Book Costs
Now, however, every book carries with it the almost certainty that I will not break even for at least another 5 years. I have to pay a cover artist to do, what is arguably, the most important part of the job -- create a cover that will convey what’s in the book and encourage the reader to buy it. Of the 3 books I have done this for, none of them have sold enough to cover the artwork or printing costs. Now that they are out and available, I expect that they will at some point create an income, but now is not that time.
One author I know had his book for 3 years before he made money on it. Other authors say that books never make money when they are released, at least in the beginning. Instead, what the early self-publishing author is doing is building a back catalog of material, so that when someone does find the author that person buys all of the books the author has written. When an author has between 15 and 20 books out, he or she can expect to begin to see an increase in income to sustainable levels.
Short Stories
Authors can try to turn to short stories in magazines, but there is far too little certainty and a lot of wait time to generate a steady income at the beginning. Some magazines require the author to send it only to one magazine at a time and will contact that author about the story 12 months after it is submitted. Most magazines get back to the author quicker than that, but even 3 months is a long time if you’re trying to make a living. Imagine doing your job and your boss tells you he’s going to pay you for your work 3 months from now. Some magazines will accept your submission and pay you in exposure. Have you tried to eat exposure? It tastes a lot like hunger.
Rejection Vs. Uncertainty
A lot of people think, including authors, that rejection is the hardest part of writing. For me, that’s not true. I’ve had a lot of practice at rejection for a long time. When someone says “no,” you say “thank you for your time” and move on to the next prospect. Sometimes, it can get to me, but most of the time, it’s a relief.
The uncertainty is the hardest part. If it is true that every story has a market and all any author has to do is keeping putting him- or herself out there, then the time between offering up the story and waiting for a reply should be the worst time. It’s a state of limbo that ties up resources and doesn’t allow any movement forward. Instead, the author is stuck waiting on someone else (who is busy with writings from other authors). Not knowing whether or not a story will be accepted is worst than having a definitive answer -- even when the answer is “no.” At least with a “no,” the story can be moved to its next destination. Without any answer, there’s no income and the continued possibility of no income.
Money Issues
I don’t like talking about the money part of creating any more than anyone else, but without money, creators cannot create. They have to do something to make money. Sometimes, that’s something like SEO writing, which is only kind of writing, and sometimes, its something like waiting tables, sitting at a desk job for some faceless corporation, or something worse. The point is that most creators do not have the opportunity to do what they are really supposed to do -- create and through their creations improve the world. Writers and artists and others who have found parents, friends and spouses to support them are super lucky. Even if they don’t feel like it, they are getting the opportunity to do what they are supposed to do in this life. Tell their story through their medium.
The Big Risk
I started writing all of this because I found myself at breakfast this morning talking to my wife. We are in the midst of several life changes, including our daughter going to college. I decided to dust off an idea that I’ve been mulling for a couple of years and see what it would cost to make…
I wanted to make a “Where’s Waldo” style coloring book set in Alaska. “There are No Penguins in Alaska” pokes fun at the idea that penguins and polar bears live in the same area while also providing a small education on the types of animals in Alaska. It, of course, ends humorously because penguins are funny.
…so the quote I got for the artwork is slightly north of what I really have a budget for. I have a small nest egg I can dig into, and I can start aggressively writing those things that make the most guaranteed money to attempt to cover some of the cost. It is still more than I am comfortable trying to recover on a coloring book. How much would you pay for a coloring book? How much would you pay for a softcover child’s book? How much would you pay for a hybrid of the two?
I don’t really know the answers to those, but I also found out printing costs, so even when we recover the initial costs, we’re going to have slightly less difficult time with printing costs. It appears at this point the minimum we’ll be able to charge for 24-ish pages is $3 a book if I’ve done the math correctly. (of course, these are the preliminary numbers and prices can change in either direction. The financial risk for this is huge because I can’t cover it with my other writing for the next 3 months (unless something dramatically improves).
I told my wife this and she says without hesitation: “I think you should do it.”
“What?” I asked.
“I think you should do it, or don’t you believe in your writing.”
She used my words about penguins from the night before against me. I told her we needed to trust that the penguins will be a big hit and that we will be able to make enough to live on with them and with my writing.
So, there it is. Like Melville’s “Moby Dick,” it took me a lot of words to get to the big, scary thing that I am doing next. I have sent the idea to the artist that I am working with and will hopefully have the true cost pinned down in a couple of days. Once it’s ready, I’ll choose a company to print it. I already have one quote; I am waiting on a second quote. It’s a big commitment. It may never pay off, but I have had the project in my head for so long, it’s time to move forward.
Thanks to Patreon
Some people would probably direct me to Kickstarter to fund this project, but Kickstarter is an extreme amount of work and works best when the artist or writer already has a fanatical following. I mean, yeah, I have a fanatical following of my mom, my sister, Drue M. Scott, my aunt, Patricia Burleigh and Rachel O’Brien. I know they are fanatical because they are part of my Penguinator team on Patreon. (Kay Sims was there as well for a month, so I must have done something cool the month before.) Also, from what I’ve seen Kickstarter has really become like a drug. Creators ask their fans for money to “kickstart” their project, but in the end, they don’t have enough to fulfill obligations and they, somehow, don’t have enough to fund the next project. They go back to Kickstarter, over and over and over. I don’t think there’s anything wrong with that per se; I just think the name should be something else -- project funding for successful projects… That’s probably too long. My point is Kickstarter doesn’t really kickstart anything, it just creates a conduit for something to get funded if the creators already have a foundation in place.
I think my foundation needs to get a little stronger. Besides, I have a Patreon page, which I like because it brings to mind all of those Renaissance artists who had patrons. Join our page, become a Penguinator, and support the arts. (There are other great creators on there as well, like Ron Randall, Aerial Animation and Armin Hirmer.)
Thanks to Other Supporters
Not all of my supporters our on Patreon. Some are on Facebook, some are on Twitter, some I never actually see what they do because they use social media that I don’t. That’s okay. Liking, commenting, sharing and commenting again are great ways for us to engage and for my posts to get seen. Retweet away, tag me in it, whatever you can do to help get the word out is super appreciated. I can’t financially support everyone that I want to see succeed, but I can give them some bandwidth on my social media channels because that doesn’t cost me anything! And it could mean the difference between them getting something from their Facebook post or them missing out on it.
My Gratitude
This year has been amazing for me. I’ve published 5 books with a sixth one (the coloring book) and a seventh on deck (the third in the Adventures on the Amur series). My wife has supported me through all of it, and my mom and stepdad have gone over and beyond what anyone should expect. We’ll be hitting up the Salem Holiday Market 2018, and Lilac City Comicon 2019 has supported our return to their convention in Spokane. Keep your fingers crossed and wish me luck!