Author Math graphic from N²: Nagle North Publishing. A white-haired woman with black glasses sits at a desk holding a coffee mug and reviewing an income-and-expense notebook. The graphic reads: “Your writing does not have to make you rich, but it should eventually help sustain itself. Track expenses. Evaluate results. Build with intention.” A second box reads: “A creative business still needs numbers.” The closing line reads: “Track the cost. Track the purpose. Review the result.”

There is nothing wrong with writing as a hobby.

A person can write for pleasure, personal fulfillment, creative expression, community, or simply because the stories will not leave them alone. Not every manuscript needs a sales forecast, and not every author wants to build a publishing business.

However, once an author begins regularly paying for editing, covers, formatting, software, advertising, events, websites, subscriptions, printing, or distribution, the financial reality changes.

The writing may still be art.

The publishing surrounding it is now also a business activity.

That does not mean your books must make you rich. It does not mean every title must immediately earn back its production costs. It does mean that, over time, the work should begin helping to support the system required to produce it.

Author income is often more complicated than it appears

As I begin to prep for my State of N2: Nagle North Publishing, also known as the anual review of my buisness and life, I thought I would share some of my perspective with you. Other authors may feel differently about any or all of this. Keep that in mind.

The public image of authorship tends to focus on extremes.

At one end is the struggling writer who never expects to earn anything. At the other is the bestselling author whose books appear to generate effortless income.

After 20+ years in this industry, what I’ve learned is that most working authors live somewhere between those two images.

The Authors Guild’s 2023 income survey found that full-time book authors earned a median of $10,000 from their books in 2022. When writing-related work such as teaching, speaking, journalism, editing, and other activities was included, their median writing-related income was higher. Across all surveyed authors, including part-time authors, the median income from books was only $2,000.

Those figures do not mean that building a profitable author business is impossible. They do show why authors should be cautious about relying on assumptions, appearances, or isolated success stories.

Revenue may come from more than one book and more than one source. An author’s broader ecosystem might include:

• print, ebook, and audiobook royalties

• subscription-page reads

• direct sales

• foreign-language editions

• licensing

• speaking or teaching

• editing or consulting

• memberships or courses

• related products and services

The Alliance of Independent Authors specifically distinguishes between someone who simply publishes at personal expense and an “author-publisher” who is intentionally trying to reach readers and develop a profitable publishing business.

The difference is not talent.

It is intention, tracking, and decision-making.

Sustainability is not the same as immediate profitability

When I say that writing should eventually help sustain itself, I am not arguing that every book must turn a profit within thirty days.

Books do not all earn on the same schedule.

One title may recover its costs quickly. Another may sell gradually for years. A first book may establish the world and audience that allow later books in the series to perform better. A backlist title may gain new attention after an audiobook release, translation, cover update, promotion, or new installment.

That is why examining one book in isolation can sometimes give an incomplete picture.

Authors may need to evaluate both:

1. The performance of the individual book

2. The health of the overall author business

A title can underperform financially while still producing something useful. It may attract newsletter subscribers, introduce readers to a series, provide reusable promotional assets, strengthen the author’s catalog, or reveal which positioning does not work.

However, “this may help later” cannot become a permanent excuse for never examining the numbers.

Eventually, the author needs to know whether the publishing system is moving toward greater stability or merely requiring increasingly expensive support.

Start by knowing what the writing actually costs

Many authors know what they paid for the cover and editing.

Not everyone tracks the complete annual cost of being an author.

The less obvious expenses, especially for those starting out, may include:

• website hosting and domain renewals (try free options at first if funds are limited)

• email newsletter services (several free until you hit X number of subscriber options out there)

• design programs (Canva, BookBrush, Adobe software, and more)

• stock images or licensed fonts (try the free sites for some of these and look for the AppSumo deal for DepositPhotos when it comes around)

• scheduling tools (use what socials offer or Canva if you have that program to offset cost here)

• cloud storage (get a portable hard drive too)

• professional memberships (cost and value vary on these)

• ISBNs (lots to research before deciding if you want to accept a “free” one from the printer or pay for your own. No right or wrongs here, just financial decisions.)

• formatting programs (Atticus, Vellum, and Adobe software are the most common, but there are free options out there).

• proofreading (could be through software, friends/family/readers, or paid)

• advertising

• promotional newsletters

• book fairs and event fees (don’t forget your mileage, even if local)

• travel, lodging, and meals (alcohol does not count for tax purposes in the USA)

• printing and shipping (rates and rules always updating)

• office supplies (try Dollar Tree or other bargain spaces to help keep cost low)

• research materials (Other books you read in the genre, books on writing, etc. )

• software that renews automatically (keep track of these!)

A $10 or $20 monthly subscription may not feel significant when purchased. Five or ten of them operating throughout the year can become a substantial fixed expense.

That is why recordkeeping is not only a tax-season task.

The IRS explains that good business records help owners monitor the progress of the business, identify sources of income, track expenses, prepare financial statements, and support information reported on tax returns.

In other words, records are not merely proof of what happened.

They are information you can use to decide what should happen next.

Give every expense a job

Before paying for an author-related product or service, ask:

What is this expense supposed to accomplish?

The answer should be more specific than “sell books.”

A particular expense might be intended to:

• improve the quality of the finished book

• increase visibility

• reach readers in a specific genre

• gain newsletter subscribers

• collect early reviews

• create reusable promotional material

• save production time

• improve recordkeeping

• make direct sales possible

• support accessibility

• test a new audience or format

Once the purpose is clear, you can decide what evidence would indicate that the expense helped.

For example, a promotional campaign may not earn back its full cost in immediate book sales. It might still be useful if it created reviews, introduced the first book in a series to new readers, increased page reads across the catalog, or produced assets that can be reused.

An event may not be successful based solely on the number of books sold at the table. It may also create professional connections, newsletter sign-ups, speaking opportunities, direct reader interactions, or information about which books attract attention in person.

The goal is not to force every result into a single sales figure.

The goal is to stop paying for things without knowing what success would look like.

Revenue is not profit

Authors also need to distinguish between money received and money retained.

If a book earns $1,000, that does not automatically mean the author made a $1,000 profit.

The author may have spent money on:

• production

• distribution

• advertising

• shipping

• platform fees

• event costs

• software

• replacement inventory

• other, this list can go on!

Profit is what remains after relevant expenses are considered.

The Small Business Administration (SBA) defines the break-even point as the place where total revenue and total costs are equal. Knowing that point can help a business establish targets, make pricing decisions, and understand how much must be sold before an activity begins producing profit.

Authors do not need to become accountants to benefit from basic break-even thinking.

Suppose a book costs $1,200 to produce and earns the author approximately $3 per copy or equivalent sale.

The author would need roughly 400 sales to recover that initial investment.

That does not mean the book has failed if it has not reached 400 sales during release month. It does mean the author now has a concrete number to place beside the spending.

Without that calculation, the author may know that money is arriving while still having no idea whether the book has recovered its cost.

Review the business behind the numbers

Financial information is most useful when it leads to better questions.

At the end of each month or quarter, review:

What produced income?

Was it a new release, backlist title, audiobook, series read-through, event, direct sale, or service?

What required the most spending?

Was it production, advertising, subscriptions, travel, printing, or a collection of smaller recurring costs?

What produced a useful result?

Which expenses led to sales, subscribers, reviews, assets, time savings, or meaningful visibility?

What appears to be underperforming?

Is there a service, platform, promotion, or subscription that is not producing enough value to justify its cost?

What should be repeated, adjusted, or stopped?

The SBA recommends comparing actual results with forecasts and previous periods, then using that information to determine what the business should do more of, less of, or differently.

That process matters because numbers alone do not tell the full story.

A low-performing advertisement may need to be stopped. It may also need a stronger image, better audience targeting, a clearer description, or a different book.

A poorly attended event may not be worth repeating. Alternatively, the problem may have been the location, timing, audience, display, or type of books brought.

The purpose of tracking is not to punish yourself for disappointing results.

It is to replace guessing with informed decisions.

Sustainability may develop gradually

A sustainable author business is not necessarily one that immediately replaces a full-time salary.

The first stage of sustainability may simply be that book income begins paying for:

• newsletter software

• the website

• a cover update

• professional formatting

• the next audiobook

• the next book’s editing

• a portion of advertising

• event inventory

That matters.

Every expense the writing begins covering is one less expense being drawn entirely from the author’s household income.

Over time, the goal may expand. The business might begin funding all its own operating costs, creating a reserve, paying the author, or supporting additional creative and professional opportunities.

The appropriate goal depends on the author.

What matters is that the direction becomes intentional.

You are allowed to define what success means

Not every author wants the same business.

One author may want a profitable backlist that pays for future books. Another may want enough income to attend several events each year without using personal funds. Another may be building toward full-time authorship. Someone else may be satisfied when royalties cover production costs and allow the work to continue.

All of those can be legitimate goals.

The danger comes when the author has no stated goal, does not know the expenses, and continues paying for every new tool, trend, platform, or promotional promise presented as necessary.

Your writing does not have to make you rich.

It does not have to become your only income.

It does not have to justify the personal value of creating it.

But when writing becomes part of a publishing business, that business should eventually begin carrying some of its own weight.

Track the expenses.

Understand the revenue.

Give each investment a purpose.

Review what happened.

Then build the next stage with intention.

A simple Author Math review

At the end of the month, record:

Income received

Royalties, direct sales, event sales, services, licensing, or other writing-related revenue.

Expenses paid

Production, subscriptions, advertising, inventory, travel, fees, and other operating costs.

Results produced

Sales, page reads, reviews, subscribers, reusable assets, contacts, or time saved.

Decision

Continue, change, pause, or stop.

The goal is not perfect accounting on the first attempt.

The goal is to know more about your author business next month than you knew this month.

Keep an eye out for the Author Expenses workship Alesandra Torre does because she has a fantastic spreadsheet for tracking author expenses.

References

Alliance of Independent Authors. (n.d.). What is an independent “indie” author? https://www.allianceindependentauthors.org/what-is-an-indie-author/

Authors Guild. (2023, September 27). Key takeaways from the Authors Guild’s 2023 author income survey. https://authorsguild.org/news/key-takeaways-from-2023-author-income-survey/

Internal Revenue Service. (2024). Publication 583: Starting a business and keeping records.https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/p583.pdf?

Internal Revenue Service. (2026, May 1). Recordkeeping. https://www.irs.gov/businesses/small-businesses-self-employed/recordkeeping

U.S. Small Business Administration. (2024, October 3). Plan your business. .https://www.sba.gov/counseling/plan-your-business/

U.S. Small Business Administration. (2025, March 7). Manage your business. https://www.sba.gov/counseling/manage-your-business/

Help from Chat GPT for sourcing, image, and alt text. Opinions and thoughts are my own.

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I recently had a wake-up call about my social media strategy. While focused on shares and saves (the metrics I actually care about), I realized I had no clear picture of my monthly views - pretty important since almost all my income comes from social media!

So I challenged myself to reach 100,000 monthly views across Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube. When I checked my baseline for the past 4 weeks, I was shocked:

• TikTok: 17,000

• Instagram: 57,000

• YouTube: 36,000

That’s 110,000 views! I’d already been hitting my “stretch goal” for 6+ months without realizing it. No wonder my sales have been strong enough to cover our bills (though admittedly, we keep our cost of living intentionally low).

Setting a New Target: 200,000 Monthly Views

With this revelation, I’ve set a more ambitious goal of 200,000 monthly views. Here’s my action plan:

1. Commit to Consistent Posting

I’m now posting about at least 2 books every single day. More when possible, but that’s my minimum.

2. Automate with Social Bee

Later this month, I’m reactivating Social Bee to handle my evergreen content. I’ll download all my TikTok videos that sell books in an evergreen way and add them to Social Bee for automatic reposting.

(If you haven’t used Social Bee, it lets you organize posts in folders, schedule those folders on a weekly calendar, and handles posting automatically. You can even set it to add posts back to the queue after they’ve been published.)

3. Outsource Content Creation

I’m hiring help for content types I don’t have bandwidth for. While I enjoy creating hook-based content and CapCut meme-style videos, I’m bringing on someone who excels at slide-based content - something that worked well for me before I ran out of energy to maintain it.

4. Build a Robust Content Library

All my new videos will go into Social Bee, continuously growing my library of auto-postable content. I can shuffle folders when needed and gradually increase my daily post frequency to boost views.

The Long Game

I recognize this won’t produce overnight results - it’ll take 30-90 days for the algorithms to respond to my increased activity. But this approach creates a sustainable system that works while I focus on other priorities.

Right now, I need marketing to run on autopilot while I finish rewriting my current series. Plus, this strategy primes the algorithm so when I’m ready to start promoting preorders and recruiting ARC readers for the new series, I’ll have momentum already built.

What automation strategies are working for you? Have you checked your actual view counts lately?

How to Capture Your Life Story is a heartfelt and practical guide for anyone ready to preserve their memories with purpose and creativity. Blending over 25 years of experience in education and personal storytelling, Dr. Maggie Dominguez invites readers to explore journaling, scrapbooking, and photo documentation as meaningful ways to reflect on and share their life experiences. Whether you're a lifelong memory keeper or just beginning, this book offers approachable prompts, layout ideas, and encouragement to help you find your own storytelling style. With warmth and inspiration drawn from real life, it reminds us that every moment—big or small—is worth remembering.

https://books2read.com/u/mYO7OP

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0GFXQQ9TX

A strategic manual designed to help self-published authors transition from "writing a book" to "running a business". Updated for the 2026 publishing landscape, it focuses on actionable methods that prioritize long-term career sustainability over short-term "hype".

Additional strategies based on your unique Author Archetype(s).

We are excited to announce an upcoming Writing Retreat designed to nurture creativity, foster community, and provide writers with the time and space to develop their craft. This retreat will bring together emerging and established writers for workshops, mentorship, and dedicated writing sessions in an inspiring environment. To make this event possible and accessible, we are seeking sponsorship support from valued partners who share our commitment to the arts and creative expression. The event will take place in Charlotte, NC from July 9-13 at the Embassy Suites.

Why Sponsor

By sponsoring the Writing Retreat, your organization will:

• Gain visibility among a diverse community of writers.

• Demonstrate support for the arts, education, and cultural development.

• Build meaningful connections with participants who value creativity and storytelling.

• Receive recognition across event materials, social media, and promotional campaigns.

Sponsorship Opportunities

Level

Contribution

Benefits

Presenting Sponsor

$5,000+

Logo on all event materials, speaking opportunity at opening session, featured recognition on social media, 1 vendor spot, 4 complimentary retreat passes (Can be used for scholarships if you prefer to do a pre-retreat presentation virtually.) Option to take in person or virtual meetings with attending writers.

Supporting Sponsor

$2,500

Logo on select event materials, recognition in press releases, social media mentions, 1 vendor spot, 3 complimentary retreat passes (Can be used for scholarships if you prefer to do a pre-retreat presentation virtually.) Option to take in person or virtual meetings with attending writers.

Community Sponsor

$1,000

Logo on select event materials, recognition on social media, acknowledgment during closing ceremonies, 1 complimentary retreat pass (Can be used for scholarships if you prefer to do a pre-retreat presentation virtually.) Option to take in person or virtual meetings with attending writers.

Friend of the Retreat

$500

Name listed on emails, in event program, and on the website

Other Contribution Options

Provide Welcome Bags for 50 people (30 authors, 10 volunteers, 10 vendors and/or attending sponsors)

Provide marketing materials to go into welcome bags for 50 people.

Offer a service, membership, or other for the raffle.

How Sponsorship Helps

Sponsorship contributions will directly support:

• Scholarships for writers with financial need. If you donate one of more of your event tickets it will be identified as sponsored by (your organization)

• Venue and accommodation costs

• Workshop facilitation and guest speakers

• Materials and resources for participants

• Snacks and drinks throughout the retreat

Call to Action

Evergreen Author Resources is a 501c3 non-profit organization established for writers by writers to provide no-cost, low-cost education and opportunities for writers. We invite you to partner with us in making this Education-based Writing Retreat a transformative experience for all participants. Your support will not only empower writers but also strengthen the cultural and creative fabric of our community.

For more information or to confirm sponsorship, please contact:
Tonya Nagle, PhD, Executive Director
tonyanaglephd@gmail.com

Together, we can create a space where stories thrive and voices are heard.

Tonya Nagle, PhD

Executive Director & Acquiring Editor, Evergreen Author Resources & Evergreen Publishing

Educator, Course Designer, Writing Coach, Podcaster, USMC Veteran

Creative Writing With Dr Nagle

This week, I challenge you to treat yourself like a character you love. Take time to reflect on the things that bring you joy, peace, and/or love.

Give yourself at least 5 minutes to fill out one of those character profile sheets for yourself. Do you know all your favorite things? Has that changed over time?

It’s okay to not have all the answers, after all, you are a work in progress and not fictional.

The point of the exercise is to give yourself a starting point. We spend so much time thinking about others (real or fictional) that we often neglect time to turn those thoughts inward.

When I used to teach Marines how to write a leadership essay, I would say look into a mirror. That is the Marine you are addressing in this essay. It is one of the leadership traits and principles: Know yourself and seek self improvement.

It is very easy to offer advice or see where someone else is missing an opportunity or has a professional or personal development need. It is not as easy to take inventory and offer that same guidance to ourselves.

Whether you do this exercise for fun or for the start of a deep reflection, I’d love to know what your results are. I’ll share mine in the next post.

I do a personal audit every year on or around my birthday, which was the 9th. I turned 50. It was an interesting day and busy for reasons I was not expecting, so I’m a bit behind on the self evaluation. I have the whole month, but I usually have it done before the 9th.

Volume 2 of my life begins and one of the things I am going to have to get comfortable being uncomfortable with is adjusting my timelines.

Have fun and check back for more later.

This year is especially significant as I close Volume 1 of my life and begin Volume 2. In other words, I turn 50 this year and while that is still young, it is certainly a mile marker of importance. Primarily, I’ve been thinking a lot about what my legacy will be. What mark am I leaving behind?

This is why I was excited to be a part of the founding members of Evergreen Author Resources with co-founders D.C. Gomez and Jamie Dalton. We originally set it up as an LLC, but realized what we really wanted to do was create low-cost or no-cost resources and we also want to be able to have a creative board and committees to weigh in on things. We want this to last beyond the three of us. Therefore, we disolved the LLC and established the non-profit in its place.

Exciting things are happening at Evergreen Author Resources, or EAR, as we tend to call it. We will be publishing our first book by Author Maggie Dominguez, PhD. You can pre-order your copy at your favorite booksellet right here: https://books2read.com/u/mYO7OP

We have a writing Mastermind/Retreat scheduled for July 2026 in Charlotte, NC. You can find out more about that on our website: Evergreen Author Resources

We meet live once a month with community members and either do a check-in and mini-workshop on a topic they choose or we do a meet and greet sort of hang out and talk industry.

You are welcome to learn more and join us!

Part of living in Appalachia and being a writer is realizing how many amazing writers live in this vast region (these mountains and valleys touch 13 states and 423 counties). I want to interview all the writers!

The Appalachian Writers Podcast will feature writers from various backgrounds, living in Appalachia as defined by this map: Appalachian Regional Commission

There are so many great projects on the horizon for me and for EAR.

I am excited about this next volume of my life.

Thank you for reading,

Tonya

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