Last post of the Blogathon: One-Day ONLY Special Offer--and 8 Ways to Beat Writers' Anxiety

Blogathon, day 30! Thank goodness it's over. I'm actually posting this on Sunday night because I'm swamped tomorrow morning and to give readers a jump on my special offer. 

As I said yesterday, blogging every day doesn't sell books. So in honor of the end of the blogathon, I'm trying something that hopefully will. For ONE DAY ONLY, all of the electronic versions of Improvise Press' books will be HALF OFF. That's $4.99 for:  

• Dollars and Deadlines: Make Money Writing Articles for Print and Online Markets

• Goodbye Byline, Hello Big Bucks: Make Money Ghostwriting Books, Articles, Blogs and More, Second Edition

• Six-Figure Freelancing: The Writer's Guide to Making More Money, Second Edition 

Don't have a Kindle? No problem. You can download other e-reader-friendly versions (including a PDF) at Smashwords here: 

• Dollars and Deadlines: Make Money Writing Articles for Print and Online Markets 

• Six-Figure Freelancing: The Writer's Guide to Making More Money, Second Edition

• Goodbye Byline, Hello Big Bucks: Make Money Ghostwriting Books, Articles, Blogs and More, Second Edition 

This offers ends on Monday, July 1st, when the blog goes on hiatus, so buy your books today--and share this on social media! Thank you! And now for today's post: 

I'm an anxious person by nature. That anxiety has been a driving force in many ways; it got me through college, law school, and two states' bar exams, and a demanding but unsatisfying career as an attorney. It also helped me power through the first few years of full-time freelancing, and has given me the energy and drive to continue to freelance as the publishing world has undergone radical change--and not always for the better. 

I've talked to many fellow freelancers and found that many, like me, are anxious as well. Maybe it's part of our DNA as writers, or it's because a certain amount of anxiety if motivating when you're self-employed. (It is for me, anyway.) But too much anxiety is counterproductive, and it just flat out feels awful. Yes, I obsess sometimes about the amount of work I have (either too much or not enough) but I've found a number of ways to manage my freelancer's anxiety. I think they'll work for you, too: 

1. Start early. I start researching assignments very soon after receiving them, especially when they're souce-heavy. Even so, I'm always at least a little worried about finding enough (and the right) sources until that I wrap up the interview with the last critical person on my list. 

2. Exercise. It's the number one way to beat anxiety, and you can't worry about and work out hard at the same time. I don't always work out first thing in the morning; sometimes I run or bike over my lunch break, which makes me much more focused and productive in the afternoons. 

3. Know what you're doing. Don't get stressed second-guessing yourself. Confirm the specs of the assignment with your client before you're writing so you know exactly what she wants. 

4. Get it down. All too often, I angst over the initial draft of an article, book chapter, you name it. Once I have a draft down, though, that anxiety recedes. Even the crappiest draft can be improved upon, but you can't do anything with the draft that's still in your head. 

5. Forget perfect. I use a three-draft process for pretty much everything I write and don't rewrite after that. Rewriting over and over wastes time and actually makes you more anxious! 

6. Mentally "let it go." My four-year-old walks around singing this hit from Frozen constantly, and it's good advice for freelancers, too. When you turn a piece in, let it go. You'll waste time and stress yourself out for no reason worrying about what your editor will say--and you have no control over it, either.    

7. Think ahead. When I'm really busy, I'll put in an extra hour or so of work after my kids are in bed. I feel like it gives me a jump on the next day, and takes the edge off worrying about getting everything done. 

8. Have a plan. I find that writing down my goals for the day and checking them off help me manage my anxiety--and gives me a sense of satisfaction as well. 

**Readers, what about you? Did you take advantage of the special offer? Do you struggle with writer's anxiety? Feel free to comment here...and enjoy your July! I'll bring the blog back from hiatus in August. 

More Straight Talk (and Real Numbers) about POD Sales

I had only published books with traditional publishers until two years ago, when I opted for POD, or print-on-demand, to publish Goodbye Byline, Hello Big Bucks: The Writer's Guide to Making Money Ghostwriting and Coauthoring Books. I had high expectations for the book--there were no other good books out there on successful ghostwriting--and was excited about trying out this new publishing model. 

At the time, I didn't realize that the “average” number of sales for a POD author is 100 copies. I expected to sell way more than that! So, how am I doing? 

I've posted before about how many copies I sold during the first year after it was published. But to recap, during the first year, I sold:

• 159 print copies through CreateSpace (including expanded distribution, where readers ordered the book through their local brick-and-mortar bookstores);
• 50 e-books;
• 50 copies through a special sale; and
• 36 copies as “hand-sales,” or copies I sell at speaking gigs, writers' conferences, or directly to readers who want a signed copy, etc.

That's a total of 295 copies, which means I nearly tripled the “average” number of POD sales in my first year after it came out. I grossed $1703, but I spend about $900 total to publish the book. (That included what I paid CreateSpace, what I paid my proofreader, and sending copies of the book to my 20-something sources.) So my net profit on the book was about $800.  

And as I write this, 2 years after publishing the book, I've sold 451 copies, which breaks down like this:

• 261 print copies through CreateSpace ($1,213); 
• 101 e-books ($706); 
• 50 copies through that special sale ($350); and
• 39 copies as “hand-sales" ($429).

Do the math. My gross is $2,698, which means after two years in print, my net profit on this POD book is about $1,798. Yikes. That's not much, is it? However, the book has led to other work, including a feature on ghostwriting for Writer's Digest, hosting Webinars, and several speaking gigs. The book has also continued to build my platform and attract new ghostwriting clients, which is one of the reasons I published it. 

Would I go POD again? Probably not, but that's a topic for another post. Next post, I'll share my latest royalty statement from a traditional publisher. Stay tuned! 

Readers, I always debate sharing "not-so-great" news, like the real (and relatively low) numbers in this post. But I think it's important that authors know what to expect when going POD. Have you found this post helpful? Any other questions about POD you'd like me to answer? Comment below and let me know. :) And if you're seriously considering POD, check out my latest e-book, Dollars and Deadlines' 7 Biggest Mistakes POD Authors Make--and How to Avoid Them (SmashWords edition).  

Above Average: Straight Talk about POD Sales

After nearly a decade of working with traditional publishers, last year I opted for a POD publisher for Goodbye Byline, Hello Big Bucks: The Writer's Guide to Making Money Ghostwriting and Coauthoring Books. At the time, I didn't know that the average POD author sells about 150 copies of his/her book. (Considering the relative success of a small number of POD authors, the median number of sales is probably significantly lower. That's sobering news for would-be POD authors.)

Because I believe in talking about money, I've shared my actual sales figures for the first six months before. Now let's look at the entire year's worth of sales. Since October, 2010, I've sold:

• 159 print copies through CreateSpace (including expanded distribution);
• 50 e-books;
• 50 copies through a special sale; and
• 36 copies as "hand-sales," or copies I sell at speaking gigs, writers' conferences, or directly to readers who want a signed copy, etc. (If you do--or want to buy a copy as a gift for a writer, shoot me an email at kelly at becomebodywise dot com.)

That's a total of 295 copies, which means I've already doubled the "average" number of POD sales. But what does this figure mean in real dollars? To determine that, I have to know what I make per-book on each type of sale:

For each print copy sold through amazon.com or Createspace.com, I make a "royalty" (though it's not a true royalty) of $5.32.

For each print copy sold through what CreateSpace calls "expanded distribution" (e.g., your local brick-and-mortar bookstore), I make a royalty of $2.33.

For each Kindle edition sold in the US, UK, or Canada, I make 70% of the cover price, which is $9.99--that's a royalty of $6.95.

For a Kindle edition sold outside of those three countries, I made 35% of the Kindle price of $9.99, or $3.49.

For hand-sales, I purchase copies of the book directly from CreateSpace for $3.65 each, plus shipping. At a cover price of $14.95, I net about $11.30/book, less if I mail copies to purchasers myself.

For special sales, I can set my own price (and do give discounts on bulk purchases. That's a good deal for me and for buyers. For special sales, I average a profit of $4-5/book.

Bottom line? The first six months, I made $587 in book sales. After 12 months, I've made (drumroll, please): $1703.

This number isn't nearly as high as I'd like. However, Goodbye Byline continues to sell steadily, has gotten good reviews, and has little competition. That means that I should continue to see steady (if not stellar) book sales and encourages me to continue to promote and market the book.

And there have been other benefits as well. The book has led to other work, including a feature in Writer's Digest on ghostwriting, and speaking gigs at writers' conferences on (surprise, surprise) ghostwriting. I'll be teaching a class through Writer's Digest University on ghostwriting, and my book is a useful calling card for potential ghostwriting clients and helps build my platform as a ghostwriter/collaborator.

The bottom line? If you're going POD to make money, be realistic about what you may make--and make sure you read your contracts carefully so you'll know exactly what you make on every version of your book.

Readers, what do you think? Are you surprised by the different amounts you make on POD books versus ebooks, and how "expanded distribution" royalties are so much lower? Have you learned something from this post? Please let me know. :)

Great How-To Post on Selling your Book

After writing and publishing your book comes...selling the damn thing. Caitlin Kelly, author of Malled!, has a great post on 10 tips for promoting your new book. Great suggestions for new and established authors alike.

More Straight Talk on Book Sales: The Power of Author Central

So, I've been talking about book sales and sharing real numbers. (Check out my earlier posts on what my latest royalty statement looked like--and what that means--and on how much I've made in the first six months on my new POD book on ghostwriting.

Here's the thing. In the past, you had to wait at least six months to receive your royalty statement to have some idea of how your traditionally-published books were selling. You didn't know how you were faring week to week.

That's no longer true with Amazon.com's Author Central. When you sign up for it (it's free), you get an inside look to how your books are doing, at least in brick-and-mortar stores. Every Thursday, the latest numbers are posted; you can see how many books sold in various markets throughout the U.S.

That's how I know that I'm selling about 60 books each week in bookstores. (While these numbers aren't huge, several of my books have earned out, which means these sales represent royalties--good news for me.) However, I was recently reminded that I do have the power to impact those numbers for the better.

Two weeks ago, I spoke at the Annual Writer's Institute in Madison, Wisconsin. A week later, I saw a huge spike in book sales. The week before, I'd sold 60 copies, including 48 of Small Changes, Big Results, 9 copies of Six-Figure Freelancing, and 3 of Goodbye Byline. That week, I sold 174 copies, including 34 of Small Changes, 58 copies of Six-Figure Freelancing, 36 copies of Goodbye Byline--and 43 copies of my book for new magazine freelancers, Ready, Aim, Specialize. That's a dramatic difference.

Of course not every event I do will produce similar sales, but these sales numbers were a reminder that:
1. One of the best ways to sell more books is to connect face-to-face with your readers.
2. Keeping tabs on your sales will help reveal what works for you as an author, and what doesn't.

Authors, what do you think? Are you tracking your traditionally-published books on Author Central--and why or why not?