2024 in Review - Part 1 of 3
There’s an old quote that’s often attributed to Albert Einstein that goes something like this: “Insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different result.”
Writers are definitely guilty of this behavior.
We write a book, publish it, and get upset when it doesn’t sell. So we write another book, publish it, and get upset when it doesn’t sell. So we write yet another book, publish it, well, you get the point. It’s an endless cycle for some.
I don’t want to be one of those writers.
Successful businesses take time each year to look back over the previous twelve months. They review what worked and what didn’t and plan accordingly for the upcoming year. With that in mind, I’m looking back at 2024 and preparing for 2025.
I’m sharing these thoughts, so it’ll help keep me accountable for the upcoming year.
Works Published
In 2024, I published the following books:
The Path of Progress (February 3, 2024)
Cutler’s Legacy (March 19, 2024)
When the Wicked Rest (May 4, 2024)
The Golden Witness (August 3, 2024)
The Silence of the Dead (October 2, 2024)
Cozy Up to Mystery (December 2, 2024)
Lost and Loaded anthology (December 10, 2024)
This was a very prolific year for publishing, but there are a few “cheats” in this number.
First, When the Wicked Rest was a collection of short stories. Outside of the introduction, most of the work was simply giving the included short tales a fresh edit.
Second, I wrote The Silence of the Dead with Frank Zafiro (#6 in the Charlie-316 Series). While this is an exceptionally long book, it is half the work since he and I split the duties. We bounced the editing back and forth, too, which allowed us to work on other books at the same time.
Third, Lost and Loaded is an anthology. Much like When the Wicked Rest, the work I do on the project is limited when compared to a traditional novel. I wrote two new short stories for the collection and spent many hours editing the submitted stories. I’ll discuss this in more detail below.
Regardless, it was a lot of books to publish in a single year. Too much if I’m being honest (and that’s what we’re here for, right?).
My goal as an independently published author should be to publish 3-4 books in a year. This allows enough lead time to market upcoming releases. As it was, my promotional efforts were dismal on every release this year except Cozy Up to Mystery.
I should have done more marketing for the various releases, but I didn’t. There are a lot of excuses, but none of them are valid.
I need to do better. Period.
Overall grade: B- (A for production, but C- for marketing).
In 2025, I have four works scheduled for release.
Strait Through the Heart (Flip-Flop Detective #4) - 2025/03/02
The Wasted Pawn (509 Crime Stories #16) - 2025/05/31
Cozy Up to Mayhem (Cozy Up #9) - 2025/08/29
The Secret Art of Murder (509 Crime Stories #17) - 2025/11/27
This schedule feels very manageable especially since all books are written and have been through the editing process. I should be able to do a good job of alerting my readers to the upcoming releases.
Lost and Loaded Anthology
At the 2024 Left Coast Crime Conference, a few authors I respect approached me. Each asked when I was doing another 509 Crime Anthology. It was a heady experience, and it made me question my resolution to not do another one (I wrote about it in the introduction).
I’d edited three anthologies in the past (The Eviction of Hope, A Bag of Dick’s, and Back Road Bobby and His Friends). I said I wouldn’t do anymore because of the work involved. Besides writing my own stories and the introductions for the collections, there is a tremendous amount of work involved—from developing a theme to selecting contributors to editing the stories. Maybe it’s not as much work as creating a standalone novel, but there are a lot of hours involved.
I let my ego get the better of me (as it often does) and I ran with another anthology. The theme was one I’d held onto for a while, and it ended up being a blast to work with others on. I’m very proud of the final product.
When the dust settled, I did something I always do with the real estate I own and/or manage. I looked at the numbers. I went all the way back to the first anthology, The Eviction of Hope. You probably already know what I discovered.
Not a single anthology made back the money I invested.
Short story writing is a tough game. Most authors rarely get monetary compensation for their contributions to an anthology. If they do, it’s on the backend—a percentage of sales split umpteen ways. They might get a paperback copy as a way of saying thanks for participating.
I backed out of one cozy anthology in 2024 because the publisher wasn’t providing anything. No money, no paperback. Just the opportunity for a writer to have their piece appear in a collection.
Um, no thanks.
Anyway, I paid the authors in my anthologies (way) over market to set their stories my world of the 509. It seemed fair, I figured. I’m an independent author, so I had to entice them to hang out with me. I also provided a paperback copy.
Unfortunately, I never checked the numbers. Inherently, I knew I wasn’t getting all my money back, but I didn’t know how badly. I’ll break it down for you below:
The Eviction of Hope—49% profitable after 3.5 years.
A Bag of Dick’s—35% profitable after 3 years.
Back Road Bobby—22% profitable after 2.5 years.
Lost and Loaded—17% profitable after 2 months
Right now, I’m over $4,250 in the red on my four anthologies. At the sales pace above, it’s going to take ages to get my investment back.
My eBooks are profitable on day one. That’s because I’m not paying myself a salary to write. That’s an interesting exercise to ponder. How many hours does it take to write a book? What should my hourly rate be? How long would it take to make a book profitable?
What I’ve learned from this exercise is this: my anthologies aren’t profitable. As fun as they are to do, I can’t do another. It makes little financial sense.
Overall grade: D (A for fun, F for financial responsibility).
That’s all for this post. In the next portion of the 2024 review, we’ll discuss audiobooks and my online store. I hope to see you there!
Let me know if you have any questions or comments below.