Category: Business of Writing

How to Calculate Amazon Fees for Printing Paperbacks Using KDP Print

Business of Writing, Uncategorized

by David Wogahn, @Wogahn 

It is simple to figure out eBook royalties because there are no “manufacturing” costs. But the formula for calculating your royalty for a paperback book printed by Amazon KDP Print is another matter. That’s because we have two mouths to feed:

  1. The printer, in this case Amazon KDP.
  2. The retailer—online and brick and mortar—adds their mark-up or selling commission.

The retailer’s commission is relatively easy to figure out because it hasn’t changed much over the years. It is typically 40% for the retailer and in fact that is Amazon’s share when you use KDP Print.

(As an aside, you give up an additional 20% when or if you make your book available for expanded distribution, which for KDP Print is handled by Ingram. Meaning, you receive 40% of your book’s retail selling price less the cost to manufacture it.)Continue reading

Prepping for Tax Prep

Business of Writing

by Elizabeth S. Craig, @elizabethscraig

Clearly, I’m no accountant or tax lawyer.  In fact, I encourage anyone with a large-ish writing business to use a CPA, as I do.  I had one terrifying moment in 2013 where I realized that my tax return was a disaster.  Fortunately, I found a well-recommended CPA to help me out before the tax deadline.

My accountant had me do two things right away: start pre-paying the state and federal estimated taxes, and set up a separate bank account for my book earnings and book-related expenses.

In 2013 I was still trying to wrap my head around the fact that this was so much of a business.  I’d always tried to treat my writing as a business, but on the dollars and cents side I sometimes failed to handle it that way.  Now writing income is direct-deposited into my account and whenever I need to buy printer ink (or a laptop), I make sure I take the money out of that writing account.

I’ve also gotten good about keeping track of possible write-offs.   Here are the types of expenses that I track and give to my CPA:Continue reading

What is an Author Assistant and Do You Need One?

Business of Writing, Uncategorized

by Jenny Bravo, @JennyBravoBooks 

We are in the age of the author. With the rise of self-publishing and hybrid publishing, authors are pumping out books more than ever. We live in a content-based world with readers who are always wanting more, more, more. Not only do authors need to write more, but now, they need to maintain author platforms, keep updated on social media, and dive into advertising.

How can one person possibly manage all of this work? The answer is that they shouldn’t.

What is an Author Assistant?

You may have heard of a virtual assistant within the online business world. These are people that business owners can hire by the hour or on a retainer that can accomplish the time-consuming tasks that are necessary but draining.

An Author Assistant is essentially a specialized virtual assistant. With an Author Assistant by your side, you can concentrate on your writing, while your assistant can tackle your other tasks.

What can an Author Assistant do for you?Continue reading

Pushing Ourselves in 2019

Business of Writing

by Elizabeth S. Craig,  @elizabethscraig

I realized at some point last year that I wanted to write a new series.  For one thing, it’s nice to have an additional revenue stream, especially if a series may appeal to a different pool of readers.  For another, I wanted to make sure that I was still growing.  I wanted to try something different to keep myself sharp.

Writing a new series or a new genre (or both) is one way to creatively stretch.  But there are other ways of pushing ourselves.  The beginning of the year is a good time to assess where you stand in your writing business. And it is a business, which is sometimes tough for writers to wrap their heads around.

My income has increased in direct relation to the number of books I’ve published.  It’s also increased whenever I’ve added new streams of revenue by diversifying into new formats (print, digital, audio),  and distributors and retailers (using aggregators like Draft2Digital, PublishDrive, Smashwords, Ingram, and StreetLib to reach retailers all over the world).

As with anything, I think it’s important to break down any of these tasks into many smaller tasks.  Don’t let it be overwhelming if it’s something you want to tackle in 2019.

To get you started, here are some questions to ask yourself and then places to start: 

Continue reading

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