Write Like Shakespeare, Market Like Scrooge

In preparation for a Bouchercon panel on finding success as an indie author, I received a list of potential questions that gave me pause. One dealt specifically with the money aspect of the business; As a writer, how do you manage your finances and set realistic expectations for income?
The Truth about Sales
It’s a fair question.
I know that most Miss Demeanors readers are authors familiar with the stats: the majority of books sell less than two hundred copies in their lifetime. This dismal fact came up at a Writer’s Digest conference I attended years back where a representative of a hybrid writing company assured those in the audience they could purchase a publishing package for only $3,999. Outraged, I raised my hand, quick to point out that the prospective sales of the book from a debut author, even if they were netting $10 a paperback, would likely generate less than $2,000, or half their investment. The speaker’s response: You don’t write for the money.” And this was from someone trying to promote publishing services.
There’s some truth to her statement.
Beating the Odds
You may start writing for the money, but you keep writing because as long as you have a second job, a healthy savings account, or a partner or parent who doesn’t mind supporting you, you really don’t have a choice. The desire to create, and to have others read what you’ve created, is like a creature from the Alien franchise, swelling inside you until it breaks free, though in the author’s case, hopefully through fingertips on the keyboard, and not by ripping apart your torse.
My first novel, the only one I self-published from the outset, beat the stats and sold around 2,500 copies. (Many of those sales were via an international BookBub promo and therefore highly discounted.) Yet I lost money because I sank thousands into marketing without once considering potential ROI (return on investment). This is where you can learn from my mistakes and actually turn a profit.
Why Pay Less?
I am a marketer. It’s what I studied in college, and the title “VP, Sales and Marketing” has graced more than one of my business cards. And yet, when it came to marketing my own work, I ignored the whole SWOT principle (analyzing your products Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats in the marketplace), and instead, started throwing cash at anything that sounded like it had sales potential. Placing Amazon ads (even though I only had one book out at the time and it was a standalone). Boosting Facebook posts, even though I had no idea of my target market. Purchasing courses I never used. Exhibiting anywhere that had an available table (my veterinarian really had an issue with that…). My motto became, “Why Pay Less?” Because I had to become a famous author. I needed exposure and yearned to be read.
My Marketing Tips
Years later, I have some perspective. Better yet, I have inexpensive marketing tips to offer newer authors:
- Always consider ROI before you invest in a promotion. If you’re only making a dollar per book from your publisher, really ask yourself if you’re going to make back the $125 cost of that street fair exhibit. (Most of my fellow authors consider fifteen sales a really good take at one of these events. Your mileage may vary.)
- Most experts advise you refrain from paid advertising until you have at least three books to sell, preferably in a series. You might lose money on the first book when it’s discounted, but if the reader likes your writing, they’re more likely to pay full whack to find out what comes next.
- Instead of paying for ads, start honing your social media skills. I’ve recently become addicted to creating my own book ads and trailers (More on the resources to do this in future posts.) Let me tell you – it’s a lot of fun and while accessing the “assets” like photos, video clips, and music may require an investment, posting on Instagram, Facebook, and TikTok cost you nothing. One of my fellow Hudson Valley Scribes authors has amassed closed to 9,000 followers over the past year and has seen sales bumps after releasing his videos.
- Focus on building your mailing list. Giving away a “book magnet” (maybe a never-before-released prequel or sequel to an existing book, or a free older book) via group promotions with a service like Bookfunnel can score you email addresses of interested readers. Then you can use a service like Substack to send out newsletters to those readers free of charge to transform them into buyers. (You can even monetize part or all of your newsletter and make a few bucks.)
- Take advantage of what’s out there for free. YouTube, blogs, and podcasts over flow with suggestions and advice on every aspect of writing and promotion (you’re reading one now!). I’ve found the videos on the 20 Books to 50K site on YouTube and also on Facebook to be especially helpful. (Note: their annual conference, held in Las Vegas in November is now run by Author Nation and will be recorded.) If you like what you hear from the experts, you can always read more via their books on Kindle Unlimited or the Libby app if you can’t afford to buy their books. If money is less of an issue, many of these folks offer courses and consulting services.
- If you belong to a group like Sisters in Crime and/or Mystery Writers of America, you have access to some of the brightest minds out there. Get to know your fellow members. Ask them how they managed their tougher marketing challenges. Offer to beta-read and blurb their books and ask them if they’ll do the same for you. If they have a mentoring or critique program, take advantage. Submit to their anthologies. Attend their educational programs and exhibit at their travels at local book fairs. Several SinC chapters stream their monthly programs free on Zoom for members of other chapters around the country, as does National. Tune in.
- Likewise, if you can’t afford to travel to conferences, many organizers stream their events over the Internet, or provide access to the recordings after the event. You may miss out on the networking aspects of the conference, but not the content. For example, you can usually pick up recordings of all the seminars offered at ThrillerFest and CraftFest for $10 apiece, but package deals allow you to buy the entire set of presentations.
The upshot is that you might not make a fortune on your first books, but by being judicious with your spending, it’s easier to hold on to your initial profits until the big bucks start rolling in.
Dawn M. Barclay

Dawn offers developmental and copy editing through SuggestedDevelopment.com, and ghostwrites personal histories and corporate profiles through LegacyQuest.net. A member of ITW, she has served as president of Hudson Valley Scribes, vice president of Sisters in Crime-NY (still a board member), and the newsletter author/board member of the NY chapter of Mystery Writers of America. Follow her at www.dmbarr.com.
Great tips Dawn! I would add “make friends with local bookstores and support them”. They will support you back. And the most you will have to spend is $ to buy a book from them you already want to read anyway.
Emilya: Excellent suggestion. We both know what a great resource Big Red Books is to our local authors in Rockland County. I would hope most towns have a bookstore equally willing to support writers in the community. And remember, libraries count too–they often sponsor local author workshops and fairs. If they don’t, now’s a good time to visit and pitch one!
Thanks for this, Dawn. Marketing is tough. And I’ve foundthe lag time between the promo and my publisher’s royalty statement makes it difficult to know what is working.
So true. I am never sure what’s working and what’s not but I have definitely seen a progression in my career over time.
Dawn, this ia chock full of useful information. I always hear word of mouth helps for sales but that’s so difficult to judge, too. I’ve tried a few of the retweet promos on X and found that I had a tiny bump in Kindle sales, not enough offset the cost of the promo itself. So if pays to know what will really be an earner for you. Thanks for all this good stuff!
Marni,
I am watching to see if the word of mouth I’m getting from TikTok reviewers make a difference. News at eleven.
This is great info, Dawn. I’ve watched your trailers and you are a master. This may be random, but I’ve always wondered, do people pay for substack newsletters? Thanks for your expertise.
Hi Susan:
Substack, as I recall, is free for the author to use. They decide if they want to monetize their newsletters so readers pay. They can start out charging, or start out free and charge later, or keep it free forever, as I understand it. I think you can also designate where readers would have to pay if you want to include some free info and some monetized info on the same newsletter.
Thanks for your hard-won advice, Dawn. So much good stuff in there for both new and not-so-new authors.
Thanks, Connie. Next month, it will be all about vetting contracts and how you may not want what you think you want.