The Author Side-Hustle: Monetizing Your Publishing Superpowers

Because you already have a highly specialized toolkit. It’s time to put it to work. (That's what we did!)

When I (Jo) started in the publishing industry back in the stone ages (2014) I knew nothing other than I loved books and had a story in my head. My first book made a whopping $2000. I still worked at a day job as a trained Graphic Designer, but I knew that I didn't want to be beholden to anyone. I wanted to work for myself. My next three releases during 2014 made me a nice little bit of pocket money, but not enough to quit the day job. That actually took me another three years. In 2017 I was working full time as an author but by 2018 I knew I wanted more. Yes I was making money, but I missed using my graphic design skills. I started Enchanted Quill Press in 2018 where I offered book cover design to other authors. Over the years it expanded to offering PA work, Editing and everything else I could think of to help authors. There's no feeling in the world that working for yourself. Is it scary... yes, but it's also empowering. Your losses might be your losses, but your wins... They all belong to you! I grew my own business which revolved around the publishing world and I couldn't be happier. I could do that because I self taught myself everything I needed to know and know I leverage that knowledge and years of honing my skills to make myself money. then, if I have a launch that flops or a bad sales month, I always know I'll have some money coming in.

 

When you’re riding the royalty rollercoaster or looking to fast-track your debt payoff plan, your first instinct might be to look for a traditional second job. But before you go applying for retail shifts or signing up to deliver groceries in your spare time, take a look at the skills you’ve already built as an author.

You have spent months, maybe years, learning the incredibly complex ins and outs of the publishing industry. You know how to spot a plot hole, how to format a file, how to pitch a newsletter, and how to navigate the absolute maze of Amazon categories. To the average person, that knowledge is a foreign language. To other authors, it is a highly valuable service.

Instead of starting from scratch with a random side-hustle, you can use your insider publishing knowledge to bring in extra streams of income right now. Here are some of the best ways to turn your author superpowers into quick, reliable cash.

 

1. The Knowledge-Sharers (Teaching & Mentoring)

You don't need a PhD or twenty published books to teach. If you are one step ahead of someone else on the publishing path, you have a masterclass worth of knowledge to share.

• Online Workshops & Mini-Courses: Have you mastered romance pacing, sci-fi worldbuilding, or the cozy mystery formula? Turn that specific framework into a live Zoom workshop or a bite-sized video course on platforms like Teachable or Udemy.

• 1-on-1 Book Coaching: Many aspiring writers have brilliant ideas but are completely paralyzed by how to structure a book or take the first step toward self-publishing. You can charge an hourly rate to look over their outlines, keep them accountable, and walk them through the process.

• Local Community Classes: Reach out to local libraries, community centers, or adult education programs. They are always hunting for creative experts to host weekend workshops on creative writing, plotting, or "How to Publish Your First Ebook."

• Paid Masterminds or Paid Newsletters: If you love sharing your daily business insights or deep-dive writing tips, you can set up a paid tier on platforms like Substack or Patreon where authors pay a small monthly subscription for your exclusive advice.

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2. The Word-Nerd Services (Editorial & Continuity)

If you have an eye for detail and love the mechanics of storytelling, you can easily offer your services to other indie authors or busy publishers.

• Developmental Editing or Beta Reading: You already know how to analyze character arcs and pacing. Authors are always looking for fresh, experienced eyes to fix their manuscripts before launch.

• Proofreading: If you are the type of reader who spots a typo in a published bestseller, you can charge a premium to catch those pesky errors for your peers.

• Alpha Reading & Line Editing: Help authors polish their rough drafts chapter by chapter, ensuring the prose flows beautifully before it ever hits a major editor's desk.

• Series Bible Creation / Continuity Editing: For high-volume authors writing long series, keeping track of character eye colors, minor subplots, and world-building rules is a nightmare. You can offer to read their backlist and create a comprehensive "Series Bible" for them.

 

3. The Creative Visuals (Design & Formatting)

If you’ve mastered the aesthetic side of self-publishing, your design skills are highly marketable.

• Premade Cover Design: Custom cover design can take weeks, but if you have a knack for typography and stock photo manipulation, you can create "premade" covers in various genres and sell them on a storefront.

• Interior Formatting: If you invested in professional software like Vellum or Atticus and know how to make a book interior look flawless, you can format manuscripts for other authors who find the tech side completely overwhelming.

• Marketing Graphics & Swag Layout: Authors need a never-ending stream of content. You can design social media templates, A+ Content headers for Amazon, bookmarks, and character cards using tools like Canva Pro.

 

4. The Digital Organizers (Author PAs & Tech Support)

Publishing a book requires a mountain of administrative work. If you are highly organized and love systems, you can become an absolute lifesaver for a high-output author.

• Author Virtual Assistant (PA): You can manage an author’s street team, format and schedule their reader newsletters, handle customer service emails, coordinate newsletter swaps, or moderate their Facebook fan group.

• Metadata & Keyword Optimization: If you know your way around Publisher Rocket and understand how to find low-competition, high-volume keywords, you can offer metadata audits to help authors refresh their backlist sales.

• Ad Campaign Management: Mastered the art of Amazon or Facebook ads? Busy authors will gladly pay a monthly retainer for a trusted peer to manage and monitor their daily ad spend.

5. The Voice & Audio Market (Narration & Audio Engineering)

The audio market is booming, and you don’t always need a Hollywood studio to break into it.

• Audiobook Narration: If you have a great voice, a quiet space, and a decent microphone, you can audition to narrate books on platforms like ACX or Findaway Voices.

• Audio Editing & Proofing: Even if you don't want to narrate, authors who self-narrate need "audio proofers" to listen to the raw tracks to ensure no words were skipped and that the sound quality is crisp.

 

Jo and Jodi's Advice

The absolute best part about leveraging your author knowledge for extra cash? It keeps you deeply embedded in the industry you love. When you teach a class, edit another author's book, or help them set up their newsletter, you aren't wasting your creative energy on a mindless day job—you are actively sharpening your own skills. You are learning what works in the market, building massive networking connections with other creators, and funding your own publishing empire at the exact same time.

Look at your skill set today. What is one task or concept in the publishing process that comes easily to you, but makes other writers panic? There is your new income stream. Go claim it!