12 Ways Retirees Can Make Money Through Passive Income

7. Write an e-book

Add your voice to the mix! Maybe you’ll be the next Stephen King. Even if not, it’s possible to bring in cash without a high-powered book contract, thanks to self-publishing platforms.

Amazon’s Kindle Direct Publishing, for example, allows you to write, upload and sell your words fairly easily. My two personal finance books are for sale on Kindle, and they provide a steady stream of passive income. I also sell PDFs of the books through my personal website. I use a payment platform called e-Junkie to handle payments and deliver the book downloads — and this brings me more money per book than Amazon does, even when I offer readers a discount code.

If you’re fond of a particular genre (or more than one), write the kind of stuff you’d like to read. Get on a roll: Think about writing a series of books involving the same protagonist.

Nonfiction sells, too: cookbooks, travel guides, history, memoirs and how-tos are a few examples. Or maybe you have a specific skill to teach; if so, write about job-hunting or food preservation or raising chinchillas.

Getting the book written, edited, formatted and illustrated does take work upfront, and there’s no guarantee you’ll make money. But once the book is done and uploaded, your work is done and the income is passive.

Promote the book, online or locally, to help get it in front of people. Local libraries and colleges might be willing to host author talks or readings, after which you can sell paperback copies. If your book is for kids or is on a topic that’s useful to older children, ask about joining a book fair or giving talks at schools.