Author who self-published book shares exactly how much she earned in one year

An author has shared exactly how much money she’s earned in her first year of being a self-published writer after releasing a trilogy of books through Amazon’s publishing program

If you’re wanting to become an author and wondering where to begin, you can now write and publish your own book without ever having to leave your desk or your home with the help of Amazon.

Once considered a last resort for struggling authors who can’t get a publishing deal, self-publishing is now often seen as a go-to choice for authors wanting to keep all of the creative control over their books. Even successful and bestselling authors, , are embracing this self-publishing revolution, with Francesca Cavallo turning to Amazon’s Kindle Direct Publishing (KDP) for her latest children’s book release.

So, what can you expect to earn from publishing your books through Amazon? Fantasy author R. A. Sandpiper decided to open up about hear earnings and took to her social media to break down everything she’d earned in her first year of being a published writer.

“I’ve done the math, it’s horrible, but I’ve done it. One year as an indie fantasy author. One year completed,” Sandpiper said at the start of her TikTok video.

After launching the first book in her trilogy trilogy on June 9, 2024, Sandpiper decided to share just how much money she’s earned from just her books in their first year of being published.

In the span of 12 months, she’s published a trilogy of books available in paperback with one also being available as a hardcover. Not to mention, she’s also got an audiobook of the first book out and plans to convert her two remaining titles into audiobooks as well.

Sandpiper went on to reveal that the book series has amassed close to 1000 reviews on Goodreads, boasting an impressive average of 4.3 stars, with similar reviews also available on Amazon, which she thought was important to know before diving into the numbers.

Sandpiper shared that her first month of being published in June 2024 was $415, with all her profits ringing in dollars despite her being from the UK. She went on to make $480 in July, $280 in August, before her earnings went back up to $340 in September.

Following the release of her second book in October, her earnings increased to $658 . In November, she also published a novella which added to her earnings of $537 that months. She capped off December with another solid $407.

Entering the new year, she pocketed $371 in January, with February’s figures getting a significant bump up to $729 thanks to a partnership.

“That month, I had a Bookbub featured deal, which I did spend $500 to get, so up to you if you think that was a good deal,” Sandpiper told her viewers.

Her earnings continued into March which saw her earn $562 from book sales, alongside an additional $408 in April. The last book of her trilogy was released in May 2025, which helped her earn an impressive $1,300. As a bonus, she threw in a rough estimate of $180 for the first eight days of June, wrapping up her first full year of book sales.

“And that totally makes $6,650 US dollars. That’s how much I brought in,” Sandpiper shared. “That’s what Amazon has paid me, that’s my Amazon KDP earnings for one full year with three books and a companion novella out in a complete trilogy.

“Also, I’m gonna add in $3,250 which is any other money I brought in,” she continued, explaining how this sum included an audio book deal, book boxes, book clubs, and revenue from signed editions sold on her personal website.

“I have made in one year, like gross income, $9,900. I have spent about $6,000, not including the signed copies stuff that I mentioned earlier, but the other expenses is $6,000,” Sandpiper said. “So in one year as an indie published author of three and a half books, I’ve made $3,900.”

She then confessed that although she’s pleased with the success of her writing endeavour, earning a bit of cash from her passion, it’s still not enough to cover her living expenses.

“If we assume that I’m gonna continue at the rate that I’m currently at, it would probably take me three or four series before I would start to see this being a commercial success, sorry not commercial success, before I can see it as a salary,” Sandpiper said.