Do you know what’s interesting? Most don’t realize how expensive it is to be a writer.
I just finished itemizing all of the costs associated for my writing business and that is the figure I came up with. I have spent $2,668.94, in 2016, just to keep my writing career afloat. This doesn’t include: the cost of monthly Internet, cell phone costs for keeping in touch with my readers and PA’s by phone, text, or internet and purchases I made before I started keeping receipts to itemize, later. It also doesn’t include all the time, energy and sweat I invested in writing my books and keeping my business running smoothly and organized. However, this grand figure does include: purchasing books, payments to companies for hosting me in their events, gathering reviews for me, purchasing countless amounts of swag, keeping up a blog/site to keep in contact with readers, and mailing items to readers that have won my contests and giveaways, all in the effort to promote/market my books, world-wide.
All I can say is WOW! When you look at the grand total, it really makes you think. A beginning writer, like me, is lucky to make anything close to this in the first couple of years… if ever. It makes you consider whether you want to keep writing or not. For this amount of money, I could’ve taken a relaxing vacation in Hawaii, but instead I was trying to promote/market and entertain my readers with the hopes of gaining new readers, in the long run.
Authors definitely do what they do for Love. Like many readers, authors don’t have money either. They don’t have the extra cash, readily available, to plug into their business hence the reason why most authors work somewhere else to gain the money to do what they love on a part-time basis, instead of not doing it at all. Can you imagine if every author realized how expensive their writing career was and just dropped out? Stopped writing. Started using that cash to do something else fun, like travel. What would we, readers, do to entertain ourselves if there were no more books left on the shelves to read?
Thankfully, authors continue to write despite the fact that there’s little financial reward involved. Many unknown authors write great books and it’s a shame they remain in the shadows. So the next time you think you can’t afford a book, take a second and think about the one who wrote it and all the time, energy and love they put into that book that they may never recover in financial gain.
Do something wonderful and unexpected today for an author(s) you Love and let them know what you think about their work and what is it about their books that you enjoy. Give them kudos to keep them going. Authors soak this up like water on a hot day but, sadly, praise is sporadic at times or rare. By telling an author you care and to keep writing, you will have added joy to their day and meaning to their career. So, what are you waiting for? Spread some love and joy today and tell an Author to keep writing!
TK Lawyer 