No worries! Let's see...
How'd you learn to write well enough to make commercial fiction your main income stream?
I'm a nerd.
I've just always written for fun; my highschool notebooks were full of daring jungle adventures and fantasy swordfights. I never even considered trying to go pro, because, pshaw, of course I wasn't a
real author. But then a friend of mine started self-publishing romance novels, and I saw that it was more craft-like than high literature, and went, "oh, well, I could probably manage that".
Did you decide "I'm going to make commercial writing my main income stream" and then begin, or did you start writing, enjoy it, put stuff out there, and at some point have a "oh this could be my thing" inflection point?
Definitely the latter. I hoped to earn a little here and there just to add to my savings, but accidentally fell into a whole new industry!
Relatedly, how long did it take you to build up to a sustainable income stream? Did you spin this up while working FTE?
I started putting out short novellas while working full-time, and it took about three months before I was getting more from my silly kissing books than from my job. I quit at six months. I live somewhere with universal health care, though, so health insurance wasn't an issue for me; I understand that American authors can't take that plunge quite as easily.
I don't know how to ask this politely, but I'm curious the approximate magnitude of your income stream. How many JAFI's we talking here, ballpark?
I don't mind talking money here, this seems to be a sensible place.
It changes depending on how long ago my last release was, but it's usually around AUD$3,000-6,000 a month. Higher if I have a big release or could sell audiobook rights, lower if I've been lazy. I think I'm about middle of the pack in my genre.
How many hours a day/week do you spend writing?
I'm a lazy sod! I sit down at my desk six days a week, but usually only get 2-4 hours of actual writing/editing done. Other tasks include market research, replying to emails, arranging promo, doing covers, plotting, reading certain forums instead of doing any of those things...
How much of your income flow is backlist vs. latest titles? Put another way: if you stopped publishing now, what's your best guess at what your income stream over, say, 5 to 10 years would look like? Steady decrease or rapid cutoff?
IME, a book will keep earning for about three months, then it dwindles to a low but steady trickle. Last year I actually only had one release on my main penname due to personal reasons eating up my time. After ten months without a new book, that pen was down to around $1,000 a month.
Actually, I just got curious about this and went to look at the records for a pen I haven't touched once since 2015. It has about a hundred books on it, and it's earned $300 this month.
What do you dislike the most about it?
Embarrassingly enough, the answer is seeing bad reviews.
That sounds so pathetic, but they do sting the ego.
Do you worry about Amazon 'changing the algorithm' or some other outside-your-control event disrupting your income stream, aka disrupting your access to your readers?
Oh, for sure. I'm prepared for it, but I don't actively worry about it. It's best to have some "smash glass in case of Amazon emergency" strategies worked out in advance, though I hope I don't have to use them any time soon.
The old penname that I mentioned above? I used to publish erotica. Then Amazon changed how their payments worked, and short stories went from earning $2 a sale to about
$0.20. This was not a fun time for authors, to say the least. So, yeah, it definitely happens. Amazon is no-one's friend.
I'm curious how you do manage your marketing/relationship with old readers and finding new readers. You have a website and a mailing list. How do people get on your mailing list? Are you also on the major social media platforms?
I send newsletters through my mailing list, letting my readers know about new books and sales. I get new readers on to it by linking it in all my books, with the offer of free bonus books if they sign up (how exclusive! what a treat! definitely not just a hook to get their email addresses!). I also arrange promos with other authors in the same genre, where we promote each others' books to our audiences.
For social media: I'm a cold INTJ bastard, and I don't want to talk to random people, so I don't do any.
I am leaving money on the table by doing this, but it would disproportionately irritate me, so I'm happy with that deal.