By Elizabeth S. Craig, @elizabethscraig
I had my appointment with my CPA on Wednesday. The appointment was in the middle of the Southern snowstorm aftermath, actually—there’s nothing like adding to the misery of taxes with a minor natural disaster, you know. I hired a CPA last year when I continued waking up in cold sweats in the middle of the night, worrying that I was doing my taxes wrong. I didn’t think I’d fit in well in tax jail. I decided I didn’t mind paying for peace of mind.
She had me painstakingly pick through my bank account and pull out every deposit from all sources…self-publishing and traditional publishing…for 2013. This was nightmarish and took the better part of an hour. But I didn’t have the 1099 from Amazon yet and she wanted to double-check all my income sources anyway, so I combed through the statements. The entries I was looking for were direct deposits and checks from Penguin (via my agent), Llewellyn (my agent doesn’t represent me with this publisher), Amazon, ACX, Smashwords, Apple, CreateSpace, and Barnes & Noble.
The amazing revelation I made was that my total income for 2013 was 68% self-publishing income. That’s with a total of 8 traditionally published books and 5 self-published books currently on the shelves (1 trad. published book is in production and 1 self-published book is in production).
Overall profits increased by 66.6% for 2013. I tried to figure out what I was doing right so that I could replicate it. But all I’ve done online is what I’ve been doing for ages…I blog here. I tweet. I Google Plus. I sometimes Facebook. I rarely pitch my books. What had changed in 2013: all my self-published books released in print. All my self-published books released in audio. I had three traditionally-published releases (although, as I mentioned, the traditionally-published income was a small fraction of my total) and one self-published release. I did a couple of Goodreads giveaways.
My accountant asked about my advertising expenses for my small business, since I wrote off $100 in 2012 for print copies of my traditionally published books for giveaways, conferences, charity basket auctions, that kind of thing. No–I spent $0 for advertising in 2013. I blushed a little when she asked me that question. What kind of a small business owner am I? But I seem to make more when I just focus on the writing stuff.
One big help was that foreign sales picked up dramatically last year. My foreign sales figures had been lackluster for over a year and a half. From 2011 until early last year, I never even clicked on foreign sales on the KDP page. In 2013, I saw a dramatic upswing…mainly in the UK, but also Denmark and Australia (other foreign sales were just odds and ends here and there). I did nothing to make those sales happen. I guess my visibility increased on Amazon US to the point where it just trickled through to the other markets. I really have no explanation for it.
Actually, I do have one explanation for it. I’m starting to saturate my corner of the market a little bit. I’ve given my content more reach by putting it in more formats. And I’m writing 3-4 books a year. I think I’ve got readers engaged with me—an amazing feat, considering I don’t actually interact with readers on any of my social media platforms…well, with the exception of my Riley Adams Facebook page. I’m getting many more emails and Facebook direct messages from readers than I ever received in the past.
What engages my readers are my books. And that’s the way I want it. They’re not very interested in me. A good thing, because I’m not particularly interesting. My sister joked with me one day and asked if readers were calling themselves “my number one fan.” (Stephen King reference there.) And I told her, no, not at all. Although several have written to me saying they’re Myrtle Clover’s #1 fan (protagonist in one series). And that’s exactly the way I want it.
But to sustain this book-centric reader engagement, I have to keep writing books. Which brings me to my next point—is writing a career that’s difficult to retire from? To keep our income stream constant, is the necessary visibility and discoverability dependent on regular book publication?
I think it might be. And right now, that’s absolutely fine with me. I love writing books. I’m all about books. But people I know frequently ask me if I might burn out at the pace I’m going. I say no—but there are days when I’ve got to recharge. Fortunately, there are enough writing-related tasks to switch to something else productive and allow myself to recharge a little. So I’ll contact my book cover designer or I’ll edit my outline or I’ll write a blog post or schedule updates on Twitter.
But…sure. When I think of keeping this career going and keeping my readers engaged and I think of the decades in the future—it can be overwhelming. In some ways, though, it’s a relief to me to think that my platform, which is a writer-centric platform, isn’t what’s connecting me to readers. I’m sure it’s not. My blog and Twitter and Google + have given me a higher visibility among writers, but readers aren’t finding me that way. They’re finding me through my books.
When I think of all my favorite authors…many of them (aside from some of the now-deceased Golden Age mystery writers) continue to be favorites because they regularly publish. That’s how they stay on my radar. Each year there’s an Elizabeth George book out or a Louise Penny book out or an M.C. Beaton. That’s what’s keeping me hooked… regularly released solid reads.
So those are my thoughts, just from my own data. What do you think, though? How do you feel readers are discovering your books, or how do you discover books as a reader? What keeps your favorite writers on your radar, as a reader? How can writers sustain visibility and income levels, moving forward?
Image: MorgueFile: Cohdra
Wow, 68%?? That’s amazing.
You know what? I’m so glad you wrote this post. There’s so much pressure to do so much promotion, when really it’s all about writing books. If you write books that people enjoy, and keep writing them, that’s the best promotion of all. I’m so glad your career on fire!
Julie–Isn’t that interesting? I knew the percentage of income from self-pub was high, but until I did my taxes and the CPA had me lay all the income out on the line, I didn’t realize it was that high of a percent. And I don’t even have that many self-pubbed books, compared to trad. pubbed.
Yes, so much pressure to promote. I get it from my publishers. I just can’t bring myself to do it. Direct sales makes me feel icky…this is why I’m a writer, not a sales rep!
Elizabeth, congratulations on the numbers! It is very commendable that your books are selling without advertising and promotion. I can only think of two reasons for the upswing: your dedication to your writing career and people love to read what you write.
Prashant–Thanks so much! That’s what I’m hoping. And it sure saves me time and money by *not* advertising. I’ll continue doing what I’m doing…and if sales slip, I’ll rethink. But not until then.
Keep writing books. Crap, I’m in trouble.
That’s awesome your self-published titles did so well. Did you tell your agent?
UK fans are rabid. My first two were in the top one hundred for science fiction for six months there and I have no idea why.
I’ve never paid for advertising either outside of a few print books.
Alex–I think you might find it harder to stop writing books than you think!
No, I didn’t tell my agent. :) We sort of pretend the self-pub thing isn’t happening.
Wow, I had no idea about the UK readers! Wish I knew how I got visibility there.
That’s neat, Elizabeth. I do think we should be here to connect with readers when they look for us, but I also feel icky about searching readers out and all that stuff and about direct selling, which I do very rarely. I like the passive marketing of setting up a newsletter well and putting more books out. Advertisements are great but it’s a sales bump – sounds like you don’t need that right now! :) Congrats.
Laura–Yes! I totally agree with you. It’s an icky feeling to seek out readers to evangelize to them about my books. I just can’t bring myself to do it. Ugh.
I did set up a newsletter in 2013 at the very end. I sent it out to folks who had subscribed to let them know about the December release. So that was sort of new.
I read on Gaughran’s blog that BookBub has good ROI for advertising… but I just don’t want to spend the money. Maybe if sales start to slip…
Consider the possibility that there are readers who’d love to be evangelized.
I can only imagine, for instance, how my reading and writing life would be different if someone had marketed Rex Stout to me 40 years ago, instead of 5.
When you think of marketing as “pushing stuff on people who don’t want it” yeah, that’s icky.
Why not carefully seek out the right people, and instead, think of marketing as “helping people discover something they’ll love” ?
Joel–Yes but I was the parent who wrote the check to Girl Scouts for a donation to avoid selling cookies door to door with my daughter. :) And those were thin mints! But! I did start an email newsletter last year (finally) which was reader based and a step in the right direction. I even hesitated on that until I thought, “Hey, these folks signed up for this.” I think you’ve got a much healthier mindset toward it. I’m just neurotic when it comes to sales.
Congrats! That’s all I can say, you’ve certainly hit it on the nail. Publishing success without marketing is everyone’s dream and I’m quite convinced you’re going about it the right way, i.e. keep writing and don’t worry about the rest. Book promotion be damned!
I’m intrigued that you feel you’ve covered “your corner” by producing in all formats (ebook, printed and audio) – but foreign sales are rising you say , is that in all formats too or are audiobooks restricted to the US market?
Do you have any plans to go beyond “your corner of the market” and write in a new genre? Just curious (and full of admiration for your success!)
Thanks, Claude!
Audiobooks on ACX are also made available to foreign markets. So some of the audiobook income I’ve received is from overseas (mainly UK). Your question is an interesting one, though–the reason I’m noticing the foreign ebook sales the way I am is because Amazon is dividing those up nicely for me by worldwide markets on my KDP report page. With the audiobooks, print, etc…it’s really anyone’s guess where those purchases are coming in from. If there’s a way to find out about the location of the PoS, I’m not aware of it…but I’d be interested in finding out. I’ll have to look through my ACX and CreateSpace reports.
No plans now in writing a new genre–although I sure won’t rule it out, especially if the dreaded burn-out becomes an issue in the future.
Hi Elizabeth, Can’t tell you how much I enjoy your blog! I married right, as they say, for my husband is a tax accountant. BUT, hearing how your year went, and I’m a newly self-published author, gives me that extra drive. My goal isn’t to make a ton of money, but to have readers enjoy my stories. I’m still in the beginning stages of self-promotion, but it tops my list for 2014 goals.
Again, thanks for such a great blog! Sue Myers, Deception
Yes, You did marry well, Sue! I’m the one who does the math-related stuff in our house, and that is a sad, sad thing, considering my lack of ability. You’ve got the right mindset, for sure…if the readers enjoy our stories and we keep writing stories they enjoy–it all comes together magically somehow.
Hi,
Boy, did I need this! I keep thinking I need to promote, promote, and a little voice woke me up a few nights ago-my subconscious was saying ‘don’t real authors say the way to sell more books, is to write more book?’ To me, your words/data seem to confirm. So, the behind is getting back in the seat, and my ‘platform’ can take a breather for awhile. I have a book(s) to write!
Thanks for the reminder, and congrats on a great year.
Gail
Gail–That’s what I believe–write solid books, get more solid books out there, the readers will come. I do think an online base (website that can remain fairly static until releases come out/other news is important to relate) is important but that’s not active promo. That’s just having an online home.
Elizabeth – The tax thing is such a clear reminder that for those who want writing careers, it is a business. That means you need to keep your financial ducks in a row as the saying goes. It’s no fun at all, but it’s better than financial chaos! And quite frankly, writing is a career that you don’t need to retire from if you love it to start. There’s enough technology now to help with the physical demands, and if you love writing, what’s better than getting paid to make stuff up? ;-)
Margot—It’s sooooo not fun. And now I’ve shifted all the direct deposits over to a separate business account to keep it in better shape for next year’s taxes.
It’s really the best job ever. Who else gets paid to sit at home and sell people lies? :)
Thanks for sharing your experience and insight, Elizabeth. You’re providing more evidence that it’s the hybrid author who makes the best income.
The foreign sales spike is significant, too. I keep reading that’s where the market is growing, so we all need to be in as many overseas markets as possible. And congrats on the spike in income!
Anne–I think that’s the takeaway in terms of foreign sales–make sure we tap into the global market by having the books available there. It’s easy…just checking a few boxes and see how it goes.
Thanks for coming by!
If you have to keep working to keep the income stream going, then you are not in any worse shape than everybody else: you’ve got to fund a retirement account in order to retire. (And we’re all certainly better off than working handicappers, who are not allowed to have any savings at all if they want to keep their disability medical needs assistance. Which means they have to work until they die.)
And a lot of writers (or their estates) do manage to keep selling backlist books long after they stop writing. Usually this is with diminished returns, or ups and downs as they do a refresh of the series with new covers and promo every so often.
But the main thing is three little letters: IRA. Or, if you’re comfortable with investing and not doing it for the tax cut right away, seven little letters: RothIRA.
Camille–You’re absolutely right about that. There’s really no job around anymore where you get retirement income for doing nothing…maybe jobs with the government, if it’s still set up that way.
I like the idea of re-covering, re-freshing backlist at some point….I think it’s just important to indicate it’s not a new release so that readers don’t feel the wool has been pulled over their eyes.
401 K. :) Yes, and I stupidly didn’t put enough into the thing because I didn’t realize how much I was making. Now I’m going to have to pay and pay. Even though I made an estimated tax payment in 2013. Blehhhh. I guess there are worse problems to have. This just tells me I need to make a mid-year appointment with the accountant to assess how much I’m on track to make…then make those est payments to the IRS and dump money in the 401K.
BTW, it’s not too late to put money into at least a RothIRA. SInce people don’t always know what they’ve made until tax time, the previous year’s contributions can still be made up until April.
This may also be true for a regular IRA. (You don’t deduct a Roth from your taxes.) Have you specifically asked your CPA about whether you can make any contributions for last year?
Camille…I don’t….know. Maybe? I think she did say something about that when I set up the 401K, last year but can’ t remember. I’ll ask her. I’m now busily sending her emails with subjects like: “Another idea for a deduction! ” about every few hours. I must be her favorite client. :) But I keep forgetting things to deduct. I’ll see if I can throw some more money into the account…thanks for reminding me of that.
I am so happy for your success, Elizabeth. This is great news for you and it gives the rest of us much hope!
France–Thanks and thanks for coming by!
So maybe as writers, we should also put some books aside for retirement… if you’re writing four books a year, take one that is not part of a series, and put it ‘in the vault’ not to be published until after your retirement…
PD–You know, that idea has a lot of merit. I’ve got a couple of standalone books that I’ve been interested in writing but wouldn’t want to necessarily muddy the waters with right now (I feel like 3 series is sometimes confusing enough for readers to follow). Or maybe just a full outline for a book while we’re in the writing groove.
The nice thing is that writing is something we *can* do when we’re older–not every job is like that. But who knows what I’ll want to do in the next fifteen or twenty years? Maybe I won’t want to write at quite the same pace or maybe I’ll want to travel. Full outlines would make writing a book a year a much easier prospect, if I wanted to slow down to that pace.
I found your website though KM Weiland’s book, “Outlining Your Novel,” and I’m so glad I went to it! Your post is very inspiring to someone who envisions a lifetime of writing. When the retirement specialist at work told me I should be putting more into my 401(k) plan, I smiled and told her I didn’t plan to retire. I have so many stories I want to tell and share with people. :)
My hope is that I will be able to craft stories that readers keep coming back to, as you have.
Thanks for coming by, Jennifer! And you’re right about the lifetime of writing–there’s no one trying to push us out, there’s no discrimination. It’s really between our stories and our readers. Another nice thing is that we can take our cues from readers and collect data on what they like and respond best to with our books…and deliver more of it. That’s a great way to keep them coming back.
Hi Elizabeth. Thanks for the encouraging article. BTW, I’m not a CPA but I think you have until April to make that IRA contribution for 2013. My publisher closed suddenly in July and my rights reverted back to me. I had no choice but to indie publish my 3 books and surprise! My earnings have increased 2,000 percent. I actually enjoy promoting but it’s definitely a distraction from writing. I wish I could release 4 books a year. Well done!
Cindy–This is good news! I have a situation that is in desperate need of being rectified. :)
I hate that you had your publisher to abruptly close shop and that you had to go through all that…but, profit-wise, it was probably the best thing that could have happened.
Whew, prolific much?? :-)
I just released my 3rd book, Desperation Falls, and was very gratified to hear from so many fans in the last couple of months that they were anxiously awaiting it. Of course, they read the books in a few days–takes me a lot longer to write the next one to meet their insatiable appetites!
I always heard that writing more books is the key, and that 3+ is where the wave begins (if it ever will). That’s inspiration enough to get the next one out there.
As to retirement: I thought you were going to mention that it’s just tough to stop writing. Once I started and got the self-publishing bug thoroughly burrowed in, I can’t imagine not planning the next one. Perhaps my biggest fear will grow to be that I’ll die with my last book almost done.
That’s the best part, isn’t it? The reader reaction. It’s just a shame that they read so quickly!
I do think things pick up with 3 books out there. Plus, we have more leeway to play around with pricing if we have several books published.
With retirement…I think my biggest fear is just getting stale. I’ve written 14 books now. If I keep this pace of 3-4 a year (I’ll soon be 43), then in 20 years time I could have another 60–80 books on top of those 14 I’ve got now. So 74–94 books…hmm. Wondering if my brain can create that many unique plots and characters. Of course, I’ve got to remember that I don’t *have* to sustain this pace once I’m only self-publishing. A lot of the pace has been dictated by my contracts. Without contracts I could slow down a little if I wanted to.
That’s fantastic that your self pubbed releases are doing so well! And good for you for focusing on the writing itself! I hope to be able to do that too :)
Jemi–You will! I know how wrapped up in your stories you get. :) You care a lot about them.
I can’t imagine trying to do taxes from individual deposits without 1099s. It’s stressful enough as it is. Can you deduct this website and the newsletter as an advertising expense? After all, this is a public appearance for your fans just like a book signing.
Oh, it was a major pain. Then the 1099s came in the mail yesterday. Grr.
My deductions looked like this, in case it helps anyone (all on the Profit or Loss Schedule C): I deducted GoDaddy and HostGator who host my domain, etc., my internet, software I’d purchased/licensed, and writing magazine subscriptions under “misc.” I deducted my agent’s fees under “legal and professional services.” I deducted my accountant’s fees. I deducted for contract labor: print formatting, cover design, editing, etc. I deducted office supplies and even furniture since I got a Real Desk and a Real Chair in 2013. :) I deducted postage for ARCs the publisher sent that I sent off for review (that could technically have been advertising too, but I deducted it under “misc” last year, so… )
And business mileage for writing-related business. This was entirely local driving this year–to the bank and back with checks, to the office supply store for printer paper, notebooks, etc., to the post office for mailing ARCs for 2 of my releases.
That’s basically what I came up with. Oh, and the standard home office deduction thing where you give the square footage of your working space.
Yeah, it didn’t add up to much. I think I need to do a better job tracking some of this stuff next year. I keep feeling that I’m forgetting something.
Hi Elizabeth,
Thanks so much for not blaming your lack of math expertise on your parents.
Love,
Daddy
Oh, I thought about it, Daddy! But I resisted! :)
Love,
E
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