Some recent conversations have got me thinking. Most people do not understand the economics of a literary career. I’m going to talk about that for a bit.
First, let’s talk about the costs of shopping a book. Many debut authors get an in into the book world by being selected as the winner of a manuscript contest. Many presses hold these once or twice a year, where you send in a submission and your work is judged anonymously. But often there’s a catch–an entry fee. I entered many contests with Hurricane Baby and racked up a considerable amount of money since fees were typically $20 a pop. The press that bought Hurricane Baby was free to send to, as were many others.I could have made a principled decision to not participate in paid contests, but I knew that it could limit my options.
I got a traditionally published contract through a royalty-paying publisher. I did not get an advance against royalties and this house offered generous royalties. What I am having to keep in mind with my contract is that I don’t get any royalties until the cost to produce my books has been made. It’s not uncommon for that to be the case with a small press. University presses and larger publishers rarely make that stipulation. So I could sell a good many books without seeing any royalties (my percentage of the book’s price) at all.
Once the book came out in August, I started promoting it. I did not do paid promotions, like ads, etc. None of my media appearances cost me anything. Likewise, I never had to pay a fee to appear anywhere, although I have heard of authors being charged booth fees or table fees to appear at a festival. But I resolved not to do that. But with traveling, expenses can pile up–gas, lodging, food. My husband has said he’s not sure we can afford for me to get another book published. 🙂 But it is a consideration I have to keep in mind, as do many authors in the tier I’m publishing in.
Another fee I have decided to forgo is buying my own books at the wholesale price and selling them myself at library and other events. That route brings with it tax implications that I’m not prepared to handle. So I always ask if there’s going to be a bookseller at the event, If there isn’t, I just have to hope people there will remember me long enough to buy the book afterwards. I’ve also held a library event where guests came book-equipped and I signed them.
One expense I did go for was setting up an account with Vistaprint and buying promotional mailings for my events. My publisher had a social media person who designed the graphics for me, and I just downloaded it and printed postcards that I then mailed out for different events. Vistaprint helped design a bookmark that I’ve been able to hand out all over town, and Canva is another free resource to design your own graphics.
As you can see, I am currently operating a non-profitable outfit. But each sale brings with it a chance to improve my track record, which I can then use for the next deal. Hope springs eternal.
Julie Liddell Whitehead 