May 2, 2022
What did you do with your first book “paycheck?” (Thanks for reminding me of this idea, Richard.)
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Where have I been?
First, I want to apologize for being absent the last few weeks. My husband had trade shows and I was helping. I just couldn’t get my act together for the blog. And our kitchen ceiling sprang a leak last week, so…yeah. Life got in the way.
I Reinvested
I know, so boring, but truthfully, I try to approach this venture as a business. The Willow Branch owed me money that came from my paycheck and it was tempting to go spend it on a nice lunch or celebratory dinner, but that would just mean the book still owed me money, and I had less money to invest in making the book profitable, so I reinvested those first earnings into advertising. Two years passed before The Willow Branch had paid back its initial investment and then I took my husband to a celebratory dinner courtesy of the book paid for from actual profits.
I know, so capitalistic! But with each subsequent book, I’ve gotten better at marketing until now the books generally pay off their initial investment within three-to-six months of publication. It’s still a hobby, but it is a hobby that pays for itself because I treat it like a small business.
aurorawatcherak 
Once you get paid, anything, it becomes a write-off. Disposables like paper, print cartridges, pens, percentage of internet, ISBM costs, advertising. Profitability is actually what’s recoupable, not just sales. Just like those trade shows.
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That only applies if you make enough money at your money job to itemize deductions. When my husband semi-retired to start his own business, we stopped being able to itemize, so none of those expenses are write-offs. We miss the bar every year by a few thousand dollars of income.
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Your SE and Schedule C allow it, even if you make Five grand. You just can’t lose money every year forever. My 1040 isn’t itemized, either, but my 1099 income sure is.
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Glad to see you back, Lela. I was worried about you.
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Thanks. It’s the busy season at DOT, so if I don’t get the article written on the weekend, I don’t have time during the week.
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Welcome back. Profit is an elusive beast, to be savoured once everyone else has taken their cut.
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Very true!
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I view writing as a hobby too. I expect nothing from it, and so it’s a bonus when somebody actually does buy one of my books.
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Exactly. I’d be writing anyway, but now I have an audience besides just me and my husband.
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