How to Make Money While Writing—and Actually Finish Your Book
Written By: Qinghe Wang
Date: Auguest 28th, 2026
Photo by Thought Catalog on Unsplash
Have you ever wanted to write a book, but find yourself hesitating or struggling with the writing process?
You don't need to become a professional writer before you start writing. Writing is something you become better at through practice.
One of the greatest benefits of online writing is that it creates a routine. In this way, a large creative project becomes easier when it is divided into small but visible progress. You don’t need a publisher, an agent, or even a complete book. You can easily start with one chapter, one essay, or one idea. Instead of writing an entire novel, you can set a goal of publishing a chapter daily, weekly, or monthly, depending on the length.
Although online publishing might not guarantee discipline, it provides an external force that makes it easier to maintain a writing habit. If you tell yourself, “I will write a novel eventually,” there’s no consequence if you don’t. But if you told readers, “A new chapter comes out every Friday,” you could potentially lose faith and financial support from your audience if you keep stopping without good reason. This creates momentum for you to keep going. Knowing that someone might be waiting for your next piece pushes people to write more. It serves like a homework deadline and makes writing less dependent on inspiration, motivation, and having a large amount of time.
Another magnificent benefit is the reactions you get from your readers before the work is finished. Reader feedback provides information for the author to decide what the work should become. It’s like a free writing workshop. Readers can provide encouragement, questions, criticism, suggestions, and evidence of what they are interested in. For example, if a character is well developed, they would give you praise, and praise is a good motivation to keep writing. And if some information is lacking or difficult to grasp, readers could point that out by telling you that they don’t understand a certain scene or event.
Economically, you can build an audience while you write. Even a small group who consistently reads your work can be meaningful. Your audience grows along with you. And you may also be able to earn money before the book is finished. A writer can potentially earn through subscriptions, memberships, donations, paid content, and eventually book sales.
When it comes to publishing your writing online, there are many platforms you could consider:
Royal Road is a platform for writers to publish fictional works, especially web novels. Readers can discover the story while it is still being written.
Substack is a platform for nonfiction and essays. It can be used to write essays, philosophy, commentary, research, newsletters, and nonfictional works. On this platform, readers can choose to subscribe to a publication.
Patreon is a platform that is made not just for discovery, but also for readers who value a creator's work to provide financial support and receive creator-defined benefits.
And finally, Amazon Kindle Direct Publishing (KDP) allows authors to publish finished eBooks and print books themselves. For print books, KDP can print and ship a copy when a customer orders one, so authors do not generally need to purchase and store a large inventory in advance. The author then receives part of the money from each sale according to KDP's payment terms.
Instead of finding a traditional publisher, many authors choose self-publishing through Amazon KDP because it gives them greater control over their book's publication, pricing, and schedule. The tradeoff is that the author also takes on responsibilities that a traditional publisher would normally handle, such as editing, cover design, marketing, and building an audience.
Publishing your writing online may not only help you earn money, but may also help you develop discipline, receive feedback, build confidence, earn an audience, and form a portfolio. It may even eventually give you a completed work. Even if you only earn a small amount at first, the experience of having someone voluntarily support your writing can make the work feel real and worth continuing.
Instead of telling yourself to write someday, tell yourself to write today. Start with something small, publish it, and keep going. A writing career, or simply a finished book, can begin with a single piece of writing.
Written by: Qinghe Wang
About the author description: Qinghe Wang is an editorial intern and a recent graduate of the University of California, Davis, where she earned a bachelor’s degree in Philosophy, with a minor in Writing.
Writing Habits, Online Writing, Self-Publishing
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