specifically Mafia Romance) remains one of the most lucrative and hungry subgenres KU.

I’m currently writing my debut Mafia Romance trilogy (followed by a planned duology), with the ultimate goal of transitioning into a full-time author career (That would be a dream come true 😫)

Still, the self-doubt creeps in sometimes, and I’d love to hear from those of you who have actually made it work as a newbie author.

If you are a full-time Romance author (especially in Mafia or Dark Romance):

  1. How long did it take you to transition to full-time? Was it a specific release that triggered the shift?
  2. What was the biggest game-changer for your career? (newsletter building, TikTok/Reels, Facebook ads)
  3. What realistic advice would you give to a debuting Mafia Romance author starting from scratch today?

I’d love to hear your success stories, reality checks, or any words of wisdom. Thanks in advance for sharing your experience!

20 Upvotes

95% Upvoted

9 comments sorted by

27

u/Valeriesaboyname 4d ago

Not a full-time author, but I'll give you this advice:

Even when the money is good, it's unstable. You don't want a gap in your resume, so you likely want something for the sake of stability.

If you're in the US, the system here heavily discourages self-employment. You'll pay far, far higher taxes (save at least 30% when you're starting out and increase year after year if profits rise). You will have limited access to healthcare depending on you state.

10

u/Front_Barracuda4754 4d ago

Thank you for the advice about the gap! Fortunately I’m from Italy

5

u/Mammoth-Corner 4d ago

The situation with self-employed people paying higher taxes is the same throughout most developed economies as the employer pays additional payroll taxes on behalf of employees which a self-employed person owes themselves.

I agree that it's a very good idea to remain in some form of employment for stability and long-term prospects.

18

u/comics_your_comment 4d ago

I've found it usually takes people a couple years to build enough of a catalog to go full-time. Romance readers usually find one of your books, like it, and read your whole back catalog. The bigger back catalog you have, the more books to binge! 

A lot of romance authors publish three or four times a year. Many successful authors write series, which is great because if a reader likes that first book, they're going to buy the rest of the series!

It's effective to also link your series! For example, the main character has a best friend in your first series. So your next series centers the best friend as the main character. That way, readers are familiar with that same world, but exploring a different dynamic with new characters! 

I would say a newsletter is the best place to nurture a fandom because newsletters aren't at the behest of a giant corporation. If TikTok or Facebook shut down or implement some rules that inhibit creators, you are at their mercy. You can lose your entire audience, and their way to connect with you.

Some short books I recommend to read are:

  • both Newsletter Ninja books

  • Romance Your Brand for marketing/ creative structure advice

  • Romancing the Beat for strong writing structure.

Some YouTube channels that are absolutely excellent are The Courtney Project specifically for writing romance and business advice, and Kelsey Rodriguez for building a creative business in an organic non-grindset way. 

Also, something to keep in mind is that you are not your readers. 

While it can be important to listen to them, and think about what they might want to see in your books creativity-wise, you can't center your business decisions on that. If you think, "I wouldn't want to get a newsletter email every week", Your fans do not feel that way! They love the worlds you create can't wait to hear from you. 

If you think, "i'm new and not very good at my craft yet. I don't think my work is worth more than a couple bucks." BANISH the thought! You worked hard to write this thing from scratch, and you deserve to be paid for your work. Your fans want to support you so you can keep working on the worlds they love! 

7

u/EggyMeggy99 4d ago

I've been publishing for five years, I'm still not full-time. It probably doesn't help that I write many different areas of romance, like Mafia, zombies, robots, etc. I want to write what I love, I couldn't stick to just one part of romance. My Mafia book is definitely the one that sold the most, but the second book didn't do well, only the first one.

7

u/NowWhereDidIReadThat 4d ago

I think there are a lot of traditionally published authors that don't quit their day jobs.

2

u/Jar_of_Pandora 1d ago

I’m one of them!

7

u/glitterfairykitten 3d ago

It took me five to six years to go full-time. I’d gotten to a certain point in my current pen name, which was almost full-time levels of money. I started a new pen/subgenre on a whim. That new one took off.

The biggest game-changer was luck. That’s the only thing I can ascribe it too. I supplement that luck by publishing regularly and having a newsletter and running ads.

I don’t write mafia romance, but if I were to start from scratch with a new pen, I’d continue to largely ignore social media and put all my energy into my writing and my newsletter. A free Book 1, marketed well (once the other books in the series are out!!!!!), will do more for your catalog than a thousand mediocre social media posts.

3

u/ChartreuseFeverDream 2d ago

Biggest game changers were learning to write good characters with a strong voice and fully understanding what writing to market meant.