What I spend in a month // frugal indie author "starving artist" budget

[@BeppyCat]

I agree so completely about building a calm enjoyable life, so you don't feel like you're always wanting to escape it

[@TT_Author]

I love money transparency in the author community. It's great to know when making certain decisions about partnering and having kids. Spending toward the life you want as opposed to dopamine hits is so wise.

[@lidiyafoxgloveauthor]

I love money transparency in every community, especially women... I think men tend to be steered into finance talk more, culturally, but it is so important!

[@TheDarqProject]

"Fun stuff to clutter up my house". Yes. I know this feeling all too well.

[@kitty320]

A steady happiness is so important in this life.

[@CircusStellaShow]

I am putting the category "fun stuff to clutter up my house" in my budget from here forward! Ha! Thank you for this. I'm also trying to budget as an author and it's nice to not feel so alone :)

[@lidiyafoxgloveauthor]

It is such an important category 😂 ...and also a category of struggle.

[@aixmcduck9321]

Thank you for sharing about this; it is helpful and encouraging to hear about people navigating normal life and the unexpected!

[@ryanwrites]

Interesting to hear about! People, especially artists, never want to talk about money openly. I also agree that whenever I hear about writers incomes it's always either the starving artist or making a million dollars.

[@lidiyafoxgloveauthor]

This is something I really wanted to talk about here and there because I think your chances of living a creative life are sooo much higher if you have good financial grounding.

[@LizzieTimewarp]

I'm also an author and I never travel lol. I like to be home. It's nice to find someone else that also thinks travel is stressful!

[@YMBERISMISSING]

A very interesting video! You also have such a calming voice.

[@lidiyafoxgloveauthor]

Aww...that's really nice to hear, I've always been kind of self-conscious about my voice, a couple of kids teased me about it when I was a kid and I never quite got over that!!

[@rachelsmith2599]

Thanks for being so honest about your income and your expenses. Funny thing we love to travel, but hate it when people say ohhh that is a once in a life time trip. No, I don’t want it to be a once in a lifetime trip, I want to think that I can go again.,,,I’ve been to Italy twice for instance. On another note,just sent 3 of your books t0 my niece in Texas who is an avid reader. Can’t wait to hear how she likes them (but also know she has a big stack of books always waiting to be read).

[@lidiyafoxgloveauthor]

@@rachelsmith2599 That is an overused phrase, isn't it! I would probably only think "once in a lifetime" for something extremely ambitious, like those cruises that are like 2 months long and go to every port in Asia or something. Most people probably won't be doing that twice for time reasons if nothing else. Oh thank you! That's so nice! And i certainly understand that problem, the books I buy today will probably get read in 2026...

[@ochoheido]

"Fun stuff to clutter up my house" 😂 I feel that

[@rumrunner8019]

There is one big, drastic life-hack a lot of indie authors are using to become full-time authors: once the income is coming in, move to another country where the price of living is a *lot* lower. I know a horror author who lives in a beautiful, big apartment that costs him $300/month, with another $100 for all utilities (including high speed internet) and everything else he needs to live a nice lifestyle comes up to another $400/month. Where does he live? Phnom Penh, the big bustling capitol of Cambodia. That's my goal someday, to live either there or somewhere in Latin America. The beauty of being an author is that it's a job one can do from anywhere there is internet access.

[@lidiyafoxgloveauthor]

You're so right, this is actually something I plan to mention in an upcoming video...don't be afraid to make some drastic housing choices! It wouldn't work for us for various reasons but if you're adventurous and not super attached to family or friends, heck yeah, go for it. You'd probably get some interesting new perspectives for stories as well.

[@saraheschweiler4939]

So glad to discover your channel today!🙂 Thank you bunches, from your newest subscriber in Minneapolis, Minnesota, for sharing real life details...so helpful towards understanding what a writer's life might be like. 🙏🌿💐📚💐🌿😊💚😘🌿📚💐📚🌿🙏

[@cassie_hart]

I love that you're giving yourself some time to build things up in a way that feels more sustainable and fulfilling to you. And yay for lower housing costs! Things are wild over here in New Zealand, but we were really lucky to get this place before things went bonkers, though, interest rates are rocketing. Yuck. Appreciate your transparency about earnings. It can be such a huge spectrum for self pubbed authors! I'm happy that my earnings supplement my husbands income, but prior to this we were always a one income family with high needs kids. I couldn't have worked a full time job (still can't!), but I can do this stuff in and around my kids needs

[@lidiyafoxgloveauthor]

Does New Zealand not have fixed rate mortgages either? I learned from According to Nicole's channel that Canada doesn't. That is one great thing about indie writing, being able to do it anywhere, anytime, as much or as little as you can.

[@FeeBee3001]

I am glad that I am not alone in wanting to make pixel art characters. Love the Zelda book.

[@deesbiscuit23]

I just stumbled on your channel and I adore it. I want to thank you for your openness. You're a major inspiration ❤❤

[@clairebrown4028]

This is very refreshing and encouraging! My spending habits are similar, and it's so cool to see that this is possible for a writer. Thanks for sharing!

[@TheSeventhSphinx]

I definitely want to see the manifesting video...

[@lidiyafoxgloveauthor]

That is the one I have planned for next week!

[@DonnyUtton]

Interesting to hear your stories and details , manifesting I don’t believe in at all and it’s because of your work ethic and talent that’s why you succeed. Tried everything with manifesting for 20 years. Courses, books, trusting believing and nothing happened. But when I made total effort on my projects things happened, keep up the hard work and writing and don’t get lost in the manifesting rabbit hole.

[@lidiyafoxgloveauthor]

My video on that topic will be neither pro nor against, but will in fact, be sort of about something else (which is actually how quite a few of my videos will end up). Nevertheless there is a lot of manifestation culture in indie publishing so I want to dig into it.

[@DonnyUtton]

@@lidiyafoxgloveauthor that’s cool. I’m interested in your author stuff but not manifesting. But it’s your channel so absolutely share your opinions and I’m happy to listen, you aren’t preachy and i like the taxed tone of the videos. I’m impressed with your work ethic and how you create so much it’s very inspirational, you created your success with your talent and hard work and don’t discredit that either with manifestation is all I mean. I am very anti manifesting and try to help people because I’ve seen how much damage it’s doing to people and how it’s just huge money grab by millionaires promoting a delusion that people can will into existence success. I also know personally some successful marketers use it to make a fortune and I caught the lie in action but sadly people don’t want to see the reality of what they are doing. I’ll have a video out soon about one man make a million in 90 minutes at a live event with a manifestation lie and story that pulled people in and he was very good at using the law of attraction lie to make people pay thousands. Think and grow rich was actually a successful con man in his time and had many run in with police for his scams but that doesn’t get mentioned either. Anyway don’t mean to dictate in your comments. You’re doing amazing work and I just wanted to say well done and I hope to see more about the creative process. Will you talk about that in future process? I’m just starting a writing journey and am interested in learning more about world building and making it all fit together. Sorry for the rant I just genuinely don’t want people being hurt from it and yes positive thinking and proactive mindset is completely different to wishing and letting it come to you. Also I have started using notion to try and write my book but do you think there are any good tools for writing? Or is it just writing everyday and just piecing it together bit by bit? Great content and thanks for sharing

[@lidiyafoxgloveauthor]

@@DonnyUtton I promise you that video will not be about any of that. I don't really use tools myself, just...notebooks. My only real tool is a Freewrite Traveler to draft without distractions. But if you get 10 different successful writers together, you'll get 10 different methods and sets of tools and plans and strategies. That's one reason I just don't plan many craft videos, I think it's EXTREMELY individual, and there are already a lot of good craft books and videos out there, but you really just have to try things. I'll do one about my process at some point, but that doesn't mean it would work for anyone else. Discipline is really about the only thing everyone needs. At some point there are no more tips or tools or classes that will help much, you just have to sit down and do it.

[@TheSeventhSphinx]

I am only 4 seconds in: I LOVE THIS TOP!!

[@lidiyafoxgloveauthor]

That is a 60s dress that I saw at an antique mall and was like OMG THAT IS SO ME

[@hannahh7903]

I am an artist and feel like I am in a similar situation to you. I just found you yesterday and think you are a breath of fresh air! I am so sorry to hear about your kitty. That really sucks and I am glad you have other kitties and a partner to keep you company! You are absolutely amazing, and I can't wait to binge watch your videos and check out your books. I'm fancying Beauty and the Goblin King at the moment.

[@lidiyafoxgloveauthor]

Oh hi! I'm so glad artists are finding my channel too! Thank you for the condolences on my boy & I hope you enjoy Beauty & the Goblin King! What part of PA? I used to live in MD near the border, pretty close to Gettysburg.

[@hannahh7903]

@@lidiyafoxgloveauthor Whatever you are doing, I think the algorithm loves it! So keep it up. And that's so cool! I live close to Lancaster, PA. Aka, where most people think the amish live.

[@lidiyafoxgloveauthor]

Yes, the algorithm has very much surprised me! I'm not used to doing anything algorithms love! Oh, I looked at moving to Lancaster! I love central PA. We lived around Hagerstown, MD and I still miss that general area but it was difficult to make friends as a creative...everyone worked in the DC suburbs.@@hannahh7903

[@hannahh7903]

@@lidiyafoxgloveauthor Oh, well I will say Lancaster is full of artsy people. Every 1st Friday all the art galleries open and there are a lot of little shops and cafes. All that being said, at least for art art (I can't give you my opinion on writers because I don't know anyone personally that writes) a lot of those jobs got cut because of Covid. Now that things have subsided with that, there are a lot of jobs open but you are competing against 70+ people per job listing which is difficult. Now I don't know what qualifications these people have, Indeed just tells you how many have applied. However, it's rough when you have all these professionals but not a lot of art jobs to go around. I'm hoping this will change in the future! Lol, I desperately want to leave my pharmacy job!

[@hannahh7903]

@@lidiyafoxgloveauthor As for the algorithm, I mean this in the best way possible, but you are different and corky and honestly, it's refreshing! So, I think the algorithm is picking up on that! It's hard because like you, sometimes I feel like everyone wants cookie cutter but authenticity always trumps cookie cutter!

[@emmaphilo4049]

I love transparency when it comes to money. It really helps to know how people manage. It's just such an important part of life. I tend to struggle a bit with shopping because I am into thrifting and collecting (mainly dolls and books). I think you're really cute and thought you were 10 years younger than me, but we're about the same age :) Thank you for sharing!

[@lidiyafoxgloveauthor]

I love thrifting so much, but at least if you're going to spend some money somewhere, that's the better way to do it.

[@s.l.perrin5424]

Thank you so much for your honest video. Especially about finances. I recently came across your videos, and will definitely be sticking around for more. Thank you again!

[@lidiyafoxgloveauthor]

Awesome. I love talking about finances & will definitely throw in a finance video now and then. I wish I had known more from a younger age & I also think transparency helps so much, so I really like to discuss it!

[@teresachaotic.corner]

Love hearing about how authors make finances work & I especially love hearing about your frugal lifestyle. I'm pretty frugal myself (grew up in a frugal household which I used to resent, but now I've grown to appreciate). Can you do a video one day on what you spend for advertising? Or your philosophy toward advertising your books? I'm extremely careful with my funds when it comes to advertising even though I know you have to spend money to make money, but I make do with what I have. Ironically, my book that did take off didn't require a cent of advertising on my part but the one time I tried AMS ads it bombed.

[@lidiyafoxgloveauthor]

My family is also super frugal. Of course my mom was so she could unschool us and live on one income, but my grandparents are totally that depression/war/immigrant mindset where you know they are financially FINE but you go to their house and they're like "this meat was on clearance for only 29 cents a pound!" Yum, thanks for telling me 😂 (I mean, it's always the most delicious food ever so I guess it's okay but...) I feel like advertising was shifting in a big way right when I had to take a hiatus, so I'm not sure either! But I could certainly do one on advertising philosophies. Some things are universal. And then maybe a follow up video after the Broken Queen is out about how things went.

[@thewildestwriter]

I love your videos. They're both grounding and inspiring. And so calming. And so relatable! Are you making money via KZbin? If not yet, I hope it's coming for you soon!

[@lidiyafoxgloveauthor]

I'm starting to! One of my most recent ones goes over the money I made with writing and KZbin in 2024!

[@monsterclass]

We all have a dave, some of us are dave

[@konstantinkrastev4478]

Hope it works out well!

[@Rayzorbladez]

I'm now subbed. I was doing some napkin math about your 40 books video. 50k words to 100k. 40 books x 4 years, just average things out it comes to like 2k words per day, for 4 years. That seems like a massive time sink for only 900/month. Now that the work is out there, are you going to double down on marketing it? Many things become popular long after their publication (cult following movies with massive DVD sales after not doing well in theatres, etc). Anyway, sorry for the autism ramble. Good luck!

[@lidiyafoxgloveauthor]

I was making a LOT more than 900 a month when I was writing 10 books a year. This is my current budget, having not published much of anything in over 2 years.

[@Rayzorbladez]

Wow thank you for the response. ​@@lidiyafoxgloveauthor

[@dorotheakenneweg]

This particularly interests me. I am always wondering ​if there is a point where one can make a living just off your backlist. Seems like it is difficult - even with a massive backlist like yours - without constantly throwing out new books. @@lidiyafoxgloveauthor

[@ibear2554]

Could you drop a link to the Final Fantasy Pixel art book? I'm trying to do some pixel art as well.

[@lidiyafoxgloveauthor]

Amazon link for ease (but I bought it on Ebay): www.amazon.com/FF-DOT-Pixel-Final-Fantasy/dp/1506713521

[@grantgreyguda]

👍 👍

[@DiinoLeHarlequin]

Omg i admire you. I could NOT keep a straight face with a bae being all needy while im trying to be serious 😹

[@lidiyafoxgloveauthor]

I definitely just have to ignore them (somewhat), or I would get no videos done, haha

[@Ericaaaaaaaaaa]

Would love to see a manifestation video! ✨

[@jcandye1]

I wanna see the manifesting video! 😁

[@lidiyafoxgloveauthor]

That one is definitely still on my list to do!

[@holbrookjr]

Yes, please! I'd love to hear your thoughts on that!

[@WeirdHeather]

I wanna see the manifesting one too.

[@Ceaselessprayer]

If you mind me asking - How many hrs do you spend a day writing? Do you edit your own work?

[@lidiyafoxgloveauthor]

I don't write every day, I tend to maybe write like...5 hours a day for 3 days a week maybe? But sometimes I'll have a week where I'm super into the story & might put in 40 hours in five days and then not write at all another week. I'm kind of figuring out what my new schedule should look like because I used to write about 30 hours a week when I did rapid release. And that was too much. I do edit my own work. I edit as I go and then do one big pass at the end and I read everything aloud multiple times.

[@hughmogus.0]

Can you make a video about building a writing community?

[@lidiyafoxgloveauthor]

That is actually on my May video list! Although I have really struggled to build community in indie writing, so it might be as much about the difficulties of doing so as the successes...

[@hughmogus.0]

@@lidiyafoxgloveauthor Oh yay it's so great to hear it's already in your video plan! Happy to just hear your experience with it, struggles and successes :)

[@dgPGH89]

Did you talk about your income from Patreon and KZbin? If you did, sorry. I missed it.

[@lidiyafoxgloveauthor]

No! This was one of my first videos, and my channel wasn't monetized and my Patreon made like...$8 a month. I will probably do an updated one at like, the 6 month mark.

[@lokiblue5125]

I love your cat! What’s his name? How old is she/he?

[@lidiyafoxgloveauthor]

That is Betsy! She's 16. Hopefully she lives a long time because she is the most zen little snugglebug.

[@SteveJubs]

What are cats.

[@holbrookjr]

You seem so familiar. Do you work at Malaprop's?

[@lidiyafoxgloveauthor]

No, I work in Marshall...Asheville is certainly small enough to see the same people easily though...man, we have that "you look familiar, were you at X? did you ever work at such and such?" thing all the time

[@Hetzer]

Were you at the author reading for Gwenda Bond a couple weeks ago? Lidiya was there, so if you were too, that might be where you know her.

[@holbrookjr]

@lidiyafoxgloveauthor Oh, okay, that makes sense. My wife and I have close friends in Asheville, and we're up there several times a year. I'd love to come visit your bookstore in Marshall! We're bookstore tourists, haha. I also love Downtown Books and News, and although more of a movie shop, Orbit DVD is one of my favorite places on earth! I love that area of North Carolina so much! Have you been to Sassafras on Sutton in Black Mountain?

[@holbrookjr]

@@Hetzer Oh, no, I wasn't there, I just really felt like I'd possibly met Lydia or seen her at the store.😊

[@forkyfork]

Lol at the gummies. Are you still actively marketing your books?

[@bellaforristal7099]

Was that income post-tax? Presumably you’re self-employed; I don’t know how that works in the US?

[@lidiyafoxgloveauthor]

No, it isn't post tax. Taxes won't be a whole lot on this low of an income, but it is one reason I need to ultimately get my income up a bit.

[@bellaforristal7099]

@@lidiyafoxgloveauthor When I was self-employed for a year I was stressed out by having to work out how much to set aside & adjust my spending accordingly. I'm glad US taxes are low at this income (I think it'd be above our minimum income tax threshold, depending how typical this month was). Also - found your channel today & loving it, so thanks!