What does it cost to be an author?

Recently I was asked by a good friend of mine, “what is your cost per book?” At first, I thought he was talking about what each book costs me to order and have on hand to sell at events and conferences. However, that isn’t what he meant. What he meant was (I believe) a twofold question: what is the actual cost you incur per book sold? And, what does it cost you to be an author? This is a question if you were to ask any author you know, most (I’m guessing) wouldn’t have an answer for. They might be able to rattle off a number like, each book costs me $4.50 to order (including shipping and tax), which is part of the number. Money and costs are not something us authors like to think about (some of us do, but a lot of us don’t). 

That actual cost to be an author is a dirty little secret that is well hidden. And that’s a problem, because we’ve all been lied to. We see images in movies, on television, in books, and online about how new authors get picked up by a big publishing company, are given a big advance, and then in the next scene they are off traveling the country (or world) promoting their new book. For a small minority this might happen, but for the rest of us it won’t. We have to do everything ourselves and flip the bill on our own. If we are lucky we will find a publisher that will do some marketing and go to events where we can tag along and sell our books (this is even rarer than the advances). So what does it actually cost an author per book, and what is the cost associated with being an author?

What I’m sharing is my experience so yours might be different.

Buckle up cause here we go…

When it comes to figuring out your cost per book there is more to factor in then the cost of the book. You have to add in all the other costs associated with being an author. Do you pay for a website? That is a cost you have to include. Do you go to events? That is a cost you have to include. Your taxes are a cost you need to include. Those business cards and bookmarks you have, yep that is another cost you have to include. Not to mention if you pay for book formatting, cover art, editing, proof reading, all these little things that you, as the author, pay for to live the author’s life. Some of these costs will be absorbed by your publisher (if you have one). But, trust me all these little costs can add up. And add up quickly. 

Let’s take some basic numbers (these numbers come from a variety of places, including from me and my fellow authors):

Book cost: $1600 (about 200 books for the year) about $8 per book (if you indie publish this number will be less)

Taxes: $250 (for the year)

Website and domain: $0 – $300 (this can vary as there are free sites out there)

Book Editing: $1000 (for the year)

Book Formatting: $160 (for two books this year)

Processing Fees: $70 (if you use PayPal, Stripe, or other banks to process your book sales there is going to be a fee)

Banner Ads or other Marketing: $300

Events (did you go to any): $400 (average for 8 events – tables aren’t free)

Meals & mileage while you were at the events: $600 (if you went to 8 events you need to eat and get to the location)

I’m not going to add hotel stays (but if you stayed at a hotel then those costs need to be added).

Now, these are just some basic numbers to get you thinking. There are a lot of other costs that come in over the year. So, this total is…

$4,680…

Ouch.

Now for the fun part, you had 200 books to sell this year and let’s say you sold each book for $15, if you sold all 200 books you would have made $3000 in books sales. Wow! That is amazing. Good for you, but wait.  To sell $3000 worth of books you spent $4,680 which means you lost $1,680 for the year…see there is the rub. Which means your actual book cost is $23.40 for the year. So if you wanted to break even you would have needed to sell all 200 of your books at a cost of $24 which would give you a profit of $120 for the year.

But wait… I hear you saying. You’re only accounting for physical books that I bought, what about all my eBook sales? I didn’t forget but that is a whole separate set of numbers. 

If you are published through a publisher typically you and the publisher split either (50-50 or 60-40 [in favor of the publisher]). And depending on where your books are sold the online vendors (Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Kobo, Smashwords, iBooks, etc.) all get their cut, let’s say 50% off the top. Here is how a $4 eBook would break down:

$4 eBook (this is about average according to Amazon)

$2 to the on-line vendor.

$1 to the publisher

$1 to the author

With these numbers in order to cover your loss of $1,680 from above, you would need to sell 1,680 eBooks in the year to break even. Typically, according to Amazon, the average author sells about 250 eBooks (of one title) in the book’s lifetime. That could be all in one year, that could be over several years. Unless you have multiple titles selling and your book is wildly popular, selling 1,680 eBooks in a single year is a tough hill to climb.

Keep in mind there are several variables that are going to affect what your book actually costs. And there are several other factors that go into answering the question; what does it cost to be an author? Your mileage may vary. 

Lastly, none of this is meant to put you off of publishing or writing. This information is to help you grow and understand more about the writing world. So you can figure out what it not only costs you to be an author, but what your books actually cost. Remember knowledge is power, so the more you learn and understand about an author’s life, the more you can control your expectation and enjoy your craft. We write because we have stories to share with the world. Do we want to make a living at our craft? Yes. However, we can’t do that if we don’t have all the information at hand.

I sincerely hope this information helps you, even if it makes you throw your hands in the air and question why you are even writing. And who knows, maybe your novel will be a breakout best seller. This is something we all dream for. Until next time, happy writing and remember ‘don’t let the bastards get you down.’