Insights from a 2025 Survey of Indie Authors
As I welcome you into this New Year, it seems fitting to take a look at some 2025 survey results of 1,346 indie authors, conducted by Written Word Media, to get an idea of the status of the industry.
I stumbled upon this information this past week as I was watching a random YouTube video with the host explaining the latest fee changes from IngramSpark. I'm publishing my memoir this summer *squeal* so this information was important to me. I kept listening on and he shared some very interesting and inspiring results from this recent survey. And I just knew I wanted to pass them on to you.
Takeaway 1: Indie authors are intentionally choosing indie publishing over the trad route
Of the indie authors surveyed, 77% identified as self-published, 17% identified as hybrid published, and only 5% were pursuing traditional publishing.
It's no longer second-rate to self-publish or hire one of the hybrid publishing companies to help you get your story into the hands of your readers. The self-publishing timeline is significantly shorter than traditional publishing, you maintain full control over the representation of your story, and there are loads of professional freelance designers, editors, and coaches to help you fare the seas with you at the helm as project manager.
Takeaway 2: Income as an Indie Author is Affected by a few key points (and they're in your control!)
The survey asked respondents to group themselves in monthly income brackets. Not surprisingly, the largest group (44%) reported making less than $100/mo from their book(s) but those responses also correlated to those individuals who had few books, did not have an email list, and did not do any marketing of their book.
The more encouraging data point came from those authors who listed regularly monthly income of $1000+.
These authors were doing several keys things:
they had multiple books (10+ and often a series)
maintained an active email list
put money into their book marketing
treated their books as a "business"
So those authors bringing in the smaller income shouldn't think of themselves as failing, they are simply early on in their journey with no to little back list or catalog (previously published books) to increase sales. I've seen stats over and over about how every new book you publish helps you sell all your previous ones. From the authors I follow on Threads who have shared their personal sales, there seems to be a tipping point around book 3 (not sure if those are series or not).
Ultimately, as a newly published author (talking to my future self here), you have to remember it's all part of a bigger business and you are mostly paying to invest in yourself when you hire the support you need to get that book across the finish line. You won't always need a book coach to hold your hand and keep you accountable every single time. But if it's your first time, there is so much to learn and understand. You don't have to do it alone.
Takeaway 3: Paperback and ebook formats are still the go-tos for indie authors
This is helpful insight for me as I've begun to work with my book cover designer. I had to recently make this decision about what formats I'd be offering my memoir in, and I'm thrilled to see that what I've chosen is statistically supported.
Of the authors surveyed, 98% offer ebooks and 97% offer paperback formats of their books. This makes sense because of the high discoverability through ebooks and the newer ease of print on demand services through KDP and IngramSpark. An author no longer has to store a case of books in their basement.
Interestingly, the third most common format (51%) is Audiobook. This requires separate distribution channels and whole host of other expenses to create. Even if you perform the narration yourself, you'll still need to hire a sound engineer to put it into the proper forms, correct the audio, and sync everything up correctly. Even there there is a higher entry-level cost to its initial creation, the demand for audiobook formats from readers continues to motivate indie authors to pursue this option as a long-term investment.
Takeaway 4: While Amazon is still the top for sales, direct sales are take a bigger cut of the pie each year
While 83% of surveyed authors listed Amazon as their top revenue source, this number has been on the decline the past three years (87% and 91% in previous years). Instead, authors are doubling down on their direct sales through their own websites or stores. This year, 30% of authors are already selling directly and another 30% say they plan to start doing so in the next year. Of the top earners surveyed, half use direct sales.
There are several benefits to direct sales:*
you keep a larger % of the profits
generate a customer list (email list) you control and can market future books to
special editions, bundle deals, and signed copies allow you to sell for a higher that listing price or generate higher pre-sales/launch day sales
*I want to briefly state that the survey highlights this to be most effective for established authors who have a known readership and it was less effective for new authors to invest in the infrastructure required for this undertaking. Their best source was KDP with its wide discoverability until they were better known in their genre.
I don't want to make this blog post incredibly long, but just know there are further questions about how much indie authors paid for services such as cover design, editors, and monthly marketing. Plus there's points about email list generation and where authors are connecting with community. If any of that is of interest to you, check out the full survey results here.
Did you find any of this surprising? Has any of it changed your mind about the choices around publishing?
