how much I've made in self-publishing in 8 years // lifetime indie earnings deep dive

[@jakesidwellmusic]

It really makes me so happy to see an author who’s just working her ass off and creating her own success. Thanks for sharing so much with us fledgling plebs.

[@dukeofdenver]

Really fascinating to observe the difference between what you thought were your best works and what the market responded to. It really shows that what is important is to just keep writing and putting yourself out there. The fans will invariably engage with the work in ways you can't predict. A lot of artists take a LONG time to come to terms with this

[@MasalaMan]

As someone yet to publish his first. This was all very inspirational.

[@malayka2175]

Can't stress how much I love your transparency. Your numbers are insane -- from the amount of books you've published to how frequency you publish them to how much you’ve earned, I'm in awe. Congrats on your successful author journey! ♡

[@lindsaysharman]

This is fascinating. Thank you for being so transparent.

[@jilldomschot]

I like this quote: "Sometimes...who knows?" That about sums up the market. 😂

[@LisaOliverauthor]

I was fascinated about how you can turn you hand to so many different genres, and write to market - something I've really struggled with. If it's possible to do a video about that, I think that would be so interesting. Thank you for sharing :)

[@lidiyafoxgloveauthor]

I don't feel like I have been great at writing to market either, or else I wouldn't have had to write quite so many books!! But I suppose it could be worse. I'll add it to the list.

[@ComedorDelrico]

This was a fascinating video, not too long at all. I'll definitely be coming back to rewatch it again. I especially enjoyed hearing about how you decide which genre to write and how your expectations compared to the actual performance of the book. Good stuff. Thank you!

[@authorkiterafrey]

When you said 65k, my heart exploded. That is a life changing amount of money, even in 6 (It's been 6 years since the live action Beauty and the Beast right?) -- that's an average of over 10.8K a year. Even when I worked in Trad, authors hitting that goal without an advance was so rare. (Though I worked in small and mid presses not the top 5)

[@thewanlorn]

So glad I'm not the only one who's like "this is the best thing I've ever written" and then it flops!

[@lidiyafoxgloveauthor]

It's SO common...if you got a room of writers together and asked them what the book of their heart is and did it sell you'd hear a chorus of groans...

[@thewanlorn]

@@lidiyafoxgloveauthor Genuinely, I wonder why that is. Like are we all just... really bad at telling quality when it's the book of our heart???

[@5Gburn]

This thing I'm revising is 3 years in the making. I am. So. Scared. 😬

[@CircusStellaShow]

You are amazing and this video was so incredibly helpful. I just can't thank you enough. I'm 5 years and 16 books in and constantly trying to make sense of hits vs flops.

[@constancecampbell4610]

Remarkable productivity. I am so impressed. 🦋

[@jaasmeneth]

The algorithm brought me to you. But I have loved everything you have said. So I brought both of the sky and shadows box sets and read them one after the other over the last 15 days. A very enjoyable 15 days!

[@lidiyafoxgloveauthor]

[@keltavuokko]

Thank you for this awesome video! I noticed thinking during the video that the decision of "writing to market" feels less important than the decision of "Would I want only the fans of this particular trope/concept/character to pick this up, or could this be targeted to a wider range of readers with less specificity in the marketing materials?" I've noticed that as a reader, I pick up books depending on whether I like the main cover elements (in this order: the cover design itself and the title, and the back cover text), and if there's something in the two first ones that puts me off, I won't even read the back cover text unfortunately. So if I could give one advice to indie authors, it would be to come up with a title that forces the potential buyer to see the back cover text as well (so either vague enough that I have to read the summary to see what the book is really about, or super specific to attract a particular market, e.g. people interested in a particular fantasy-character like elves etc., depending what marketing strategy you wish to apply). Of course the allure of a particular kind of fantasy character/creature also applies to the back cover text - if I don't like fae for instance, I'm not very likely to pick up a book about them even if the story itself and the premise would be my ideal story. (Which is a shame, I acknowledge that whole-heartedly.) So in my case, many books would benefit from a cover and title that convey the genre and atmosphere of the story but would leave the specific details in the back cover text (and even there could be either highlighted or faded out depending on the target audience - I feel like I _could_ be allured to pick up a book about the fae if that wouldn't be emphasized in the back cover text and the text would attract me otherwise very much). For instance, I'm very interested in Rumpelstiltskin but I'm not interested in goblins, so I had passed your 'Goblin's Price' book by without learning it's a Rumpelstiltskin re-telling (I'm happy I learned about it now!). I don't know if this comment offered anything new, probably not, but I hope this helps in your future marketing efforts anyway. Thank you again for this very interesting video, I'm very keen for your next one!

[@lidiyafoxgloveauthor]

I think if the audience is big enough, it really is more important to convey what is in to those people than to try and conceal it for a theoretical larger audience. Like, there is already a huge audience for fae books, so I don't think there is much need to hide it with the idea that you could reel in people who don't like the fae. The fact is you're not even going to get as far as reading the description if the cover doesn't look like a thing you're into. So it is so much more important to bring in your key audience, not appeal to people who aren't as much into the thing you do. If you become big enough with the core audience, you will start to capture that secondary audience then, as people start to read popular things out of curiosity/market proof.

[@keltavuokko]

@@lidiyafoxgloveauthor Sure! I just feel like with very specific titles it becomes even more vital to identify what would appeal to that core audience (or rather, what core audience you want to appeal to first and foremost). For instance, and I'm just coming up with examples here, if the story was a Tinker Bell re-telling, the author would have to decide for the title whether it would use the word fae/fairy alone (e.g. "Fae's quest"), hint that it's about Tinker Bell/Peter Pan, a re-telling (e.g. "The fairy and a lost boy"), or be very explicitly about Tinker Bell (e.g. "We will meet again, Tinker Bell"). And I feel like there's potential three primary audience options there: people interested in fae, people interested in fairy tale re-tellings and/or Peter Pan, and people interested specifically in Tinker Bell. The description text will do the heavy lifting of course, but the title can turn away potential readers who would have been part of the book's audience. And I'm not saying any of the options are bad, they are just a marketing choice, a choice between who is the potential primary reader you want to make sure reads the description text. And of course with a vague title (e.g. "A girl with a broken wing") there's the risk of not making the primary audience (let's say re-telling fans in this case) rush to read the back cover if they are not familiar with the author or if the cover design doesn't counteract the more vague nature of the title. But in return, the vague title could attract more people overall to read the description text. So there's a risk either way, I'm aware of that. I'm just pointing out that with specificity the choice of the primary audience becomes even more specific in turn. Or that's how I feel like, at least.

[@WadeQuick]

Great, successful Indie Author income reveal. You actually make money writing. As Stephen King mentions ( I paraphrase) "... you can call yourself an author when you can pay a utility bill with a residual check." You rock, I love your cover art. Liked and subscribed.

[@tatli3630]

Thank you for the transparency! I don't mind a bit of data p*rn, but I watch your videos for your type of humour (amongst other things) 😅 And that dress is 🔥 Despite never publishing anything, I've been steeped in the online indie publishing spaces since 2013 or so. Everyone said rapid release and writing to market were the only way to go - but that just wouldn't have worked for me. As a single parent I had to prioritise a full time job. This has, in turn, negatively impacted my motivation to write. Now that my children are teenagers, I have a lot more time, but the only way I can see myself write consistently, is if I can write what I like to read (epic fantasy). The idea of writing to market (I still dont really know what that means - people read all sort of things and as you mentioned, what sells can be difficult to predict 😅😂) still doesn't appeal to me. I wonder if it's actually possible to make a full time income by releasing less frequently. 😬

[@lidiyafoxgloveauthor]

Thank you! This video was pretty dry so I'm working on a really irreverent one now... It's totally possible, but is somewhat dependent on being really good at hitting the market consistently. I certainly know people who have made over 100k on one book, or multiple books. For me it would be a risk because I miss the market a LOT, and of course it also depends on expenses.

[@PetaloudesTouYialou]

As a reader, i found this fascinating purely from a process point of view. It is disappointing when what you truly feel compelled to write, doesn't translate to an audience. Oh well, maybe one day. ❤

[@sophiemichel8045]

I hate data but I do love that sound. Thx for another great video.

[@SneakyNinjaDog]

Gotta say that the paranormal houseflipper mashup is really inspired 🙂 It was one of the first titles that stuck out to me as I checked you up on goodreads a while ago.

[@mysteriousoul]

Fascinating how popular fairy tale themes continue to consistently captivate the audience - those underlying plot lines and archetypes remain universal no matter the times and riffs on the themes

[@saracroethle1094]

As another long-time indie, I’m loving your channel. Thank you for sharing!

[@lidiyafoxgloveauthor]

Oh hi! You truly are a long-time indie, I remember being inspired by your success on the Kboards when I was getting started! I'm so glad you're enjoying the channel!

[@saracroethle1094]

@@lidiyafoxgloveauthor I remember you from kboards too! Love that so many of us have kept at it lol.

[@maomi1852]

Can you make a video about your writings process/routine?

[@lidiyafoxgloveauthor]

That is on the list! It is a long list at this point, but...that's not a bad problem

[@teresachaotic.corner]

Ah the pattern of hits and flops. I know it well... in writing, on YT😅 Girl, I get you! I find it really tough to continue writing in a series if the first book flopped. Like super psychologically hard to sit down and write a book when the first few didn't do well and you know that your current draft won't do well but you still have to carry on and finish the series for the loyal readers (and for yourself, love of the story, etc..). Most of my series are interconnected standalone rom coms, but since they are categorized in a series on Amazon, I do see serious drop off with book 2, 3, etc... I've been contemplating just writing standalones. Is that a horrible idea? I have put off doing box sets for the longest time because I think it will cannibalize my sales. Last year I finally bit the bullet and did a box set (mostly because I wanted to play with covers... I design most of my own covers & I love it), and um... box sets were a blip. Love your video and income transparency! Even with your flops, I think you are an absolute queen!

[@lidiyafoxgloveauthor]

Yeah, YT is very similar! It is nice that a video isn't AS much of a time investment so if I have a flop it's like, okay I can try something else in a few days or a week... With books you get so stuck. Even writing fast. Also you have to figure out new covers. I don't think only standalones is a bad idea AT ALL, my most successful series is all standalone and I was gearing up to do basically only standalones before my FIL died. I also stopped doing box sets. I did pick up a cover for Fairy Tale Heat to put up wide that I'm thinking the first 10 books. FTH is such a long series, I think it might be worth it to try offering an expensive, long bundle for doing like, Kobo promos and stuff. It can only go on the wide retailers of course because Amazon is still so annoying about box set pricing. Basically I think I only like box sets now if you want to update your branding, it can be a good way to try a different branding scheme esp. if you don't want to pay for like, a trilogy-worth.

[@teresachaotic.corner]

@@lidiyafoxgloveauthor I put up boxsets and only just did the bare minimum of telling people there's a box set. It's like I don't want people to find it lol. But they are ebook only. But it's like, I find I love doing covers and minus a new release, I needed to feed the algorithm. I also dislike Amazon's box set pricing😅 I do put in a ton of time into videos and it's probably because i'm unscripted/improv (with research notes) the whole thing so editing myself into comprehension takes time. Media collection & editing passes takes time, so when a video flops, it's a bummer... but you know what hurts even more? Spending months on a book/book series to see it flop. It's like we've been to an intense bootcamp with Amazon and Amazon's algorithm, YT is a walk in the park compared to that.

[@lidiyafoxgloveauthor]

@@teresachaotic.corner I did a fair bit of Amazon ads on my early box sets (honestly if I look I might find they didn't do as well as I thought with ad spend). Then I just stopped doing it at all. But it helps if you do your own covers, for sure. Romcoms are SO nice because the covers don't take all this crazy photo-manipulation skill. Honestly I spend the MOST time on scripting usually...some videos are unscripted but like, usually scripts take me HOURS but then the editing is fairly fast. If I don't script then editing takes forever. I'm not sure you can win either way...

[@David.M.]

Thanks for sharing. I don't read your type of books but find the information about your work interesting. Cheers

[@krumbine]

Great deep dive. Maybe you covered this in a prior video, but how does this compare to your traditional publishing experience? There's such a dumb reality distortion field around publishing (with respect to general awareness?) that a grounded IRL perspective would be helpful!

[@lidiyafoxgloveauthor]

Yes, that video is definitely in my plans fairly soon, along with the Kindle Unlimited vs. Wide one.

[@ryanwrites]

Thanks for being so candid, videos like these really help motivate me/light a fire under my butt. You mentioned cover costs as a factor, but didn't mention edits. Were you self editing most of your books?

[@lidiyafoxgloveauthor]

I do self edit all my own books, although I wouldn't necessarily recommend this to everyone. But coming from trad pub, I learned pretty vigorous editing of the small to medium stuff already. Large scale edits, meanwhile, are so subjective.

[@m.underhill5989]

Thank you for goiung into such detail! As a selfpublishing author myself this is very interesting. Im not making those numbers but I am just part time writing smutty funny books. I really enjoy fellow authors talk about how they balance "writing to market" and the books theyd love to read as that is a constant struggle for me. I follow the market and the genre I publish in pretty closely and its a constant struggle to balance my interests, amazons rules, and the markets and niche's rules.

[@mandym.387]

Wow this is impressive! I am inspired to work on my book right now!! :) Thank you for your honesty and sharing your success with us. However, now I am curious how you get so much writing done. Can you make a video and give tipps and advice on how to write/publish books so fast? What methods / outlines you use. Your thought process etc. I am also very intrigued of how you are combining two sources (eg Harry Potter and a Manga) and make a new story out of it. I would also love to know more about that.

[@lidiyafoxgloveauthor]

Yes, I am working on a productivity tips one for about a week from now! I'll also be making a process video when I finish the Broken Queen, very soon! But I've used different processes with different books, so that's probably an ongoing conversation.

[@mandym.387]

@@lidiyafoxgloveauthor Thats so cool! I am happy to hear that. Can't wait for your next videos :)

[@lampyrisnoctiluca9904]

This feels motivating to watch. I am still unpublished, but am planning to self publish. I hope this book would be good enough for that. I don't want it to be a yet another learning experience like my previous books are.

[@mimipipi120]

I love your vibe, your personality seems like we'd get along super well and you're a meticulous but sweet person. And creative, of course!! so naturall, open minded and empathetic

[@EricfromBloatGames]

I'm a first-time viewer. Great info! Thanks for sharing your experience and being candid about the financial aspects of indie publishing. Subscribed. :)

[@lidiyafoxgloveauthor]

Oh thank you! Welcome!

[@kjmav10135]

I just found you and bought Beauty and the Goblin on Audible yesterday. I just started listening this morning.

[@menacingevilbacterium]

Loveee your content, Lidiya! You are an inspiration

[@Josh_Fredman]

Thank you! The algorithm showed me your channel for the first time today, and I wasn't sure about a 47-minute video but this was super interesting. I love the candor and authenticity, and admire your persistence and adaptability!

[@ryghpedersenwrites]

Thanks for sharing and being so transparent! I can only hope that one day I will be making my own video like this!

[@lidiyafoxgloveauthor]

Yes! Come back and let me know someday!

[@AuthorHarmonyWest]

Thank you for sharing! I just started publishing dark romance last year, and this video is SO inspiring! 🙌🖤

[@lidiyafoxgloveauthor]

Thanks you!! It looks like it's going pretty well for you too, from what I can tell on the outside, congratulations!!

[@AuthorHarmonyWest]

@@lidiyafoxgloveauthor Thank you so much!! 🥹

[@emmasavant]

This is an incredible glimpse into your process! It's so validating to see that you've also had that experience of not being able to totally predict what will hit and what won't. You're a writer I've followed and looked up to for AGES (like, since Magic Under Glass days) and realizing that your career trajectory has normal ups and downs is just... I feel better about a lot of things. Thank you. ❤

[@lidiyafoxgloveauthor]

Oh wow, that's awesome!! Yes. So many ups and downs. I think one of the MOST exhausting things about a creative career is that you really want to assume there is some pattern and growth will follow a familiar trajectory, and then...it doesn't and there is no such thing as a familiar trajectory, really...

[@TheVividen]

This is an incredibly useful and motivating analysis! What does your daily writing schedule look like? I'm working on indie publishing fantasy and want to make a living from it, so I'm figuring out how much more time I need to dedicate on a daily basis.

[@lidiyafoxgloveauthor]

It's hard to really say. My goal was 50k a month, so about 2000 words a day in order to allow for some editing days. In theory, that takes about 2-3 hours. But often I would be tired and spend more like 6 hours just trying to get my brain to work. It's a pretty grueling schedule; expect burnout, but I did make a good living when I could keep that up.

[@notraxxful]

Thank you for this. Fascinating. I'm glad you are getting your mojo back. It looks like you were burning it at both ends during the pandemic.

[@experiFilm]

I could listen to you for hours

[@ski8799]

Great video, thanks for sharing, impressive! I have kind of learned to just write about what I'm really interested in writing about, the money will come eventually. I played the whole chasing readers game and I was not happy and it just seemed like a full time job and I already have one of those...lol. Thanks again!

[@Inksplatter1991]

5:40 my mouth dropped, good for you!

[@opperman818]

58 books is astounding 😮

[@numberoneappgames]

Thank you for sharing your ups and downs. :)

[@quixotiq]

Thank you for this insight!

[@The_Open_Book]

Wow you've been so successful! Sometimes I feel like I missed the mark, not starting self-publishing earlier in my career.. everything feels so oversaturated now, especially with AI, if I'd only had a small foothold back in the 2010s to grow from? :/

[@lidiyafoxgloveauthor]

The funny thing about that is, I knew SO many indie authors back in 2016 who warned me that everything was oversaturated, advertising is impossible now, their careers were over because it was too hard or else "good thing I built a following back then, I could never start now". There are still new people coming in and doing well. It's never over, but there are new challenges to adapt to for sure, and it has never been an easy or reliable line of work.

[@nicolasallen8072]

Does the KZbin channel bring in any income, or is it more of just a fun way to market the books? I noticed this video allowed you to briefly describe every self published book. That could drive some sales.

[@celisewillis]

It's never too late! If anyone has told you that, they are wrong. You have unique stories that readers will love to read! I've been watching palliative nurse KZbin, and they try to hammer in that, on their deathbed, no one has ever said "I'm glad I didn't try" 😊

[@SydneyFaithAuthor]

Such a fascinating and inspiring video! I love hearing this kind of stuff. Thanks for all the great videos so far, they've been awesome to watch.

[@cassie_hart]

You've had such a massive journey and the number of books you have blows my mind! I feel like a lot of the decrease in sales is down to simply a really flooded market - so many new books all the time, so many authors. I love that you've jumped around a bit with genre (I get bored too...) but still made it work for you. Looking forward to seeing what comes next!

[@Pasuhdina]

“Bud make it sexy” has my dying Lolol. Great content. Thanks for the videos

[@GigiNally]

Appreciate this video so much! Thanks for sharing!!

[@emmaphilo4049]

The numbers are impressive. Thanks for sharing!

[@insomniopolis]

An epic tale. I think I learned some things from this, so thank you!

[@starcrossreverie]

You're a huge inspiration! I have a lot of stories I want to write and hopefully make a comfortable living off of

[@DerekMurphycreativindie]

This was so great, you’re awesome!

[@mediocredancer]

Maybe this is a silly question, but how do you know what the new trends are for readers? Especially in regards to subgenres. It seems like most of the best sellers are just labeled "romantasy" but that covers so much! Short of reading every new bestseller I was hoping for a "tl;dr" understanding of where trends are going. Also, thank you so much for your videos. They are awesome 😎

[@lidiyafoxgloveauthor]

I wish I could say there was an easy answer but reading some of the bestsellers is exactly what we have to do sometimes. At the very least, put yourself where your potential readers are on a regular basis. Whatever your preferred social media platforms are, join reader groups or follow book fans/reviewers in your genre. Some trends are more obvious than others, though. When reverse harem first hit, you could do almost anything within it and sell. Romantasy is not really new, so I don't think it has that luxury.

[@mediocredancer]

@@lidiyafoxgloveauthor Ah, social media. The blessing and curse of indie publishing. I guess I'll have to dip my feet in (more than just following your channel lol) thank you for responding! ☺️

[@lidiyafoxgloveauthor]

@@mediocredancer I wish I knew how to avoid it... Amazon used to have top 100 author rankings, which was AMAZING for spotting trends because whenever you saw someone rank on that list with only one book, you could spot a trend a mile away...but sadly they got rid of them.

[@dreamplanwrite]

Very fun, informative, and inspiring. I would love to see what your writing and publishing process has been like, so I could get an idea of what it'll take for me to be able to rapid release. I love the idea of it, I just cant seem to work fast enough! ❤️ Congratulations on all your success, and here's to even greater success in the future!!! 😁

[@lidiyafoxgloveauthor]

That is a topic I plan to address quite soon in a video, actually...probably late April.

[@SarahMcAshan]

A Fine Necromance! What a great title! This is a great peek behind the curtain--thanks for the transparency.

[@carlk8308]

Love your videos. Very informative.

[@vixenvarya]

I hope you and your loved ones are so proud of you!

[@lidiyafoxgloveauthor]

Technically all my books are fantasy romance, including the YA which preceded it as well as the Vengeful Half & the Stolen Heart, buuut they were not really me trying to write capital-R romance. Aw, you should have gone for it! I sure wish Wattpad had been around when I was 13. I would have been ALL about that. Doll Girl is a serious contender for my favorite of my own books, so whether the others are better depends on your taste! I have seen increased sales, definitely. Not like, crazy numbers, but it definitely is appreciated and helpful, especially since I haven't had new releases in so long and things are pretty abysmal.

[@vixenvarya]

@@lidiyafoxgloveauthor yeah i can't remember what i was trying to say at the time 😂 I sorry of did but was having plot and character problems so i gave up 🙈 Aww, i hope things pick up for you after The Broken Queen releases ❤️

[@christinec28]

Do you have a video on what sort of advertising you do? I'd be interested in that ^_^

[@lidiyafoxgloveauthor]

That one is in the queue for sure.

[@michaelaradas1343]

Love this channel. Thank you from all aspiring authors. I've never been able to get my kindle books turned into physical paperbacks bc I'm having a devil of a time with their creator tool. Any suggestions on help resources?

[@lidiyafoxgloveauthor]

Are you trying to make your covers through Amazon, or just trying to get your cover file up to their specs? Either way I'm not really sure, because I let cover designers handle that part! But I would imagine the cover creator offered by Amazon is probably terrible, if it is the former.

[@AndiLea]

Thank you so much for sharing with us

[@katendress6142]

Thank you so much for your transparency and all your data. And wow, you are impressively productive!

[@reasesoffice]

Love the candid look into your writing career and the money you make. I've just now started dipping my toes into it (I got a novel on Kindle Vella going out, and it 7chapters out of 35 so far), and I've been gobbling up all the information I can on multiple authors' earnings to get an idea of what I'm in for. I assume that a lot of what you've made is also genre-dependent as well, which makes me wonder what I should expect when I start putting my stuff out there more (Dark Fantasy and horror for me). I do have a question, though; Do you find it hard to recoup your losses when you switch genres? While I love Dark Fantasy and Horror, I'm kind of like you in that I also get bored of one genre after a while and want to switch around to try different things, and I had initially intended to write it under my normal name instead of a pen name.

[@lidiyafoxgloveauthor]

i am sort of like this too. I'm about 65% plotter but then the rest is malleable. I also have to go back and course correct a few times throughout the drafting process.

[@EfiLovesBooks]

This was really great. Would be lovely to have the numbers popped up on the screen in their totality and averaged out. How many books vs how much money. Another thing that is interesting is the difference in how well they did when you wrote something you really enjoyed vs something you wrote to market, and how the varying effectiveness of those endeavours have been. Thanks for making this!

[@lidiyafoxgloveauthor]

Yeah, I realized belatedly that I probably should have ended with the total...oops. I think it will help to have the context of advertising dollars, so maybe I'll get to that in a video on advertising costs. The second question is so hard to answer because most of these were to-market and the ones that weren't to-market at ALL generally did poorly, but there was also always something about them I wanted to write. It's hard to gauge, like, exactly the ratio of market vs. me. Unless they were 100& me. Like, there aren't any that are 100% market.

[@EfiLovesBooks]

@@lidiyafoxgloveauthor I feel like that came through. I found it rather inspiring that even though you recognized that the "just for me" books were going to be passion projects and maybe not among your best-sellers, you still keep writing them when you need to (and when you can afford to). It was kind of a "Hey, don't let the money suck the soul out of this thing" bit, and I really appreciated that.

[@billyalarie929]

First things first, thank you so much for this insight. Second. Weird question, maybe… were you a teenager when you started publishing? I am 39 and feel so behind 😢

[@lidiyafoxgloveauthor]

I was 26 when I sold my first book. But there is a local author here (trad published, YA, quite successful), Cinda Williams Chima, who got started in her late 50s I believe. It's very inspiring to remind myself I can still totally start something new.

[@billyalarie929]

@@lidiyafoxgloveauthorthat is indeed very inspiring. I also worry bc I don’t have the same interests in terms of genre (it’s far more slipstream, and in fact my ambitions are quite literary in nature, i.e. writing/prose style, etc). Excuse my language, but I worry I’m fucked.

[@lidiyafoxgloveauthor]

@@billyalarie929 Well, it is definitely harder writing in less commercial genres. To pretend otherwise would be b.s.ing my audience. In most cases, behind every long-term writer career are many many compromises. However, I do think it is still worth doing these less-marketable projects, even if I would not plan a career around them and it might take a while fitting them around the rest of life. You never know what can happen and I think they're also just good for the soul.

[@kittystorms]

Very prolific! Wow! Did you do covers like "The Sorcerer's Concubine" and "The Vengeful Half"/"The Stolen Heart"? They're beautiful! Even if those aren't actually by you, I've enjoyed seeing your artwork in videos. I'm curious about the technicalities of publishing on Amazon (&c), such as formatting text and covers. Was that a huge hurtle? Does it take a long time? And are those boxsets a feature of Amazon?! I'm very impressed by how much you can get done -- !

[@lidiyafoxgloveauthor]

No, I wish I had that level of talent! The Vengeful Half/Stolen Heart were done by someone I found on DeviantArt, and the Sorcerer's Concubine series was done by my sister who is a professional artist. I use Vellum for formatting books for Amazon and it is ridiculously easy but it is Mac only. I'm not sure what PC users are using these days. Most of my covers are commissioned and they already come in the right size. Box sets are the same, I have to get a new cover made for them, and just format a file with all the books together.

[@emilycampbell521]

Firstly, great vid. Secondly, if you ever go back to “fairytales” please consider a Mulan retelling!!

[@lidiyafoxgloveauthor]

It's unlikely, especially since I already have covers for Snow White, the Frog Prince, and the Little Mermaid (I did a mermaid one already but it was based on another story) so those would be next if I DID do more fairy tales, but you never know.

[@bonobobby]

Love your channel ❤ very inspiring

[@vernalviolante]

Wowza. You go, girl!

[@mydlands]

My lifetime total sales (3 books) has been around $250. Yeah, I'm not an author who lives on her work. I have no concept what that would be like for me.

[@rainhorvath2176]

Thanks, this is so helpful and encouraging to us new authors wondering if all this work is worth it. Also encouraging to see that one can make money in Indy publishing if a "real " publisher won't pick your book up. Curious to know whether you now publish more books independently, or through an agent/publisher?

[@NikkiSchumacherOfficial]

Very inspiring.

[@ramonarobot]

Something you might want to consider to earn extra income is doing freelancing in coming up with marketing plan for indie authors. Because your experience is impressive.

[@lidiyafoxgloveauthor]

Experience does not equal being good at marketing, I'm afraid...and I am really not. I am complete chaos. No one would want me to come up with a plan for them. I barely have plans for myself! 😅😱

[@WithinDeathLies]

super interesting video!

[@unstopitable]

Sound advice. But are you saying I don't have to go to university to build a time machine? Cheers.

[@authorkiterafrey]

So I'm not the only author who was inspired by Yuu Watase, though for me it was her Ceres series that inspired me to like the moral gray hero in love triangles. I think I was like 14 the first time I read her and I'd never read a story with a hero like Toya before that.

[@lidiyafoxgloveauthor]

Ceres was good too, I love her! Have you read Fushigi Yuugi: Genbu Kaiden? Unfortunately I think it's out of print now, but I felt like vibes-wise it was a bit between FY and Ceres...a little darker than the first FY. That one is my favorite!

[@authorkiterafrey]

@@lidiyafoxgloveauthor I think I read one edition of Genbu Kaiden that our local library had. They had most of Ceres and all of Absolute Boyfriend, but FY was always checked out so I've only gotten bits and piece of of FY and FY GK.

[@onlyme23rang]

How much do you make on Audible?

[@lidiyafoxgloveauthor]

It's not a lot. Like $20 a month and then the same on Findaway Voices. I think I have earned about $800 back for Beauty and the Goblin King. I think I spent $1200 so...it's getting there. Slowly but surely. I also never was exclusive with Audible, which I've heard can be better, at least for a time.

[@Saunderswritesmagic]

Love this break down ,tfs

[@ufomechanic11]

Thank you for this

[@pequadcob2009]

Curious why Bluebeard's Curse is called Fairy Tale Heat Book Eleven and then so is The Goblin's Price.

[@lidiyafoxgloveauthor]

On Amazon the Goblin's Price is #12, which is correct. If I said so in this video I just got my numbers confused.

[@segaboy9894]

This video is both very motivating and sobering at the same time. Right now I am trapped by my career. If I could acheive your level of success, there is a chance I couldn't replace my career with writing, but what turns me off is that it seems like I need to watch for trends and capitalize on them. Ugh...

[@lidiyafoxgloveauthor]

Yeah...not gonna lie...it is kinda like that, usually. I can't tell you how many "success" posts on the 20Booksto50k Facebook group are like "everything I wrote was a flop...and then I really studied trends! and I wrote a super trendy thing! and now I'm making 10k a month!" Sometimes dream projects and success overlap, but it is not what I'd call common.

[@Ceaselessprayer]

Thanks, very informative

[@ericahowell7775]

Hello! I only recently discovered you and I'm really grateful for this video! I am working on writing my first book and currently work full time. I make decent money at my job, plus it has excellent benefits. It makes it hard to leave. But I want to be a self employed artist and writer. Obviously this is personal and you don't have to share, but how do you get like health insurance and whatnot? Do you you have a retirement fund? I'm going to go through your other videos to see if you've answered this somewhere and I missed it, but I thought I was ask :)

[@lidiyafoxgloveauthor]

Health insurance through the ACA. I'm an aggressive saver, so I have a big emergency fund, a chunk in an HSA equivalent to a year's deductible since I have a high deductible policy, my retirement fund is not huge but probably pretty average for an older millennial since few of us got going very early with the 2008 crash, the house is mostly paid off, I also have a life and disability policy in case anything should prevent me from writing equivalent to a very lean retirement fund. Mostly this is just from being VERY frugal whenever I have a good year, I track everything and am very alert for lifestyle creep.

[@ericahowell7775]

@@lidiyafoxgloveauthor Thank you so much for getting back to me! That's all super helpful!

[@filmzealot]

So what was the GRAND TOTAL over 8 years?!

[@k.f.9875]

Did you mention the total number? How much did you make from writing all in all?

[@SamoylovaAlisa]

Interesting!

[@dddanimator]

How does Amazon compare to the rest of the markets to mentioned? Is Amazon 50% or like 96% of overall sales?

[@lidiyafoxgloveauthor]

70-90% depending on some other factors. Weirdly getting on KZbin has given me a better ratio of sales on the other platforms than I've ever had. I'm guessing in part because YT is very international.

[@ericapereira6924]

I'm currently writing a fantasy book loosly inspired by Marie Antoinette, I'd be excited to read yours! I've been wondering if I should advertise that it was inspired by her or to let readers figure it out for themselves-like it be an Easter egg. Not sure if it's similar enough to her story for it to be advertised as such

[@lidiyafoxgloveauthor]

Oh let me know when yours is done! I would love to read another one as well, even if it's loosely based. I don't know that it's a huge selling point, I didn't really advertise it with mine... But I did get a few nice reviews from fellow Marie Antoinette fans who got it.

[@ericapereira6924]

@@lidiyafoxgloveauthor will do!

[@ericapereira6924]

​@lidiyafoxgloveauthor is Prisoner of Dreams not available in paperback? I went on Amazon to look for the series and it only shows that one in Kindle format

[@lidiyafoxgloveauthor]

@@ericapereira6924 It IS in paperback but apparently Amazon didn't link them together. www.amazon.com/Prisoner-Dreams-Queen-Sun-Palace/dp/1090446179

[@NocturnalLibrarian]

What part of Maryland did you used to live in? I am in Millersville. 😊

[@lidiyafoxgloveauthor]

Oh I love that area! We were in Smithsburg, outside of Hagerstown. I loved Maryland, so much to do and see in a relatively small area.

[@NocturnalLibrarian]

😊 @@lidiyafoxgloveauthor that’s so cool. I almost went to Hagerstown Business School years ago when I was younger. Maryland is such a beautiful state. My husband has been here since he was a teenager, but he is originally from Fayetteville, North Carolina.

[@lidiyafoxgloveauthor]

@@NocturnalLibrarian Dade is from Parkville, MD. We were so sad to leave, but we had a very hard time making friends. A lot of people in Hagerstown were DC commuters and had no free time, and all the social scene is in DC and Baltimore and it's just a little too far. If we'd had the $$ to live in Frederick or Ellicott City or something we'd probably still be there. NC has worked out really well though. Much better really. Maryland just felt more like home on a gut level.

[@NocturnalLibrarian]

@@lidiyafoxgloveauthor yeah, I totally understand. I used to live in PG County, so we used to be closer to DC. But, I’m not a fan of the city so we don’t go to either Baltimore or DC lol. I used to commute to PA and NJ or DE for work. Making friends is totally not easy with distance being an issue. We made a pretty good set of friends at our church and that’s helped a lot. Ellicott City is super nice, but I know what you mean. Maryland is beautiful and is just home because it is comfort 😊 But even financially speaking I’m sure NC is better. That’s awesome that you all found a place you love.

[@NocturnalLibrarian]

@@lidiyafoxgloveauthor Frederick is nice too, I have some cousins that live there. They are really trying to build up that area.

[@1GoodWoman]

Thanks. I saw this yesterday but didn’t have time to watch. I just ran through the transcript……a few clear summary totals would be helpful.

[@Afterflowers-v4k]

When you’re giving your year totals is that revenue or profit?

[@lidiyafoxgloveauthor]

That is profit, less taxes. I think I noted in there somewhere that the numbers won't match up because each book total is revenue. it would have taken SO long to figure out profit for each book though =P

[@Afterflowers-v4k]

@@lidiyafoxgloveauthor thanks so much that’s super helpful to know!

[@ramonarobot]

I don’t have the data, but I imagine contemporary romance might sell more than fantasy romance? But kindly have a shirtless guy on your cover that would signal to fans like me it’s gonna be steamy muahahaha

[@lidiyafoxgloveauthor]

Contemporary does sell better, but it is also much more competitive. And I can't write it! In fairy tale retellings and reverse harem the cover standard is to have a girl on the cover. If I had moved to m/f paranormal romance or alien romance, that would have warranted a shirtless guy cover, because that's the standard in those genres! But it's important to make sure your cover signals match your genre.

[@rachelannharris4944]

Would you say your genre is soft porn?

[@lidiyafoxgloveauthor]

No, usually in the book world this would be called erotica, but it's not considered erotica if it has a whole plot that would still work with all the sexy scenes removed. Nearly all of my books are in this category. The ones I'm writing going forward are not even very spicy.

[@alananimus9145]

What I don't like about reverse harems is that the women don't actually get harems. They get a lot of thirsty guys after them and then pick one.

[@lidiyafoxgloveauthor]

That's not true with the indie published reverse harem genre. In fact there has been a periodic push to rename the genre "Why Choose?"

[@Rikki1616161616]

First of all, what do you mean 2016 was 8 years ago??🥲 I'm such a slow writer and I procrastinate a lot, I can't imagine writing that many books each year. That is superpower

[@lidiyafoxgloveauthor]

I knooow...every time I write a check for the water bill, I';m like "20...24? that CAN'T BE RIGHT" I am definitely in that camp of people who still thinks 1980 was about 20 years ago in my gut