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How much do you spend?

Demesnedenoir

Myth Weaver
Yeah, I still flounder when someone asks "So, what's your book about?" My brain just blanks... duuuuhhhhh, ummmmmmm.

Yeah, that's why Hollywood and I never quite got along. I had screenplays with interest but the personal schmoozing leg-work? Ha!

NOTE on my Spend: Because I screwed up my also boughts with a giveaway, I have dropped way more into FB ads than I intended in the effort to correct those. I won't complain about the results of the spend, but... was not part of the plan.
 

Miles Lacey

Archmage
The problem with getting published is that larger countries have a greater variety of choices available when it comes up to deciding how to publish and market their books. If you're in Europe or North America there's a huge market of English speakers out here but when you're on a remote group of islands about 2000 miles from the nearest landmass (Australia) then publishing and distributing it internationally becomes a logistical problem - and the cost of even the most simple things can make the eyes water. Still, I'm ambitious enough that I want to go international when I complete my work in progress.

The first time around was a learning curve and taught me a lot about the business end of books. One of the lessons I learned is that networking with other writers is absolutely vital. Another is to keep separate accounts for home and writing expenses (it turns out that if you set yourself up as a owner-operator business here in New Zealand you can claim all writing related stuff as tax deductible business expenses).
 

kennyc

Inkling
The problem with getting published is that larger countries have a greater variety of choices available when it comes up to deciding how to publish and market their books. If you're in Europe or North America there's a huge market of English speakers out here but when you're on a remote group of islands about 2000 miles from the nearest landmass (Australia) then publishing and distributing it internationally becomes a logistical problem - and the cost of even the most simple things can make the eyes water. Still, I'm ambitious enough that I want to go international when I complete my work in progress.

The first time around was a learning curve and taught me a lot about the business end of books. One of the lessons I learned is that networking with other writers is absolutely vital. Another is to keep separate accounts for home and writing expenses (it turns out that if you set yourself up as a owner-operator business here in New Zealand you can claim all writing related stuff as tax deductible business expenses).

That's what ebooks and digital publishing are all about. :)
 

Devor

Fiery Keeper of the Hat
Moderator
I haven't spent much, aside from time, at the present, but I'll talk about what little I have spent and why, and what I'd like to spend, and when.

The first, every activity I engage in gets a budget of about $50. For Mythic Scribes, I spent about that much on the phoenix avatar on the left, and because I'm on the article team, I spent about that on a logo for the Trope Reboots. I also spent about that that much on the Mythwright frame and an image for my fanfiction. It's important to connect your activities to something unique to help stand out. I'm strangely very proud of each of these commissions.

Eventually I'd like to spend $50-100 on headshots for an author photo, but I keep hoping I'll be in better shape next year.

I'm expecting to spend about $350 on Cover Art for the Smughitter series. That'll cover a seven-pointed fairy star (~$60), character art for the two MCs (~$80 each), a painting to go behind the star (~$70), and the text logo (~$60). Between those images, and my own photoshop skills (I can get good results spending way too much time playing with filters and the like), I hope to stretch that $350 across seven covers.

If I was going to get a developmental edit, I'd spend it when I had about four chapters and an outline - just enough to say, "Here's what I'm doing, what do I need to do to get this to work?" Right now, however, if I had the money to invest, I would prioritize a writing retreat program with seminars and workshops before developmental editing. I'm at a place where I honestly do not think a developmental editor could keep up with the concepts. Writing retreat programs run anywhere from $500 to $1500 - about the same huge range as developmental editing - which I probably won't be spending.

You've got to spend money on a proofreader, it's hard to get around that.

Finally, I'd try and send out an emailer to reviewers and such, and I'd probably drop another $50 trying to figure out something special for it.
 

skip.knox

toujours gai, archie
Moderator
Devor, what about a copy editor?

I've been unable to bring myself to pay for developmental editing (it's the most expensive option), but I am paying this time for something called an "editorial assessment." You could call it an expensive beta read, except it's done by a professional who has previously done this sort of work--assessing a submitted manuscript for purchase by a trad pub. You submit the completed work and get back a detailed (10-15 page) assessment of what works and what doesn't. I'm having this for my next book; it costs $450.
 

Devor

Fiery Keeper of the Hat
Moderator
I probably need a copy editor, skip.knox, but I do a lot of funny things with my prose, which makes getting the wrong copy editor a huge risk that I'm not sure I'm willing to spend money on.

I've been unable to bring myself to pay for developmental editing (it's the most expensive option), but I am paying this time for something called an "editorial assessment." You could call it an expensive beta read, except it's done by a professional who has previously done this sort of work--assessing a submitted manuscript for purchase by a trad pub. You submit the completed work and get back a detailed (10-15 page) assessment of what works and what doesn't. I'm having this for my next book; it costs $450.

It may be worth the money, but is there an indication about how much of it will be will be a write up of your novel and how much of it will be paragraphs clipped from a giant form letter?
 
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skip.knox

toujours gai, archie
Moderator
No guarantees, but indicators. I found her on Reedsy. She has a web site and I looked around there, including her resume. A Google search turned up the expected praises and no bad indicators. We should write a guide--Background Check for Writers: how to check out editors and artists before hiring them.

The most significant factor for me was the correspondence. We exchanged several emails. She was timely in her responses, professional in tone, and direct in the answers to my questions. She also did a copy edit on the 3000 (5000?) words I sent to her. For the most part, she found what I would expect her to find. None of that goes directly to the editorial assessment, but it reassured me. I certainly know more about her than I would in hiring a new car mechanic or going to a new doctor.

(*rolls dice*)
 

Demesnedenoir

Myth Weaver
Yeah, I stalked my editor and left in some things I knew she didn't like for the sample edit to make sure she called me on them, heh heh. She's a tell it like she sees it gal, not a kiss up.
 
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