Talking Money - Part I

I thought I was pretty good at numbers…until today.  Since I haven’t received any $ from Amazon or B&N yet…I thought I’d go ahead and share more numbers…and $ amounts!

Return of the Rose is selling for $2.99. March 2, 2011 to  April 30th I have sold approximately 1,010 books at Amazon and 171 books at B&N.

A Knight in Central Park is selling for $.99. March 18, 2011 to  April 30th I have sold 5,610 books at Amazon and 685 books at B&N.

The reports you get from B&N are straightforward, easy to figure out. Sold X #of books in March and you get this much $. You can see how many of each book you sold on a given day.

The reports you get from Amazon aren’t as easy to figure out. It can be done (I think) but since I am throwing this together, I already have a headache and the numbers are accumulative. For example, I can’t see how many books I sold on April 2nd at Amazon. The only reason I have an idea is because I was keeping my own records every day. So, if I had sold 26 books one day…and the next day the numbers for a particular book showed 35 books, I knew that I had sold 9 books so far that day. See! It’s sort of a pain in the butt. But I’m not complaining! No way!  Go, Amazon!

Okay, now the good stuff. For March and April I am expecting to receive…for two books.

B&N:               $   621.60

Amazon:         $4,310.72

Not bad. I’m pretty sure that’s more than I would have been paid in advance money from many traditional/legacy publishers.  Yes, I realize some of the big guys get much more than that…but hey, I’ve been writing for a while now and I’m a happy gal. Besides, give me until the end of the year.  I’ve got some more great books coming next week!

Okay, once I know how the payment thing works, I’ll be posting again! If you have any questions, you know where to find me.

Next Week I'm Talking Money

I've said it once and I'll say it twice, I write romance novels because I want to entertain people. For 19 years I have been writing almost every day, determined to get my books out there for readers to enjoy. I have never received a dime for my efforts.

My point is...this really isn't about money. BUT, this is about informing writers of their options and earning potential. Becoming an independent author and actually earning some $ will give me the opportunity to relax, knowing I just might be able to stay home full time and write more novels. When I started writing all those years ago, I remember thinking I wanted to teach my kids that determination, perseverance, and hard work pays off. Then I wasn't selling and I was beginning to think I was wrong about hard work and passion being the magic combination to making dreams come true.

But now...I'm thinking it was all worth it. Hard work and perseverance really has paid off and in ways I never imagined. When I released my medieval time travels on Amazon, B&N, and Smashwords, I was hoping to sell ten books. I've sold thousands and I'm getting email from wonderful kind-hearted readers who are taking the time to tell me they loved my stories.

So, now I'm going to share my paycheck with you. Okay, that doesn't sound right. I'm not passing out cash over here. I'm just going to be sharing more numbers with you in terms of dollar amounts. So stay tuned!