When I first started writing, all I heard was self-publishing on Amazon KDP Select and making audiobooks. There was always pressure to sell your ebooks and audiobooks exclusively on Amazon.
Amazon was all I knew at first because KDP Income Reports were all over the internet. There isn’t much information on being wide, but it is true. However, as time passes, I must modify my strategies. I dislike monopolies and do not want to put all of my eggs in one basket. Stories of writers being banned from a platform are terrifying. And the platform is now your primary source of income.

And if you’ve been self-publishing for a while, you’re probably aware that this is quite common.
Although there are numerous ways to avoid these situations, I will not discuss them here. Because that is not what we must concentrate on right now.

Our main goal is to diversify our income. Instead of focusing all or even 70% of your income on a single platform, diversify your income so that even if one platform fails for whatever reason, you still have others to rely on. Many writers now earn money from multiple sources. However, 80% of their revenue comes from a single source. This is not how multiple streams of income work.

A few years ago, multiple income streams were common; now, 80% of income comes from a single source.

Consider earning $1,000 per month.
Then, according to this rule, you earn $800 from Platform1 and $200 from Platform2.
Will you be able to survive on $200 alone if Platform1 bans you (I hope this never happens to anyone)? Is it enough to keep you going until you start earning money from a third source?

Introducing 5-3-2 Writing Rule for Writers
If you make $1,000 per month.
Then there’s $500 from Platform 1, $300 from Platform 2, and $200 from Platform 3.
(Assumption)

Now consider this: if anyone dies, will you be able to survive?
Without a doubt, yes. We’ll have enough time either to do it right or to find another source of income.
This is how we should be earning money. It should be spread. Not excessively. If you are single and cannot manage more than three sources of income, don’t. You can also pursue other smaller income streams as a side hustle on weekends (only if you want to).

I can’t manage more than three sources of income. It’s difficult for me to do so. If you only have one source of income, there is a lot of administrative work involved. Many people say “work a few hours,” but this is only true if you are blindly copying someone. Of course, I used the 5-3-2 rule as an example. You can make the necessary changes. It also depends on the platform/marketplace with which you are working.

For the time being, I’ll end this here. This is what I’m aiming for this year. I removed some of my books from the marketplace in order to experiment with going exclusive with another platform. I’m not sure if I’ll be successful, but at least I tried to see what works, what doesn’t.

Happy writing everyone.

Hi, I’m Garima and I write about life experiences. I have several books available on Amazon. Check them out today! Any purchases or KDP reads will be greatly appreciated. If you like my books, do leave a review. Here’s the link to my Author page on Amazon – https://www.amazon.com/-/e/B0BQDZXYNV