Tag: #Money

Investing In My Writing #OpenBook Blog Hop

  By Open Book

August 25, 2025

What is the best money you’ve ever spent in your writing endeavor?

What is the worst?

The politically correct answer is that the best money I’ve ever spent is what I’ve paid to the various editors along the way. Having other eyes look over my manuscript, checking for errors I’ve missed, is worth every penny that I’ve spent. It’s also the easy answer. But thank you, Angela Pryce, Cornelia Amari, and Angel Nyx, among many others. (All of you out there on Critique Circle, you deserve kudos, too.)

But it isn’t my final answer. Some years ago, after being a vendor at a couple of cons and a craft show or two, I realized how many opportunities occurred outside. I had no desire to spend hours in the baking sun of a Wyoming summer.

So, I bought a canopy. Just a cheap one, but it’s done the job for seven or so years. I’ve never got the hang of putting it up by myself, but I almost always get help from a next-door vendor. (And help them in return.)

This year, I’ve used it at four outdoor events. (And sold over 70 books!)

I want to mention a runner-up. Some years ago, I was gifted a lifetime subscription to ProWritingAid. I can’t call it an investment because i didn’t pay for it. I use it regularly.

What is the worst?

I’ve paid for blog tours for most of my new releases, using well-known and reputable organizers. None of them proved successful. They brought nothing in sales, and only one or two reviews despite their efforts.

How about other authors? What were their best and worst investments? Find out by following the links below.

As always, until next time, please stay safe.

August 25, 2025

What is the best money you’ve ever spent your money on in your writing endeavor? What is the worst?

You are invited to the Inlinkz link party!

Click here to enter

The Hardest Job I’ve Ever Done #OpenBook Blog Hop

  By Open Book

July 21, 2025

Continuing on the topic of money —

What is the hardest thing you have done to earn money?

I’ve never dug a ditch for money, but I helped build a hiking trail (for free) when I was in the Girl Scouts. Dirty work, but fun because of the other girls working on the project. Being a camp counselor was hard, but basically was a summer-long camping trip and I enjoyed it.

Then there was the job I had cleaning a weekly newspaper office in a small town. This was back before the work was computerized, and the night before publication, there’d be the remnants of sticky paper all over the floor and desks. They had to be pulled or scraped off using a paint scraper. That would happen in the afternoon, after the final version of that week’s edition had been taken by car to a print shop in the neighboring city.

That evening, a small team of three would insert the week’s ads (The color ad pages came pre-printed to the office.) into the folded papers and put labels on the ones that were to be mailed. The address labels came on large rolls and were pasted on the papers using a machine controlled by a foot pedal. This was back in the day when the ink used on newspapers rubbed off on your hands, so imagine what my hands looked like when the tasks were finished!

Then there was my gig working at a sugar mill factory.

This involved sugar beets, not sugarcane. The beets came from local farms and would be brought to the factory by the trailer load. They would be ground up and processed, with white sugar being the result.

I had one of the easier jobs, collecting samples. I’d go to certain spots both inside and outside the factory, retrieving tubes of the partially finished product (in different stages of processing) and running a variety of tests on them.

One of the sample sites was outside, behind the factory, in a basically unlit area. Since I was working swing shift, the last sample of the shift was an adventure, requiring the use of a flashlight and nerves of steel.

But that isn’t why I left that job. I was a newlywed, and my husband was working revolving shifts at a different company. It seemed like we never got to spend time together. I didn’t mind the work, but hated being apart.

The worst job?

I did a short stint as a waitress at an extremely busy pizza/Italian restaurant. I’d worked at a small restaurant previously, and thought I knew what I was getting into, but was wrong. This new place was so busy that all I did was run. No time to interact with customers, just run, run, run. I lasted there only one week. And I don’t remember the tips being enough to make me regret leaving.

How about other authors? What is the hardest job they’ve done? Find out by following the links below.

As always, until next time, please stay safe.

You are invited to the Inlinkz link party!

Click here to enter

Buying My Way Into Fame #OpenBook Blog Hop

  By Open Book

July 14, 2025

Which would you rather have?

Money or Fame?

You’ve likely heard the saying, “Money can’t buy happiness.” But I’ve always thought happiness is a lot easier to achieve with money enough to cover the basics and more. Worry about having enough food? Pay for medical care? Being able to help others without having to check your budget? Not a problem with a good flow of cold, hard cash or the electronic equivalent. It won’t solve everything, but can go a long way.

What about choosing between money or fame?

Here’s my take. I’ve never chased the idea of fame. I wish for readers, but enjoy a quiet life. Like many authors, I’m a bit of an introvert, and it’s draining to interact with strangers for hours, even when the topic is writing. (Like I do when I’m out at events selling my books.)

And money can buy fame. Or, at least, a best-seller title. There are stories of organizations buying mass quantities of books (especially for pre-order) in order to inflate numbers to make it on a bestseller list. (The books are then distributed for free.) Political and religious figures have done this. Safeguards have been put in place to stop this tactic, not always successfully.

Money can also buy an author’s way into numerous opportunities to market their books. I have to limit where I sell my books because I can’t afford to spend money on airfare and hotels all across the country. Or even internationally. And some events can be really pricey.

I limit myself to one event a year where I have to stay overnight. And I’ve never sold enough books to cover the hotel room. I usually sell enough to cover the costs of the venue and supplies. With enough money, I could travel to many places to help connect with new readers.

But fame can bring in money.

In 2025, some of the gift bags distributed at the Academy Awards were worth over $200,000. The speaker fees for Nora Roberts can range between $50,000 to $100,000. Craig Johnson, the author of the Longmire series, “only” receives between $5,000 and $10,000.

So, which do I choose? Remember that I’m an introvert? I choose money. That way I have more control of my life, my time, my interactions with others.

What do the others on this hop choose? Money or Fame? Find out by following the links below.

And, as always, please stay safe until next time.

You are invited to the Inlinkz link party!

Click here to enter

July 14, 2025

Which would you rather have? Money or Fame?

 

 

The First Book Paycheck #OpenBook Blog Hop

  By Open Book

May 2, 2022

What did you do with your first book “paycheck?” (Thanks for reminding me of this idea, Richard.)

For those of you who aren’t indie authors, or you’re new to the business, here’s a sad but true fact of life. It takes a minimum of three months to get the first money payout from the major ebook retailers. By then, an author may or may not remember what they sold to earn that money! I only had one book available at that time, so the what was easy, but I had to go back and figure out how many copies I had sold to earn the small amount of money I received.

What did I do with it? I don’t remember. Nothing special, I’m sure. Chances are I used it to offset the cost of publishing Wolves’ Pawn, that first book.

I haven’t had a “big” paycheck yet, and I’ve continued to put all my earnings into my next book or into publicity, hoping one day to make that big score. It’s as close as I come to gambling.

But here’s where I get to play ‘what if.” What if I woke up one morning and found out I’d become a best selling author overnight? What would I do with the anticipated paycheck? Truth is, I have no idea but I’d find something to splurge it on, I’m sure. Buy some flowers to plant in my yard.  Perhaps some quality chocolate. I could see a trip to the bookstore happening!

Let’s find out about the other authors. How did they spend their first book paycheck? Just follow the links below to find. out. 

And, as always, please stay safe until next time!

May 2, 2022

What did you do with your first book “paycheck?” (Thanks for reminding me of this idea, Richard.)

Rules:
1. Link your blog to this hop.
2. Notify your following that you are participating in this blog hop.
3. Promise to visit/leave a comment on all participants’ blogs.
4. Tweet/or share each person’s blog post. Use #OpenBook when tweeting.
5. Put a banner on your blog that you are participating.

 

 

You are invited to the Inlinkz link party!

Click here to enter

 

Best Money #OpenBook Blog Hop

  By Open Book

June 3, 2019

What was the best money you ever spent as a writer?

When I started the journey as an indie author, I had no idea how expensive the process could be. Editing. more editing, formatting, the cost of buying author’s copies, publicity…

Yeah, that’s a lot, and if you have an bottomless pocket, there are plenty of people willing to take more of your money. I don’t have one of those. The bottomless pocket, that is.

Throw in the cost of advertising and writing courses and fees to sell your books at events. Oh, and business cards and a website.

But what’s the best money I’ve ever spent?

The first big event I did was a ComicCon. That was back in 2016. I spent a lot of money getting ready- I needed business cards, postcards, a tablecloth. But the one purchase I made that I didn’t really need? A banner.

That’s Tasha from Wolves’ Knight, larger than life. She’s my best purchase ever. When I go to events, she’s got my back. The greatest part is how she draws attention. Even if a passerby doesn’t stop and buy one of my books,  she catches their eye. She makes me feel powerful.

One of these days, I should get a banner for the Harmony Duprie Mysteries. But I’m in no rush. As much as I love her, I don’t know how Harmony could compete with Tasha. 

Now, I’m going to head on over and find out how our other authors spent their money. You can too, by following the links below. 

June 3, 2019

What was the best money you ever spent as a writer?

Rules:
1. Link your blog to this hop.
2. Notify your following that you are participating in this blog hop.
3. Promise to visit/leave a comment on all participants’ blogs.
4. Tweet/or share each person’s blog post. Use #OpenBook when tweeting.
5. Put a banner on your blog that you are participating.

You are invited to the Inlinkz link party!

Click here to enter