As I’ve said here before (not that it’s any big revelation),
there’s not a lot of money in books. So most of us authors (even big sellers
like Jonathan Franzen, I was pleased to learn) go about our lives in a
less-than-extravagant way.
Fortunately, you don’t have to break the bank to write
books. A few thoughts on where you can cut corners—and where to splurge:
·
I understand that some writers prefer to record
their thoughts in beautiful, expensive journals as a way of honoring their
work. But my thinking is exactly the opposite—I like to be messy with my ideas,
and I don’t want to cling to words that aren’t worthy just because I wrote them
on expensive papaer. So I use spiral composition books for all my writing,
purchased ten for a dollar at back-to-school sales. In the red ones, I keep my
weekly to-do lists, one page per week; in the blue ones, I keep my creative
work—quotes, ideas, revision notes, brainstorming; in the purple, my notes on
production and promotion. The rest I reserve for specific projects.
·
I’m addicted to writing with certain pens, but I
keep my addiction affordable—Uniball 207 signos that I purchase in bulk, for
about a dollar a piece.
·
In addition to an external hard drive, I use
Dropbox (free) for file backup; I save everything there as a matter of course.
·
To extend the life of my laptop (five years and
counting; wish me luck), I use a netbook when I travel.
·
I use Mailchimp (free) for my e-newsletters, and
I use PicMonkey (also free; maybe a cousin to Mailchimp?) for certain projects,
like audiobook covers.
·
Obviously, a good word processing/spreadsheet/presentation
program is essential—and you should learn how to use it. After much resistance,
I finally upgraded to Word 365, a subscription service ($99 per year). The time
I’ve saved thanks to its enhanced features (not to mention the free tech
support) makes me glad I switched. I’m no whiz at Excel, but I know it well
enough to save myself all sorts of time by using it to keep track of everything
from research material to mailing lists to marketing plans.
·
A book budget is essential—no respectable writer
can do without reading, including the work of your friends and colleagues,
which you’ll want to buy new. For other titles, I keep a reading list in the
back of my creative notebook and pick up them up at Powells (used) and also at
the library.
·
For books I bring out independently, I prefer
contracting a la carte for the parts I can’t do myself, such as cover design, as
opposed to purchasing an author services package. (I love working with
Cyrusfiction Productions; Cyrus is professional and affordable.) For print
books that aren’t with a publisher, I use Print on Demand through Lightning
Source and CreateSpace so that I don’t have to deal with inventory and
warehousing.
·
For promotion, I’ve learned that a whole lot of
what sells books doesn’t cost a thing, other than some time, which I personally
limit to 20% of my overall time for writing, so that my primary focus remains
creative.
