It depends. I've written 23 best-selling books, some self published, some with digital first publishing houses (who concentrate on the ebook rather than traditional sales). I've also signed a traditional book deal with Penguin Random House. I've been writing for over ten years now. Honestly, calculators like these aren't all that accurate. It's very hard to stay in the top 100 charts. I've been there myself, with a No.1 in the US and UK. You need to shift a lot of books and there is a huge amount of competition. Self publishing is rewarding but hard. Usually, authors need to spend a lot of money on ads, which negates the extra profit they make not having to hand the money over to an agent and Amazon. Also, you have to pay for everything yourself, covers, editors, and more (it's a must if you want to be seen). I only sell on Amazon. Exclusivity earns you the ability to use KU and other incentives for readers. Some traditional authors make a lot of money, but being an author isn't for the faint hearted and it certainly isn't a money making scheme. You have to love what you do to roll with the highs and lows. On the positive side, I make a good living from my writing, I love what I do and I work for myself. Not knocking your article, this is just my opinion. I hope it's useful to someone. :-)