Tags
audiobook, bookshop, Fatal Forgery, Kindle, Portraits of Pretence, royalty, self-publishing, The Man in the Canary Waistcoat, Worm in the Blossom
After all the excesses and jollity of Christmas it’s back to the cold, hard reality of work. And as this is supposed to be a warts-and-all blog about self-publishing, that work includes totting up my Plank sales for 2017 and trying to work out how much I have made and whether I can yet afford that elegant villa in Ischia. (Spoiler alert: I can’t.) Calculating royalties is rather a dark art, as Amazon seems to pay an ever-changing percentage and I have negotiated different deals with different bookshops (for whom I have to order and then deliver copies, so have to take that cost off before I begin), but I’ve had a go.
- “Fatal Forgery”: 20 paperback copies at an average of £1.10 royalty each; 27 Kindle copies at £2.09 each; 9 audiobooks at £1.50 each
- “The Man in the Canary Waistcoat”: 6 paperback copies at £1.10 royalty each; 13 Kindle copies at £2.09 each; 10 audiobooks at £1.50 each
- “Worm in the Blossom”: 4 paperback copies at £1.10 royalty each; 15 Kindle copies at £2.09 each
- “Portraits of Pretence”: 8 paperback copies at £1.25 royalty each; 20 Kindle copies at £2.79 each
That makes a grand total of £242.25 for the year. Out of this will come tax, and then of course I have paid for cover design, promotional materials (such as bookmarks) and the big unknown: my writing time. Ah well: it might just pay for a nice pair of sandals for that Ischian idyll.
Susan Grossey 
Thank you so much for sharing that information, Susan — I have to own that it was your honesty with a similar post a year or two ago which had me throwing in the towel for my very long break… which became a two year absence from the pen, as I reasoned that you were the hardest working, self promoting indie writer I knew, and even with your extensive efforts (much, much greater than my own) you weren’t seeing many more sales than I was realising from my almost zero marketing. That said – I am back writing in 2018, for the art and love of it, rather than any hopes of a living wage from my labours. Great reviews and accolades — like your recent achievement — must be our meat and drink from this game… for in monetary terms we are on way less than the minimum wage in China! Out of interest, at a quick glance, my actual book ‘sales’ in numbers are about the same as your own, for last year – but I cut my royalties right down to about 20p a book, and I did a couple of free giveaways on Kindle, which boosted my actual number of books ‘shifted’ figures. Given I create my own covers, and so don’t have that cost – I would guess our actual ‘in pocket’ income is roughly the same for last year… which probably means, if we decided to meet up and celebrate with a luncheon somewhere, we might just about cover the bill in a mediocre restaurant, with no wine 🙂 Happy Writing for the love of it in 2018, my dear friend xx
Hello Janis, I am mortified to hear that I was the catalyst for your two-year sabbatical, but perhaps the break has brought you back to writing with renewed enthusiasm and energy. I try to keep reminding myself that this writing is a hobby – one I take very seriously, and one I had hoped to turn into a career one day, but still, a hobby in that I make nothing from it and do not count on it at all in financial terms. And seen like that, a hobby that makes me any money at all must be quite rare! (Even if I am really harsh with myself and take off all the costs, which means that I have made nothing at all, it’s still cheaper than many other hobbies – golf, sailing, collecting fine wines, etc.) As you so rightly say, we do it for the love of it – and neither of us can leave it alone! In return, I wish you a happy, healthy and word-y 2018! xx
Please don’t be mortified – it was a catalyst in prompting me to start up FABB FADS , which gives my other creative inclinations a vent, and DOES actually bring me in a reasonable income, which allows me to write without the ‘guilt’ of not making any money from it. I am tempted to write a nonfiction book about the toils of writers through the ages – and artists in general… most of whom realised little actual wealth from their work in their lifetimes, agents and publishers being the main beneficiaries of their talent and creations. ‘Tis our lot to starve in our garrets me thinks 🙂 Keep up the great work… and keep the faith, as I do actually have a side bet with my husband that your Plank series will be snapped up for a TV series at some point 🙂 xxx
I would LOVE to read that book – you could call it “Scratching a Living”! xx
PS And don’t tell anyone, but sometimes I allow myself to daydream about who I would cast in the telly series… I’m still not sure about Sam or Wilson, but I’d love to see Claudie Blakley as Martha.
It is def on my ‘possible’ to write list. As for casting your books… as a trained screenwriter I always ‘cast’ my novels with actors in the prewrite stages out of habit, I guess that is because I see my novels like films in my head 🙂