Last year, we conducted a survey about how authors spend their time. To take a closer look at a day in the life of a successful writer, we reached out to one survey respondent who has been publishing since 2016 and now earns five figures per month from his books. Full-time, hybrid author J.D.L. Rosell writes epic fantasy and has expanded into multiple subgenres over the years.
In this interview, J.D.L. shares his daily routine, where he invests his marketing budget, what tools are essential to his author business, and his advice for authors working toward that six-figure milestone. His philosophy is to treat writing as a business — but you don’t have to think of your books as “products” to build a sustainable career.
1. Tell us about your author journey so far.
I’ve been publishing since 2016, so it’s been a decade now — still a bit hard for me to believe! I write in epic fantasy primarily, though I’ve dabbled in LitRPG, science fiction, science fantasy, and plan to delve into cozy fantasy soon.
My business has evolved drastically over time, including through my treating it as a business. While I can’t quite think of my books as “products” — they’re too precious to me for that — I do think of everything I do as part of the business, and myself as a business owner.
I can’t quite think of my books as ‘products’ — they’re too precious to me for that — but I do think of everything I do as part of the business, and myself as a business owner.
2. What does your publishing mix look like?
I’m primarily indie. Only in audio am I traditionally published, starting with Podium Entertainment and now also through Brilliance Publishing. I have an agent now, too — Joshua Bilmes with JABberwocky, who is also Brandon Sanderson’s agent.
My income used to be almost all from ebook sales. But as I’ve run more Kickstarters, that percentage has shifted to a roughly even split between ebook and print, with audio adding a healthy chunk in there as well.
3. Walk us through a typical week in your author business.
I spend about 50% of my time on writing and 50% on other tasks, including admin and marketing.
I usually write in the mornings until lunch, then use the afternoons for business matters.
In my non-writing time, I spend at least half of that on marketing tasks, including running ads across various platforms and posting to social media. There are too many other admin tasks to recount, but those most often include communications, be it with the various artists and designers I work with, other authors, or the occasional business collaboration.
Though I try not to work on the weekends, I’ll usually take one morning to clean up tasks left over from the week.
4. What does a productive day look like for you?
A successful day is one where I’m in flow the entire writing session. I used to go for more stringent word counts, but I’ve scaled back those expectations. For me, they became unsustainable and counterproductive, leading to either worse results in the draft, more stress, or both. Now, I try to complete one chapter each morning (if I’m in the drafting stage) or just generally be on task and productive for the entire writing session.
For admin tasks, I tend not to have to spend as much brain power on them, so it’s easier to get things done. The only problem there is putting too much on my to-do list! To circumvent the feeling of not doing enough, I make a short to-do list for each day and try to limit it to what’s actually doable.
5. What marketing strategies have been most effective for growing your audience and income?
My top strategies are display advertising, email newsletters, and BookBub Featured Deals.
Facebook ads are where I spend the majority of my marketing budget — mid-five figures each year. Their adaptability in usage for both discounted books and full-price books, as well as for advertising on different platforms — for example, Amazon and Kickstarter — makes them a key part of my plan. I’ve achieved the most continuous value from them and understand the platform well, even if it’s infuriating at the best of times to wrestle it into doing what you want.
My next highest spend is on Amazon ads. I’ve had more aggressive periods of spend here in the past, but I’ve presently scaled them back quite a bit.
Increasingly, I’m shifting focus to BookBub Ads. Matt J. Holmes, husband to author Lori Holmes and a marketing course creator, tipped me off that they’ve been working for Lori’s books. I’ve been pleased to find the same for mine. $0.99 ads are especially effective, though I’ve found success with $2.99 ads for one of my series as well.
Email newsletters are essential for gathering repeat readers, who you could also call superfans. Your newsletter is also one of the few audiences you can reliably reach and take with you to different platforms, so it’s key to a stable author business.
Lastly, BookBub Featured Deals are my number one driver of sales on discounted books. Every $0.99 sale that has a BBFD behind it has worked for me! I’ve always sought and valued Featured Deals, which remain a fantastic engine for kicking off sales and reaching new readers.
BookBub Featured Deals are my number one driver of sales on discounted books. Every $0.99 sale that has a BBFD behind it has worked for me!
6. What tools would you struggle to live without?
Scrivener is my favorite writing tool and where I compose most of my books.
Google Docs is useful for its ease of use, accessibility across devices, and various document types and projects.
Spreadsheets in general — learn to love the spreadsheet! It’s useful for analyzing data of all kinds, but especially in marketing.
Photoshop — I use it just about every day. It’s critical for making the many graphics necessary for ads, social media, and my website.
7. What advice would you give authors trying to reach the six-figure level?
The most important thing for reaching six figures is writing more quality books for which you’ve identified a readership and continuously marketing those books. Most authors will struggle to achieve that much income from just one or two books. Once you have several series under your belt, marketing becomes more profitable, you build trust with readers, and you’ll be able to reach more and more people.
The most important thing for reaching six figures is writing more quality books for which you’ve identified a readership and continuously marketing those books.
As soon as you can, adopt a vision for your career. That’s a tall order for most of us at the outset — it certainly was for me! — but as soon as you can realize what type of business model you enjoy and works for you, the quicker you can align your tactics to achieve it.
Publishing is a long game! From what I’ve seen, those who foster loyal readerships have stuck around much longer than those trying to make a quick buck. The important thing here is not to betray your readers, but give graciously whenever you can. The same goes for your fellow authors!
8. What’s the biggest challenge in your author business right now?
My biggest challenge at the moment is trying to do everything I’d like! My wife is helping out with the business these days, and partnerships with distribution companies like Merrick Books helps to get books to readers. But I have about twenty novels I’d want to write at any given time, so there’s a lot more I’d like to achieve.
J.D.L. Rosell was swept away on a journey when he stepped foot outside his door and into The Hobbit. He hasn’t stopped wandering since. When he’s not off on a quest, Josiah enjoys curling up with a good book with his cats, Zelda and Abenthy, and replaying his favorite video games next to his wife. Learn more about him at jdlrosell.com.
Responses have been lightly edited for clarity.
