Lets be honest with not only ourselves but other readers.
Let me ask you this though…
You work for $10 an hour. $4 is taken out for federal taxes. $2 for social security. $1.50 for medicare. Total of $7.50. Then $10 – $7.50 = $2.50 x 8 hr workday = $20 -$5 in gas = $15 – $5 for lunch = $10. So you’re working for $10 a day. (Sort of feels like what we’re doing now anyways doesn’t it?) But now you take that $10 and have to pay the temp company that found the job for you – say they charge 30% so now you’re down to $7.00. Oh don’t forget clothes that you had to purchase, or shoes, or whatever, say that’s $4.50. So now you’re $7.00 – $4.50 so now you’re down to $2.50 for the day.
The following week, oh oops gas went up again. So now instead of $2.50 a day you’re now negative $6.50 a day just to work.
Now granted writers don’t write for fame or fortune. (Though, that's why most write is because they want the fame and fortune) But, I sure as the hell don’t.
An average line by line / content editor charges you let’s be conservative at .05 cents a word. My first book, which has the least amount of words as 99K. So 99K times .05 is $4950. Then if the writer is like me, the best doodle we can do is a deformed stick figure – you have to pay someone to do your cover. Website hosting and domain. And that’s only if you manage it yourself.
You’re looking at probably at least $10 grand start up. Now unless you’re lucky and get a publisher who will up front these costs, but for that to happen is slim. Oh but wait, you want an agent, that’s the same as the temp agency who found you work, they take a percentage. And have you read that Writers Market ordeal? I have! Must submit edited copy of the first three chapters. Oh okay, not bad. Now they want your manuscript, so you submit it, they reject it because it’s not fully edited. There’s the catch! They’ll do all the work EXCEPT editing. That’s all on you! They may set you up with an editor, but you’ll be paying for it.
If any writers/authors out there who were in the same position I was…good luck finding a decent editor. I went through 20+ editors before I found one willing to work with me. They would do the first line and want their name in the book saying that they edited the whole manuscript. I’ll admit my books are not your average books. When you first start reading it, yes it will sound as though you are reading something from a high schooler. Well duh, the entries that were used were from a high schooler. You’ll see her tone and grammar increase as she goes through life. That is what I wanted. (That's for the Hidden Destiny saga)
Oh, but wait, you want an actual manuscript to submit for auction to producers. Well there’s more money. Everyone thinks writing is cheap. It is. Sure. So is building an in-ground pool. Oh, wait, you wanted shovels to dig that dirt? Well that’s going to be an extra fee. Oh wait, you wanted to swim this year? Not next decade, well the CAT will cost more.
Yes you’ll see lots of sarcasm in my writing, but it’s reality. You want those pair of Nike shoes over the Walmart brand? Well you’re gonna have to pay the price.
Now that we got that out of the way.
Please, readers, understand there took a lot of time, work, and money to be put into what you're reading. (Well, most of the time. - Well, if that person is serious about their work - There will be)
Readers scream that they want the books for 99 cents. Okay. But remember, you get what you pay for. (So, I've heard the reviewers) Lets break it down for our readers. (I'll be rounding)
.99 x 35% is .35 cents.
Woohoo 35 cents for every ebook sold. Not a bad deal.
Say it cost (we'll go low, okay?) $500 to edit and $150 for the cover. Total $650
$650 / .35 = 1857 (rounding up, because you can't sell part of a book) You have to sell 1857 books to break even. And I went on the low end.
They make more! They make 70%! Uh, no, sorry readers. Authors only make .35 commission if it's under $2.99. So, we got that clarified. (Plus, we're also charged for them sending you the file. It's around 10 cents or so)
Yes, ereaders are great! (I'll go into another blog about books vs ereaders) I don't personally own one. I probably never will. That is my choice. Oh, well.
99 cents is great. You're only paying a dollar for a book that you would otherwise have to pay $10 or more for. Yes, you don't have a book taking up space on a shelf somewhere. However, do you really think 99 cents is enough to keep everything going? Considering when you bitch, whine, moan and complain about the lack of editing.
Sorry, but I'm complaining about the lack of customer service. I'm complaining about the lack of respect when I walk into a store. And you're getting paid. I'm not saying our work is worth it. I am trying to say, the monies involved in getting that work out there, is. I'm not talking about the time you put into writing it. I'm talking about the editing, covers and whatever else.
Editing and covers are the two most costly things associated with books. Now, granted books don't really have or need covers. Even if we take that out, editing is still high in cost.
I'm also not saying that a book that costs more than $2.99 is worth it. Amazon gives you the great feature of reading the first few pages to chapters to see if you like it.
Dear writers, one complaint I hear a lot is you go all out and edit the first few chapters but leave the rest of the book alone. Stop that! Edit all or none! Nothing pisses a reader off more than having high hopes for the first couple chapters and then not being to follow because of the errors. Blah!
I'll write more later. Have some things to take care of.
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