From Side Hustle to Full Time Author in Two Months. This is How. | Andrew Buckley

A successful author career doesn't always follow the path you'd expect. 38 flights last year. Zero day job. How Andrew Buckley built an author career by thinking outside the box - and like a business. If you're an author still grinding away, waiting for royalties to pay your bills, you need to hear what Andrew Buckley figured out. After a decade of writing as a side hustle while working 40+ hour weeks, Andrew quit his job in 2022 and within TWO MONTHS, he had replaced his entire monthly salary. From speaking, teaching, and building a multi-stream author business most writers don't even know is possible. In this episode, we go deep on: → How a single accidental school visit turned into a full-time speaking career → Why "talking about writing" sometimes pays better than writing itself → The exact audiences (beyond writing conferences) that pay authors to show up → How he went from beet-red, palpitating introvert to chasing crowds of 700+ → Why book sales spike EVERY time he speaks → The hybrid traditional + self-pub strategy he's using in 2026 → What most authors get WRONG about marketing in the AI era If you've ever felt like writing more books isn't moving the needle, this conversation will completely change how you think about building an author career. Timestamps 00:00 — "I replaced my salary in 2 months" 01:16 — Meet Andrew Buckley 09:36 — A decade of side hustle before going full-time 14:41 — The pandemic pivot + quitting the day job 17:00 — How the speaking career started (by accident) 25:14 — How to land your first paid speaking gigs 36:24 — Introvert to stage-chaser: the transformation 49:36 — Multiple income streams beyond book sales FIND ANDREW BUCKLEY Website: andrewbuckleyauthor.com Instagram: @andrewbuckleyauthor Story Centric Podcast: https://www.andrewbuckleyauthor.com/s... --- 🟩 SUPPORT MY NEXT KICKSTARTER 🟩 https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/... --- 🚨 Author Discounts & Promos Check out all of our sponsors over on https://www.pintandportal.com/deals Sign up for WISE today -- https://wise.prf.hn/l/RlANJvG/ --- 👉 SUBSCRIBE:    / @pintandportal   🎧 LISTEN TO THE PODCAST Website: https://pintandportal.com Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/3UGMgBm... Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/ca/podcast... Amazon Music: https://music.amazon.ca/podcasts/2c6a... 🛠️ TOOLS I ACTUALLY USE All deals in one place: https://www.pintandportal.com/deals Publisher Champ — every sales dashboard in one place, so you stop clicking between Amazon, Kobo, D2D and the rest to build your own spreadsheet. 10% off your subscription: https://www.publisherchamp.com/referr... Publisher Rocket — keyword and category research to optimize your Amazon listing for both ads and organic sales: https://publisherrocket.cartknox.com/... Wise — how I handle international payments. Your first transfer up to $800 CAD free: https://wise.prf.hn/l/RlANJvG/ Riverside — what I record the show on. Premium remote recording: https://riverside.com/?via=herman-ste... 📚 MY BOOKS & NEWSLETTER All my books and links: https://www.hermansteuernagel.com/links My Kickstarter campaigns: https://www.kickstarter.com/profile/h... Instagram:   / hermansteuernagel   Facebook (the podcast):   / pintandportalpodcast   Facebook (my books):   / hermansteuernagelwrites   TikTok:   / hermansteuernagelwrites   ----- Media Credits Theme Song: Commercial Rock by StudioKolomna (⁠⁠Envato License⁠⁠) Affiliate Disclosure: Some links may be affiliate links. Using them costs you nothing extra and helps support the show. © Herman Steuernagel The Pint & Portal Podcast