Self-Publishing Income Report: Month 1

Hi there and welcome to Jenny Bravo Books! As a first-time author, I've decided to track the first three months of my earnings online for you. Enjoy!

It's Monday, people, and I've got a new series for you! You may have seen blogger income reports out there on Pinterest, like this one from food bloggers Pinch of Yum or The Write Life column about freelance earnings, and today I'm staring one of my own.

Whether you're considering self-publishing or not, this post is for every writer out there. Not only can it show you a realistic expectation for your potential earnings, but it can also show you tips and tricks to encourage more sales. Every month, I will try something extra to boost my sales, whether that be blog-oriented improvements, advertising, whatever!

Thank you in advance for the support. Now let's get crackin'.

What I did this month

For this first month, we're looking at sales from May 26th—my launch date—through the end of June. There were plenty of marketing strategies that I used for selling my book, and you can read more about them here, but I've hand-picked a couple of strategies that I feel had the best impact that you can implement for your own promotional use.

Goodreads Giveaway

I've had a Goodreads account for some time now, and once I set up my author profile, I was able to also set up a giveaway for my book. I offered three signed copies of my book and was amazed to see that 632 people had signed up for the chance to win. This was a great way to reach out to people who wouldn't otherwise know about my book.

Netgalley Subscription

Netgalley is an amazing way to get reviews for your soon-to-be-published book, and thanks to my editor, Tanya Gold, I found an affordable way to gain entry. By signing up for a month's subscription through the Broad Universe co-op, I only paid $45 for the opportunity to gain reviews from book bloggers.

Social Media Promotion

And I don't mean the buy my book, buy my book tweets and emails. My main goal on social media and my blog is to be a real person, so that same philosophy applied to promotional strategy. Every step of the way, I've been using the #TATM and updating readers about my book's progress. When it came to launch month, I organized Twitter chats, started posting videos on YouTube, and gave my book away for people to review.

KDP Royalties

Total book sales: 56 ebooks

Total book royalties: $111.06

I chose to sell the ebook version of These Are the Moments on Kindle first, before reaching out to other platforms. I also decided not to use KDP select, which enrolls your book in KDP Unlimited. Learn more about that program here.

Below is a chart of my Kindle sales. I opened up my ebook for preorders, so that's where you'll see the spike at the beginning of the month:

Here's another chart for you of my KDP royalties, per each Amazon website:

CREATESPACE Royalties

Total book sales: 28 print books

Total book royalties: $77.56

Print books are not for every self-publisher. For me, it wasn't even a question. While they might not be the most lucrative of book selling methods, I clung to the romantic notion of holding my book in my hands, and I'm happy I did. I'm now officially in two bookstores—Sundog Books in Seaside, FL and Blue Willow Bookshop in Houston, TX— and I'm working on more.

So how did I do? While I sold the majority of my print books through my book launch party, I did sell almost 30 print books in the past month! Not bad for a first timer. Note: my sales from my book launch party are not included in this report as those were sold primarily to family and friends. 

Thoughts on this month

I'm excited about this month's sales. It's interesting to look at the difference between the ebook vs. print book royalties—about $33—and that I sold double the amount of ebooks that I did print copies. Next month's sales will most likely be lower, but I plan to fix my #TATM prequel and release it for sale through KDP. For me, I believe the key to more sales will be more books, but I don't want to rush the process.

Discussion Time: What do you think about the self-publishing income report? Was this helpful to you?

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How to Calculate Createspace Royalties

Amazon's print-on-demand service is pretty baller. (Is it cool that I say it that way? Okay, perfect.) Createspace is a royalty-based program that factors its cost through both fixed and percentage-based calculations. That's fancy language that I'll break down later. 

Previously on the blog, we've talked about overall Createspace tips. Today, we're talking about how to calculate Createspace royalties. When it comes to pricing your book, it's pretty simple. The more a book costs, the more money you receive. I chose to price my book, These Are the Moments at $12.99. As a new author, I was prepared to make less money in exchange for the chance of a broader readership.

Are you ready to calculate your royalty? Let's get started!

Calculating Your Royalty

Let's take this step by step to avoid any confusion. To your left, we have a basic break down of how to calculate your royalty. As stated above, my list price is $12.99, so that's where we'll begin.

I know. This requires some math. You may be thinking, why is it important to calculate my own royalty? They do it for me! Educate yourself, my friend. It's great to have a grip on what you're earning and why. Plus, you'll sound smarter. To your left, you'll see there are three pegs to calculating Createspace's percentage. Let's dive in.

Calculating Createspace's Share

You still with me, so far? Okay, good. First, let's tackle Peg #1 of Createspace's share, Sales Channel Percentage. Note: we're only calculating the standard Amazon.com royalty for this tutorial. Based off the table below, Amazon will take 40% of the book's selling price. For TATM, this would be 40% of $12.99 which is $5.196. Makes sense? Moving on, then.

Okay, for the second peg, Fixed Charges, there are two variables to consider. 1) Is your book black and white or color? 2) What page range does it fall under? In keeping with the TATM tutorial, my book is 348 pages and black and white. This puts my fixed charge on the lower end at $0.85 per book.

Note: Keep this chart in mind when you're writing your book. If you're planning on printing copies with Createspace and it falls close to the 108-110 page range for black and white, weigh your options. Bumping up your page count could produce more profit for you in the long run.

Here's where things get interesting. Depending on the length of your book, there may be a per-page charge. As stated above, These Are the Moments falls at 348 pages, so this charge applies to me. 348 pages x $0.012 turns out to be $4.176. Are you with me? Great.

So what's the smart strategy here in terms of page count? On the one hand, black and white books with under 108 pages have a $2.15 fixed charge, but no per-page charge. My book only has a $0.85 fixed charge, but a $4.176 charge for per-page count.

Here's my assessment: Write what you want to write. Write large books, short stories, novellas, what have you. Test the waters and see what sells. Remember, it's the writing that matters.

The Final Royalty

Math time! We've got this. Back to our first chart: List price - Createspace share = Your royalty. So to calculate the royalty for These Are the Moments, the equation looks like this: $12.99 - (5.196 + $.85 + $4.176) = $2.77. 

Thanks for reading this tutorial! To find more about your own royalty, visit the Createspace site.

Discussion Time: Have you tried to calculate Createspace royalties for your book? Are you considering POD services?

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The Cost of Self-Publishing a Book

Concerned about the cost of self-publishing a book? Read the break-down below!

Unlike traditional publishing, self-publishing requires an investment of your own money up front. But how much money, exactly? And does more money equal a better product? I asked myself these questions as I researched for These Are the Moments. After reading this post by Ksenia Anske, I decided it was a route I could afford.

When it comes to the cost of self-publishing a book, the good news is that you control your own spending. You have the power to shop around for the best, more cost-efficient editors and cover designers. You are the one steering this self-publishing ship, my friend.

Here's a breakdown of self-publishing costs:

DEVELOPMENTAL EDITING COSTS

There are several types of editing to explore for your self-published novel. Personally, I hired a developmental editor — more on that here — as well as a proofreader. My editor, Tanya Gold, offers a couple choices for developmental editing.

A full manuscript review involves notes in the margins and is generally more expensive. There are also evaluations, which involve an overall plot analysis, written up in ten pages or so. I chose to pay for a developmental review of the first five chapters, as well as an evaluation of the rest of the novel.

So what does this mean? What price are we looking at? Editing can cost you anywhere from $500 to $2500. It's typically based off a rate per page or per word. I was on the lower side at approximately $1100.

Is editing worth the price? Absolutely. Especially for your first novel. Yes, beta readers are available for directional purposes. Yes, you can get away without an editor. But if you want your book to be great, you need guidance.

PROOFREADING COSTS

Proofreading is on the lower spectrum of self-publishing costs and is often bundled with developmental editing. Tanya helped me find my proofreader, Miranda Martin, and I was happy with the pricing.

What price are we looking at? This type of editing also involves a per word/per page pricing. I paid around $700 for this service, and it cost anywhere up to $1,000. Again, this depends on the length of your novel.

COVER DESIGN COSTS

This is where you get to have some fun. I highly recommend using a service like Reedsy — which doesn't cost anything — in order to find the perfect designer for you. Read more on finding a freelance cover designer here. I loved my experience working with Kisscut Design. Natalie does amazing work and I couldn't have asked for better results.

What price are we looking at? The type of design affects the price. If you're looking for illustrations, that can cost more. As an illustrated cover, mine was on the lower end of the money spectrum at $1,000. Cover design costs anywhere from $500 to several thousand dollars. Prices increase if you're looking to include interior illustrations.

FORMATTING

You might not have thought about this aspect of self-publishing. When it comes to making your book look like a book, you need interior formatting. This can cost around $250, but if you want to DIY, I recommend it.

What price are we looking at? I purchased a Book Design Template and organized my text in InDesign. I loved the process of assembling a book on my own, and it only cost me $75. If you don't feel comfortable with this method, hiring someone is always a good option.

PRINTING

I chose to print my book through Createspace — more details on how to do that here — so the cost was minimal. This is a print on demand service and pays around a 60% royalty fee. If you use a different service for print, please comment below with your costs!

What price are we looking at? I paid $5 for a print draft, and then I spent money to purchase copies for my book signing. This ran about $5 per copy as well.

Discussion Time: What are your thoughts on the cost of self-publishing a book? Tell us your costs below!

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Why You Should Write a Prequel for Your Novel

Happy Monday, friends! Today we're going to talk about why you should write a prequel for your novel and how to use it as a marketing tool. If you've been keeping up, you know I just published a novel called These Are the Moments and have been serializing a prequel called Those Were the Days. How has this helped promote my book? How can you benefit from this?

First things first, what is a prequel? It's a work of fiction that comes before a later work, plain and simple. The term "prequel" is fairly broad, with no specific length.  You can publish one or multiple prequels for your book. James Dashner published a full-length prequel for his hit Maze Runner series, while J.K. Rowling wrote a prequel to the Harry Potter series, a mere 800 words long!

If you want to create buzz for your forthcoming novel, consider releasing a prequel. Here are a few tips:

Prequels Create Reader Interest

If you want readers to connect to your story, bring them in from the beginning. When I decided to serialize Those Were the Days online, I hoped it would allow readers to experience my writing style and characters before the book was even available. And guess what? It worked!

Let's break down some key components to hooking your readers with a prequel:

1. Backstory. Backstory gives readers a way of connecting with your story before they even get to the actual story. It answers the "why" questions that readers may have, and let's them engage with your characters from the ground floor.

2. Character Development. In Those Were the Days, we meet Wendy Lake and her sister Claudia. It sets the stage for their strained relationship, and foreshadows events that occur in the novel. Why is this important? Readers want to know your characters and learn how they get from Point A to Point B.

3. A Clean Tie-In to Your Novel. If you write a prequel, make sure it directs readers toward your novel. You want to leave readers wanting more from your characters and your story. How do you do this? Write a cliffhanger ending.

Prequels Create Marketing Opportunities

As a first time novelist, I experimented in creating awareness for my book and my brand. When in doubt, give people free stuff. I decided to write a prequel on my blog and on Wattpad, hoping to build awareness for my soon-to-be-released novel.

Here are some plans that to implement:

1. Release Your Prequel for Free. I know. The copyright thing is scary. But if you feel comfortable with this, releasing your work for free allows readers to get a sense of who you are. Plus, they'll know that you care enough to give them free stuff!

2. Edit Your Content and Release It For Sale. While you can access my prequel online, I plan to edit and add to it. From there, I'll post it on Kindle for a (minimal) price and promote the new and improved version.

3. Bundle Prequels with Novels for a Special Price. Bundling is a new big thing in the self-publishing world. Writers have been teaming up to release bundled ebooks as a way to cross-pollinate their audiences. Read more about bundling here.

Prequels Create Writing Opportunities

If you've written a novel, you know that many scenes don't make it into the final cut of the novel. If you're like me, you hate to waste words. Why not wrap these bonus scenes up into a prequel? This allows you to save time as well as create awareness.

Discussion Time: Would you write a prequel for your novel? What obstacles do you anticipate in the process?

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How Traveling Impacts Your Writing with Colin Ashby

Welcome to #FriendFriday, an interview-style guest post series every 1st and 3rd Friday of the month. Want to be the next interviewee? Send me an email!

Good morning, friends! Today we're here with Colin Ashby, traveling writer, blogger and Twitter friend. I'm so happy to have him here to talk to you about his writing journey.

Thank you, Colin!

Here's your intro question. Tell me about yourself in less than 70 words.

Anything Parks and Recreation is great in my mind. I have a little piece of the Internet over at colinashby.org. In the years leading up to now I’ve done everything from starring in a theatre production as a lonely scientist, news reporting, media monitoring at a PR agency and more. Now I’ve settled into a day job while writing my novel Life Outside the Ramen on nights and weekends.

You're a blogger, writer, and adventurer. Tell us how you got started.

I was forced into blogging. Haha. In Fall 2013 I had a digital media class and the professor made it a class requirement for all the students to keep a Wordpress blog. At first I thought blogging was just something people did for fanfiction or personal reasons. Boy, was I wrong. Within a few months I had started to enjoy it and connected with other bloggers through Twitter.

All of the bloggers I interacted with through social media were so passionate about what they did. It was contagious! It helped me focus more on the goals I had.

Let's put you to the test. As a travel fan, what's the importance of travel on your writing?

Writing is all about the depth of characters. Traveling is something that forces you to interact with people from a different way of life.  It gives you experience to draw from than you may not have gotten from everyday life.

The novel I’m writing now centers on a weekly support group filled with people from different walks of life. So much was learned about the people I met while traveling.  While on a cruise ship to Mexico, I met a lady who was lawyer but hated it. Visiting San Francisco, the motel clerk named Maddie, was super upbeat and wanted to tell me about all the cool clubs to go to. Once, while crossing the street in Los Angeles, I met a girl who was from Australia and worked at Pandora.

Traveling exposed me to the different ambitions, daily lives, and struggles of people from all across the country. I’ve been putting the things I encountered into some of the characters in my writing.

If you could be the author of any novel in history, which novel would that be and why?

Er, this is tricky. You’re probably expecting me to say some classic novel, right? I’ll go on the opposite end with something different.

Mosquitoland by David Arnold is a novel I would have loved to be the author of. It’s a character driven road trip novel centering on a 16-year-old girl going to find her mother. (typical, right? So not!) The writing is so good. It’s quirky yet philosophical, coming of age yet not cliché.

There’s a lot of road trip and coming of age novels but Mosquitoland really feels like something you’ve never read before.

And finally, before we let you go, what's the best advice you've received and how did it get you here today?

This is a hard question! I’ve gotten a lot of great advice. It’s like asking a parent to choose their favorite child, haha. One piece of advice that resonated with me was something a professor from college told me. He said:

There’s something you need to know about adulthood. Things are bad and it don’t always get easier but you develop the confidence in yourself to realize it’s fine and you’ll be okay regardless of what life throws at you.

I love the quote and it perfectly sums up the uneasy nature of growing up and having a hard time adulting.