Show Me The Money!

A popular post from April 2012

Josi S. Kilpack

With tax day over and done, inquiring minds want to know what you made on your books last year. With an ever changing industry, there are more factors determining success than ever and yet, as always, money is that elephant in the room. We're all curious about how the other guy is doing, we're all setting goals and working toward them, but we hear very small bits of information and we're always a little nervous to just put our info out there when everyone else is nervous too. This is your chance to share your earnings anonymously so as to avoid anyone making judgements or hitting you up for a loan. Unpublished authors get to see what they can expect, and those of us who have published, get to see how we fit into the spectrum and how the money works between multiple markets and formats.

Here's what we're looking for in your comment:

1. Choose "Anonymous" for your comment profile.
2. State your GROSS royalty or advance income, stating which type it is.
3. State whether this is from traditional publishing agreements or self-published works.
4. State whether this is LDS specific or national market.
5. State how many titles are included in this income statement.
6. Share your personal thoughts if you like.

Here are some comment format examples:

$19,500--royalty

Traditional publishing

National market

2 titles. 

*It's been a good year for me, I'm happy with my sales and hopeful that 2012 will be even better

$1,200--royalty, self-published (Kindle only) 

National market

1 title.

AND

$3,500--royalty, traditional publishing

LDS market

3 titles (All at least two years old)

$125,000--advance, traditional publishing

National Market

One title--first of four series.

*Book won't be out until 2013, this is what I got after paying my agent but before taking out taxes. It's the first of three installments I expect over the next year assuming I can fix the plot holes my editor found.

So, those are the rules--thanks for taking the time to educate all of us! I've featured this a few other years on my personal blog. If you'd like to see previous years, click HERE.