Why Do We Expect Books to Pay Us Back?

There is something I see over and over again, and it quietly stops people from ever writing their books.

Many aspiring authors treat books like investments that must financially pay them back in order to be considered valid and worthwhile.

They ask questions like:

Will this make money?

Will I get a return on investment?

Is the work worth it financially?

I understand those questions. Producing a high-quality book is not cheap. Writing, editing, design, publishing, and marketing all require time, energy, and resources.

However, I always want to ask a couple of questions in return, pun intended.

Do you ask for a financial return on everything else you love?

Most people spend thousands of dollars every year on hobbies, passions, entertainment, and experiences without expecting those activities to generate income. Why is writing a book treated differently?

For fun, I researched some of the most common hobbies among American adults and how much people often spend on them annually. The results were fascinating.

• Gardening: up to $1,200 per year
• Arts and crafts: up to $1,500 per year
• Gaming: up to $1,500+ per year
• Fitness and wellness: up to $1,800+ per year
• Music lessons and instruments: up to $2,000+ per year
• Fishing: up to $2,500+ per year
• Golf: up to $3,000+ per year
• Home improvement and DIY projects: up to $5,000+ per year
• Hunting: up to $5,000+ per year
• Travel: up to $8,000+ per year

Think about where people willingly spend money. Is anyone demanding a profit from those experiences?

These pursuits are still meaningful.

I live near the Great Smoky Mountains, where thousands of brown trout and rainbow trout dodge flies atop Little River every day. I have never met a fly fisherman who spent eight hours wading through cold water expecting to make a financial profit. However, I have met plenty who would tell you the experience was worth every minute and every penny.

People invest in passions because those experiences bring joy, growth, healing, connection, fulfillment, and lifelong memories.

When it comes to writing a book, though, something shifts. The expectation suddenly becomes transactional.

I do not like that.

Here is what I believe:

A book is not just a creative outlet. A book is an evergreen contribution to the world.

Your words can serve your family, your community, your future grandchildren, and readers you may never meet. Books preserve wisdom. They carry stories forward. They help people feel seen, understood, challenged, encouraged, and inspired.

Books change lives quietly every single day.

Now let’s look at those hobby expenses over the course of a decade, because this is something most people never stop to consider.

• Gardening: up to $12,000
• Arts and crafts: up to $15,000
• Gaming: up to $15,000+
• Fitness and wellness: up to $18,000+
• Music: up to $20,000+
• Fishing: up to $25,000+
• Golf: up to $30,000+
• Home improvement and DIY projects: up to $50,000+
• Hunting: up to $50,000+
• Travel: up to $80,000+

Do not even get me started on travel sports.

Meanwhile, the majority of a book’s investment typically happens once during the writing, editing, design, publishing, and early marketing process.

Then the book continues to serve.

Your book reaches people while you sleep.

Your words influence conversations you will never hear.

Your story may help another person make a different decision, heal from pain, strengthen a family relationship, start a business, deepen faith, preserve a legacy, or feel less alone.

That kind of return cannot always be measured financially. The impact is often profound and immeasurable.

You may never fully understand the ripple effects your words create. That does not make the impact any less real or the effort any less worthwhile. 

Instead of asking:

“Will this pay me back?”

Maybe we should ask:

“What message has been entrusted to me, and how might it serve others?”

Then ask one more important question:

“What is the cost of keeping that message to myself?”

Books live forever!

Jody Dyer
Founder and CEO, Story Mountain Media