My husband was doing our year end budget several weeks ago and told me that I had spent more than five thousand dollars on writing related expenses. I was shocked! Book sales may have resulted in $1000. If that.
What’s an author to do? I’ve been at this for 15 years! Despite all my efforts to get traditionally published, nothing has worked except for one novel – Time and Regret – published by Lake Union, an Amazon imprint. I’ve self-published five novels and those who have read them give very positive feedback. However, finding enough readers is the central problem. Despite the marketing I do and the marketing I pay someone else to do, sales do not exceed expenses.
My costs include blogging and author website maintenance, subscriptions to SurveyMonkey and Mailchimp. For every book there’s cover design, editing support, marketing support, fees to submit my novels to well-known review sites like Kirkus and MidWest Reviews and to submit for awards. Occasional travel expenses – like conferences and writers retreats.
I really do love writing but one has to ask how to proceed in the face of so little commercial success.
At this point, I’m trying to decide what direction to take. I think I need to recognize that writing is a hobby and not a second career. I need to be grateful for the successes I have had and the feedback I get from readers who enjoy my novels or follow my blog. I also need to celebrate the friends I’ve made with other authors in the writing community.
Do I have more books to write? I have two commitments: one is to write a third novel for our grandsons. I’ve had a lot of fun writing the first two: The Magical Tree (set in 1775) and A King’s Knight (set in 1487). They lift my spirits, as do the smiles and feedback I receive from them. I’ve promised to write a third story, this one set during WWII.
Another project is a book based on my mother’s love life. You see, she had four men in her life. Each of these men died before her. How did she go on? How did she have the courage to love again? Yes, I definitely have to write that one.
Stepping back, I realize that I’m a very fortunate woman. I taught myself how to write and now have 6 adult novels and 2 children’s novels to my credit. I love the researching that goes into historical novels. I write the stories that appeal to me in the time periods that interest me. I have the freedom to experiment as I did with That Was Then, a contemporary thriller. I love creating new characters and spending time with them. I love crafting sentences and re-crafting them until they are polished. (Well, maybe that’s a bit of an exaggeration!!) I love connecting with other authors and sharing our respective journeys and challenges.
Thoughts and advice welcome!
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M.K. Tod writes historical fiction. Her latest novel THAT WAS THEN is a contemporary thriller. Mary’s other novels, THE ADMIRAL’S WIFE, PARIS IN RUINS, TIME AND REGRET, LIES TOLD IN SILENCE and UNRAVELLED are available from Amazon, Nook, Kobo, Google Play and iTunes. She can be contacted on Facebook or on her website www.mktod.com.
42 Responses
Hi. my 2023 year was like yours. Expenses exceeded the income for Books. I decided to experiment. I focused on trying to get more speaking gigs where I could sell books in the back of the room. I traveled only to speaking gigs that would reimburse me for travel, or pay me to come. The rest were bookclubs on Zoom. I stopped doing social media almost entirely. I blogged only once. And I did one on one outreach to people that I absolutely knew would read or share the book in a book club. And despite the fact that I lost my mom and nearly my dad and had travel plans that impacted my ability to work, in 2024 I sold 10 times the number of books. Overall indie authors have to think less like traditional publishers. And we have to give up on the idea that we’re going to be on bookstore shelves. I make two dollars a book when a bookstore sells it. When I sell the book I make 10. I never pay for a kirkus review— the cost of one doesn’t sell more books —and recently even a traditional publisher said they’re doing away with reviews. I never work with bookstores unless it’s by happenstance that we connect. and most importantly, I have a Square site where I sell all my books, Director readers and I sign and shipped to them. It is more work, but I wouldn’t make a profit without it. 75% of my Books sales come through that Square site. Another 20% comes in cash when I sell at the back of a room. Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Indy bookstores, IngramSpark— all of those combined with both print and e-book don’t amount to more than 5% of my income. Well, there are exceptions, and it generally falls into the areas of sci-fi and romance, the online and retail outlets for selling books prevent authors from making a living at writing full-time unless you are traditionally published. Despite my stellar year in 2024, I cannot write full-time. I have a 20 Hour per week, marketing job, which honestly saves me all those outgoing fees for cover design and marketing. And I have a recurring Paid speaking gig. And even I am questioning if I’m going to write another book. The hours I know it takes to produce one, and then to do all the marketing associated with it as sometimes overwhelming. I think every self published author needs to ask the question. If I wasn’t doing all this, what would I do with those hours instead? I wish you luck. That is a difficult question to answer even on the best days.
What a great story, Karen. Many thanks for sharing. I’m sure others will appreciate your advice … may I create a post with your insights? I’m happy to share some links to your novels and covers as well. LMK … Mary
I know just how you feel, Mary! There are so many of us self-published authors, in effect paying to be authors – some teeter constantly on the break-even, and a tiny handful topple over into profit. For myself, I am in the teetering group, and like you I am a fortunate woman in that I can take the financial hit. I would love to be a “professional” author – by which I mean one who makes a living (albeit a scratched living) from writing – but I have to face the fact that it is unlikely to happen for me. All of that said, I just love the research and writing so much that I will continue as long as people enjoy reading my books, and take personal satisfaction from knowing that I have managed to do what so many people claim they can do and yet never do: actually finish writing a book!
Many thanks, Sue. And you write great stories!! I wish you lots of success 🙂
With six novels now published (the latest, The Wanderer and the Way, published today) and a travel memoir coming next month, I have come to justify my writing career as slightly less expensive than playing golf.
Your response makes me chuckle, Mark. Many thanks for sharing. As for me, I also play golf! So a double whammy 🙂 Best wishes for the new novel – I hope you know that you are always welcome on my blog!
Good to know. Thank you. Actually, I may have an idea….
Hi Mary. I’m sorry you’re discouraged. Perhaps you could check out genres trending now and direct your efforts towards those for more commercial success. You write terrific novels — a new one in a popular genre might bring you the attention you deserve. Best wishes.
What a lovely, encouraging comment. Many thanks, Rae.
I think you are right to treat it as a very successful and rewarding hobby, Mary. You have achieved a great deal and helped many other authors, and created something lasting in this world. Enjoy writing the next two books and ignore the financial implications.
Perfect advice, Elinor. Now if I could just get passed the ‘sh*tshow’ happening south of our border ….
Carry on, Mary. I understand your dilemma all too well. We have to love writing to keep at it.
So true, Maryka!
Having lived 70+ years in a capitalist society, it’s hard not to believe that the purpose and value of our creative expression is measured in the production and sale of products. You asked for thoughts and advice, Mary. In reading about your quandary this morning, I find myself asking if an artist in 21st century North America can view their work in any way other than commercial success. And when the balance sheet totals a negative, we accept that measure among the many others (grandchildren, avid historical fiction geeks at convention, personal appreciations on the blog at readings and book signings) as the most important indicator of value. Perhaps this is the ideal moment to reconsider the purpose and value of our creative expression. How does it researching and writing books give me insight and joy as one who shares her life with so many others? Thanks for your long labor producing your blog. It’s a treasure.
Hi Chris … I’m so grateful for your response and the way it makes me think about my life and my writing. If you’d like to do a brief blog post with that theme, I would be delighted!! Warm wishes,
As far as I can tell, most of us write because we need to write, and not for an income, unless we are very fortunate ala Gabaldon.. Recognizing that in every career there are a few top dogs, and most people are not those top dogs, we only write if we must write. I do not know about the financial aspect of my writing. I’m into my third book, and getting older – no publisher – no covers yet – but the costs are surely there up front. Now, I am writing for the sense of leaving something behind. That is probably not the best reason, but there you have it. Love writing and hate writing.
Many thanks for sharing that perspective, Judith. All best.
Hi, Mary. Don’t be discouraged. If you’re doing what you love, do you really need commercial success? I had 11 self published novels under my belt before a publisher found me. A hybrid publisher where we share the work and the costs. So it remains to be seen if the venture will be a success. If not, I will plod on because I am a born writer. I can’t not write.
Many thanks, Susan. I’ve come to terms with not needing commercial success (or at least, I’m coming to terms with it!!). I’m intrigued to hear about your hybrid publisher which sounds like an interesting arrangement.
I write to figure out things that have always intrigued me and to enjoy the flow, the immense joy when I get it just right. I publish to see if my stories resonate with readers.
Last year I had to admit that I was engaged in a hobby and not a business, and, after a while, I was okay with that.
Hi Ana .. thanks for sharing your perspective. Sending warm wishes.
Hi Mary, Thanks to your encouragement I kept writing after my first discouraging dip into the icy waters of self-publishing. Don’t forget how important you are as a mentor to others. There is a lot more to putting yourself out there than just commercial success, though that would be nice too. Your books are gems.
What a lovely compliment. Many thanks, Keira. You’ve made my day!
Bless you.
You too, Dawn.
Your writing career is similar to mine. Thanks for sharing – I needed that sense of camaraderie
Yes! You’re right about camaraderie. Many thanks, Sandra.
Oh Mary. I fully understand. I know just how you feel. Your writing is excellent. I love the work you are doing to keep history alive. I, too, had a great deal of difficulty getting my second novel of historical fiction published, and although it is an essentially Canadian story, not a single Canadian publisher (that accepts un-agented work) or agent would accept it. So many rejections. It was exhausting and discouraging. Finally at the eleventh hour, I was accepted last year by a small US publisher. It’s been a long journey this year, but I have a published book and am now working as hard to market it as if I’d self-published. I worked all weekend, sold seven books, with a profit of $15.00. The expenses: hotel, meals, gas… So I’m about $400.00 in the hole just this weekend, but…the experiences, the lovely magic of meeting old friends and making new acquaintances? It was worth it. I am looking at it now as if my husband and I are on a cruise, a really exotic cruise (in good old Alberta, LOL). That would cost at least $10K, right? So…maybe that will help. There’s no profit in this endeavour, not when you have to pay out so much to so many. Luckily I didn’t get an agent after all. I only make $1.00 on a book as it is! Readers are loving the book Time Enough, though, and that makes me very happy. At least I won’t die with it in the hard drive. I am getting emails from people reading it on the ferry to Vancouver! But…would I do it again? No. I’m truly done. This is my second experience. The last book took years and years and I self-published, so did it all. Sold 500 books in 18 months. You know what that took. This one as a love affair for ten years, since my retirement in 2014. In future, I’m going to stick to short pieces and poetry. The social media aspect alone is exhausting.
I love your blog and I try to comment on it! I loved the one you did about why people voted the way they did in the US. I hope you keep writing in some form. All the very best to you, Mary. Let’s hold each other up, as writers, and celebrate our tenacity, intelligence and resilience!
What a wonderful comment! Many thanks for sharing your thoughts, Lise. I really appreciate the feedback that this post has generated!
Mary, you are a well-known, respected and even loved force in the writing world. Don’t you dare to run away!
Your mother’s story sounds like a must-read.
Money can cost more than it is worth, but being an agent for a better world is beyond price. Keep it up!
Aha!! An agent for a better world – love this thought. Many thanks, Bob. It’s wonderful to be connected to such a wise writer who lives half way around the world from me!!
When I was writing the Sand Vines, a novel on the Paris siege, you gave me some very good advice. I joined the Historical Novel Society, which took the writing experience to a totally new level. I love conferences and am about to help in a local lit. fest, as you suggested. Admitting you don’t make money is a very very brave thing. That Was Then is excellent. A tip: Agents are after ‘what-if’ alternative history, or at least, they were last summer. . .
I’m so delighted to hear about your journey, Michele. Warm wishes for continued success.
Hi Mary. Thank you for being honest about the actual earnings. That’s why I didn’t start writing fiction until I retired from my business career. I got the feeling that making money as a writer is less common than being struck by lightning. I continue to be fascinated how we humans have such an urge to create, whether it is as authors, painters, dancers, or any other artistic endeavor — none of which are likely to be enough to pay the bills.
Many thanks, Tema. The urge to create is a precious gift!
It sounds like you and I are in similar circumstances in the sense that we will most likely never become rich through our writing. For myself, I take solace in a lot of positives. Eight years ago, I wondered if I would ever write a novel. I have now written three with seven more to come. I wondered if I would ever find a publisher. Sunbury Press is still with me. I love to write and I write every day. I am improving my craft. I get fan mail. I am giving light and air to historical figures who have been pushed to the margins. I am educating my readers about real, often ignored or minimized, historical events. In my heart, I believe that I am pushing at the arc of the moral universe in hopes that it will bend toward justice.
What a great story, Roger!
Hi Mary. I’ve written several novels now, and I have definitely not quit my job. As I’m working on my new novel, I’ve come to realize that writing is about the joy it brings me. I write for myself first. If others like my stories too, then that’s even better. All of us creatives need to keep going, especially when it’s for our own sanity!
Such a great perspective, Meredith. Many thanks!
Mary. thank you so much for your candor and for your dedication to the craft.
I’m imagining that, perhaps, you and I had similar preconceptions as we began our first writing project. I was certain that many thousands would find the subject matter of CLANDESTINE: The Times and Secret Life of Mariah Otey Reddick just as fascinating and irresistible as my wife and I did as we researched and wrote it. And they would gladly part with $17.39 to get their hands on it. And about half that much for the ebook. It would be a New York Times best-seller, for sure. “Everyone” would be interested in my great grandmother’s and her family’s story during and after the period of enslavement. After all, she became a spy for the Union during the War Between the States. Oh, and YES!, literary agents would scramble to sign us and give us a generous advance, too.
And, clearly,…there would be a bidding war among film executives for the movie rights! Right? What could go wrong?
In contrast, we were also quite painfully aware that many others would be “turned off” by even a (hopefully) well-told tale of true stories of a time in history characterized by mass inhuman cruelty alongside courageous resistance and incredible resilience. Mariah, after all, survived being separated from her mother and other family at age ten when she was given away as a wedding present. And later earned her way as a midwife to the “finest families” and a community stalwart.
What is quite remarkable to us – and encouraging in a perverse way – is that we launched a crowd-funding effort, which exceeded our goal of $7,500. That goal was 50% higher than an expert in crowdfunding had recommended for a book. “That’s more like the goal for am Indie film,” we were advised. But we had travel expenses from Panama to Tennessee to conduct research and speak with local historians who were astonishingly generous with time and information. https://www.indiegogo DOT com/projects/clandestine-it-s-about-you-linking-generations#/
The crowdfunding proceeds exponentially exceeded book sale revenues (not to mention profit). For designated levels of donations, we promised to send either the ebook or the softcover edition and we had other premiums (hats, mugs, mousepads, etc) for smaller amounts.
The conclusion that I drew from this experience is that MANY MORE people were willing to support the WRITING of a book about an enslaved African/Black woman’s life, her spying for the Union, and her family than there are people willing to purchase and perhaps READ that book. And this, despite a major launch effort that caused our labor of love to be Amazon’s #1 New Release in African American Historical Fiction.
There’s an enigmatic irony in that perplexing situation that I do not claim to fully understand. Nonetheless, obviously we are grateful and indebted to those who made CLANDESTINE possible by putting their faith in my wife and me before the book even existed.
And, Mary, we THANK YOU AGAIN for inviting us to submit a guest blog post, an honor we still relish.
By the way, we should have highlighted to you that people (Dr. Andersin Ruffin Abbott, Osborne Perry, Mrs. Shadd) from and places (Nova Scotia, Toronto, Chatham) in Canada get several mentions in CLANDESTINE.
Finally, on behalf of those of us south of your border,…..We apologize!
Damani Keene
Dear Damani … many thanks for your excellent response and for your encouragement. I’m delighted to hear of your crowd-funding success. Do tell me what new novel you’re working on. And apologies for the slow response. Sadly, my husband and I have been travelling from the US (where we have a winter home) back to Canada because of the way Trump is attacking our country.
Mary, I hear you! You are not alone!