The Cost of Writing

There have been several posts lately on Facebook from people either asking where they can find 'free' books (basically, looking for book piracy sites that steal authors' work) or people complaining that books are too expensive (most self-published books at between $1.99 and $3.99). I decided to educate those people in what it costs the self-published author to produce one book, including the time it takes to do the writing/rewriting/editing based just at Federal Minimum Wage.

Here's the breakdown:

Cost to produce a book compared to working the same hours for minimum wages.

Federal Minimum Wage:        7.25 per hour

Average writing times: * (this varies from author to author/book to book. Some require more intensive research time.)  

30 hours per week       =          $217.50

24 weeks (minimum) for first draft    =          $5,220.00

12 weeks (average) for second/third drafts   2,610.00

            Total in writing time:                          $7,830.00

Additional costs: (out of pocket for self-published authors)

Cover art (average)                                              150.00

Editing (based on 70k word book)                   1,680.00 *      

Copy editing (70k word book)                            840.00 *   
(Rates from Editorial Freelancers Association. Actual rates for editors may vary.)                                  

Total Estimated Average Production Cost:     $10,500.00 *

* (If the author uses marketing and promotional services that charge a fee, this amount goes up.)

Average royalty from Amazon.com based on book cost:

Royalty per book on books priced at $3.99 (the ‘upper’ end)            $2.76  (this is before taxes and if the author elected for distribution that allows 70% royalty.)

This means the author has to sell at least 5,400 books just to break even for time and costs to produce one book, after taxes.

5400 x $2.76 = $14.904 (less approximately 30% for taxes) = $10,432.80 after tax income.

That’s what it takes for an author to make minimum wage on one book.

Now, I've been writing for sixteen years and self-publishing for the past two years. I made even less money per book with books published by a publisher.

And don't get me started on refunds. Well, that was my previous blog post. Yes, there are people who purchase an ebook, read it and then return it for a refund. And I/we get paid NOTHING. This, to me, is stealing. If you've read the entire book and returned it, you've stolen my work. Well, you can go back and read my previous post about Amazon Return Policy.

So, why do we authors even bother? What's the reward? Love. We love to write. We love to create stories that entertain and make people think. We love our readers. Are we really asking too much that readers pay between $1.99 and $3.99 (on the average) to read our book? I'd bet some people pay more than that for a cup of coffee.

Know that I am extremely grateful to my readers who buy my books without complaint, read them, and often review them. I hope you feel you've gotten your money's worth. I hope you know I'm not paying the rent with royalties.

Linda