It can be a bit stressful when you work for a company as an author. Learn about the things that I discovered along my self-publishing journey including where the authors of today are working. Do authors work for a company or do they go for another route?
Before I answer today's question, I wanted to let you know of the four answers, the fourth one is a secret that many authors have not considered.
So, let's get into it. Today's question is, do authors work for a company? Now, this is an excellent question.
Because part of the question is most likely coming from someone who is not currently an author but maybe is considering becoming an author.
And then wanting to know, does that mean working for a company? Or working for yourself? Or maybe working for another alternative I haven't even considered?
But before I answer this question, I wanted to let you know that you can check out my free Self-Publishing Checklist that will help you get started on your self-publishing journey or help you advanced in the one that you've been already moving on.
Let's get right on into it. When I started publishing, I started with just a book, not a publishing house, or anybody in contact with me.
I started with my first Kindle book and since then, there have been about 170 books. Actually, more than that. I started with one book and I was working completely for myself.
Check out this related article: Are There More Writers Now Because Of The Internet?
So I did not work for a company. In fact, I wasn't under even as a solopreneur. I wasn't even under a company at that time either.
But since that time, I later discovered as the money started to come in, the amount of money that was coming in made it difficult to do taxes on the revenues and such. And so I needed to have a company.
The Legal Way
Some people like to use a C-corp and some people like to set it up as a Limited Liability. In Norway, it would be a Limited Liability Company or LLC that you would set up to best serve both in terms of taxes and in terms of just keeping track of the money that's coming in.
It is not your personal money but you separate the two and that makes a lot easier. It also protects you legally but you should of course speak to a lawyer.
Check out this related article: What Are The Legal Steps To Publish A Book About Music? It Would Include My Own Transcriptions Of Copyrighted Songs.
So let's get into the answers to the question. In general, the answer is no, as an author, you are not working for a company. You are not an employee of a company.
However, there are exceptions like always. It is that if you are a freelancer, well then, you are in fact perhaps working. You are working for yourself.
But if you are working within a company, sometimes, freelancers let's say on Upwork, they do end up getting hired by companies to write full-time including also copywriters.
People who are responsible for social media marketing and things like that can sometimes be hired as employees of a company to write for that company's sales and marketing material. Even the core content, a technical writer, or something along those lines.
So that is a possibility but the vast majority are independent writers. You may also be paid to write a book that will be published by a traditional publishing house. Also, you would still not be an employee of that company.
But you would be working for that company in terms of putting your books out there to make sales. Then, they would pay you a percentage on those sales.
No Boss Around
Usually, about 10% or 11% is what you would make there as opposed to standard self-publishing where you can make about 70% if you don't go through that.
That's what you get on your Kindle books between $3 and $10 per piece. But the secret is that the huge advantage of being an author is that you have the freedom to work for yourself.
There is not somebody telling you what you have to write. Assuming we are not even dealing with the publishing houses and yourself publishing.
Nobody's going to tell you when you have to put out your content.
Nobody's going to be coming in saying, how much you can earn and how many books you can write, or what types of books you need to write. You have the complete freedom of when you want to work during the day.
Check out this related article: Most Important Factors For eBook Publishing?
If you have a laptop with you, you can just write. Maybe just even speak into a microphone and have it transcribed into a book which is also an option that many self-publishing authors like to use.
I personally like to just write on the keyboard itself to a certain amount of words a day that gets you through several books. So this is one of the best ways of doing it but this is a secret that a lot of people don't consider.
That's the reason why the question of do authors work for a company is a fantastic question. Because this is one of the main advantages of going the self-publishing route.
So, what have you found? Do you work for a company or do you work for yourself? Do you prefer it as working for yourself? Have you tried publishing Kindle books?
Or maybe you would prefer to actually work in a company? Go ahead and check out my other blogs and videos if you'd like to hear answers just like this one.