He’s been sending me link after link from Craigslist, for horses for sale.

A link would be sent, I’d look at it.

“No. That one isn’t even under saddle yet.”

“No, that one only has 60 days under saddle.”

“No stallions allowed, and he’s too old to geld now.”

“That one is as short as BeauDee.”

“It’s a baby, no guarantee it’ll get big enough.”

And so on, so forth. I’d find possibilities, but he wanted a ‘loud’ colored, younger horse – not a sorrel, chestnut, bay or black one.

HH was growing pretty frustrated about my shooting down every ‘possibility’ he found, but Monday night, he found a gray Appaloosa gelding, and was sort of shocked by my response: “That one might work! And he’s here in town. We can go look at him.”

Not very long story short, but as of Tuesday evening, we have a new family member, and HH now has a horse.

This loud colored dude is a 14 year old gelding that has been used for kids’ camps, barrels, had a little roping practice, been a pony ride horse for birthday parties, and was even up at Lubbock’s Science Spectrum for Critterfest. He’s about as bomb proof as a horse can get, which was a requirement I had, because HH and the girl are both beginning riders. Though not as young as HH wanted, he’s a good age.

Though he’s HH’s horse, the girl will be riding him some as well, and we’re hoping she’ll develop an interest in 4H activities.

HH is renaming him Solo, with his ‘racing name’ being Han Shot First. No, he’s not a race horse nor will we trying to race him. He’s a trail horse, maybe 4H horse, and a pet. Just like my horse.

It’s really funny that this horse has been not a couple of miles from our house the entire time HH was looking for a horse. That made everything so simple as far as having my friend take a look at him (we keep our horses at her place, so she has final approval) and moving him. The people who had him are really nice, and happy he’s gone to a good home.

Even funnier, we went from having all ‘red’ horses out there, to a couple of bays, to a colorful herd with 2 Appaloosas and a Paint now.

We’re pretty excited to welcome him to the family. He’s a good horse!

This is what it currently looks like, with the new 2 pc sectional I had delivered today.

I have a built in desk top, 6 ft x 2ft, next to my little closet full of shelves. The second pic is taken from just inside the door.

It’s a small room, but man, I sure loving having it!

It came about due to yet another spate of complaints about ebook prices because ‘everyone knows ebooks cost nothing to make’.

Oh, really?

What about all of us who produce mainly ebooks, and may later add a print version? Perhaps those people were only bitching about traditionally published ebooks, which are usually after thoughts, even now.

But the thing is, if people believe that ebooks cost nothing to make or produce (there’s a difference!), then it affects everyone who releases ebooks adversely when it comes to pricing.

A point to make: Indie authors often price below that $9.99 ‘best sellers’ line that Amazon drew when releasing the Kindle. Lower prices have been our big marketing gimmick.

However, that’s not because of a lack of expense overhead. It’s because of a lack of print and transportation overhead – many of us don’t order large numbers of print books for our titles that cost us an arm and a leg and fill our garages while waiting to be sold.

Yet we do have expenses associated with creating and producing ebooks, and those expenses, while perhaps not as giant as what traditional publishers may have, can still be pretty astronomical per title for your average indie writer.

I’m going to do a walkthrough of getting my entire Discord Jones series out, so that the developmental and production costs are plain to see. This isn’t bitching, but just stating what’s behind the scenes in getting ebooks out into the wild.

The series will consist of nine titles, and the first is already out.

Title 1: Arcane Solutions

• Time spent writing, revising, self-editing: About 400 hours.
• Time spent formatting for ebook and print: About 6 hours.
• Time spent creating the cover: About 4 hours.
• Time spent ‘releasing’ (uploading it to retailers): About 20 minutes.

So before any actual monetary costs enter the picture, I’ve invested over 410 hours of my time and skill into it. My last retail management position paid me $12.92 an hour (for the record, I make almost $16 an hour delivering newspapers at my current PT job), and it wasn’t really ‘specialized’ work. Seriously, a monkey could’ve done the manager job there with a little training.

Formatting, cover creation, and writing fiction is ‘specialized’ work.

Anyway, we’ll go with that hourly wage: 410 hrs x $12.92 = $5,297.20.

Which I won’t see a penny of unless the book sells enough to earn back expenses and I start earning my ‘paycheck’.

Not earning profit, but pay for those hours I spent working, which I also have to pay self-employment taxes on.

Now for development expenses:

• Cover cost: $9.98 for 2 RF stock image licenses.
• ISBNs: $19.98 (custom ISBNs through Smashwords for epub version/CreateSpace for print version)
• Editing: The final word count was 70,381 when I sent it to my editor, so the cost  was $1,127.18.

Total of those expenses (which come out of my pocket): $1,157.11.

Total of all ‘developmental expenses’ (including my hourly wage): $6,454.31

And that’s before the book was released. I chose to initially release it with a cover price of $2.99, because it’s the first book in the series. I raised the price to $3.25 yesterday, which is still less than half of the expected cover price of the other eight titles.

I price by word count. More words, higher cover price. The other eight books are probably going to be longer, possibly 85k each, so I’ll go with that word count.

Estimated Hours: About 483 per title, which includes writing, revising, self-editing, cover creation, formatting, and uploading to retailers.

• 483 x $12.92 = $6,240.36 per title

Other expenses (still per title):

• Cover costs: $9.98
• ISBNs: $19.98
• Editing: $1,360.00

Total developmental costs per title:  $7,630.32

Total developmental costs for the whole 9 book series: $67,496.87

Excluding my wages (which I may never see): $12,276.79

Over $12k out of my pocket just to get them released, that has to be earned back before I have any hope of earning my ‘paycheck’.

$55,220.08 in time and effort wearing four different hats (writer, cover artist, book formatter, and publisher) which I have no guarantee of earning, before they begin making an actual profit.

Then there are the production costs. Each retailer takes a cut of each sale, to cover storage, reproduction of the files, and delivery costs.

My cover price for an 85k novel is $7.95. I’ll go with Amazon royalty percentage and costs, since that’s where the majority of my sales come through.

$7.95 x 70% = $5.56 – $0.38 (storage/repro) = $5.18 – $0.06 (delivery cost) = $5.12 royalty per sale.

I have to sell 272 copies to earn back expenses for each title.

Then, I have to sell 1,219 copies to earn my ‘paycheck’ for all my time and work on each title.

I don’t begin earning an actual profit off a title until I’ve sold 1,491 copies. To earn back all expenses for those eight titles, I’ll have to sell 11,928 copies.

For Arcane Solutions, I still need to sell 483 copies to earn back expenses (lower cover price, lower royalty), and then another 2,334 copies to earn my paycheck before it begins earning an actual profit.

As far as paperback, Arcane Solutions costs $6.49 to produce a print for Amazon sales. At $7.99 cover price, I earn $1.50 in royalties for each sale. Ebooks earn a lot more, since I try to price my paperbacks reasonably in order to sell them, and I don’t think pricing a 204 page book at $12.99 or higher would result in a lot of sales. Call me crazy.

Though I do my best to write entertaining stories well, and bring in a pro to put a final polish via editing, there is still an element of luck involved in actually selling any books.

I have no guarantee of sales.

It’s kind of a crap shoot. I could write great stories, promote my ass off when releasing each title, and still never sell enough to recover just the developmental expenses. In that way, my writing is still very much a labor of love, even though I put prices on my work.

Of course, if the first couple of books don’t earn back their expenses, the series dies in the water, because I’m not going to keep writing it. That would be extremely stupid, as I’d basically be throwing away my time and money.

It’s far more cost effective for me to only write novelettes or novella length works, because my time and editing expenses are the Big Costs, and those costs are less for shorter works.

It’s somewhat easier to earn back expenses for shorter works, and start earning a paycheck from them, as long as I don’t bargain bin price my work.

But, I’ve seen over and over again ‘longer, please’ from those who’ve read my work and liked it. They bolster my confidence that I’m a good writer, or at least an entertaining one, because they want more of my characters and stories. They want LONGER stories from me.  Squeeee!

Ahem.

Obviously, in order to make my business a success, I have to try and deliver what my readers are asking for, and just hope that more readers will be attracted so that my sales increase.

Just as obviously, I can’t do that if I don’t earn enough through sales to at least recover developmental expenses. I need that expense money back in order to release more books.

Sure, I could skip having my work edited, or spending any money for cover creation or ISBNs, but I’m relatively certain that would have a detrimental effect on sales, putting work out in its gory, self-edited glory without pretty covers at the cover prices I’ve settled on.

I would still need to earn my paycheck. I spend a good portion of my time working this gig, and if I’m not going to make money doing it, I’ll probably stop writing for public consumption, and only write for myself and a few friends.

Which may not matter to most of the world, and isn’t intended as any kind of threat or temper tantrum.

It’s simply business.

I invest time and money into putting my work out there. I have to justify both by earning money, or my business model sinks like the Titantic and I simply can’t afford to do it anymore.

I won’t be able to do it by pricing my longer works at 99c or under $2.99. That’s just not cost effective, because my works don’t sell at bargain bin prices. Believe me, I’ve tried to sell them at those price points, hoping to really boost sales. Guess what? My sales almost always wither away to NOTHING when I drop prices.

So yes, ebooks do cost to create and produce. The production costs may be minimal, but the developmental costs pack a punch, even though I’m an indie writer who does a lot of the work myself. Ebooks aren’t a ‘tacked on after thought’ for many of us who publish books.

They’re the Main Event, the Big Kahuna, the Actual Product we’re making.

Reviews aren’t for authors. They’re for readers.

They can be useful to authors because a fresh pair of eyes and perspective can pinpoint mistakes that weren’t caught during writing, revisions, and editing. Such mistakes happen to everyone.

Don’t take reviews personally.

I know that sounds dumb. Our books are our babies, and a negative review is like some stranger walking up and telling us our newborn ‘sure is ugly’. I don’t care who you are, it always hurts when someone says something negative to you or about something you create.

But we’re authors. We’re putting our stories out there specifically to let strangers read them. None of us is perfect, getting everything so right that every person who reads our stories is going to rave how wonderful they are.

When you get a negative review, go to your friends to vent privately. Doing so publicly only results in a lot of people thinking you’re a baby who can’t take criticism.

Of course, that opinion isn’t fair if you have a valid complaint. Say someone has made it their mission in life to give all your books a 1 star rating and push the message that you sacrifice puppies or something.

But even that kind of thing is better handled out of the public view. Work behind the scenes to get that person’s reviews removed. All you’re doing when you say anything publicly is adding fuel to the fire.

A pitched battle between authors and reviewers begins. Those NEVER end well for the authors. Not even the famous ones.

A bad review isn’t the end of the world, and won’t necessarily kill your book’s chances of being purchased. Acting like an ass – and it doesn’t matter how hard you try to not come across like one, there will be people who feel you are – will do far more harm to your book’s potential.

You cannot tell readers how to feel about your books.

That is such a no-brainer, I can’t believe any author ever does it. Unfortunately, several have. Unless the other person is your exact duplicate, you can’t tell them how to feel about anything, because they are a completely different person from you. Telling a reader she’s too stupid to understand your masterpiece is just…so freaking ARROGANT. You’re not the Best Writer in the Universe, so don’t pull that kind of attitude.

Personally, anyone who takes the time to choose one of my books and to read it, whether it’s for sale or freebie, can say whatever they damn well please about it if they decide to review it. They earn that right by investing their time (and money) in my books.

If they don’t like it, then they don’t like it. I’m certain they have good reasons for not liking it, no matter what those reasons are, and their reasons are none of my business unless they choose to share them in a review. Even then, it’s not my place to react to their reasons, because their review is targeted for other people who are checking out my books.

There. I feel better. Do you?

• Deadlands Hunt
• Rift (A Wolven Tale)
• Moon Children: Dark Cravings

After the Fall series:

• Tria’s Tale
• Far From Home
• Good Intentions
• A Warrior’s Worth
• The Silent One
• By Chance
• Witching Hour
• Hunter’s Edge

Here’s the blurb for the new scifi WIP, ‘Changed‘:

Keelie Bryant can’t ignore the chance to work with her brilliant uncle on a top-secret military project. It’s an irresistible opportunity, and leads to falling in love with the wrong man, changing her forever.

Years later, those involved in the project begin dying.

Banding together with those still alive, she knows their one chance at survival lies in the hands of the project’s results: genetically restructured soldiers.

Yet convincing those who have no memory of life before the project will bring her into contact with the one man she hoped never to see again.

The one who almost killed her.

Many thanks to Jo and Kate for the blurb help!

I’m working on draft #2 of Changed between Near Dark and a few other things. Luckily, I know a guy with mad scientist skillz who has been of immeasurable help with the science bits of Changed. Thanks, Damian!

For those who claim a review copy, honest reviews are what I crave. Even if you hate it so much it makes you froth at the mouth.

On my other blog, I’ve posted the first part of The Companion as a fund raising effort. You can find the information here.

Near Dark was voted as the next title I should complete, and so that is what I’m currently working on. Hoping to have it ready for release in February.

That covers what’s in the works right now!

Not made up pen names; rather, variations of my name. I’m already using my initials and surname, G. L. Drummond.

G. L. Drummond will be the name for my scifi titles. I have more of those out under it currently, so it makes sense to stick with it for them.

Gayla Drummond will be used for my fantasy titles. Urban fantasy, etc.

Louise Drummond will be used for titles like contemporary romances and non-supernatural/paranormal thrillers (yes, I have one of those in the ol’ WIP list).

I’m not looking to create scads of pen names and drill down to the smallest genre niches here. It’s hard enough just being ‘me’ online, so I certainly don’t want to try and be 3 or more people, LOL.

Basically, the different names are just a way to categorize my work and make it easier for readers to concentrate on what they prefer to read.

Information will be added to my About pages on each of my sites, and the About the Author paragraph I stick in each book.

All three names will share my social media accounts and author web site, GLDrummond.com.

Changes will be made to the covers of a few of the titles currently available (Rift, Deadlands Hunt, Moon Children, and the upcoming Arcane Solutions).

In other news, our second family workout was this past Tuesday. OMG, I hurt the next two days (butt and thighs) and couldn’t figure out why. I’m not overdoing anything, just slowly building up how many reps I can do at low weights, and then I’ll increase the weight.

Figured it out Friday night, during workout #3.

I put the weight on the leg press machine at 50 lbs…or so I thought. Turns out that it was 50 KG (110 lbs). D’oh.

That’s almost my full body weight, people. Not recommended by me when someone hasn’t actually ‘worked out’ since 9th grade P.E.!