Every beginning writer I know (including myself back about thirty plus years) is in a hurry.
Fact of publishing, sadly. But before two years ago, beginning writers knew that getting into publishing was going to be a long and hard road through the head-shaking methods of traditional publishing. Most writers who started down that road didn’t make it. And many who did make that first or even second sale quit shortly after, often because the process didn’t get easier, but actually harder.
Now let me be clear here. Like my much-missed friend Bill, I still consider a writer new until at least ten novels published. Most writers never make it to ten. Only a tiny, tiny fraction of us did in the old traditional system. Under the new indie publishing way, a ton more writers will make it to ten and far beyond. And that’s fantastic.
But writers need to understand some time factors involved in this business. Especially if the writer hopes to make a living with his fiction on either the indie or traditional road (or both roads). And understanding the time factors involved will allow a writer to keep writing and attempt to be patient and maybe make it to that tenth novel or beyond.
Compare and Contrast
There are a number of pretty major assumptions I am going to make in the following calculations.
#1 Assumption: I am going to assume that the writer is fairly smart and doesn’t go crazy self-promoting their first novel past normal Twitter, Facebook, and web site.
#2 Assumption: I am going to assume the writer just keeps writing and can finish a novel in six months. If you are faster, you can do the math.
#3 Assumption: I am going to assume the first novel is just a first novel and following books get better with practice. And the books are genre books, meaning if they sold in science fiction or mystery or romance, they would make about $5,000.00 advance.
#4 Assumption: I am going to assume sales are very low to start off on the indie side. And I count AROUND THE WORLD sales from ALL SITES, not just Kindle.
#5 Assumption: Even though I suggest writers do both indie and traditional in the real world, for the purpose of this article, the author either goes one way or the other. Not both.
Let me play some simple math games to show the point I am driving at. If I get any of these figures wrong, please correct me.
Step One: Finish First Novel. Genre Book. Ready to go on January 1st, 2012.
Traditional: Mail book to editors.
Indie: Put book up for sale on all sites.
Income while writing the second book.
Income: Traditional: No response in six months other than rejections. No money.
Income Indie: Sales are slow because it is the only book up under that name. Maybe average 5 sales per month across all sites at $4.99 list price. $3.50 profit per sale. $3.50 x 5 sales x 6 months = $105.00.
Step Two: Finish Second Novel. Genre, Same Author Name as First Novel. Ready to go on July 1st, 2012.
Traditional: Mail book to editors. Keep first book in the mail at same time.
Indie: Put book up for sale on all sites.
Income while writing the third book.
Income: Traditional: No response in six months other than rejections on both books. No money.
Income Indie: Sales pick up a little because a second novel is likely better than the first and there are two books under same author name. Maybe both books now average 10 sales per month across all sites at $4.99 list price. $3.50 profit per sale. $3.50 x 10 sales x 6 months = $210.00 per book. ($420.00 total for the six month period.)
Total income for first year (2012) of writing:
Traditional: Nothing
Indie: $210.00 + 210.00 + 105.00 = $525.00
Step Three: Finish Third Novel. Genre, Same Author Name as First and Second Novels. Ready to go on January 1st, 2013.
Traditional: Mail book to editors. Keep first two books in the mail, getting discouraged on first book and slowing down on submissions.
Indie: Put book up for sale on all sites.
Income while writing the 4th book.
Income: Traditional: No response in next six months other than form and personal rejections on any book. No money.
Income Indie: Sales pick up even more because a third novel is likely better than the first two (called practice) and there are now three books under same author name for readers to find and buy. Maybe the three books now average 25 sales per month across all sites at $4.99 list price. $3.50 profit per sale. $3.50 x 25 sales x 6 months = $525.00 per book. ($1,575.00 for the six month period.)
Step Four: Finish Fourth Novel. Genre, Same Author Name as First Three Novels. Ready to go on July 1st, 2013.
Traditional: Mail book to editors. Keep first three books in the mail, getting even more discouraged on first book and slowing down.
Indie: Put book up for sale on all sites.
Income while writing the 5th book.
Income: Traditional: Sell book #4 for a $5,000 advance in November. One book deal. Three payments. No contract or money will come in before spring of 2014. So No Money.
Income Indie: Sales pick up slightly even more because a 4th novel is likely better than the first three (called even more practice) and there are now four books under same author name for readers to find and buy. Maybe the four books now average 30 sales per month across all sites at $4.99 list price. $3.50 profit per sale. $3.50 x 30 sales x 6 months = $630.00 per book. ($2,520.00 for the six month period.)
Total income for second year (2013) of writing:
Traditional: Nothing
Indie: $1575.00 + $2,520.00 = $4,095.00
Step Five: Finish Fifth Novel. Genre, Same Author Name as First Four Novels. Ready to go on January 1st, 2014.
Traditional: Can’t mail book to editors because your contract for the 4th novel restricts you. Must sit on book and earlier books to let editor exercise options clause on your next work in the same genre under the same name. The company doesn’t even have to look at your option book until after acceptance of the first novel in the contract in the fall of 2014.
If book sold in November, contract will arrive by February 2014 if lucky. Payment will arrive in May if lucky. 1/3 of advance on signing. Acceptance of book will be 1/3 in the last part of 2014 and publication payment will arrive, if lucky, the last half of 2015.
Indie: Put book up for sale on all sites.
Income while writing the 6th book.
Income: Traditional: 1/3 of $5,000 contract, assuming no agent. Income total spring of 2014. $1,666.00
Income Indie: Sales pick up slightly even more because a 5th novel is likely better than the first four (called even more practice) and there are now five books under same author name for readers to find and buy. Maybe the five books now average 35 sales per month across all sites at $4.99 list price. $3.50 profit per sale. $3.50 x 35 sales x 6 months = $735.00 per book. ($3,675.00 for the six month period.)
Step Six: Finish 6th Novel. Genre, Same Author Name for Indie as First Five Novels. Traditional author will switch genre and name to get away from option clause. Ready to go on July 1st, 2014.
Traditional: Mail new name and genre book to editors. No responses other than rejections. No response from your publisher before the end of the year on the option book under your contract which is one of your first novels already written.
Indie: Put book up for sale on all sites.
Income while writing the 7th book.
Income: Traditional: 1/3 of $5,000 contract for acceptance payment, assuming no agent. Income total fall of 2014. $1,666.00
Income Indie: Sales pick up slightly even more because a 6th novel is likely better than the first five (called even more practice) and there are now six books under same author name for readers to find and buy. Maybe the six books now average 40 sales per month across all sites at $4.99 list price. $3.50 profit per sale. $3.50 x 40 sales x 6 months = $840.00 per book. ($5,040.00 for the six month period.)
Total income for third year (2014) of writing:
Traditional: $3,332.00 (assuming no agent and $5,000 advance. Book not yet published.)
Indie: $3,675.00 + $5,040.00 = $8,715.00 (Six books published with a 7th about to go up.)
Total income for first three years of writing: 2012-2014
Traditional: $3,332.00 (assuming no agent and $5,000 advance. Book not yet published.)
Indie: $525.00 + $4,095 + $8,715.00 = $13,335.00 for three years.
You can keep going if you want. But I can tell you that if you keep adding 5 extra sales per book AVERAGE and keep writing two books a year, by the end of year #5 you will be making in indie publishing over twenty thousand per year, if not more.
In traditional publishing you are going to have to sell more books for far bigger advances to make $20,000.00 after five years.
And in indie publishing at 5 years you will have at least ten books published, writing two per year. In traditional publishing you will be lucky to have three published.
And those of us old-timers in publishing know that I am being very, very generous on the traditional side in regards to time and sales.
Assumption I did not mention: The traditional side did not have a home run (meaning a huge advance) and the indie side did not have a home run, meaning hundreds of sales per month per book.
My Final Point
This business takes time. On both sides.
Also, those on the indie side, just because your book only sells ten copies on Kindle the first few months, stop panicking. In six months count all sites, like iPad, Kobo, Sony, and so on to see what the total for a book was for a certain month. After all the reporting is in for all sites. And then do the long-term math like I just did, adding a new book at your normal pace to see what that “low” number will turn into.
And it drives me nuts when a writer who has sold a hundred copies of a novel in a month on Kindle alone thinks that’s bad. Stop comparing yourself to other writers and just do the long-term math on your own sales. Those other writers who sold more aren’t writing, but promoting anyway, and will be gone shortly. You can beat them by simply keeping writing and producing more product and becoming a better storyteller.
Remember, indie writers function on long-term sales. Books don’t spoil.
Traditional publishers act like your book will spoil like a piece of fruit after a few weeks. If it doesn’t sell quickly and in large numbers, your book is a failure. You need to kill that thinking. Your book is inventory that can be sold over and over and over.
Books don’t spoil. They just earn money for you over time.
So stop being in such a hurry and focus on writing great stories. If you do that and just keep going, the money will come.
And when it does, it will surprise you because all you have been caring about is the writing.
Also, not thinking about sales all the time, not checking your numbers all the time, and focusing on only telling stories is a ton more fun.
Go have fun.
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Copyright © 2011 Dean Wesley Smith
Cover art copyright Philcold/Dreamstime
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This chapter is now part of my inventory in my Magic Bakery. I’m giving you this small slice as a sample. I’m giving you a taste, but not selling any of the pie.
If you feel this helped you in any way, toss a tip into the tip jar on the way out of the Magic Bakery.
If you can’t afford to donate, please feel free to pass this chapter along to others who might get some help from it.
And I would like to thank all the fine folks who have donated over this last year. The donations and the comments both after the posts and privately are really keeping me going on this. Thanks!
Thanks, Dean
Every time I get the inclination to veer away from indie publishing back into the jungle of trad publishing, Dean, you come along with a perfectly targeted blog.
I am finishing the final (only) edit of a 130,000 word SF novel, and was giving serious consideration to shopping it to New York rather than immediately putting it up. Now I will think harder about whether that’s a good idea or not. I’m as impatient as any new writer, despite 30 years experience writing; in fact, 30 years of rejections is enough to goad me even more fiercely towards indie publishing while I flip off all of traditional publishing. I now find it intolerable to contemplate waiting four years to sell a novel, or even get it optioned. I am so easily seduced by the idea of putting my novel up and just letting it find its own audience, so I can get back to work on the next one.
I’ll confess that I’m rather less tolerant than you are of typos, mistakes, and what you call minor goofs. But then, I edit technical manuals for a living, where a typo or a goof can cost someone untold millions in lost productivity, damages, and lost sales. Once, long ago, I paid a professional New York editor (one you know, I won’t mention names) to edit a manuscript. The hatchet job I got back, complete with snide comments and inept copyediting, was damn near traumatic. Took me a year to get past the shock. I won’t be making that mistake again. And judging from what I’m seeing in stuff I pay to read, that’s been edited by “professionals” in New York, I’m better off as my own copyeditor. But then, I was educated back when a comma fault would earn you detention, and correct spelling was considered the bare minimum of an education.
I gave up on the idea of making any money off my writing many years ago. If I make a couple of bucks here and there, that’s great, but I have no expectations or hopes in this matter. All I ever wanted was an audience, not a royalty check. Thus, indie publishing has become a godsend. One year ago, I would have scoffed at the idea of indie publishing. I spent a lifetime, a career, denying it had any value. You could not have persuaded me last December that a year later I would have two novels, two novellas, and a host of short stories under various names up and selling (very, very slowly). So let me take this opportunity to thank you and Kris for kicking me into the 21st century, teaching me to think like a publisher, and freeing me to do what I wanted to do from the time I learned to talk: tell stories and have people read/hear them.
Happy holidays, Dean!
Hey, Sarah, that’s great to hear that you have the work up. Fantastic. I’ll go take a look. Under your name I assume. Great news and thanks for thinking we had anything to do with it, but it’s your writing that will sell and it’s wonderful from my perspective to see it up and finding readers, even slowly. Congrats!
Okay. I thought my new goal of 12 books next year was ambitious… now people are talking about writing 50????
Sigh. That challenge is not for me. But I think 12 books is achievable.
(Engage rant)
Book doctors and script analysts, and all that, are for producers and publishers who have a non-professional writer they’re working with.
I’ve been a script analyst. I’ve also been a writing teacher. And having been a real actual teacher (and not just a slumming editor) I refused to take on writers as clients when I was a script analyst. Why? Because it made me feel like a creep. I knew what they were getting, and I knew what they needed. And I knew that no matter how good of a job I did, the very transaction itself was a fraud. Because it promises to make the work better than what the author can make it.
I would not feel the same way about proofreading or basic copy editing, or even some line editing: with those the job is not to “make it better” but rather to save the author time. The assumption is that the author knows what he or she is doing.
If you can’t take care of it yourself, then you haven’t learned your craft. Maybe you need a writing class, maybe you need a critique group. (Maybe you need a shrink to help raise your self-esteem.) Most likely you just need to have written more books.
But you don’t need a “developmental editor.” The only people who need a developmental editor are people who never intend to write professionally.
I am sorry if this insults the many fine people who have set up shop as editors for hire. It is SOOOO tempting, when you do such work, to just give in and take the money of the writers who beg you to do it. Because, after all, what harm can it do if they want to give you that money?
It’s not the editors I want to throttle. It’s the authors. There is no short cut. You’ve got to do the job yourself.
As for replacing “professionals” with amateurs — there is no magic fairy dust that has been sprinkled on people working as editors for hire. Or even people working in publishing. Very often people who read a lot of your genre have a better grasp of what you need than a publishing pro.
You need people who can spot errors, and who can tell you what their experience of reading the story was — where they were confused or bored or scared — not people who will rewrite your work for you.
(end rant)
Thanks, Dean. Actually, although it may have sounded otherwise from the strong(ish) tone of my previous response, I have no doubt that we’re in agreement.
It’s just that some people who haven’t been around this blog long enough or don’t know you from a workshop (I’ve been reading your stuff since 2009 and attended one of your 2010 workshops) might take this aspect of your advice too casually. They may say, “Oh, well, Dean bangs out an 80,000-word first draft, runs spellcheck, hands it to his wife or buddy, fixes a couple of minor things they find, and then publishes it.”
Now, while that may be more-or-less true, what people don’t realize is that you’ve been writing for thirty-plus years and your wife is an award-winning writer and editor with a similar level of experience. So you produce a relatively clean first-draft because you’ve been doing it so long, and Kris can read it once and pick out 99% of even the smallest typos. I guarantee that very few others reading this blog are in a similar position.
Anyway, not to go on about it. You’ve mentioned that even with your experience you’re now paying someone to do a read-through at a reasonable price, and everyone should follow that example.
Thanks.
I must respectfully disagree with your premise, Irwin.
It seems that you’re saying unless someone is paid for a thing, they will not do a quality job. That, frankly, is bunk. I could list countless examples of situations where people who are not being paid do a great job. Why? Because monetary compensation is not the only incentive people respond to.
Now granted, you can’t just pick someone willy-nilly and expect good work from them, but that’s true whether the person is volunteering or being paid. But if you find a good person with a good work ethic who cares about doing his/her best, it can work out great, even if they’re working for free.
Go tell your local volunteer fire department that they can’t be relied on to do a good job because they’re volunteers and see what kind of reaction you get.
Michael, holy smoke are you right. (grin) Our local fire department is all volunteer and they are stunningly good. Spot on the money, Michael.
K.W. said: “Personally, I believe that e-publishing will have an impact on storytelling far beyond the economic aspects. We’re going to be moving from a polished-to-death, snooty-tootie literary environment to a much rawer, more immediate and more exciting one. To paraphrase Dean, tell your story, have fun and move on. Or as the guys in your local bar band would say, ‘Whatever you screw up in the first set of the night, try to fix it in the second set.’”
In other words, we’re returning to normal! This is, after all, the way that Shakespeare, Poe, Dickens, Twain, London, Bierce, Shelley, etc. all worked. I can stand to be in that kind of company
Dean, you are very kind. Don’t forget that you already have a printed copy of “Farside”.
If you are looking for my work, it’s on all the usual distribution channels. Some of my work is up under pseudonyms for marketing reasons; I don’t want my science fiction readers being disappointed when they discover they’ve bought a Western, and vice versa. And I’m not rushing to get every single thing I ever wrote up today.
This has been a wonderfully liberating experience. And reading these comments is making me think I should set up a sideline as a copyeditor!
Hey, J. Daniel, we should all remember those authors who were indie before it was trendy. Just the other day I was reading about how Percy Shelley and Walt Whitman not only self-published but set their own type! Shelley even subsidized the first printing of his wife’s first novel, a little thing called “Frankenstein”…
Didn’t forget, Sarah. I was looking through some estate books today and came across a Clark Ashton Smith book from 1933. Limited to 1000 copies. Worth on Abe about $200.00. It was self-published by the author and he listed the printer.
Yup, until the second world war and the start of the scam vanity press, self-publishing was a normal way to get out to readers for most all authors at one point or another. 1942 to 2009 was a long damn time for authors to not have that option. Thankfully, it’s back.
Sorry, folks, if at times I tend to go off against the scams like book doctors and such. We need to protect this new ability we have to get out work to readers cheaply and not let myths and such take over. And the myth of needing a perfect editor (no such thing) and a perfect book (again no such thing) before it sees print is a deadly myth to indie authors. And, of course, if you believe that myth going into traditional publishing, you will really, really be disappointed very quickly. Remember, I’ve told the story of how my book with Pocket Books got mixed with another author’s book and then scrambled. Yeah, perfect books and perfect copyeditors exist. (Snort…)
And speaking of Kris’s column’s point, did Pocket Book fix the problem and reissue the book???? Of course not. Think Produce in a grocery store when thinking traditional publishing. (We were spoiled produce…can’t fix a damaged bunch of produce…you just toss it.) They just apologized to me and the other author and went on. As I did. The other author never published another book as far as I know. I hope he now comes back into novels.
Camille, you go right ahead and rant. I’ll hold your coat. You are absolutely right, much of what I see described as editing is really the writer’s job.
Mr. Kingswood:
If someone is doing it for free, maybe they will do a quality job, but if they’re really doing it for free it means you can’t hold them accountable, and this means that they probably don’t feel accountable, and so if the job gets annoying or boring (proofreading, anyone? Remember, this isn’t first-reader work, so you don’t get to enjoy the story . . .) it’s easy to do a second-rate job because . . . what’re you going to do to them? Yell at them? Sulk? Say you won’t be friends with them anymore? (Of course, there are enough people who charge money for second-rate jobs, but at least here you have many professional avenues for private and public feedback.)
Unless you have a clear reason (and 99% of the time this reason will be some form of direct or indirect compensation) to believe that someone feels accountable for doing a quality job, you’re essentially dealing with an amateur. If you’re going to trust the QA of your product to an amateur, then perhaps you’re not a professional.
You’re right in that there will be several (but not countless) examples (I gave two: a spouse; a select number of close friends) where the compensation is not monetary, but in these cases the incentives will still be clearly identifiable.
Anyway, now I feel like I’m arguing just because I’m a competitive person and don’t like to lose. Haha.
So, point taken. I think I will end this by saying that I agree with you to the extent that if you can clearly identify the factors that would make a particular unpaid proofreader feel accountable, then I guess you’re okay. But if you can’t (and proofreading is a hard, boring, and prestige-less job), then you’ve compromised your production line just to save a measly 10% in costs . . .
-IP
Thank you, Camille, for that rant. I’m one of those writers who doesn’t like to let other people into my work. I have some first readers who help me catch mistakes, but my copy is consistently very clean because I’m a good speller and I carefully check my own work before sending it to anyone. When I hear writers say “you must have professional editing,” I cringe. Partly because I don’t believe it, and partly because a part of me worries that I’m doing it all wrong. But my work is selling, and I haven’t gotten any complaints about the editing, so I guess all is well.
I’m always surprised by writers who seem to think that spelling and grammar checking is someone else’s job. Yeah, it’s easier for some people than for others, and I’ve always been pretty good at it. And everyone makes mistakes now and then. But, come on, we’re writers. We should have at least a basic grasp of this stuff. If you didn’t learn it in school, there are remedial classes and workbooks you can buy in bookstores to help you fill in the gap in your education. There’s no shame in taking a remedial course. I did one in math.
Clark Ashton Smith? *thud* I love his work, but it’s hard to get. What title did you find?
Sorry, digression. But that’s what you get when you dangle a rare book in front of a writer….
Irwin – whether you’re paying them or not, they are NOT accountable. YOU, and only you, are accountable for what you choose to publish.
You’re looking for another set of eyes — preferably multiple sets — and someone to save you time. You’re not looking for someone to take responsibility off your shoulders.
Tori: actually, I have nothing against someone saving themselves time by hiring a proofreader. Some of us are more dyslexic than others.
My problem is with people who think someone can make their writing “stronger.” Strong writing is the job of the writer, not the editor.
Dean here….This is from Lyn Worthen, who couldn’t seem to get this through my guards at my gates. (grin)
Tori said:
“…I?m always surprised by writers who seem to think that spelling
and grammar checking is someone else?s job. Yeah, it?s easier for some
people than for others, and I?ve always been pretty good at it. And
everyone makes mistakes now and then. But, come on, we?re writers. We
should have at least a basic grasp of this stuff. If you didn?t learn
it in school, there are remedial classes and workbooks you can buy in
bookstores to help you fill in the gap in your education…”
It’s not that professional writers don’t know how to spell, punctuate
a sentence, or look for their own mistakes. It’s that it can sometimes
be helpful to have an impartial set of eyes look at the manuscript for
you – someone who hasn’t already been through it three or thirteen or
thirty-three times already, who doesn’t already know the story like
the back of their eyeballs, and who will notice when you miss a word
(or misspell one) or change your character’s cat from yellow to gray
with stripes (without some convincing magic going on).
Some writers have friends/first readers who are great at doing this –
honestly, without getting so caught up in the story that they forget
their job, without trying to tell the writer all the ways they could
make their story “better” (meaning, “how I’d have written it”), and
without any sort of compensation beyond the chance to read a great
story and help out their friend. Other writers don’t have that network
established, or are producing so much volume that they’re overloading
their friends. That’s where finding a reasonably-priced copyeditor who
you can trust to be your second pair of eyes.
Oh, and to Irwin – I’ve been copyediting/proofreading for a really,
really long time, and I have to disagree with you – the job is not
inherently boring. It’s boring when the subject matter is boring. When
the subject matter is interesting, it’s a real treat.
Lyn Worthen
editor@camdenparkpress.com
http://www.camdenaprkpress.com/author-services
I proof my own work and, to be honest, I do make mistakes, but after writing a ton of words in such a short time I have a feel for where the errors are in my writing. Hence, my error rate is consistently decreasing.
Of course, I could pay to get it lower, but would I? I’m all about pace and production. The more I do; the more I make. To be honest, by the time I got it back, I would have probably forgotten about it anyway. For me, it’s just not worth it. I think that is worth considering in this conversation as well.
Anyway, whatever works. Every writer is different. (wink)
I know what you’re saying, Dean. It’s just that I’ve met some people who refuse to learn that stuff at all. Maybe they can’t be called professional. That’s all I was talking about.
I was at the library today returning some books (writers gotta read), and then looked for something new to take home. I found myself studying the western paperbacks section. There were several series there–Longarm, The Gunsmith, and others. All of those series were in the low HUNDREDS of books published. Often as frequently as a new book every month. They’re not over long, either. Fifty or sixty thousand words, I’d guess.
I don’t know how many copies they sell, but obviously they sell enough (and make enough money) for the publishers to keep churning them out year after year. Basically, they’re modern pulps. No doubt literary snobs would turn up their noses at them, but so what? They’re satisfying enough readers to earn the authors and publishers a nice living.
I thought about what I’ve read here, and heard from you in person–that novels sell better than shorts, and series better still. Here’s proof that prolific writing and publishing in a series will sell, and sell well. I’m going to keep those books in mind in 2012. Most of what I’ve indie published has been short stories. 2012 is going to be the year of the novel series.
Mark, good idea. And those western series books are a ton of fun to write as well. (Nope, can’t tell you which ones. (grin))
I realize it’s only one data point, but… I just published a software development book on Kindle yesterday. I wasn’t quite happy with my description text, so I didn’t announce it yet. No one knew it was there but me and Amazon. I updated the description today, which meant I had to wait up to 12 hours before the new description went live. That was when I planned to announce it.
Before I announced it to anyone at all, somebody bought a copy.
That may turn out to be the only copy I ever sell; but man, what a fast first sale!
Great fun, huh, Martin!
Such simple math, but seeing it in black and white like this is a huge eye opener for me. I’ve been working out my goals for 2012 and was still hanging on to the idea of traditional.
Thanks for the enlightenment, and reminding me books don’t spoil and to just keep writing!
Jen
DWS: “So stop being in such a hurry and focus on writing great stories. If you do that and just keep going, the money will come.
And when it does, it will surprise you because all you have been caring about is the writing. Also, not thinking about sales all the time, not checking your numbers all the time, and focusing on only telling stories is a ton more fun. Go have fun.”
I can only think of 5 words that will guide me next year after reading this – yet another of your motivating and helpful articles – Dean:
I
Want
To
Have
Fun
…
No, scratch that …
I am GOING to have fun in 2012!
I’m tired of ‘want to’s … ‘
Thanks again, Dean.
I just put out my first novel on kindle last month. Because of this post, my goal right now it to make 30 sales in the first 6 months. (I’m happy to say that I’m ahead of schedule at the moment, but I know not to get discouraged if sales slow. This is about getting an average of five sales/month over time.)
Thank you for reminding self-publishers that this is a gradual process.
Emily, you didn’t read my posts did you about goals that I just put up? Last three before the end of the year. You can’t have a goal that depends on people buying something. That way lies madness. Your goals MUST be in your own control. For example, a good goal would be to get up more stories in the next six months. Depending on others buying something is crazy-making. Focus on the writing, not the sales. You control the writing. You do not control sales. Have fun.
Thank you for that Dean,
As a statistical mathematician, I see a bright future.
From now on I will ignore the naysayers and continue what I’ve been doing.
You are an inspiration,
Colin.
I did a slight re-write on this article, including some graphics, and a spreadsheet, to make it a bit easier to see what Dean was talking about.
I also looked at the numbers, because when I put them into the spreadsheet, they looked a bit odd, and talked about that.
The New World of Publishing: The Big Hurry – A Different Look
What neither of us covered is the additional money earners such as short story collections, poetry collections, etc.
Feel free to play with the spreadsheet, that’s what it is there for. And if anyone wants to improve the mathematical model, go ahead. I thought of a way to do it, but really, it wouldn’t show anything that the current spreadsheet doesn’t already show.
Regards
Wayne