7 Revenue Streams You Can Create with a Self-Published Book
When I published my diabetes book in November 2021, I thought book sales would be my primary income. I was wrong. The $15,000 I made from selling 3,200 copies was just the foundation—the real money came from the seven revenue streams the book created.
The Misconception
When I started writing my first book, I didn’t have any lofty goals. The pandemic was in full swing, and I had always wanted to write a book, so what better time than when you’re stuck in the house with two kids and a newly launched private practice? I made a plan, wrote a chapter a day every day for 30 days, and voila! I had a book.
When I self-published, I thought I’d make money from book sales and then decide whether or not I wanted to repeat the process with another book. My view of book sales was linear, and I didn’t see the big picture. For fiction authors, a great book could lead to a series or a movie deal (I met the lovely Claire Cook, author of Must Love Dogs at a writer’s conference last year, and she tells a very entertaining story about how her novel became a movie). The usual course of events is is very different for healthcare authors: book sales are just a small revenue stream for most of us.
If I'd stopped at book sales, I would've made $15,000 total. By building the business that came after the book, I made that much in a single quarter—and it's recurring revenue. That’s why I like to say, if you’re a nonfiction author in the healthcare space, your book isn’t your business, it’s your business card.
The Seven Revenue Streams
I didn’t plan for or expect my book to create all the opportunities it did, but it turned out that my one book created seven distinct ways to generate income. Here are the seven revenue streams my book created:
Book Sales - The foundation ($15,000 over 4 years)
Email List Growth - Low-ticket offers to subscribers
Online Courses - My book content became the curriculum
Group Coaching - Small cohorts of people who took the online courses and wanted accountability
One-on-one Coaching/Consulting - Additional clients for my insurance-based private practice
Digital Products/Templates - Meal plans, worksheets, tools
Speaking & Workshops - Corporate wellness, conferences, associations
Today I'm going to break down exactly how each one works, what I made from each, and realistic expectations if you pursue them.
Book Sales (The Foundation)
In the past four years, 30 Days to Tame Type 2 Diabetes has sold about 3,200 copies and generated around $15,000 in revenue. I do run Amazon ads to the book, so my net profit is around $3 per book sold, and I continue to sell a dozen or more copies every month five years after publication. I do a quick check on my ads dashboard about once per month, but other than that, that’s a passive source of income that compounds over time.
If a healthcare provider were to write and publish a quality book today, they might expect to sell 500-1200 copies in the first year, assuming they had a reasonably successful book launch. That would equate to $1500-$3600 revenue in year one. It’s not life-changing money, but it does prove that people want and need the information you’ve got, and it serves as the foundation for all the other revenue streams below. Unless you plan to write multiple books, book sales alone won't replace your income. But they prove people want what you're offering—and that validation is worth more than the revenue.
Email List Growth
One thing that worked really well for me was to embedded an opt-in or lead magnet in the back of my books, both the Kindle and the paperback versions. Because they had already purchased and read my book, the people who choose to subscribe to my list already knew, liked, and trusted me. They already knew that I would provide diabetes information in a way that they could understand and that worked for them. So, they were very likely to be open to any low-ticket offers I made via email.
I do give some informational handouts away at no cost to my email list, and I also offer meal plans and mini-courses at a lower price point. Realistically, a healthcare writer might expect 20% of book readers to opt-in to an email list, and 2% of those readers to purchase a digital product every month. Most digital products are priced at $27-$97. Over time, the digital products I’ve sold to my email list have made more money than the book itself. Email subscribers don’t buy just once— they buy repeatedly if you provide valuable products.
Online Courses
Using the chapters of my book as course modules, I created an online course that people could take asynchronously (on their own time). The course contained the same content as the book, but also included videos and worksheets. Some people simply prefer to learn in a course format, others will read the book and then want more step-by-step help with implementation. A course is a natural progression for engaged readers who like higher-touch help.
Courses are typically priced at $297-$997 in the business-to-consumer space. If your course is positioned well, between two and five percent of your email list will convert to purchase your course each month. Courses can run as “evergreen,” meaning they are always available for purchase, or they can be run as “live launches” meaning they are only available during specific times of the year.
Group Coaching
In addition to the asynchronous course, some people will want to add group coaching. Group coaching usually consists of small cohorts (6-15 people) who want community + accountability around a specific topic. Group coaching is time-efficient for the course creator, since one group call per week can help answer the questions of up to 15 people at the same time.
The fee for group coaching varies widely, but often ranges from $400-$2,000 per quarter. The time commitment for the healthcare provider is approximately 8 hours per month (4 hours for live calls, and another 4 hours for preparation, messaging, etc.) Most clinicians can accomplish a group coaching model alongside a full-time job. This is my favorite revenue stream—it’s high impact, there’s a manageable time commitment, and participants get results because of peer accountability.
One-on-one Coaching/Consulting
When you are a published author, you gain instant credibility in the eye of the public. Very often, that means you can charge a premium for one-on-one work. This will often be your highest price point per hour, especially if you are consulting to a company rather than an individual. (If you bill insurance, check your contracts; you may need to charge every client the same fee.)
Your book pre-qualifies you in the eyes of your clients. They come in ready to work with you, with an already-established sense of trust. Realistically, many healthcare providers charge $150-$300/hour for coaching and consulting.
Digital Products/Templates
Depending on the topic of your book, you may be able to create templates, tools, meal plans, or other digital products that support your book's methodology. These can be sold not only to your email list, but also on sites like Etsy or Teachers Pay Teachers. The beauty of a digital product is that it is created once and sold an infinite number of times. With a low price point, there is a low barrier to purchase. A customer who benefits from your digital product may also become an email subscriber and purchase subsequent products in the future. In my work, I have sold meal plans, handouts, and mini-courses.
Digital products are the low-hanging fruit for many healthcare providers. They are the easiest to create, because you can repurpose what you already use with clients. Once you create a digital product that people find useful and find a platform where it sells reasonably well, you can expect steady passive income of $200-$500 per month.
Speaking & Workshops
When you are a published author, you can be paid to speak at corporate wellness programs, conferences, and professional association meetings. Even better, every speaking gig sells books and grows your email list. Presentations may also lead to consulting contracts.
Depending on the type of workshop and the audience size, it’s realistic to expect $500-$5,000 per engagement. It’s wise to start local (free/low-paid) to build a portfolio, and then scale up to national conferences and corporate contracts.
The Compound Effect
You can see that all of these income streams work together, not in isolation. Book sales lead to email subscribers, who eventually enroll in your courses. Speaking gigs lead to book sales, and those book buyers eventually become one-on-one clients. Group coaching clients recommend you to their HR department as a speaker, and that leads to a corporate contract. Each stream feeds the other.
Here’s the actual math:
Book sales: $15,000 over 4 years
And in just one quarter:
Digital products: $4,000
Course sales: $7,000
Consulting: $8,000
Speaking: $2000
I made $18,000 in back-end business revenue in one quarter because these streams compounded. The book wasn't the business—it was the foundation that made everything else possible.
Which Stream Should You Focus On First?
It would be overwhelming (and nearly impossible) to build all seven income streams at once. Better to be strategic, My recommendation? The book is the foundation that proves demand for everything else. First, self-publish a high-quality book. Then, add one low-ticket digital product. Lastly, choose your next move based on your goals:
Want scalability? → Create an online course
Like community? → Offer group coaching
Want high income per hour? → One-one-one coaching is the answer
Crave visibility? → Go for speaking engagements
I launched my book, built my email list, and created one meal plan template. Then I had many, many email conversations with my audience. I watched to see what my subscribers asked for. They told me what to build next.
The Invitation
Have an idea for a book but not sure if it will lead to the profit you want? Download my Book Topic Validator.
Inside, I offer six simple questions to help you:
Choose a topic people will actually pay for
Validate market demand before you invest months writing
Ensure your book leads to backend revenue (not just book sales)
Pick a topic where you have deep knowledge
Position yourself as the go-to expert in your niche
Don’t spend months writing a book that doesn’t sell and doesn’t lead to backend revenue streams. Download your copy of the Book Topic Validator now.
