Some Important News (See: Prince of New York, middle of post, look for bold), Site will be under maintenance this weekend!

Greetings, folks. I hope I’m not bothering you with the frequency of posting, but I’m making some “quality of life” improvements for those of you who use my website. First, I’m starting with a collection of links for audiobooks by vendor. You can find this in the menu by checking out “audiobooks”; right now, Chirp, Audible, and Kobo are complete.

Audiobook news: Yes, Water Witch is coming back to all vendors, I’ve downloaded the files, and I’m crying because I have to fix it on audible, too. But in good news… the old audible edition (which isn’t up for sale at the moment) DID have the appropriate names of all files, so I can recover everything with minimal agony.

There will still be agony, but the collection WILL be back in audiobook format sooner than later. I require help from ACX (audible) to make it happen, but you can expect Water Witch to show up in the Patreon store in the next week or so. Retail vendors will be uploaded at the same time, so you won’t have a wait outside of processing times.

Yes, I know Grave Affairs on Kobo is wonky. That’s why the previous post linked to audible and said when the other retailers feel like getting their acts together and post. (It could be up to two weeks for that link to be usable.) If it’s still stuck after 72 hours, I will try to nudge it (again) to see if I can manually work through turning it off and turning it back on, but patience is a requirement for audiobooks. I know you want it! (And I’m delighted you want it.) But we must all wait. (Insert crying here.)

Anyway, back to other news and the site stuff.

When I need a writing break and a cleaning break, I’m updating links, adding new pages, etc. Here are the pages you can expect to be coming soon:

• Print – Amazon – 6×9 Trade Print Editions
• Print – Barnes & Noble – 4.25×7 Mass Market Editions
• Print – Bookshop (4.25×7); I MIGHT do B&N and Bookshop together, we’ll see. I’m still debating this.
• Hardbacks – Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Bookshop links all on same page
• eBooks – Amazon
• eBooks – Kobo
• eBooks – Barnes & Noble
• eBooks – Google Play
• eBooks – Patreon
• eBooks – Apple Books
• eBooks – Smashwords
• Audiobooks – Patreon
• Audiobooks – Apple Books

As this is an epic amount of work, all I ask is that you be patient, and as I realize I’ve forgotten books/series, don’t mind the clutter as I fix it. (Yes, I missed two series in the initial Chirp file, but I have fixed the page in the menu already.) I’m sure I’ve missed other things that haven’t gone to audiobook yet. (I started with Audiobooks, in case it wasn’t obvious.)

I am hoping that the menus with link trees to your preferred vendor help you find things. I was truly going mad with people telling me books weren’t on Chirp that actually were. (It’s been a common enough trend I got tired of answering that specific question, so I am putting it on the website.)

Yes, Patreon has a lot of books that need to be added, and that’s a project for later. For now, when the Patreon link tree goes live, expect a lot of things that just aren’t present. This should hopefully make finding my books easier.

For those of you who have asked since the last time I discussed this, Patreon and Smashwords pays me the best; they’re about tied. After them, Kobo and Barnes & Noble are my next preferred vendors. But let’s face it: if I have a book for sale (that I authorized, obviously), I’m totally fine with you purchasing there. If I didn’t want you having the freedom to buy from those vendors, I would have removed them from sale. (Like I did when Audible was trying to screw authors, and I didn’t return to Audible’s platform until they walked back on their idiocy.)

If you like buying books on Amazon, buy there. If you prefer Apple Books, go there. If you like Google Play… I’m working to get more of the collection on that vendor, but it’s a bit of a nightmare. Booked for Theft IS available now at Google Play, though!

So, yes. The website updates are a huge undertaking, but I hope you enjoy the quality of life improvements to the site. Just please be patient while I work on the clutter. Also… the site appearance will be changing a little. It’s time for a refresh on the images used.

For those of you patiently waiting, I DO have some fun treats for you.

1: I will be moving ahead with Whispers (Magical Mysteries of Mundane Miami, G.P. Robbins) starting sometime next year. Essentially, when I finish a series, Magical Mysteries of Mundane Miami will be put into the rotation.

I will likely be finishing either Fox Witch or Wolf Hunt next. I’m wiffle waffling about it, but that’s fine. I can wiffle waffle.

2: Yes, Failed Colony will be extended, and as there’s no chance in hell of the sci-fi stuff even sniffing at USA Today, I will very likely do a very short preorder (45 days) when the book is completely finished. Print editions will be uploaded and set to fire at the same time the preorder cycle begins. In bad news, this status DOES mean it’s a “play project” I’m only working on when I’m finished the rest of my work for the day. But it is on the menu, and I’m hoping it’ll be done by the end of the year. We shall see, though. My schedule for this year is a huge mess.

The cover for Failed Colony had to be redone due to reasons (hardware failure of the designer’s computer), and yes, you’re not going to be all that clear on wtaf the cover is about because the cover is borrowing from the unwritten material rather than the written material. But it’s visually a DELIGHT, and I can’t wait to get to show it to you.

3: The Important News Bit: I am evaluating if I need to knock Prince of New York back 2-3 weeks due to my move. I don’t want to, I REALLY do not want to, but it depends on how much gets written next week. My editors are all game for marathoning to get it done on time, but this book is a BEAST.

I’ve cried a few times while writing it, so basically, that warning label is real, and I don’t like anybody right now. If I have to cry while dealing with this fucking book, I’m taking all of you down with me.

Hmph.

Yes, I know 99.9% of you are absolutely AWESOME and would not mind if it’s bumped 2-3 weeks. I just really don’t want to. But yes, I am indicating now it’s a possibility due to the move.

4: Methodology of new series/making money moving forward:

Let’s face it, money is hard. A LOT of what I do is so I can keep writing and providing you with new books without going bankrupt. So, after a conversation with a friend (who I think has been traumatized by the talk), I’m going to give a brief overview of how I decide what books are coming next–and why some things change.

So, where I live is not negotiable; my husband has a very stable and good job, and it’s his dream field. So no, we “can’t move somewhere cheaper.” And even if we COULD move somewhere cheaper, we legitimately love where we live. It’s very much a heart home, and it’s very good for my health. (Very little here actively tries to kill me, and my SAD is only angry 2-3 months a year, and it’s not often viciously angry.)

So, please just accept we live where we live, but yes, we both have to bust ass to make the money work.

It takes me 3-4 months, on average, to write a book. I’m going to use 3 months just because it makes me cry a little less.

In theory, I could finish a book in 7.5 weeks IF I did nothing but breathe and eat the book, which doesn’t happen. (I can’t write 8 hours a day and still have a functional brain. I typically manage 5. I do admin, site updates, marketing, etc, with the other 3 hours of the day–or I rest!)

That’s 12 weeks to finish a book if nothing goes wrong. (And excluding editorial time where the book is with other people.)

(Oh, look… 3 months on the nose!)

Yes, it takes me roughly 300 hours to write and edit a book. (This includes conceptualization as well.)

My rent is $4,500 a month in the new place, including gas, water, garbage, and pest control, and a few other basics. (This is average, and my new apartment is REALLY nice; much better than average.)

Look how cute my dining room is! There will be a sideboard on the wall without the outlet, a willie nelson guitar mounted over the sideboard, and two lamps next to the book cases.

We are very excited about our new home. At least this time, we feel the rent is actually worth paying!

Anyway, our core expenses are roughly $6,000 a month.

As such, my goal for each book is to earn $18,000 after expenses and taxes. This means the book paid for all my necessities during the time it took me to write it.

Currently, Booked for Theft has earned a total of $11,500 as of March 19. (This is the most accurate snapshot; I don’t have full numbers from the 20th through 22nd, but I THINK it has earned roughly $15,000 by 10 am on the 22nd. (Sales are strong for the first 3-5 days of a book’s release, after which it drops off a cliff.) So, for the sake of this example, I’m using March 19th for my numbers, because those are more accurate. (Approximately, all vendors, excluding Patreon.) Patreon is a weird fish, and at current, Patreon essentially clears out ‘any fiscal responsibilities’ for the Royal States series. (Essentially, Royal States books could make $0.00 on retail, and it would continue to be produced on a set schedule, because that’s what Patreon users want. A percentage of Patreon also goes to funding audiobook production.)

So, I DO factor in Patreon for things, but I mostly do that through polling my Patreon users, listening to their comments on posts, and so on. Patreon is also why there will be more “backburner” stuff being finished sooner than later. (I don’t NEED the big sellers to be as big of sellers out of the gate because Patreon very much helps to cover the bills/cost of living.)

So yes, if you want to support me writing books, and you have the pennies to spare, Patreon is definitely the best place to go for helping the books keep on being written.

My current applied tax rate is between 45-52% (depends on Social security, how much I earn that year, other tax stuff.) My husband does well in his career, which means we’re taxed to kingdom come. Please do not offer tax advice; my spouse and discuss these matters and have handled it in our way.

That’s just the reality of the situation. Taxes hurt.

Books are also not cheap to produce. My current editorial costs are roughly $3,000 a book. The cover art is $1,000 base. Advertising usually dings me $1,500 minimum. (And I pay all of this in advance.)

There are a bunch of small expenses as well, but I will go into that another day.

For the sake of discussion, $5,500 is the basic cost of operation for a single book. (Excluding audiobook and print editions.) Audiobooks add an addition $3,000 on average, up to $5,000. (Some are even more expensive than that…) Print editions cost me my sanity and some cash.

So, Booked for Theft has earned $11,500, and it cost $5,500 to produce. That gives me $6,000, of which at least $2,700 heads off to the government , leaving me with $3,300 to pay the rent, bills, etc… for the entire three months it took to write the book.

No, I’m not asking for sympathy, etc. I’m just explaining the math and why I am very, very careful with which books are put up for sale, and why the game plan changes.

If a book is expected to make me $30,000 in the first three months of its life, and I only make $15,000… I need to take a closer look at what’s coming up and adjust things so I can keep writing. So if you see me changing the schedule, this is why. I plan for a certain number of books that don’t even pay a month of rent around books that do, and hope my backlist (older books) sell enough to make up the difference.

Without the backlist sales, I wouldn’t be able to write at all.

To say the least, Patreon has removed a huge amount of the basic stress, because I DO have more flexibility. I am not tied to the railroad tracks with an oncoming train like I am with solely retail sales.

Right now, Patreon pays my bills, and everything else covers my taxes and expenses. (Yay, Patreon!!)

But yeah, this is why I make the decisions I do. Booked for Theft is doing better than I expected, not even gonna lie. It’s not doing great, but it’s not doing as bad as I thought it would. That’s always a good thing!

… essentially, I was expecting a 20% sell through rate from book 2 to book 3, but it pushed out a 29.11% sell through rate.

A successful series has between 40-60% sell through rate, to give you an idea of the series’ lack of general health. But in good news, Booked for Kidnapping crossed the 10,000 books sold threshold yesterday. (All vendors combined.) Good job, book!

So, yeah. That’s a bit of a glimpse into the background stuff. Writing is hard, the financials of writing? Brutal.

And no, writing faster is not an option. I am at maximum writing output. (However much I wish this were not the case.)

So, when you see me make a change… this stuff is just scratching at the surface of the why of the change.

And because that dude really pissed me off… no I did not sign any contract with any reader to prioritize the series they want above any other series. And I am still angry enough I haven’t started the sequel to Client from Hell yet. RAWR!

Yeah. Don’t poke the nice person with a stick. The problem with nice people is that we grit and bear it for a long damned time, and when we finally do get mad, we get BIG mad, and people become shocked.

I’m a nice person.

But when I do get mad, I get big mad. Let’s keep me on the nice side of things, kay? I like being nice… I really like being nice. I’m really not good at being big mad, but I muster for the cause when I get poked with a stick enough times.

I should be no longer big mad in a few months. Maybe. I’m a water pig Taurus, though… like, good fucking luck with that. Shit goes with me to my grave.

Water. Pig. Taurus.

Which basically boils down to “We will literally nice you to death.” What they don’t say about water pig taurus? Take every bad trait of water, pigs, and taurus, and mix them together. We will attempt murder if you take our food. We take grudges with us to our grave. We will hold a pillow over your face while drowning you if we catch you hurting animals.

I have scared Sagittarius folks, and I’ve had more than a few Aries just ease right on back when I get near that big mad sign.

Also, I’m tiny. I’m tiny, I’m tiny, I’m tiny. I’m tiny for my 5’3″, and I’m a fat 5’3″… yet I’m somehow tiny appearing. I have had tall people volunteer to help me because I will climb on retail racks to get what I want because I know tall people become sad if people use them for their tallness.

(But we’re NICE, y’all. We’re so nice it hurts.

… until we’re not, and then we get BIG MAD.)

So, I’ll leave you on that happy note. This water pig taurus, a conflict of zodiac signs (Chinese mixed with Western), has a lot to do and little time to do it in. And I’m hungry.

So yeah. Also, I seem to have developed brain squirrels today. I hope you were at least a little entertained, perhaps a tiny tiny bit educated.

P.S.: If you hear crying, it’s me writing, fighting with the website, and handling moving stuff.