Joined
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61 Posts
It isn't even just a matter of whether KDP is stable or not, it's life itself.
Case in point? There is nothing stable about 2020.
I think only you know the real answer to this if we're being honest. You can assess how risk-averse you are better than anyone and what factors will weigh in this decision for you. I can say you need to take into consideration what can affect your income outside of just Amazon.
For example: I quit my day job after I released my first book and it outearned my job earnings over 3x in one month. I was in a unique situation though--I was on the verge of burnout, I was constantly sick and even worse my one-year-old daughter was also always sick. I worked 7-4, got home at 5:30, went through the motions of caring for a toddler, and when she was in bed by about 7:30 I would clean my house, shower, and then write until about 11 or 12... back at it the next morning at 5. My husband has a great job that's extremely stable. My day job was just covering the bills I took on to pay + daycare with no room to pay down anything else... The decision was really easy.
Even then, life can still interfere. My father was diagnosed with cancer and my mother was initially diagnosed with pulmonary fibrosis. Since then they've changed her diagnosis and he's gone through the treatments and is currently cancer-free. Another pregnancy thrown in there, and I didn't release anything in 2019. Income has fallen greatly. 2020 was another blow. It's getting better now. But my point is that you just never know what life is going to throw at you.
Tldr; KDP isn't going to be your only worry. Consider different scenarios. You know best what you can handle and what consequences could be one way or another. Almost everyone I have ever talked to on this topic will always recommend you have at the minimum a nice chunk of savings to fall back on just in case. It's good advice.
Case in point? There is nothing stable about 2020.
I think only you know the real answer to this if we're being honest. You can assess how risk-averse you are better than anyone and what factors will weigh in this decision for you. I can say you need to take into consideration what can affect your income outside of just Amazon.
For example: I quit my day job after I released my first book and it outearned my job earnings over 3x in one month. I was in a unique situation though--I was on the verge of burnout, I was constantly sick and even worse my one-year-old daughter was also always sick. I worked 7-4, got home at 5:30, went through the motions of caring for a toddler, and when she was in bed by about 7:30 I would clean my house, shower, and then write until about 11 or 12... back at it the next morning at 5. My husband has a great job that's extremely stable. My day job was just covering the bills I took on to pay + daycare with no room to pay down anything else... The decision was really easy.
Even then, life can still interfere. My father was diagnosed with cancer and my mother was initially diagnosed with pulmonary fibrosis. Since then they've changed her diagnosis and he's gone through the treatments and is currently cancer-free. Another pregnancy thrown in there, and I didn't release anything in 2019. Income has fallen greatly. 2020 was another blow. It's getting better now. But my point is that you just never know what life is going to throw at you.
Tldr; KDP isn't going to be your only worry. Consider different scenarios. You know best what you can handle and what consequences could be one way or another. Almost everyone I have ever talked to on this topic will always recommend you have at the minimum a nice chunk of savings to fall back on just in case. It's good advice.
