It's available in your local library. The library purchases a set amount of audio books or digital books. That is how the author earns a living. Per copy sales also go toward helping an author if they make any money at all from the book. For example, if you wanted to write a book about dogs then you could choose to publish it through a company that pays authors based on how many copies they sell. Or, you could choose to self-publish and not get paid at all. It's up to you what route you want to take. Most people choose to be published by a company because it provides some safety net should they not catch on with the public first time around. For example, if my dog book didn't do well at the beginning but ended up being a success later on, my publisher would allow me to still earn a living even though I hadn't made any money off of the book originally. If I decided to go it alone, I would have to rely on myself for income until my book became popular. There are many different routes you can take when publishing a book. If you want to know what kind of security there is with each option, then feel free to check out our post on how to become a freelance writer.