7 Platforms That Pay Writers, From Comics to Ebooks

7. Publish a comic or novel series

Seven ways your writing can pay, starting with a comic or novel series. Number seven: publish a comic or novel series. Ad Revenue is open to qualifying creators who are eighteen or older. On Tapas, you publish a comic or novel series that readers can follow and subscribe to.

Two programs, Ad Revenue and Support, give creators ways to be paid from page views and fan contributions. Every creator has a Dashboard that tracks both programs. To turn Ad Revenue on, one of your series needs at least 100 subscribers. Readers can also send Ink to creators directly, which is how Support works.

When readers use Ink for Support, 100% goes to creators after third-party fees. Those fees are 30% in apps and 15% on the web. You can apply to Support from your dashboard once one of your series reaches 250 subscribers. A staff member reviews every application, and you can apply again after ninety days if it is not approved.

When your balance reaches at least $25, you can cash out. About 70% of ad revenue goes to creators on Tapas. Support works differently: Tapas takes no cut of the Ink, after third-party fees. By our count, a ten-dollar Support sent on the web leaves $8 and fifty cents after the 15% fee.

That is $10 minus the $1 and fifty cents web fee. Ad Revenue needs 100 subscribers, while Support needs 250 and a review. Payout options can differ where you live. If guides like this help you, subscribe: every step in this video comes from each platform's own official pages, linked below.

6. Write original articles for businesses

Number six: write original articles for businesses. Authors are reviewed first, and only human writing is accepted. On Textbroker, you register as an author, and registration is free. The company connects writers with businesses that want original, human-written content from real people.

All prospective authors then go through a review process before they can see any orders. Textbroker also gives feedback to help authors refine their skills. Textbroker does not accept AI-generated writing, and every submission goes through an AI-detection process. Your pieces need to be original work that you wrote yourself, not text from a tool.

Writers who consistently meet the quality standards can reach more assignments and long-term client relationships. Textbroker is best suited for writers who can follow detailed briefs, research unfamiliar subjects and adapt to different brand voices. With TeamOrders, customers set the price. With DirectOrders, you set your price completely yourself.

In the FAQ's own example, the author's share is 64.7% of the client's price on a DirectOrder. In that example, Textbroker's commission is about 35% of the client's price. By our count, a one-thousand-word DirectOrder at five and a half cents a word comes to $55 for the author. The client pays eight and a half cents a word on that order.

Each author is reviewed first, and only human writing is accepted on this platform. Tax rules can differ where you live.

5. Distribute your print book and your ebook

Number five: distribute your print book and your ebook. Ebook payments arrive about ninety days after the month in which a sale is reported. On IngramSpark, you set up your print book and sell it through the company's global distribution network. You can still use other printers, distributors or companies that you choose to work with.

Print cost is calculated by the number of pages and the type of cover you pick. The page count includes blank pages, so they count toward the cost as well. No matter which retailer sells your ebook, the same share applies to every sale. That share is 85% of the net revenue the company receives.

Ebook retailers have twenty-five days after the month ends to report their sales to the platform. Payments are then made ninety days from the end of the month in which sales are reported. Monthly sales reports arrive by email within five business days after the accounting month ends. So the money from an ebook sale comes well after the sale itself.

If a month has no ebook sales, no compensation report email is sent for it. 85% is your share of the net revenue on each ebook sale. It is figured on the net revenue the company receives, whichever retailer sells the ebook. By our count, if the company receives $6 for an ebook sale, 85% of it is $5 and ten cents.

The other ninety cents of that $6 is not part of your share. Some payment methods have a minimum amount, so a smaller total is paid in a later month. Payment methods can differ where you live.

4. Send your ebook to many stores at once

Number four: send your ebook to many stores at once. Draft2Digital takes about 10% of the retail price of every book sale. On Draft2Digital, you publish an ebook and choose which stores to distribute it to. You choose by clicking a checkbox for each store you want.

Where you set your price, Draft2Digital shows estimated royalties store by store. Those figures are estimates, not a final amount. New accounts that want to publish pay a one-time activation fee of $20. An annual maintenance fee of $12 applies below $100 a year in book sales.

Accounts with no titles in distribution do not pay the maintenance fee. You must submit a tax form, even for a free book. Once your payment method's minimum is met, payments are sent on or around the fifteenth of each month. A sale on January first, for example, is paid on March fifteenth, after the store pays Draft2Digital.

About 10% is Draft2Digital's commission on the retail price of each sale. That commission applies to every book sale. By our count, Draft2Digital's 10% of a four ninety-nine retail price is about fifty cents on each sale. 10% of four ninety-nine is 49.9 cents, which rounds to about fifty.

The costs are the activation fee and, under $100 a year in sales, the maintenance fee. Taxes depend on where you live. That's past the halfway mark: serial stories, client articles, print distribution and ebook stores so far. The last three cover publishing as you write, a reading subscription and a reading program, with the best last.

3. Publish your book while you are still writing it

Number three: publish your book while you are still writing it. Leanpub pays an 80% royalty rate on most sales of self-published books, bundles and courses. On Leanpub, you can write a book and even choose not to publish it there. With no exclusivity, you can publish on as many platforms as you like.

If you write a book on Leanpub, you can take its ebook and print-ready files and publish it anywhere you want. It also puts no limit on what you charge for the book on other platforms. The minimum paid price for an ebook can be as low as ninety-nine cents. You can also set the minimum price to free.

Royalties are 80% for purchases of $7 and ninety-nine cents and up. From ninety-nine cents up to seven ninety-eight, the royalty is 80% minus fifty cents. That fifty-cent amount comes off each royalty in that lower price range. Royalties are typically paid on the seventh day of each month, after a sixty-day hold on each sale.

New authors' royalties are held in layaway until they choose a payment method. 80% is the royalty rate Leanpub pays on most sales. That covers self-published books, bundles and courses. By our count, a nine ninety-nine ebook leaves about $7 and ninety-nine cents at 80%.

The exact figure is a fraction of a cent over $7 and ninety-nine cents. For purchases below seven ninety-nine, fifty cents comes off each royalty, and new royalties wait in layaway first. Payment methods can differ where you live.

2. Sell your ebook in a store with a reading subscription

Number two: sell your ebook in a store with a reading subscription. Original works at or above the minimum price get 70% of the list price. On Kobo Writing Life, you create your author account and confirm your email address. You then add your bank account details, and publishing is not possible until those are in.

Your 70% is calculated on the list price, which is what the customer pays before taxes. That rate applies at or above a minimum price, which the platform sets for each currency. Below that minimum, you receive 45% of the list price instead. Library sales pay 50% of your library price.

Kobo Plus is a reading subscription that pays by the time subscribers spend reading the books you opt in. Each month, the payment rate for authors is 60% of the value of a minute of reading. Authors are paid forty-five days after the end of each monthly period. Payment happens once your sales reach the platform's minimum payment threshold.

After a payment goes out on the fifteenth, it can take five to seven business days to reach your bank. The royalty on original works is 70%, at or above the minimum price. Sales from everywhere count together toward the platform's minimum payment threshold. By our count, a four ninety-nine ebook at 70% leaves about $3 and forty-nine cents.

70% of four ninety-nine is $3 and 49.3 cents, rounded down. Sales under the payment threshold carry over to the next month until it is met. Supported currencies and banks differ where you live.

1. Put your ebook in a reading program

Number one: put your ebook in a reading program. The program is free and open to all authors wherever they live, but it asks for ninety days of exclusivity. On KDP Select, you enroll a Kindle eBook in a free ninety-day program for authors. You then have three days from the start of an enrollment period to cancel it.

To enroll, you need to hold exclusive rights to the book's main content. During the ninety-day period, the Kindle eBook can only be distributed through KDP and public libraries. An enrolled Kindle eBook is automatically included in Kindle+. Reading activity in Kindle+ is paid through the KDP Select Global Fund.

You can offer the Kindle eBook for free for up to five days in each ninety-day enrollment period. Those free days apply in all KDP marketplaces, not just one. Enrollment can begin at any time, so you choose when your ninety days start counting. Unused free days do not roll over to the next enrollment period.

Ninety days is the length of each enrollment period in the program. While a free promotion runs, you do not receive royalties for that ebook. By our count, five free days out of ninety is one day in every eighteen. Ninety divided by five is eighteen, so the free days are a small share of each period.

The ebook stays exclusive for each ninety-day period, and renewal is automatic unless you turn it off. Tax rules on book sales can differ where you live. So, seven ways: Tapas, Textbroker, IngramSpark, Draft2Digital, Leanpub, Kobo Writing Life and KDP Select. Each one sets its own rules on its own help page.

Rules and availability differ where you live. So open the platform's own help page first, and see what it asks for in your area. Which one fits your writing? Tell us the number in the comments.

Results vary, and this is information only, not financial advice. This is Wealth Filings. Next, more side gigs and how each one works, linked on screen.