So there I was, laying in bed next to my husband (and no, this ain’t gonna be that kind of post and aside from the one time forthcoming, there will be no mention of BigFoot) and I turn to him and say “I have to get to work”.
He kept looking at the TV, but reached over and started flipping the top of my ear, the international symbol for “I am really enjoying laying next to you” and asks:
Working for [the company that I work for] or working for yourself?
I had to think about it for a minute and said that I was working of myself.
But I have to tell you fellow citizens, it doesn’t feel like a business yet. And when it does feel like a business (or when I start to think of it as a business), I tend to freak out just a little. I have the desire and ambition to create… I would give up a month’s worth of cupcakes to have the ambition of someone like Joanna Penn, who made writing her business and found many ways to market and promote it while being an introvert.
I don’t have the ambition to be a hungry entrepreneur; I have the ambition to be a prolific writer and I want to be able to live as a writer by the time I am 50, which for me means:
— Having no student loans (90,000)
— Having no mortgage (160,000)
That’s 250,000$
If I set aside a third for taxes (about 80,000) and another 15% for expenses (about 37,500) that number goes up to 367,500$
That is a big-ass number, fellow citizens…
but…
If I take that and divide by the number of years I have (I just turned 41, so I am fudging and giving myself until 51):
367,500 / 10 years = 36,750 a year
Then that result by month:
36,750 / 12 months = 3063 a month
That’s still a big number.
But…
If there are 5 books (as planned at the end of 2015) and each of them sell 200 a month at 4.99 each with a 70% royalty, then I will have that by the beginning of 2016:
4.99$ * 70% = 3.49$ (the royalty for each book)
5 books * 200 unit sold a month = 1000 total units a month (total unit sold goal with 5 books)
3.49$ * 1000 = 3490$ (total income a month)
And as I write and promote more, the number they have to sell to reach the goal reduces.
For instance, by the end of 2016, I will have 9 books out:
4.99$ * 70% = 3.49$ (assuming that this hasn’t changed)
9 books * 111 units sold = 999
3.49 * 999 = 3486.51
Or if I push so all of them sell at least 200 a month
9 books * 200 unit = 1800 units
3.49 * 1800 = 6282 (that’s over 75,000 a year… and I am still working a day job)
And if we look at the faaaar view, when I have all 36 books that are currently planned done, then it gets kinda silly…
36 books * 30 units sold = 1080
3.49 * 1080 = 3769
Or again pushing at 200 units:
36 books * 200 units sold = 7200 units
3.49 * 7200 = 25,128$ a month (just over 300,000$ a year)
These numbers still look really, Really, REALLY BIG.
But the numbers are can be reached if I do the work.
“But Chrishaun”, I can see you say “What about the art? What about the craft? What about creating a incredible world that folks want to read and contribute to?”
The art and the craft is the foundation of the Allazar Universe; the foundation of what I want to do for a living. I want you to come to my universe and live, thrive, and contribute. That comes from writing everyday, loving the art and improving the craft.
It comes down to doing the work.
But it also means creating a business. And to me, that means reaching out to all of you, connecting and sharing with you with the hope that you will love this universe as much as I do. And if you do, then the numbers will come.
Yes, I’m working for myself. But I am also working for you.