This means:

• How much money are you trying to make? 
• Is that number sustainable for you and yours to survive? 
• Can you factor in days off for vacation and sick days with that number? 
• What about a surprise pregnancy? 
• What about shopping during the holiday season? 
• And emergency expenses like a new car transmission?

The money matters. I’m passionate about this because when I started my indie author journey, nobody stressed the coin to me. And because no one stressed the importance of the coin, I lost a lot of it.

Now, I make sure I plan how to get to the bag and build a successful authorial business.

I need you to do the same. Take off your hobbyist hat. Even take off your author hat. Now put on your entrepreneurial hat. It’s time to think like an entrepreneur. It’s easier than you think to set up your next authorial calendar year for success.

To start the journey, you’ve got to plan your money.

Plan Your Money

Do you know how much money you want to earn in your business by the end of next year? I’m sure you have a lotfy idea of what number you’d hope to reach every month. Perhaps you even know what you’d like to make every week.

But what about the amount you’d be proud to bring home from your books at the end of the year after taxes?

This is important to note because your financial target will determine the activity you execute to reach your goals. 

I hope you caught that: The number you are working to earn by year’s end will determine what you do every month, week, day, and hour to hit that goal. 

It’s important for you to know where you’re headed so you can identify which paths will take you there. Once you know how to get there, you’ll then be able to see what’s the quickest way of reaching the goal.

Then you can publish with purpose.

Identify your numeric goal posts

The first step to plan your money is simple: identify your goal for the following year.

Really. Just pick a number.

Whether you want to make $100K. $250K. Or even $50K – $75K. The number is up to you. Whatever you’re comfortable making that will provide a nice cushion for you and your family, go with that.

Once you identify the number, you need to break it down. Saying you want to make $100,000 in 365 days might be terrifying. 

So work backwards:

To reach $100K in 12 months, you need to bring home $8,333.33 each month. This may still seem terrifying, yeah? No worries. Let’s break this number down.

To earn $8,333.33 every 30 days, each week your books have to earn $2,083.33. Some of you make more than this at your day job. So this doesn’t seem too much, right?

If you’re reading this and you’re still huffing and puffing—let’s break it down even more. To earn $2,083.33 every 7 days, your books need to earn $297.62 (rounding up) every single day.

This amounts to you needing to sell 12 to 13 books every single hour.

Note: This doesn’t factor in taxes, tithes, etc.

So if you sell 12 to 13 books every hour for 12 months, you’ll hit your income goal of $100,000 by the end of next year. Knowing this number will make it crystal clear on what you’re reaching for, so you can then identify how to reach it.

Identify how you’ll achieve the numeric goal posts

Knowing how you’ll reach those numeric goals is also pretty simple.

It boils down to IPAs. Income Producing Assets. As an author, you need to get clear on what your money makers are. Do you have one standalone? Two completed trilogies? 30+ books published in different series? Multiple series in multiple genres?

Sit down and identify in writing what all of your IPAs are. List out how much each costs. If you’re still writing, this is the perfect time for you to know what numeric goal you’ll be shooting for so you can determine how many books you’ll need to reach the goal.

Note: Not all IPAs have to be books. Candles, mugs, stickers, character art, pins, and all forms of book swag count as IPAs. You might have one novel, but you can package it up with a mug, candle, some art, and a journal in a box that ships for $57.00 to your readers at home and abroad. 

This is part of how you’ll achieve your income goals. Take some time to list out all the ways you can take one product (the novel) and stretch it to different income streams. Crunch numbers and make it plain what activities you need to do, and how often they need to be done, so you can hit your goals by the end of the following year.

Put a system in place to reach your numeric goals

Systems were something I stuck my nose up at until burnout knocked on my door and made a permanent home. Not only that, I lost a crap ton of money because I didn’t have solid systems in place to keep coin flowing.

Have you ever considered that each aspect of publishing requires systems? Systems aren’t only important for marketing your business to access high levels of exposure. They are also important for the writing through the publication phase.

Consider the following:

• How long does it take you to write a scene? Or 3K words?
• When are you most productive?
• What environment do you need to establish to access your writing flow?
• What tool do you use to write?
• What are you using to track your progress?

Knowing the answers to these questions is a system. How you get your work done as an author is a system. Because when it’s time to start the next book, you’ll go through this exact process all over again. 

Once you’ve finished writing a book, ask yourself these questions:

• Do you do your own developmental edits?
• Are betas involved?
• How many drafts will you do before submitting the manuscript to an editor?
• How about line editing? 
• When do you factor in time to just re-read?
• How long does this process take?

Every minute, day, week, or month different parts of the publication wheel take you to finish takes up time on the timeline of reaching your numeric goal by the year’s end.

You need a system for writing. You need a system for editing. You need a system for publishing. You need a system for marketing. You need a system for growing. You need a system for scaling.

At what point of this process can you start monetizing? What do you need to do to monetize? Are you emailing your subscribers every week? Are you texting them? Will you do reels on Instagram? Will you post creative Tik Toks? Will you go Live on Facebook? Are you going to start threads on Twitter?

What activities can you do that require the least amount of effort but produce the most amount of results? How can you write fewer books and still sell to more readers so you can reach your goal faster?

You won’t hit your goal through the sheer will of your determination and efforts. Your goals will end up submitting to the default of your systems. If you’re all over the place as an author, you can tell that monetary goal sayonara.

But if you plan your money, if you sit down and write what you’re shooting for, how to get there, and what systems to establish to get it, you’ll be tap dancing into the following year.

Make the commitment to plan your money for next year before this one ends. Planning makes you purposeful. Being purposeful makes you profitable. You can’t earn what you don’t expect. Schedule a time on your calendar with yourself, that no one can interrupt (*ahem* not your kids, not your spouse, nobody), to strategize and plan what your author career will look like in the next 365 days. 

Then, get to work.

Stephanie BwaBwa is a Christian Fantasy Novelist. She’s the creator of the universe: Elledelle – about angels in magical worlds with impressive power that mirror the human condition.

She’s the author of the YA fantasy series: The Seraphim Resistance Prequels and The Transcendents Serial, as well as the writing guide, Fantasy Fundamentals for Christian fantasy writers. You can usually catch her going for a walk through a park, or simply binging Disney+ with too many snacks. Get in contact with Stephanie directly at: stephaniebwabwa.com.

The post Plan Your Money: Setting up Your Authorial Calendar for Success appeared first on DIY MFA.

The gig economy is a bit like the Wild West. Opportunities abound, but the rewards often come with a substantial dose of risk. Fortunately, it’s easy to dabble in most freelance work without making any major commitments. You can practice graphic design in the evenings, walk dogs in the mornings, and write on the weekends. This gives you valuable experience and some extra income to boot.

If you’re thinking of taking your freelancing career full-time, though, there are some things that you’re going to want to consider beforehand — especially where finances are concerned. Here are five specific financial questions that you should ask yourself before you ditch the 9-to-5 in favor of a freelance career.

1. Freelancing Can Require Professional Help

The first thing you should consider before going freelance-full-time is your professional lifelines. For instance, while this humble author has extensive personal financial freelance experience, the five tips presented here are more general in nature and should always be discussed with a financial professional who knows your particular situation.

Typically, the professional help that you should have “on tap” as you launch your career can be boiled down into three categories:

●  A lawyer: Do you have a good lawyer that you can go to with legal questions? Having a lawyer can ensure that you safeguard yourself against any unnecessary personal or workplace liabilities.

●  An accountant: Again, while these general tips are a good starting point, a CPA will be aware of state and local tax codes and the more detailed nuances of running your business finances successfully.

●  Another professional in your field: It doesn’t matter if you’re a rideshare driver or a writer, a musician or a software developer, if you’re going to survive the full-time freelance gig, you’re going to want to ask someone with experience when questions inevitably arise.

If you don’t have professional help lined up, your freelance efforts can quickly spin out of control.

2. Are Your Finances Healthy?

Next up, consider the current state of your finances. Ask yourself a few questions:

●  Are you responsible with your money?

●  Are you able to live on a budget?

●  Have you considered how you’ll pay the bills early in your freelance career?

●  Do you have healthy credit?

As you grill yourself, consider what you can do to improve your current financial situation in preparation for the financial stresses and strains that often come with the freelance life. How much money do you need to make each month at a minimum? Can you improve or repair your credit? Do you have an emergency fund saved up to cover expenses if you have a lull in income?

3. Have You Considered the Extra Costs?

While adding up your personal expenses is a good start, you must also consider additional costs that come with your new independent career.

For example, if you’re an aspiring author, have you considered the costs involved with self-publishing? If you’re going into a service-based freelancing gig, do you need to pay to build and upkeep a website? If you’re going to be a rideshare driver, have you added up the expense of keeping your car on the road every day?

Strive to challenge yourself with critical questions like these before you make the leap into full-time contracting work.

4. Can You Handle Your Own Taxes?

Of course, the biggest financial elephant in the room is taxes. As a freelancer, you won’t have things automatically withdrawn from your paycheck. Heck, you won’t even get a “paycheck” in the first place. You’ll just get paid.

With that said, have you considered what it takes to do your own taxes as a contractor? It isn’t rocket science, but freelance taxes do take a bit of your time and focus. Make sure you’re aware of all of the major details, such as estimating taxes or filing returns, and that you have that CPA readily available so that you’re ready to put everything into action once you start generating a full-time income.

5. Are You an Organized Person?

Finally, consider if you’re organized enough to go full-time in the gig economy. This includes everything from beginning to end of the work process. Are you ready to perpetually feed and organize your workload? Have you equipped yourself with the proper financial tools, such as a budget calculator and business bank account, that are required to make and receive payments, maintain a budget, and set aside taxes on a regular basis?

If you aren’t organized from the get-go, it can hamstring your ability to ultimately succeed, you know, with the actual work that you’re getting paid for.

Financially Flourishing as a Freelancer

There are many financial considerations that should take place before you commit to full-time contracting. However, none of the above factors should be seen as a barrier to entry.

Rather, they can and should serve as initial starting points and opportunities to prepare yourself for the oft-overwhelming but ultimately exciting journey ahead. If you can start your freelancing adventure on the right financial foot, you’ll be better able to handle whatever curveballs your professional future may throw your way — and ultimately be financially better off for the change.

Indiana Lee is a writer and journalist from the Pacific Northwest with a passion for covering workplace issues, social justice, environmental protection, and more. In her off time she enjoys hiking with her two dogs. You can follow her on twitter @indianalee3, or reach her at indianaleewrites@gmail.com

The post #5onFri: Five Things to Consider Before Freelancing Full Time appeared first on DIY MFA.

Aside from whether to pursue the traditional publishing route or self-publish, the most frequently asked question I receive from those looking to publish is how much money my book made. The price of publishing comes in different forms – what was your cut, how many copies have you sold, has the book been doing well? Essentially, it all boils down to one simple query: was it worth it?

I always tell writers who ask these questions if their goal of publishing is to make money, then they definitely shouldn’t publish. Publishing a book will not make you rich. In fact, the royalties probably won’t be enough to make your student loan payment. When it comes to the price of publishing, so many are focused on the ROI, they forget “I” stands for investment. And you can’t get a return unless you invest.

Defining Success & Paths to Publication

Aside from evaluating why you want to publish, another important question writers need to ask themselves is “What does success mean to me?” Is success getting on the bestseller list? Is success selling a million copies? Or is success simply finishing something? Your idea of “success” has a drastic impact on your chosen path to publication, which then affects your investment.

Now, while I could probably talk all day about the different paths to publishing, we’re only going to take a little crash course here.  It’s important to understand how the paths to publication affect how much the writer will need to invest in making their book a “success”. 

The appeal of the traditional publishing route is the Big 5 publishing houses have spent decades cultivating connections within the literary community, which they use to promote their authors and their books, and usually have big budgets to back that promotion up. Independent publishers also have connections, but usually smaller budgets and less human power which puts some of the burden of making the book a “success” on the writer. Self-publishing, on the other hand, the writer is typically on their own from start to finish.

The Price of Publication

To give you a little background on where I’m coming from, I’m a first-time author whose book was published by an independent press. Here are some of the costs I encountered on my path from contract to bookshelf.

Website

These days, the thing you absolutely must have is a website. Fortunately, where are so many service providers such as WordPress, Squarespace, and Wix who make it easy to create a website, even if you’re not the most tech savvy person. However, the more fancy you get with it, the more costs can add up. Purchasing a domain name, monthly hosting fees, and design-related expenses can put you in the hundreds and go up to thousands of dollars.

Publicity

Whether you’re being published by one of the Big 5 or self-publishing, one thing is true everywhere: at the end of the day, getting your book out there is 100% on you. The costs no one tells you about are the time, effort, and energy it takes to get your book out there.

Even though I already worked full-time, promoting my book was the full-time job I worked after I clocked out of my 9-to-5. I spent countless hours carefully curating Instagram posts, sending messages to Instagrammers and bloggers, and planning a calendar of content designed to engage and pique the interest of readers.

That’s not an option for everyone, though. Publicity and marketing consultants are more than happy and qualified to help you navigate social media, make meaningful connections, and get your book out there…for a price. However, you’ll be happy to know that no matter what your price range, there’s a pot for every lid.

Giveaways

My publisher gave me a single box of 44 author copies for free, the rest I purchased at the author rate, which was still pretty substantial. Shipping fees, packing materials, and ads for giveaways quickly put my bank account in the red.

Final Thoughts

In the beginning of this article, I told you all this boils down to one simple query: was it worth it? I guess it’s only fitting that I answer. At the end of the day, my book ended up costing me more than it made back in terms of straight dollars and sense. However, my social media promotions allowed me to build an audience of people anxious for my next book, my website gets a decent amount of traffic, and I managed to have an email exchange with one of my favorite authors. Was it worth it? Absolutely.

LAUREN J. SHARKEY is a writer, teacher, and transracial adoptee. After her birth in South Korea, she was adopted by Irish Catholic parents and raised on Long Island. Sharkey’s creative nonfiction has appeared in the Asian American Feminist Collective’s digital storytelling project, First Times, as well as several anthologies including I Am Strength! and Women under Scrutiny. Inconvenient Daughter is her debut novel, and loosely based on her experience as a Korean adoptee. You can follow her at ljsharks.com.

The post The Price of Publishing appeared first on DIY MFA.

The autumn wind howls through the bare branches, rattling the dead leaves as the phone lines skip rope overhead. A lanky figure emerges from the gloom, its tattered clothes flapping against its mottled green skin. Slobbering and moaning, it lurches toward the warm glow of a nearby house. Inside, a figure hunches over a computer, her back to the window, unaware of her impending doom.

The thing raises its gnarled hand and drags its ragged fingernails down the windowpane. Startled, the woman turns around, her own finger hovering over the Return key. It freezes, stunned by the harsh light of the confirmation window:

“Would you like to publish your book on Amazon now?”

With a bloodcurdling scream, the creature flees back into the darkness.

Okay, so maybe that exact scenario hasn’t happened (yet…). But as the proud author of six self-published titles, take it from me: The world of self-publishing is full of thrills, chills, and things that go bump in the night.

 In honor of All Hallows Eve eve, let’s spend this #5onFri freaking out over…getting self-published!

1) Shooting a Gun, Throwing a Knife, and Wielding a Chainsaw–At the Same Time

So, you’ve finished writing your book. Now what?

You need an editor. Where do you find one? You want to design your own cover. How do you know what you want to make or which software to use? How do you create an ebook? Should you offer a paperback too? What about advertising? Should you do it, and if so, where? Amazon? Facebook? And what the heck are “keywords”?!

Self-publishing requires a lot more knowledge than how to write a good story. You need to become your own mini-publishing house, and that requires research. But don’t panic—the information is no more than a Help section reference or Google search away. Like most things, it all comes down to attitude.

The Bottom Line: If you love learning, self-publishing is a treasure trove of new skills, experiments, and discoverie

And when it comes to honing your craft, places like DIY MFA make that journey convenient and fun!

2) Falling into a Bottomless Money Pit

I’ve heard it at nearly every writing conference I’ve ever been to. “If you want to make a million dollars, don’t be a writer.”

Turning a profit can be tough. For self-published authors, the challenge starts immediately. Editing, book layout, cover artists, printing—all the things that are baked into the traditional model are pay-to-play for selfies, and that’s just to get the book in your hands. 

After that, ads and marketing can eat up as much as you want to spend, and more. The upside: You get a bigger slice of the royalties. The downside: You’ll spend the first chunk of those royalties covering what you’ve already spent—or worse, you’ll never make enough to recoup them at all.

The Bottom Line: Until you’re well-known enough to cover your budget on presales alone, self-publishing will be a cost-deficit production.

3) Being Branded with a Red-Hot “SP”

I hate to tell you this, but…

Even after you spend all that time learning how to be a publisher and a good writer, there will still be those who turn their noses up at you, simply because you’re self-published. Even in a post-50 Shades era where an indie book can do just as well on the charts as a traditional one, the idea persists that, if you’re not traditionally published, you’re not a “legitimate” author.

This is an outdated notion. Yes, there are still titles out there that could use some quality control, but the myth of throwing your book on Amazon one night and waking up to instant success is dying. To make a career as any type of author, you need to produce quality work. Self-published authors understand that as much as anyone else.

The Bottom Line: Self-publishing is not a shameful act, even if some still think it is. Instead of arguing, prove them wrong by continuing to produce the best work you can.

4) Being Alone in the Woods

 It’s lonely out there for a selfie. You have no agent, no publisher, no release team. Anyone you hire will be contract-based and therefore temporary. And once your book goes live, there is no fanfare or balloon release. Just a click of a button, and a follow up email letting you know your book is live. If you want balloons, you have to get them yourself.

The solution? Social media. There are hundreds of online communities dedicated to supporting self-publishers, and they are full of people who will celebrate, commiserate, and help.

The Bottom Line: You’ll have to look around to find the group that suits you best, but you can find one.

5) Discovering You’re a Pod Person

You know what I’m talking about. The feeling that you’re a fake, a hack, or somehow undeserving of any success you have. Yes, it’s the dreaded Imposter Syndrome, and at one point or another we’ve all come down with a case of it. Combined with that wretched SP brand—someone literally telling you “you’re not a real author”—and you end up with Imposter Syndrome Squared.

The Bottom Line: Many have tried to eradicate the dreaded IS, but its prevalence continues. Just keep on holding your head high. Don’t feed the trolls.

And keep this in mind: Constructive criticism is a critical part of being an author. Sure, it’s not fun to hear that someone didn’t like your book. But it also means that some actually read your book. And if people are reading your book, then how can you be an imposter?

Any Last Words?

The path to self-publication is paved with pitfalls and beset by monsters. However, if you know the challenges before you begin, and approach them with enthusiasm, your journey will be much easier and (dare I say?) even a little fun. So, don your armor, grab your flashlight, and strap on a backpack full of garlic and silver bullets. Because as they say, the only thing we truly have to fear is fear itself. 

And maybe zombies.

Recommended Resources

Please note: I am not receiving any compensation for these recommendations. These are simply outlets I have used and found helpful.

Editorial:

Chimera Editing

Amazon Ads:

 5 Day Amazon Ad Profit Challenge Facebook Group (Free Training)

 Kindlepreneur (Free and Paid Tools)

Content/Social Media Marketing:

Community:

#writingcommunity and #writerscafe (Twitter)

Indie Author Coalition Facebook Group

And of course –Word Nerds Unite!

S.G. Tasz specializes in comedy-horror, paranormal fantasy, supernatural realism, and the cross-sections of all three. Her current series, Dead Mall, follows a team of janitors and mall cops who must battle the hordes of hell in a nearly abandoned shopping mall. In addition to writing, she works as a digital content manager and recently founded The Uglycat Press, a resource hub and review outlet for independent authors. She currently lives in Las Vegas. More information about her books and services can be found at www.sgtasz.com.

The post #5onFri: The Five Scariest Things About Being a Self-Published Author appeared first on DIY MFA.

Here are the five biggest takeaways I gleaned from Scratch:

1) Day jobs aren’t bad

Writers dream of the day they can hang up their work clothes and exist solely to write. But the slight issue (if there is an issue sustaining yourself as a writer) is that it can mean that you write to exist. I, too, would love little more than becoming an acclaimed novelist and have the pleasure of writing 9-5, but when your writing has to support you, it can take the magic out of the craft. Author Malinda Lo says that she considers writing an art instead of a means to pay the rent, and that freedom has turned her world upside down (page 220). When the pressure is off – when you’re not racing deadlines or trying to best your other work – creativity seems to be an untapped fountain. If you have a day job, embrace it, because that means you aren’t writing to exist.

2) It’s okay to write for free

Neither Manjula Martin nor the contributors to Scratch would suggest always writing for free, but there can be benefits to it. The best way to get better as a writer is to write, and changing up your writing style in order to fit new formats and target different audiences is good practice that can only contribute to your betterment. Writer Nina MacLaughlin, when talking about writing a book review for free, likens it to keeping her writing muscles flexed (page 10). Being published exposes you to more readers as well, and isn’t that every writer’s goal – paid or not?

3) You don’t need an MFA to be a successful writer

I oftentimes fantasize about going to Iowa Writer’s Workshop or another esteemed school to obtain my MFA in creative writing. It sounds like a dream – you write, spend time with writers, learn about writing and go to readings. The supported environment is likely unparalleled. But the truth is, you can write, spend time with writers, learn about writing and go to readings whether you are enrolled in an MFA program or not. It simply boils down to your dedication to the craft. J.K. Rowling, Jonathan Franzen and John Grisham have all met a lot of acclaim, and not one of them have the letters MFA behind their name. Don’t be discouraged if you haven’t obtained your MFA. If you really want to be a writer, you will find a way, formal education nor not.

4) Be Prepared to Promote

A lot more goes into publishing a book than writing a manuscript, and several essays in Scratch put that into perspective for me. When you publish a book, you make an agreement with a publishing house to get out and promote it, which can include readings, interviews and appearances, just to name a few. Even if you have the ability to quit your job and devote yourself to writing full-time, you will still do a lot of work that isn’t writing. I think this is important to keep in mind when dreaming of becoming a full-time writer.

5) It’s all for the love

The most common theme throughout this book is that writers do it for the love of the craft. Chances are, if you’re reading this, that love runs deep within you as well. Writers face rejection and spend a lot of time working alone, but the rewards of eventually getting our stories out far outweigh the difficulties that we can face.

The reason I liked Scratch so much is because, though the opinions and tones differ from writer to writer, the book is honest. Writing has its ups and downs, but we do it because we love it and because there is nothing we’d rather be doing. Hearing these stories enlightened me to what it’s really like to be on the New York Times Bestseller List, showed me that even the most successful writers have their doubts, and assured me that I am on the right track, even though I haven’t yet been published in the Paris Review. If you are a writer or want to become one, I highly recommend this read.

Kolina Cicero is a writer in Minneapolis. She writes fiction and essays, and is currently working on a collection of short stories. Kolina can be found on Twitter at @KolinaCicero.

The post #5OnFri: Five Tips from “Scratch: Writers, Money, and the Art of Making a Living” appeared first on DIY MFA.

Today I’m thrilled to welcome Manjula Martin on the show. Manjula is editor of Scratch: Writers, Money, and the Art of Making a Living from Simon & Schuster. She’s the creator of the blog Who Pays Writers? And was the founder and editor of Scratch magazine, an online periodical focused on the business of being a writer.

Manjula’s work has appeared in various publications like the Virginia Quarterly Review, Pacific Standard, SF Weekly, The Billfold, and The Toast, plus, she is the managing editor of Zoetrope: All-Story. Today, she and I will be talking about writers and money, how to make ends meet, and generate revenue from your writing.

In this episode we discuss:

• Why it’s so difficult—but so important—for writers to talk about money, and why it doesn’t have to be hard.
• Different options and strategies for how writers can make a living beyond a book deal.
• The pros and cons of working for free, and the broader implications this has on the publishing landscape.
• Knowing your strengths and weaknesses and leveraging them to help you make a living.

Plus, Manjula’s #1 tip for writers.

About the Author

Manjula Martin is editor of Scratch: Writers, Money, and the Art of Making a Living (Simon & Schuster, January 2017). She created the blog Who Pays Writers? and was the founder and editor of Scratch magazine, an online periodical that focused on the business of being a writer. Her writing has appeared in the Virginia Quarterly Review, Pacific Standard, SF Weekly, The Billfold, The Toast, and other publications. She is the managing editor of Zoetrope: All-Story and lives in San Francisco.

You can learn more about Manjula Martin at her website: https://manjulamartin.com/.

Scratch: Writers, Money, and the Art of Making a Living

A collection of essays from today’s most acclaimed authors—from Cheryl Strayed to Roxane Gay to Jennifer Weiner, Alexander Chee, Nick Hornby, and Jonathan Franzen—Scratch: Writers, Money, and the Art of Making a Living is all about the realities of earning money in the writing world.

In the literary world, the debate around writing and commerce often begs us to take sides: either writers should be paid for everything they do or writers should just pay their dues and count themselves lucky to be published. You should never quit your “day job,” but your ultimate goal should be to quit your day job. It’s an endless, confusing, and often controversial conversation that, despite our bare-it-all culture, still remains taboo. In Scratch, Manjula Martin has gathered interviews and essays from established and rising authors to confront the age-old question: how do creative people make money?

If you decide to purchase Scratch: Writers, Money, and the Art of Making a Living, we hope you’ll do so via this Amazon affiliate link, which means DIY MFA gets a small commission at no cost to you. Thank you for supporting DIY MFA!

Link to Episode 129

(Right-click to download.)

If you liked this episode…

Head over to iTunes, leave a review, and subscribe so you’ll be first to know when new episodes are available. Also, if you know anyone who might enjoy this podcast, please share!

Until next week, keep writing and keep being awesome!

The post Episode 129: Let’s Talk About the Money — Interview with Manjula Martin appeared first on DIY MFA.

Today’s episode is all about the m-words of writing: marketing and money. These topics are often hard for writers to discuss, but I wanted to address them for a couple of reasons. First, they are super-important. And second, I believe that all writers can be awesome at both at the creative and the business sides of their work.

As writers, we tell ourselves a lot of lies. Sometimes these lies are just part of getting through what needs to be done, but sometimes they can hold us back. I’ve heard many authors say “I don’t care if I make money, I just want to write,” or “I don’t want to sell out. I can’t promote myself.” It’s as if we equate suffering and starvation with good art.

Finally, I hear some writers say “If I make something amazing it’ll just sell itself.”

What a lot of us don’t realize is that we’re living in a paradox. On the one hand we say “I don’t wanna corrupt my art” but on the other hand we say “If only I could make money doing what I love…” How do we reconcile this contradiction? That’s what this episode is all about.

We can sustain ourselves.

Frankly, I find the idea that we writers can’t (or shouldn’t) sustain ourselves with our craft insulting. Here’s why:

• It paints authors as too fragile to handle the reality of sales and marketing.
• It implies that because we’re “word people” we’re too stupid to crunch the numbers.
• It debases the value of our work.

About that last point, I definitely believe that we writers should be compensated for our work, but I also I think we need to see beyond just getting a paycheck. We’ve all heard the saying that writers can “die from exposure” but I can think of at least a dozen examples from my own life where I have made $0 from a project but got a huge return on that investment down the road. Think beyond the monetary value of a project, and instead focus on the overall value that project and the relationships you build through it will bring to your career as a whole. Find the balance between giving away your work and getting paid for every word.

Tweet this.

Here are 4 reasons why writers are awesome marketers:

People think of writers as reclusive. They think we lack social skills and couldn’t network our way out of a paper bag. But we have a lot of skills that make us well-equipped for marketing and sales.

1. We know how to use words to change people’s minds. This is magic.
2. We are engaging storytellers. This makes us interesting people to talk to.
3. We know a lot about a lot of different things. Information is power. 
4. Plus, because we’re good at observing others, our interpersonal skills are off the charts.

Writers, you have the skills to rock at marketing. You can play this crazy game, and you can win. You just need to know the rules.

The #1 Rule of Marketing: Everybody wants something.

I’m not trying to be cynical. I’m just telling it like it is. Every human being on the planet wants something.  I call this the “What’s in it for me” or WIIFM factor. As writers, we are AWESOME at dealing with the WIIFM factor because we think about it every day… only with our characters. All we have to do is refocus this skill that we already have and we have the potential to rock at marketing.

In the end, marketing comes down to connecting these two dots:

• What does the other person want/need?
• How can I align that want/need to what I can bring to the table?

Once you connect those two dots, everything else will fall in place. After that, it’s simply a matter of crafting your message with the other person’s needs in mind. There are a LOT more techniques that can help writers become even better at marketing, but this is a huge topic and I can’t squeeze it all into one podcast episode.

In this episode, I wanted to start the conversation because so many people are afraid to talk about marketing and money and all that sales-y stuff. If you have questions or topics you would like me to cover in a future episode, comment below or shoot me an email.

Also, I wanted to give a super mega shout-out to my friend and mentor, Jane Friedman who has been a true pioneer in breaking this taboo that the book world has around money. If you aren’t already familiar with her website, you absolutely must check it out and follow her blog. Also, in this month’s issue of Writer’s Digest Jane shares a breakdown of her earnings as a way to break this taboo even further. A-mazing!

Link to Episode 64

(Right-click to download.)

If you liked this episode…

Head over to Apple Podcasts, leave a review, and subscribe so you’ll be first to know when new episodes are available. Also, if you know anyone who might enjoy this podcast, please share!

Until next week, keep writing and keep being awesome.

The post Episode 64: Why Writers Rock at Marketing (and how to do it right) appeared first on DIY MFA.

Before joining VQR, Jane was the publisher of Writer’s Digest and an assistant professor of e-media at the University of Cincinnati. You can find her online at JaneFriedman.com and on twitter (@JaneFriedman).

After a while being a starving artist gets old.

The art itself never gets old–the writing still makes you feel the way you did when you first picked up pen and paper–but the starving, that you could do without. So many of us accept that we write because we love it, or we write because we’re called to it, or we write because we can’t NOT write. But we often overlook one important fact: the writing life must be sustainable. In order for us to continue making art, we must also  tend to more immediate and pragmatic needs, like paying for health insurance or cutting a rent check.

We don’t write for the money, but we need the money in order to sustain our writing. I’ve discussed the issue of money at DIY MFA before, and the fact remains that the writers who experience the most success are the ones who are aware of money matters. Yes, I know, we write because we love it, but let’s get real: love doesn’t pay the electricity bill. Like it or not, writers have to consider the money as well as the art.

Making Sense of Money

Many writers dream of getting paid to write. After all, who doesn’t want to make money doing what they love? Unfortunately, for many writers that ambition stays firmly planted in dreamland because the steps to take their writing from a private passion to a source of income seem virtually impossible.

More problematic is that sense of taboo around money which leaves many writers uninformed and more likely to undervalue their work. In an internet culture where FREE is the expected standard, it’s hard for writers to know where their work falls on the price-point spectrum.

Because money matters are often kept “hush hush” and behind closed doors, it’s hard for writers (or any artists for that matter) to gauge what financial goals are reasonable, which are the equivalent of giving away the farm, and which are just pie-in-the-sky insane.  I’m not talking about playing the comparison game, here, just giving writers objective information that they can use to make smart choices. After all, how’s a writer supposed to make sense of the business aspects of their job, if nobody talks about the money?

Enter Scratch, a magazine pioneered by Jane Friedman, who I’ll be interviewing at Lit Loft on this very important topic.

Giving Writers the Information They Need

In an industry that’s evolving fast, Jane Friedman always seems to know what’s coming next. She encourages writers to embrace industry shifts as opportunities, and not to be afraid of change. “It drives most people crazy,” she says, “but I love the pace of change in online media, and experimenting with the many new tools, apps, and software that help people write, read, share, communicate, and learn.”

It’s no surprise that Jane is always on the cutting edge of what’s new in our industry, but more impressive is how she manages to keep things human even “at electric speed.” For example, Jane was among the first in our industry to jump on Twitter–a communication tool that most writers now take for granted. Yet even with over 100,000 followers and more than 10,000 tweets to her name, you can tell by following her that there’s a person behind the tweets.

In an online culture where so much of our information is automated and over-polished, it’s refreshing to find someone who keeps things real. Jane is one of my most trusted sources of industry information because she doesn’t just share the next shiny new thing, she cultivates discussion that’s open, honest, and human.

When I learned that Jane was working on the upcoming publication Scratch–a quarterly digital magazine focused on the intersection of writing and money–I knew I had to bring her to speak at Lit Loft on this topic. Money is a touchy subject and in the hands of most people this topic would either fall flat or succumb to the hype.

With Jane at the helm, though, I know Scratch will be an amazing resource for writers. Not only does it fill a niche that has been neglected far too long in our industry, but I am certain that Jane will bring the same open and honest discussion to the subject that she does on her blog and other online outlets. I am so excited to interview her at Lit Loft about money matters in writing and I can’t wait for Scratch to launch later this fall.

In the meantime, here’s a great technique she offered for writers:

“Start a spreadsheet dedicated to your writing-related income and expenses, and carefully categorize each type—e.g., print freelance, online writing, book sales, affiliate income, and so on. This simple task helps you see trends and opportunities you may not have noticed before.” –Jane Friedman

Register for Lit Loft and you’ll hear me interview Jane all about the money-side of writing. Plus, you’ll hear eleven other expert interviews on the craft of writing, creativity, and the state of the publishing industry. Remember, when we’re informed about our craft and our industry, we writers can make wise career choices and, more importantly, create opportunities create opportunities for our work.

I hope you’ll join us at Lit Loft. Sign-ups close next week, but until this Sunday I’m offering 50% savings to anyone on the DIY MFA email list. Not on the list? No problem. Just sign-up here and you’ll automatically get the promo code so you can claim your Lit Loft discount.

Jane Friedman will be speaking at LitLoft 2013
Sign-ups close next week so register today!

The post What I Learned About Money and Writing from Jane Friedman appeared first on DIY MFA.

The subject of money is almost taboo in our industry but it’s a crucial topic–one that affects our survival as writers and our industry’s survival as well. By tip-toeing around the topic, we’re doing ourselves a disservice. Like it or not, we have to think–and talk–about the money. It might not be a genteel or polite topic. Things might even get a little controversial or uncomfortable. And I’ll be honest with you, at first I didn’t want to go near this subject with a ten-foot pole.

But somebody has to do it, so it might as well be me.

The way I see it, there are two sides to this money issue: the emotional and the pragmatic. The former digs into how we as writers feel about money. What is that relationship like? Why do some writers struggle to get compensation for their work while others seem to have no trouble? And why is it so hard for writers to say those three simple words: “buy my book”?

These emotion-based questions are best handled by therapists and life coaches, and not being either I’m going to focus on the pragmatic side of the equation. The purpose of this article is to figure out a few crucial things. What do we know about writers and money? What are their expectations and how do they interact with money? And most importantly, how can the answers to these questions inform own career decisions?

Where does money fall among writers’ priorities?

Last week I talked a little bit about a survey conducted by Digital Book World. In that recap of the survey, I focused mostly on publishing decisions writers make, but there was another side to the survey results that I think are even more interesting. This has to do with the attitudes that authors have about money. As it turns out, traditionally published, self-published, hybrid* and aspiring authors differ dramatically when it comes to money.

Let’s dig into the data, shall we?

In terms of publishing priorities, aspiring authors seem very focused on building a writing career and fulfilling a life-long ambition . They don’t put nearly as much emphasis making money. In fact, only about 7% of aspiring authors say that making money writing is their their top priority in getting published. Published writers, on the other hand, seem to place money much higher among their priorities, second only to building their writing career. You can see this trend illustrated in the graph below.

If we tease the three categories of published authors, though, we see an even more interesting picture. Authors who only self-publish show a similar pattern to aspiring authors, with money being only the 4th most important factor they consider when publishing. Traditionally published and hybrid authors, on the other hand, both place emphasis first on their careers and second on making money.

But hybrid authors and traditionally published authors have a critical difference between them. For hybrid authors, money is a close second to career whereas the disparity between money and career is fairly significant for traditionally published authors. In fact, the size of that disparity is about the same as what we see with self-published authors.

Check out the graph below to see what I mean. The difference between the green bars and the tan bars in the career and make money columns is pretty stark. The gap in height between the blue bars for those same columns is much smaller. In statistics, they call this type of trend an interaction because the numbers are behave differently for the various categories of people.

What does all this statistical mumbo jumbo mean exactly? I can’t say for sure because while I’ve had the opportunity to review these graphs, I didn’t get to muck around with the actual numbers and do a detailed analysis. But what I can do is extrapolate a story and make inferences about what these data seen to be telling us.

The “reality check” moment of getting published.

There seems to be a stark contrast between the outlooks that writers have about money before and after they get published, particularly if it is via a traditional publisher. It’s almost as if there’s a “reality check” moment writers have when they get published. This realization suddenly kicks in that writing is a business and in order for this business to be viable it has to make money. But if writers wait until they’re published to have this epiphany, then for many of them it might already be too late.

Also, this “reality check” only seems to happen when an author publishes with a traditional publisher because if we look at the authors who only self-publish, their priorities are similar to that of aspiring authors. It seems almost as if authors only start putting money as a priority after they’ve been paid for their work by a traditional publisher. Are these writers not confident in their work? Does that work only have merit if it is vetted by a traditional publisher?

This is the very stigma that writers have been fighting to change for decades. And the irony is, the only way to kill this money-stigma is if we start dealing with the money issue head-on.

As writers, we need to value our work.

As writers we all deserve to be paid for our work, but often we undervalue the fruits of our labor. Sometimes it takes being vetted by an external entity (like a publisher) for us to realize that our work is valuable and deserves being paid. I’m not saying that all writers should be mercenary, calculating the currency of every word, but we need to be confident that we offer a valuable service to the world. Our words are not an unlimited resource and they should be treated with the same respect as the sparkly widgets of other industries.

It turns out that confidence in our work and savvy about the financials puts writers at an advantage. The Digital Book World study clearly shows that hybrid authors (i.e. both self and traditionally published) value their work product more than do any of the other categories of authors. For instance, these hybrid authors expect higher advances and royalties from publishers, and in turn, they make the most money of all the authors polled.

To give you an idea: the average annual writing income for a hybrid author is 50% higher than traditionally published authors and five times that of self-published authors. We’re not talking pennies, but a significant chunk of change. The message here is that while we might not go into writing for the money we writers have to recognize that publishing is a business. For better or worse, money is a critical component.

So, what’s the answer?

Don’t we all wish there was a magic solution? The truth is, making money writing is difficult road for writers to tread, especially now that our culture is now so saturated with free information on the web. Readers have come to expect everything for free which puts us writers in a tough spot. When books sell for $0.99 and writers pour their hearts and words into free blogs, websites and social media, it’s hard to change the rules of the game.

And the answer isn’t to stop creating free content either. Providing some pieces of our work for free is crucial for attracting new readers and connecting with audiences that might not consider our work otherwise. The secret is finding that balance between which elements of our work we can give away and which pieces merit a price tag. Signing with a traditional publisher makes that decision easy because the publisher decides for us. But for writers who choose a more entrepreneurial route, it’s critical that we don that business cap and make strategic decisions about the money.

Join the conversation!

This is a juicy topic and I’d love to hear your take. Change doesn’t happen overnight but open discussion is a great first step. Please leave a comment and share your thoughts about writing and money. In particular, I’d like to know:

Why do you think it’s so hard to make money writing?

The post Why Writers Need to Think About Money appeared first on DIY MFA.