Earning Out

One of the biggest pitfalls of indie publishing is the expense.  Since there’s no publisher shouldering the expense, and therefore grabbing most of the profit, everything produced has to be funded in some other way.  Some folks crowdsource or get individual investors, but I fund everything I do myself.  That means every profit or loss belongs to me.

What I’d like is to earn out one book, and it looks like Schism is doing that.  It costs almost $900 to bring out a book to publication once you factor in cover design, print format conversion, ebook conversion, ISBN purchase, and so on.  Although my previous works have done okay, none fully earned out the money I put into them.  Schism, however, has.  It hasn’t made me self-sufficient, but it feels good that I can cover the cost of my next novel with what I made from its sales.

Some of you may ask why I publish if I don’t earn out what I invest, and it’s twofold.  First, I love to write.  It’s a passion of mine, and everyone who writes wants to see a real-life book with their name on it.  Second, I have to build a base to generate interest if I ever want to make this a doable career.  JK Rowling and Stephanie Meyer aside, most authors don’t earn out their first time or two out.  You have to build an audience who recommends your work and keeps buying it.

Here's hoping Homecoming is at least as successful in earning out so that I can continue to write and publish.