Due to unresolvable technical difficulties with my other distributor (their team is still trying to figure out what’s wrong with the file with no success), Vampire of Montana is only available for distribution at ACX. The audiobook should be “corrected” on Audible now. (No, I do not feel that my narrator’s usage of foal was incorrect, unnecessary, or anything like that. She had everyone use it because of Texas’s prevalence on the world stage, and frankly, it was a brilliant observation of the nature of linguistics and how people will pick up SOLE words from other cultures.) It will not be available at any other vendor until the technical difficulties are resolved, if they are resolved.
And, considering the nature of the reviews and ratings on most of the other vendors, it’s improbable that the book will be returning. Audible was not slammed nearly as hard as elsewhere, for which I’m grateful, but I just have no desire to republish the audiobook elsewhere, especially considering the ratings (at my last check before they were taken down from sale) and the number of unsatisfied people due to the linguistic choice of my narrator–which I still support. (Yes, this means I’m cutting my losses. As Audible was not horribly slammed, it’s not a huge risk of sinking all the other ships.)
As Vampire was a first in a spinoff series and plagued with problems, it’s unlikely I will have the other audiobooks in this set produced. Right now, I regret having left the hook for the next book as I did, as I would abandon the spinoff series altogether right now had this not been the case.
The Royal States series has not earned back, and I have always done them because I love the world and characters, but enough is enough.
This sort of thing has a tendency to poison people on the other formats as well, and I am not confident that Iron Unicorn will be able to earn its production fees back. (And that’s excluding the hours I put in actually WRITING the book. This is just talking about the cover, editorial bills, and other general expenses.)
Five months after release, Vampire is close to earning back (in ebook format). (This is absolutely normal; the first three months of a book’s life are typically where the majority of books earn money, and it’s very expensive to promote books after the new release window. This is just the general lifespan of a book.)
As I learned with the Royal States series when three books were not matching in cover, missing books early in the series is a death blow to the series’ general sales.
As there will inevitably be linguistic performance choices people will disapprove of, it doesn’t make any sense to continue that spinoff series, especially considering the general expenses involved.
You spoke, I listened, and that’s that.
I am going to be taking a break from social media and readers, as this whole situation has absolutely slaughtered any desire to write or publish. This means I won’t be doing much for Life-Debt’s release, although I will use the ratings and reviews to determine if I will independently publish my Pets in Space 8’s contribution. (The same applies with other future Pets in Space titles.)
For now, this has made me rather miserable, and I am hugely disappointed in how this played out.
My morale, at current, is basically zero. It says a lot that I would rather do the dishes than write or worry about books.
If the technical difficulties for the Vampire of Montana are resolved, I may review what I can of the vendors that were not slammed by those unaccepting of my narrator’s performance decisions and publish the audiobook there. But for now, at a very minimum, due to the ratings (or reviews), the Vampire of Montana will not be republished at chirp, spotify, and kobo.
This way, at least, the remaining Royal States book may not be negatively impacted by this situation. But if it bleeds over to the Royal States books, well, that’s that. The series was already borderline for continuing to be produced. Only one book in the Royal States series has paid me any money for having written it. Only one. The rest have been paying forward the production fees so my staff is paid.
And no, I’m not asking for anyone to change reviews or ratings. I’m not asking you to go buy books in a series you don’t want to read, either. That is how you felt, and this is just an element of this business. Perhaps you dislike the consequences of honesty, but you spoke, and I listened, and I’m not interested in losing even more money by having a failure spinoff series bring the main series to an end sooner than I would like.
Am I disappointed and discouraged? Yes.
But that’s how this business goes, and as I would like to continue writing after I pick myself up and brush myself off, it is what it is what it is.
All this is is me deciding to treat this like a proper business rather than treating myself as a charity, paying everyone except me.
Essentially, I’ve been plucking out my rent, a set amount for being able to do hobbies and vacations every few years, and throwing everything back at this business.
I am done with that. I deserve to be paid properly.
But after reviewing the money situation on the series, Royal States will be moved to no more than once every two years for publication, and that will be only after the series has more time to earn back on what I’ve already dumped into it.
I am going to finish a few series just to get them done, but I will no longer be taking huge losses just to appease readers.
That may very well mean a significantly reduced publication schedule, as I will only save 20% of profits moving forward for all other editions and series that are not able to earn back after three months, and I will not be applying any earnings to the “fun stuff” until after *I* have been paid for my hours. (This is approximately $1,500 a month I MIGHT be able to funnel to this stuff.)
Yes, it means that I will not be publishing (and maybe not even writing books for publication) until I have the money to produce those books in hand, rather than my current method of “spend to produce, hope I make profit.”
I love being altruistic, but I’m establishing boundaries. No, I’m not insane for wanting to help people, especially those suffering through various disabilities and disorders. I AM insane for essentially working for free, though. I’ve done my share for charity purposes, and while I may continue audiobooks in the future, it will be only out of the 20% I reserve after I have been fairly paid for my time.
I’ll probably set it for $25 an hour ($8,750 per novel, lowest hourly living wage possible for my area, per MIT) for the average 350 hours it takes for me to actually write, edit, produce, and deal with the other elements of publishing a book. At current production costs, taxes, etc, a novel will be able to start paying for other novels once it has earned $22,000. (The taxes are rough, as my spouse automatically puts me in the top tax bracket. I can earn a single dollar, and because he is awesomesauce at his job and has worked hard to succeed, I am dinged 45% combined…)
Books are not cheap, and authors should be valued. Or at least paid somewhat over minimum wage. Baseline living wage is fine…
I should be rewarded for working harder, not punished, so 20% of the profits going back to new books and series is more than fair.
If I were sensible, which I am not, I would not even begin the next book in a series that isn’t paying for itself (which is everything except Magical Romantic Comedy series right now) until I have that $22,000 in hand.
To give you an idea of the situation, only one Royal States book has earned enough to give me a living wage. (Which is $25 where I live.) I have four series that have one (and only one) book that has paid me a living wage.
So, to the people who suggested I back off writing and publication and actually look closer at the money, thank you. I appreciate it. And you’re right.
I have done way too much, invested way too much… to funnel everything back into writing books to make readers happy, when at the very end of it, I am simply not being paid to write the books. I get by and pay the bills. I always put my staff, and well, everyone else in front of me.
Enough is enough. I will be calculating how much each book has to earn back so it stops being an accumulated debt against the household… and I will only write the books that I can realistically afford… and that includes paying me.
I am expecting one Magical Romantic Comedy a year book and one other book after everything on my preorder list is done. This… is probably far more realistic than what I have been doing.
You, as always, vote with the books you decide to buy, the ratings you leave, and the reviews you write should you choose to write them. (And I’ll be very blunt… after the Vampire of Montana fiasco, I will no longer be reading any of the reviews, even the positive ones. I’ll leave y’all to decide how you encourage or discourage others for buying the books. I’m staying out of it.)
The ratings will be the ultimate decision factor moving forward along with how much the book or series has earned.
Will I continue writing books in the background? Very probably. But I won’t be publishing any of them until I’m paid fairly for the work I put into them–just like everyone expects to be paid when they go to work. And if I do, it will be on Patreon to my monthly subscribers.
Until Grave Affairs publishes in May of 2024, things will look the same as always on the surface, but in reality, I’m implementing the 20% rule off books that have paid my staff and me starting immediately. If I have enough to publishing something after May 2024, that’ll be great. If not, I will wait until I’ve been paid.
This job is way too hard to keep dumping money into it like this. I know this will disappoint you, but I deserve to be paid for the books I write… so does every author.
And no, I will not be raising the price of my books. $6.99 will remain my peak price for a novel that is below 120,000 words, with $7.99 being reserved for books over 120,000 words.
Moving forward, here is how pricing will work for my books:
- Anthologies (typically over 250,00 words): $9.99
- 120,000+ words: $7.99.
- 70,000-120,000 words: $6.99.
- 50,000-70,000 words: $5.99
- 35,000-50,000: $4.99
- 20,000-35,000: $3.99.
I will no longer be doing $2.99 pricing.
Old prices will stand until I have a reason to update the interior of the books or I run a sale. on the book in question.
Here is the schedule for upcoming sales:
Booked for Murder: Now until August 20, 2023. It is currently priced at $0.99. This book will be priced $7.99 once the sale ends, as it is over 120,000 words long.
- Playing with Fire: September 25 to October 1, 2023: $0.99. ($6.99 after sale.)
- Hoofin’ It: October 2 to October 8, 2023: $0.99. ($7.99 after sale.)
- Hearth, Home, and Havoc: October 9 to October 15, 2023: $0.99. ($3.99 after sale.)
- Serial Killer Princess: October 16 to October 22, 2023: $0.99. ($5.99 after sale.)
- Whatever for Hire: October 23 to October 29, 2023: $0.99. ($6.99 after sale.)
- Owl Be Yours: October 30 to November 5, 2023: $0.99. ($4.99 after sale.)
- Last but not Leashed: November 6 to 12, 2023: $0.99. ($4.99 after sale.)
- No Kitten Around: November 13 to November 19, 2023: $0.99 ($6.99 after sale.)
- Blending In: November 27 to December 3, 2023: $0.99. ($6.99 after sale.)
- Cheetahs Never Win: December 4 to December 10, 2023: $0.99. ($6.99 after sale.)
- Burn, Baby, Burn: December 11 to December 18, 2023: $0.99. ($6.99 after sale.)
I’m going to focus on finishing shorter series first as money allows.
Here’s the short list of the series that will be prioritized for completion. If it is not on this list, it’s not up for discussion right now.
- Nature of the Beast (Sean #2)
- Wolf Hunt (Declan #3)
- Fox Witch (Jade #3)
- Client from Hell (#2, #3)
- Jesse Alexander (#3, #4. Anthology will only be done after all four books in series earn back.)
- Vigilante Magical Librarians (#3, #4, #5)
I would say I am sorry, but unfortunately, I really am not. I’m done with putting myself last in line and putting everything I earn back into writing.
We will see how next year goes, but putting away only 20% into new ventures after I’ve been paid will be the norm moving forward, rather than only keeping the bare minimums needed to get through life.
I understand that this will upset a lot of you, and I accept the consequences of that, whatever they may be.
Happy reading. And for those of you who have found joy in the books, I am glad for that. I hope the books that do come, moving forward, also bring you joy.
But the days of putting everyone always, always over me are over. I deserve at least a living wage for the hours spent bringing a book to life.
I do not feel that is asking too much.
~R.J.
Do what works for you. I am also fine with increased book prices – everything else in the world has gone up in cost – books have to also. I do enjoy all of your books with the Royal States being my absolute favorites. Thank you for the hours of pleasure I have gotten from your books.
Same here. Fine with price hikes. Royal States is my favorite series and I’m sorry others don’t like them as much.
Fairs fair. So sorry for your pain, and good on you for looking after yourself.
I just re read fox witch 1 and 2 anticipating the next one, so am glad to see the schedule.
I don’t listen to books much so was not aware about the snide comments. Sending virtual energy for a happier future coming soon to you.
I am sorry it’s come to this, but I absolutely respect what you are having to do and why. Your books bring me great pleasure and I read my favorites multiple times. The same thing goes for the audiobooks of yours I already own. It will suffice because you need to have your own space and boundaries.
I agree you deserve a living wage and you really deserve respect. I love you books and I will purchase them and enjoy rereading them until the latest comes out then repeat the process. Please do put yourself first because no one else will. As a teacher I really get it. The struggle is real but you cannot in good health or good financial sense bankroll your profession.
Good for you! As to any business, you need to make a profit, not just a living. I think you have a healthy following that will be happy to pay the new price. By the way, when will there be another fox witch book. I love the first two.
The timing is right considering what’s going on in Hollywood. Writers deserve to be paid for their work.
I’m still sad for you and how this has affected you. People are ridiculous. I have coworkers who pronounce foals exactly that way.
Thank you for writing what you have. I love the Royal States in some ways even more than the Magical Romantic comedies, and will always appreciate the writing you do. Make sure you get paid what you deserve for it.
Honestly, I’d rather you take care of yourself first and keep writing the books. If you need to release fewer and or price them higher for you to keep writing, please do as i’d still buy your books because they are that enjoyable to me. I reread all of your books and I’d rather own them and get them slower than have you quit because I’d miss your snarky humor and lively plot twists that make me laugh so hard I don’t drink and read for fear of snorting the liquid out my nose from laughing so hard! Please please take care of yourself and put yourself first, last, and always because your mental health is important! And yes, I agree that paying yourself is the best advice you could have gotten. So don’t stress over the stupid naysayers or jerks out there who don’t know how hard your job is. I honestly am glad you have a chance to vent as it helped me understand how important it is to rate books and what you go through to edit and whatnot. Anyhow, love the newest book! I just finished it and enjoyed it so much I had to comment that it’s one of my newest fav’s and I’ll be rereading it like most of your others!
Definitely make sure you’re paid first, the financial equivalent of putting on your oxygen mask.
For myself, all of your stories have brought me joy. I don’t understand reading to criticize, whether its an ebook, audiobook or paperbook.
Hmmm… Well dang. Royal states is my favorite of all your writing. Wishing you well with your life choices. Hoe things work out well for you .
May the Muses continue to bless you
I love your books and have brought all of the ones I can find. I re read then and when I find an audio book written by you I get that too. So thank you. But you have to do what is right for you. Thank you again for your books. I really enjoy them. Any that come out in the future, I will buy. Take care. M
Sorry people be assholes. They ruin everything for everybody.
Sorry you be sad/discouraged.
Hope you feel better soon.
Sad to hear you had such a negative experience. Take your time, and get back to what you love about writing.
Tbh I’m amazed at how you’ve coped. Writing has to be one of the hardest careers to make money out of. Everybody who works deserves a living wage and writers definitely do. Hopefully your plans will help you get there 🫂
Doing right by yourself is vital. I am more than ‘slightly miffed’ at the idjits who have put you into this, but I far prefer you give us a slower output than going on as usual & suddenly walking away.
As an aside, when I read the comment about folks picking up specific words from other cultures, I was suddenly imagining these same idjits going insane if you had someone who was a Crocodile Dundee fan going around saying “G’day, mate”. I pictured them first going guano crazy over “g’day” as a typo, and then again in the audio when ‘mate’ was pronounced ‘mite’.
Illegitimi non carborundum
I’m so sorry that some have not been kind. I happen to love anything you write. Your books make me feel good. They are just plain fun for me to read. I want to say thank you!
I am glad to have a different opinion than those commenting on ‘errors’ and the use of ‘foal’. I have ALL of your books under each pen name to date and love each and every series. I just purchased the 2 preorders and wished there were more to buy. Keep up the good fight. While I have reread some series more than others, I will read all series under any pen name over and over.
I’m so sorry to hear all this; wish there was something substantial that I could do to help. As others have said, your books/stories make me happy! sorry I can’t return the favor… Be well, stay safe.
Rick
I’m so sorry the monetary response is just not enough. Personally I absolutely adore your Royal States series, the Magical Romantic Comedy (with a Body Count) series and the Jesse Alexander series. I only read the ebooks, so I’m not well versed with the audio books, but if they don’t make you any money then you are well within your rights to just stop. Honestly I will be heartbroken if you stop writing altogether, but hopefully you’ll feel better about it after some time goes by. Please be assured there are many of us readers that love, love, love many of your books and hope you can continue at some point.
Sounds fine to me. I don’t work for free so I sure don’t see why you should. I’m sorry the royal states aren’t paying off better, I’ve enjoyed them. Some more than others, but that’s the nature of reading a series. I would never leave you an ugly review just because I disliked an audio narrator either. Honestly, every narrator is different. I’ve almost never been so disappointed that I was sorry I bought the book. The one time I was, the man read in a monotone. My fault for not trying out the sample. I didn’t return it, but I didn’t keep it in my collection either, heh.
I realize you’re a fast writer with dozens of ideas, but this sounds so much healthier for you! Stick to it!
Good for you. You do deserve to think about you first, and most authors I like usually only due one book a year . So take care of yourself and I wish you the best.
It’s the same problem that any self-employed person goes through. Before you the owner gets a PENNY, employees get paid, materials and supplies are covered, overhead (rent, utilities, internet, etc) gets paid. Unexpected expenses always happen, and you can seriously advertise yourself almost out of business completely! And for god’s sake, don’t forget Uncle Sam!!
Been there, done that, don’t even have a t-shirt for the experience. After having 3 businesses crash and burn, I now only have 1 scaled-back business (yes, I had to follow in the footsteps you are contemplating now), while my husband works a day job.
It’s rough – you get in the mindset that if enough money isn’t coming in, you have to do more, more, more. In reality, both your mental and physical health will be much better when you take a breath, step away, and do less.
Do what you need to do to recover mentally and physically. I will miss the faster pace you used to write, because I always love your new books. But I would miss even more you stopping writing altogether because the stress is causing a mental and physical breakdown.
Virtual hugs (because I’m a huggy kind of person, and can’t reach you), and I will merely look forward to more books in the future, no matter what schedule you put them out.
Here’s the core of the problem: so many people have been so absolutely PETTY about someone doing something differently from them that I don’t want to work so hard for that sort of person.
I don’t want to entertain people who are more than ready to tell me what I am doing wrong all the time be it in messages reviews or elsewhere.
People were quite skilled telling me how awful I (and my narrator) are for using a Texan pronunciation. It is ridiculous.
But why would I WANT to do so much and invest so much for people behaving like THAT??
I have been seeing this garbage behavior so much lately, and it sickens me.
All of these people should go write, publish, and deal with a novel and they can’t make the excuse of “but I am not good at this!” To get out of it…
I think these people think that as it only took them three hours to read, clearly it only takes us three hours to write, and we should have done so perfectly out of the gate…
Well I agree with everything you have said and everyone above me have said. I love everything you write. I love the Royal States series. I will read whatever you write and pay you a living wage I am sorry that you have to go through this. Ignorant people will always be there. I surely don’t understand why they think that they can tell you how to do your job. And if I’m lonely for a book written by you I’ll just read one or all. Stay well relax and write yourself a living wage and enjoy yourself and your husband. Be happy and do what you need to do.
You need to do what’s best for you. I am a fan of your books and agree that you need to take a rest. Social Media is a swamp to avoid.
Yeah. People invading my private / personal life over this bullshit was just the last straw. I’m deciding how best to balance “I need to use this thing for work” versus just deleting my account. But yeah, enough is enough, and I’ve definitely reached the “This is ENOUGH” stage.
I am very glad to see that you are making yourself a priority (as is needed😺). I have/still enjoy reading and rereading your many books! 😁👵🏻 I’ve bought almost all of them, (including your various pen names) so I am thrilled about the series you will be completing (thank you 🫶). I am also thoroughly enjoying not only your zany and fun humor and love of many critters, but also your willingness to deal with less comfortable and important issues, such as the child bride and depression issues. I am also so sorry that various Internet trolls have been such a major problem, and morale buster. 😜🤦♀️. Not only do you not deserve such vitriol, but I am impressed with how you’ve been able to make efforts to deal with them along the way. I hope you can continue to find your way with all these changes and know that you are appreciated (and even celebrated 🎉) by many others.😁. Best wishes to you as you continue to embark on these journeys. 🙏🏻
You are such a blessing to so many. I know your books change my life. I have issues that I won’t list. But your works change my life. Help me unwind, relax and recharge. I LOVE ALL YOUR WORKS, the written (ebooks) and the narrated audiobooks. I listen to them all repeatedly. Read and reread. I am so upset that people are attacking and hounding you. Please know that you have people who are grateful for every word, of anything you do. I don’t have an answer for you and wish I did. But you make a difference for me and through that my whole family. I buy my boys your audiobooks because they hate to read. But I have them hooked on your audiobooks!! You ROCK. DON’T STOP!
I will happily wait for whatever you can give us. I love your stories and eagerly await the arrival of the next one. You absolutely deserve to get a living wage ( and way more in my opinion) Please do what you need for your health and sanity. That must come first. Stories can wait. You are AWESOME! Your stories have helped keep me sane as I have been dealing with long term medical issues. You have given me an escape and that is priceless. THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU!!!
Hi R J Blain
I am currently on the Patreon where I buy each book as it comes out. Do I need to move to a monthly subscription to be certain of being able to buy your books in the future?
Thank you very much
Susan McConachie
No, the per novel is fine for that. 🙂