I've been reading a book about authory stuff
Like maybe that sounds like a given, but I'm actually not a big non-fiction reader, and I don't read a lot of craft books. I've always just kind of done my own thing no matter what. Like if you asked me my favorite books on writing, I would not be able to think of any I've read since high school that really made an impression... and most of those were text books.
But anyway, I picked up The Artisan Author a while back. It's supposed to be about a novel approach to indie publishing that isn't about writing to market and is more about finding your own voice (or something like that. I'm only at like 40%) ... and one of the concepts is that if you have 1000 true fans who each give about $100 a year to you, that's $100,000 of income and therefore a living.
I'm like, "The 1000... I think I can do that... but $100 a year? What am I selling them?" Like I'm a fairly fast writer. Not like a true rapid-release-book-a-month grinder, but I'll put out three to five books a year plus occasional short stories. When I sell one of those books, though, it on average nets me like... five bucks (after printers, Amazon, etc have taken their cut... there's also overhead, but I publish pretty cheap), so like generously that's $25 a year assuming someone loves me enough to buy my books on release every time.
Maybe the back half of the book is where he tells me what I'm supposed to be offering to make up the other $75 bucks :P.
I think that's one thing about me. I'm both weirdly one of the most confident, unassailably stubborn about doing what I want the way I want to do it writers you'll ever meet. I do not doubt myself as a writer... I'm having fun doing things my way, and I'm not stopping any time soon ... but I'm also super aware of the sort of writer I'm not.
I'm the writer who picks weird subgenres. Whose approach to marketing is absolutely insane. Who chooses her release dates so they can be multiples of nine because she really likes cats (that logic tracks. Don't question it).
In other words, I'm simply not going to be the author with the big business plan who can harness a trend to ride an algorithm, and I've always been fine with that. I have no aspirations of best seller lists, movie deals, or national fame, and I only sporadically make a run at awards.
The point is to get the readers who want my stories... and I do pretty well at that.
That said, thanks to all of you who are here. I'm not sure there's a thousand of you quite yet, but there's a good few of you and it makes it worth keeping on writing (not that I can stop at this point. I've got five cats to support, you know.)
Anyway, that was a ramble and a half, so let's get to some books and then as always we'll end with a cat photo.
West Virginia Book Festival:
One final reminder that I will be tabling at West Virginia Book Festival this Saturday (Oct 24th). If you are in driving distance of Charleston, WV, stop by and see me and a bunch of other awesome authors.
>>Find Out More<<
Clean Fairytale Collection
Fairytale fans, get ready to be swept into a world of enchantment with this spellbinding collection of reimagined tales.
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Portals & Secrets...
Sorcery and Stagecraft is book one in the Sorcery & Sacrifice series, a young adult romantic portal fantasy, perfect for fans of forbidden love, deep friendships, and good triumphing over evil.
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