Hey, folks!
So, I am preparing to schedule my writing activities for the rest of the year and figure out what I will be publishing in 2026. As such, I needed to figure out what my profitable series/books are.
So, I made a spreadsheet. And I was pretty cruel about it, I’m not going to lie. I calculated how long it takes me to write a 100,000 word book, and then I did some fancy math so I knew exactly how much, per word, I needed to be paid from that book to cover my living expenses from the time I spent writing that book, dished out at a minimum living wage (for my area) of $25 an hour.
I used my current editorial cost, by word, to appropriately calculate the costs. (Which historically isn’t THAT much different compared to even a few years ago, so it’s close enough for this exercise.)
It works out to a range of $31,000 to $56,000 of complete expenses per book. (Including taxes, costs to produce the book, misc basic expenses, etc.) The only figure not included is advertising.
Why?
Because advertising benefits all books in my catalogue, so it isn’t fair to sink a book’s ship with its advertising fees. So I’m not going to do that.
So, here goes nothing, in screenshot format. Green means that the ROI for the book is 100% or greater. Yellow/Brown means that the ROI for the book is above its production expenses but below 100% ROI.
Red means the book has not earned back its basic production expenses. (Cover art, editorial, taxes, misc expenses; everything except paying me.)
Starting now, and moving forward, I will update this sheet once a year (in early January) and use the information garnered from it to determine which book series will get priority.
Obviously, the series with historic red titles will not be getting much in the way of priority.
Yellow books will be prioritized depending on how close to 100% it is. (In good news, there are a bunch of yellow books that are between 89-99%, so that’s nice.)
Booked for Kidnapping just cleared its ROI to 100%+ since March (in conjunction with the release of Booked for Theft.) Booked for Theft is at 48% ROI, which is absolutely an acceptable figure considering its age. I am expecting it to be yellow by the time January 1, 2026 rolls around. Historically, it’s going to be 3-5 years for Booked for Theft to go green. I won’t be starting Booked for Arson until Booked for Theft is at least 80% ROI.
With this spreadsheet helping out, 80% ROI is essentially my threshold for it to be a serious contender for production as a ‘money making’ title. (Because let’s face it, it’s real nice to say omg do it for the art, but I like food, and I like food on my table, earned from doing my job.)
I don’t work for free, nor do I believe that anyone should work for free. (People deserve to be paid fairly. If you have a problem with this very basic ‘be good to each other’ concept, we are not morally compatible. And if I’m cancelled for stating that people deserve to be paid a fair and living wage… I’m 100% okay with that.)
So, without further ado, the chart for my R.J. Blain books.
Yes, a few titles are missing. They were left off deliberately. Everything on this list is actively being worked on, will be continued, etc. The stuff I left off just muddies the waters and is not something I wish to consider for production under *this* viewpoint.
And yes, I have published 5.1 million words worth of books just under the R.J. Blain pen name.
And for fuck’s sake, please stop telling me that most of my books are short! The average is literally 100,019 words per book. A 100,000 word book is not short.
Hearth, Home, and Havoc is short. Double Trouble is closer to average length. Anything over 85k is not short under any definition of short. (Thank you for your understanding.)
So, yeah. When you wonder why books like Dual Nature (Pack Justice 2) or Chameleon and the Hound (Dae Portals 3) or The Edge of Midnight (Wolf Hunt 3) are not coming out quickly, the color coding is why.
Seeking the Zodiacs is at 66% ROI, by the way… I might end up doing Achlys in 2026 anyway, but we’ll see if the books in the upper yellows or greens make up enough to cover the difference.
So when you see me pivoting, I’m pivoting because the books have to put food on the table, and if the books aren’t putting food on the table, I have to put food on the table in some other fashion.
And no, I haven’t checked my other pen names for performance yet. This spreadsheet is a lot of work, and I do need to do some actual writing today.
I hope that this helps illuminate some of the mysteries about why I do as I do when choosing to write a book.
And no… Client from Hell has not cleared its full expenses, but it’s close enough it’s on the table as a consideration for its second book.
And now, off I go, for daylight’s burning and I have a whole lot of other stuff to get done.
90k words is a standard full length novel. WTF on “short” at 100k plus.
I get it ALL the time. All the bloody time. It drives me absolutely wild.
Also, romance novels start being novels at 50k. 65-75k are closer to average for romance. Anything below 50k is short. So, 90k is not standard full length in all industries. (And it’s important to remember that.)
I wonder if its because they tend to be quick reads. Im often surprised by word count because the book went slower or faster than I would have expected from it’s length, and I dont have the visual cues a paper book would bring.
Yeah, if you’re absorbed and enjoying what you’re reading, it feels like time flies. It isn’t that the books are quick reads. It’s more that you aren’t noticing the passage of time.
I also DO try to make the books accessible for those with brain fog, so I drop in reminders of what happened in the past to spare people from having to flip back.
Wow you spend that much on publishing a novel? I only pay for Editing fees and sometimes a book cover.
Uhm, yes. I do not do DIY anything, and my creative helpers/staff deserve to be paid a living wage for their work.
Quality matters, and you don’t get quality cutting corners.
Also, I deserve to be paid, too.
to help you cover costs and have a decent life; what else can we be doing to support you? already on patreon. is there a better book seller we can use to get your books? i.e. is kobo better than amazon ? and of course, help support your advertising by leaving fantastic reviews 🙂
Reviews and ratings are SUPER important. But Patreon support is the legit best!! And if you’re already using Patreon, you are already going above and beyond, and you’re super appreciated!
I did not know that Client from Hell was a thing that existed, and now I have a new book to read. ❤️
It’s great!
Always surprised to see some of my favourite books lower down in red (or low yellow). Hoping they get their endings but for now I will enjoy whatever comes out and do rereads! Because my personal tastes is not going to match the markets and it is a job for you- which I 100% respect. I actually have a bunch of books in paperback and digital format!
Oh well. I LOVED Life Debt and Experimental Voyage! Keeping my fingers crossed that they will do better.
They’re both pretty young books, and it’s normal for baby books to be red or yellow. It isn’t uncommon for a book to need 3-5+ years to pay for everything.
Me to
I am very sad that more readers don’t love your wolves or Dae as much as I do.
Yeeeep. Witch & Wolf is a labor of love, and I wish I could do them more often, but I just can’t afford to. And Dae, well… yeah. That one is weird. I expected the result!
Your email inspired me to finally buy hard copies of your books (my kindle is already stuffed) from Amazon & Booktopia – a total of 18 books. Heading to BABE25 today and bummed your not there this year, as I couldn’t go last year. Love your work xxx
Alas, I only went in… I think 2022? Maybe 2023? I live in the United States, so it is a very long journey for me (and a very expensive one.)
I will probably pick a convention next year to attend for signing purposes but not sure which one. Or see about doing something with a local bookstore.
Rachel Rener has instructions to give you a hug from your Aussie fans for me xxx
I find it sad, nay horrifying that my beloved Vampires have not earned their keep. I have been hankering for book three since I found out Pepper has brothers.
I buy your books in both digital and when they are available in print. I gift them to people, recommend them. Like your ads on social media and review your books. Always with top marks. I read all your pen names. I just wish we could do more to let others know , what we already do, that your books are fun, smart and well written entertainment. A book should be worth rereading , yours always are!
Your spreadsheet was eye-opening. I can only hope that Grave Affairs is in the GREEN, because it’s so freakishly clever. I am not the type of person who tracks author aliases, so it took me a while to realize that the clever writer of the Lowrance Vampires was the same person. So sue me.