Publishing Changes

Still Grateful to be an Independent Writer

May 8, 2015May 2, 2015Business of Writing, Publishing Changes

by Mike Martin, @mike54martin

I have often seen articles that talk about the best and the worst aspects of being an independent writer. Usually their central theme is that we should stop whining and be grateful that we are allowed to write at all. And I usually end up agreeing with them. That doesn’t mean that I am going to stop complaining about having to do everything myself. Insert Big Sigh here. But it does remind me that I have been given a great gift and that there is a universal truth that says whatever we are grateful for we get to keep. Therefore I am grateful to be an independent writer.

I’m grateful to be a writer at all. I was grateful when I was a freelance writer and getting paid much less than less than five cents a word to produce keywords and SEO content. I was grateful when I was a ghostwriter and speechwriter and it meant that I would write and someone else would literally get the credit. I was grateful when I sold my very first piece for $25 and decided to quit my job so that I could focus on my writing. I wasn’t grateful to be very broke and very much in debt for the next three years, but now I’m grateful to have survived that experience.Continue reading

Eleven Things You Should Know About Query Letters

April 10, 2015April 8, 2015Business of Writing, Publishing Changes

by Colby Marshall, @ColbyMarshall

You’ve done it. You’ve finished and polished your first manuscript. Let’s see, what’s next. Whaaat to do next…

Oh, no… Not that…

*cue Jaws theme*

The query. You have to write a damned query.

This one page pitch beast is to publishing what that obnoxious 900 sheet stack of mortgage paperwork that requires a signature every page is to a homebuyer who just wants the damned key to their house already. But it’s a necessary evil. And it’s not easy.Continue reading

Tax Time Revelations

February 13, 2015February 13, 2015Business of Writing, Publishing Changes, Uncategorized

By Elizabeth S. Craig, @elizabethscraig

I had my tax appointment with my accountant on February 2^nd. This is really not “my thing,” but I feel a lot better now that I’ve got a CPA helping me. Although, as I walked into her office on the 2^nd, I said, “You know, taxes really make me anxious” and I promptly dropped all my receipts and papers on the floor. Apparently in an attempt to show, not tell.

But after all the trouble and the figure-finding and the paper shuffling, I found that I actually had some pretty interesting data. Here’s what I found out about tax year 2014:Continue reading

Must a Writer Go Hybrid for a Higher Income?

March 26, 2014March 25, 2014Business of Writing, Publishing Changes, Uncategorized

By Elizabeth S. Craig, @elizabethscraig

I’ve been hearing a lot lately about author earnings—self-published, traditionally published, and earnings from what writer Bob Mayer coined “hybrid writers.” I think that the chart that started it all (and the report’s data has since been questioned by a variety of writers, notably Hugh Howey), is this one from Digital Book World’s Dana Beth Weinberg last December:

Hybrid writers do come out pretty well on the chart. And I’ve seen similar data on various other charts I’ve seen.

I worry about this. Being a hybrid writer has worked for me…so far. It’s a good gig…if you can get it. But I feel like things are shifting a little bit already (as it always seems to in this business).Continue reading