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Hellooo, everybody! Today we're talking about money, specifically how to spend it on
writerly things. This topic was requested by one of my patrons over on Patreon, Frankie.
Frankie Frizzell Park is a fucking awesome name! Seriously, that sounds like a character name,
and I am into it. Frankie wanted to know about the financial end of being a writer, namely what sort
of things we should expect to spend our money on throughout the process. This means you probably
want to brace yourself, take a seat, clench your butt cheeks, and prepare for the hurt. It's gonna
get ugly. Before we get started a few disclaimers. I live in the US and thus I will be referring to
US dollars. Additionally, publishing is like any other business, you have to invest in your product
in order to produce something that consumers will want to buy. If you're expecting to put $0 into
your book, you're in for a rude awakening. That said it's typically more expensive to self publish
a novel than it is to traditionally publish. If you self publish all of that investment is on you,
you're choosing to do this alone. That means if you do a shitty job, you take the loss.
But if you do a great job, you reap all of the rewards. If you go traditional, your publisher
is going to pay for a chunk of the services that you require, in return you are giving them a cut
of your profits as well as a significant amount of control over your work. That means all the
financial mumbo-jumbo was taken care of, but you don't get a say in the business end of your novel,
specifically how or when it's produced, released, or pulled from shelves. Whichever publishing
option you choose will largely depend on your needs and skills as both an author and a business
person. So be sure to do plenty of research, because both options have their pros and cons.
Now onto writer expenses, get ready to cry, and cry, and cry. Number One (1): The professional edit.
A professional editor is someone who edits your manuscript, hence the name. They make sure
your story is entertaining, well written, and meets industry standards. But it's hard to predict
a price point for a professional edit, because it depends on a lot of variables. First of all,
there are a bazillion different types of editors: copy editors, line editors, developmental editors.
There are also optional editing services like critiques, proofreads, and sensitivity readers.
Basically since there are so many different types of editing packages, it's not uncommon
for a writer to hire more than one editor or an editor plus a relevant service. Additionally,
editing rates vary depending on the level of the edit, the length of a manuscript, and the editor
you're enlisting. The simplest way to create a ballpark figure is to go with the averages. From
my experience, most editors charge between one to three cents per word. If you wanna predict your
editor budget, simply multiply your word count by one cent, then multiply your word count again by
three cents. Your editor fee will most likely fall somewhere between those two figures. If
you decide to hire a critique, proofreader, or sensitivity reader, on top of an editor,
their rates are typically one cent or less per word. As for who needs a professional editor, the
answer is everyone. Anyone who tells you otherwise is either on crack or full of shit. And no, having
your mom or a friend of a friend proofread your book does not count. That said if you're going the
traditional publishing route, you don't actually have to pay for your editor. Your publishing house
will handle that for you. However, some writers who are going this route still hire an editor
or critique before the query agent. If that's something that you choose to do, you're gonna
have to pay for this out of pocket. If you're self publishing, you're gonna have to pay for the edit
yourself. And you better not skip this step, or I swear to God I am coming for you. Number Two (2):
The format and cover art. Cover art and formatting are kind of self explanatory. The cover art is
the cover of your book, and the formatting is the format of the pages. And once again,
rates vary. I've seen cover art packages as low as $25 and I've seen them as high as $2,000. But
I personally believe you can get a really great package that includes cover art and formatting for
some price that's in the middle. I paid about $600 for my art package, and that included three ebook,
paperback, and hardback covers. As well as four ebook, paperback, and hardback formats. So who
needs to hire a cover artist and formater? If you're going the traditional route, this shit
is going to be handled by your publisher, but if you're self publishing, this is all on you. Unless
you're a professional graphic designer, you do not want to design the cover yourself, because readers
do in fact judge books by their covers. Number Three (3): The copyright. Typically you want to
copyright your novel after it's fully edited and complete. If you're in the US, you can do this
electronically by submitting a form online. It can take about three to six months to process,
so it's slow as fuck. But on the flip side, it's super cheap. An electronic filing costs a whopping
$35. Again, if you're going traditional, your publisher will take care of this and if you're
self publishing, this is on you. Number Four (4): Publishing. But let me make this perfectly clear,
if you sign with a publishing house and they ask you to pay a fee, there's a 99% chance that
they're scamming you, or that they're a vanity press, or both. This is the same deal for self
publishing. For the most part, there are a bunch of popular platforms for publishing ebooks. But
to my knowledge, the two most popular platforms for publishing physical books are Createspace and
IngramSpark. If you use CreateSpace, the process is free, there are no fees involved to publish.
However, with IngramSpark, there is a $49 fee with every physical book and ebook duo. Additionally,
if you push your book through for publication, and then after the fact you realize ‘Oh shit, I gotta
fix something’ that right there is a $25 fee. To my knowledge, no such fees exist on Createspace.
However, IngramSpark has a lot more features. So it's kind of a give and take. Aside from that,
the act of publishing on its own should not cost you a dime, no matter which route you take. Number
Five (5) Printing. This is a step that confuses a lot of people, especially when it comes to indie writers.
There's this misconception that self published writers pay to have their books printed,
and then just stockpile them in their home and distribute them to readers, which is not the case
nor is it remotely sustainable. So here's how it works. If you are signed with a publishing house,
printing and shipping is not your issue. If you're self published, printing and shipping is still not
your issue. If someone buys any author’s book on Amazon, whether they're traditionally published or
indie, Amazon is going to take care of it. It's not up to the author to pay for the printing or
shipping. The cost of said printing and shipping will be deducted from the author's profits. So
when they receive their royalties, the printing and shipping fees will already be accounted for.
“But Jennaaa, if that's the case, why did you even put this on the list?” Because I'm not
finished yet you ding-dong. In many cases, writers do like to have a small stockpile of their books
so they can send them out to reviewers. If you are a traditionally published writer, I believe
you can ask a publisher to send you some books and I'm pretty sure they'll do it for free. If you're
self published, you can log into your publishing platform and order a shipment of your books. These
companies will sell you your book at cost. So you're not paying the sale price of your book,
you're paying the cost of printing plus shipping. And Number Six (6): Marketing. This right here
is probably the greatest misconception about the publishing industry. ‘If I go traditional,
they'll handle my marketing for me.’ Think again, dummy. If you wanna know how much marketing power
you'll get from a publisher, answer this question: are you a celebrity or a household name? If the
answer is yes, oh my God, hi, welcome to my channel. If the answer is no, take whatever
marketing power you're expecting and reduce it by 90%, tada! Look, no matter which publishing
option you choose, marketing by and large is going to be on you. And the amount of money you spend on
it is going to depend on your platform size, your needs, and your budget. Because of this,
it's pretty much impossible to generate a one size fits all marketing budget. Of all categories,
this is the one that varies the most. A number of traditionally published authors have gone
on record saying they reinvest their entire advance into marketing. That's tens of thousands
of dollars spent exclusively on marketing. I also know many self published authors who
hire a marketing team, or buy ads on social media. These methods can have great results,
but as you can imagine, they're not cheap. This is why developing an author platform is so important.
It's also why I created a Skillshare class on the topic, in case you didn't already know, when you
have a large audience you can do a lot of direct marketing straight from your platform, and it's
free. Additionally, making connections with other writers, readers and bookish folks significantly
improves your reach, while also reducing your potential marketing costs. These connections open
you up to interviews, endorsements, and other ways to spread the word about your book. And basically
the more effort you put into your author platform, the greater marketing opportunities you'll have,
and the less money you'll have to spend in this area. I haven't spent thousands of dollars on
marketing, but that doesn't mean you won't need a marketing budget, because you will. You're just
gonna have to do a lot of research in regards to marketing techniques, figure out which ones work
best for you, how much they cost, and what you can afford. So that's all I got for you today. A huge
thank you to Frankie for suggesting this topic. If you'd like the chance to have a video dedicated to
you, check me out on Patreon. I've got the link listed below. On Wednesday I'm coming out with a
big surprise, it might be giveaway related, so be there or be a pear. With that said, don't forget
to subscribe to my channel. I post new videos on Mondays and Wednesdays. And if you wanna
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just click it, and we're all good. If you wanna read an awesome novel, plus have access to tons
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