How Do You Make £100k a Year With a Book?

Let’s talk about money.

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Specifically, the kind of money most business authors are quietly hoping their book might generate, but rarely get clear answers about.

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There is no shortage of advice telling experts to “write a book and become an authority.” What’s missing is the commercial reality. What does that actually mean in practice? How does a book translate into revenue? And is £100k a year really achievable?

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In our experience, the lack of transparency is the real problem.

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Many authors arrive having been sold the idea of credibility, with very little explanation of outcomes. Vague promises. Woolly marketing language. Long contracts with short on specifics.

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That’s why we take a different approach.

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At Write Business Results, we work with authors and book ideas where we can clearly see a path to five- and six-figure returns within 12–18 months of publication, not solely from book sales, but from how the book is strategically integrated into the business.

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So let’s be clear from the outset. You are not going to make £100k a year from royalties. At an average profit of around £1–£2 per copy, you’d need to sell tens of thousands of books annually. That’s unrealistic for most business authors and unnecessary.

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The real value of a business book lies in how it is leveraged as a business asset. (If this distinction is new, our guide on how to monetise a business book beyond royalties explores this in more depth.)

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The mindset shift most authors never make

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A six-figure author strategy has very little to do with selling books and everything to do with embedding your book into the core of your business.

Your book should influence:

• How people discover you.
• How they understand your expertise.
• How they qualify themselves before working with you.
• How sales conversations unfold.
• How trust is built at scale.

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This is what we mean when we talk about treating a book as a strategic business asset, rather than a standalone product.

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Five ways to make £100k a year with your book

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There is no single formula. Your strategy must be built around your commercial goals and your primary reader, who is usually also your ideal client.

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That said, every successful six-figure author strategy we build includes the following five elements.

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1. Synergy: make your book unavoidable

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Your book should not be an add-on. It should be woven into every touchpoint where someone encounters you or your business.

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That includes:

• Your website and social profiles
• Email signatures and newsletters
• Sales decks and proposals
• Speaking bios and introductions
• Team onboarding and internal language
• Visual environments, from Zoom backgrounds to slide decks

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The question to ask is simple: if someone encounters you anywhere, do they immediately understand what you stand for and how your book fits into that?

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This kind of consistency is what turns a book into a long-term growth asset, rather than a one-off launch.

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2. Signposting: guide people, don’t overwhelm them

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Your audience is overloaded with information. What they want is direction.

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Your book should act as a clear signpost, guiding people towards the next logical step, whether that’s working with you, joining your community, or deepening their understanding of your ideas.

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This is also where visibility matters. For many authors, that includes becoming a self-published bestseller, which remains a powerful trust signal when achieved strategically.

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(We break down exactly how business authors achieve this in our article on self-published bestseller strategy.)

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3. Social connection: don’t disappear after launch

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One of the most common mistakes we see is authors treating launch as the finish line.

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When sales don’t immediately materialise, enthusiasm drops. The book is quietly abandoned. And the conclusion drawn is that “the book didn’t work.”

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In reality, the opposite is true.

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Your book creates one of the warmest relationships you’ll ever have with a prospective client. Someone who has spent five hours reading your ideas is not a cold lead.

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This is why ongoing content, blogs, podcasts, and short-form video are so effective when it’s anchored to your book’s core themes.

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4. Service design: turn readers into premium clients

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A £100k strategy does not require hundreds of clients. Ten clients paying £10,000 each will do it.

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Your book should naturally lead into premium services that extend the conversation it starts. When done well, it pre-qualifies clients, shortens sales cycles, and makes your value easier to articulate.

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Many authors pair this with supporting assets such as an ebook lead magnet or structured onboarding resources that deepen understanding before the first conversation.

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5. Systems: make momentum sustainable

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Six-figure author strategies rely on systems, not constant effort.

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That includes:

• Lead magnets based on your book’s core ideas.
• Simple scorecards or self-assessments.
• Email nurture sequences that build trust over time.
• Automation that removes friction without removing humanity.

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When these systems are aligned, you often need far fewer conversations than you think. Fifty well-qualified conversations can realistically lead to ten premium clients. That’s achievable for most business owners.

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The bigger picture

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Books don’t make money. Businesses do. But when a book is treated as a business asset supported by the right strategy, visibility

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If you want to see how your book could generate five- or six-figure returns, book a strategy call and discover how to turn your ideas into a real business asset.

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