February 7th is World Read Aloud Day. I still have spots for virtual visits.
Sessions are 25 minutes: • 1-2 minutes for me to introduce myself and my books • 3-5 minutes I'll read aloud from my middle grade novel, Shift •5-10 minutes for student questions about reading/writing • 1-2 minutes where I'll recommend my favourite middle grade books.
If you know any teachers or teacher-librarians who would be interested, please send them my way. Book here: https://hello.dubsado.com/public/appointment-scheduler/6584790c5316d8fe7ad6b864/schedule
Last week in the author universe, there was a whole lot of talk about transparency when it comes to income. Some readers are under the assumption that all authors get huge advances and can sit back sipping chardonnay or merlot and watch the bank account fatten.
You may not know that there are only a handful of writers who earn a living writing full-time. Most of us have full-time day jobs or side gigs that pay our bills and fund the time we need to create the stories.
On Threads, a conversation started up about some writers complaining that their day jobs get in the way of writing.
This struck a chord with me. Without my legal video work, I would not be able to contribute to the family budget based on my books sales. While I proudly share that I’ve sold over 2,000 copies of my memoirs, the reality is that after costs and Amazon, Kobo, IngramSpark and Audible take their (justified) piece, what hits my bank account is minimal. For each paperback sold, I can buy a tall oat milk latte. I need to sell 6 ebooks to cover the same. If I put the ebook on sale for 99 cents, as I frequently do to find new readers, each latte requires me to sell a dozen books.
There are months where the legal work is light, and while I’m grateful for the bonus writing time, it’s during these dry spells that I start looking for another job. I am grateful for a spouse who earns enough to cover most of our expenses. But I am doubly grateful that he fully supports my writing despite the (to date) meagre return.
As the week progressed, the thread that was intended to motivate other writers to keep forging ahead, sparked a conversation about royalties and earnings. I’ll let the posts tell the story.
And here is my own transparency about my 2-book deal for my middle grade novels.
My advance: $0 for both books.
My publisher has fronted all the costs for getting Shift to market. I haven’t yet seen a royalty statement, but I won’t see any money until my publisher makes theirs back. That doesn’t take into account the money I need to replenish after the launch party, which Jeff and I paid for from our savings account. I started writing Shift in 2017 with the dream of offering young readers something a little more advanced. Of course I had visions of a decent advance, but that didn’t happen for me. Still, I am thrilled see the book in the world after so many years of working on it.
So when you see an author asking you—again—to buy their book, or sharing a review, or celebrating anything, this is why. Every penny helps. Literally…pennies.
Happy reading!
xo Dana
What I’m reading watching
I know I am extremely late to this party. I’ve been moody lately, not falling in love with anything I’m reading, and sleeping horribly (thanks, menopause). I find the unconscionable behaviour of others helpful in getting me out of my slump. I think Succession is a good choice. Have you watched it?
Thanks for sharing this, Dana. Hardly anyone seems to make the numbers/money they'd like in this business. Clearly, we do it for the love of art. :-)
Like/dislike! <3