Thursday, April 20, 2017

Livin' The Life #MFRW Authors #16

Cue Fiddler on the Roof...."If I were a rich (wo)man...."

If money was no object, what would I be doing?  Really, one of two things:

1) Domestic Engineer who had the means to bring in a cleaning lady once a month, in order to tackle those icky housework chores like cleaning the bathtub/shower and DEEP cleaning the house. 
     -Attend multiple conventions every year
     -Pay for cover art/edits w/o the payment plan
     -Have plenty of promo to hand out
     -Pay for advertising w/o batting an eye.

2)  Own my own bookstore/Cafe and NOT have to worry about the town supporting it or not.  My store would be right down town, and host events every other month or so.
     -I could employ someone to make soup and sandwiches for lunch, and maybe even open up for breakfast.  Once a month, be open for dinner.
     -Host author signings
     -During NaNo, be a sponsored write-in spot.
     -Host 'Open Mic' Night.
     -Every month, spotlight a new Indie author.

In short, have enough money that I didn't have to worry about every penny.  My income would replace what I spend....which really isn't that extravagant.  I mean, I generally spend $500/month on food; $40/month on e-books, $100/year (okay, maybe $200!) on print books; and maybe $300/year on clothes.  Last year I spent over $1000 on promotion/venue costs/inventory.

Is it too much to ask that my income exceed my needs?

I'll admit; I've got 'champagne tastes on a beer budget'....but I've learned to somewhat curb that as I've gotten older.

What are YOUR dreams?

To see what other authors dream of, go here. 
        

12 comments:

Unknown said...

Ah, yes, writing conferences. Multiple ones All of the biggies. What a dream come true that would be!

Shari Elder said...

Great idea. I love the idea of owing a book store/café without the pressure of it having to turn a profit. I may add to my own list. I think I'd like for it to be in small town near the water with a large artsy population and tourists that come from far and wide.

Meka James said...

I'm totally on board with both your dreams but especially #1. I would so SO love to have someone do all that cleaning. I have to get started on the 'deep' clean of my house prior to my daughter's graduation party. Not looking forward to it.

There's a reason they say money makes the world go round. I commented else where that I need to add winning lotto to my post.

Helen Henderson said...

Love the idea of bookstore. Oh wait a minute, I think I have one. It's called my office. :)

Maureen said...

Oh, I love your dreams and I really want that cleaning lady too :)

Linda McLaughlin said...

The cleaning lady does sound good, and wouldn't it be nice to make enough money to unlimited promo. Sigh.

Unknown said...

I'd love to attend conferences. That's another dream of mine. I like the sound of having a cleaning lady too.

Anonymous said...

Writing income can vary wildly, so keep hanging in there. I've had years when novels were my #1 income source, and other years (like last year--uhg!) when my sales dropped by half for no reason I can discern. Here are my dreams.

Kenzie Michaels said...

@Sherry: I'd love to be able to attend RT and not just for the book signing! Esp if they ever return to Orlando. Le sigh....I'd spend 2 weeks there!

@Shari: We had one a few years ago, but the town didn't support us; they were happy to donate books, just not BUY them back! Plus, we weren't in a very good location.

@Meka: I had to laugh....after I joined FB and my HS friends found out I was pubbed, I posted about needing to clean the bathroom. Up popped a PM..."Don't you have a maid?" Ummmm.....no......

@Helen: See? All my books are boxed up and in storage. Anther dream of mine is to have them ALL on bookshelves in my house! Still working on that; I plan to convert a space in my basement for that purpose!

Kenzie Michaels said...

@Maureen: I know my hubby would appreciate it, ha ha!

@Linda: I definitely did NOT marry for money, and some months pinching pennies gets very old.

@Alicia: I'd also like to be able to BUY books at conferences, or even be a sponsor!

@Ed: I'm catching up to you; I just had my 10th published:) Best of luck to you!

Mary J. McCoy-Dressel said...

I'm right there in your dreams with you,Kenzie. Once I had a cute little place picked out for a bookstore if I ever opened one. I love your dreams.

Kenzie Michaels said...

@Mary: Thank you:) I've got my eye on a place in our downtown area.....now to find a way to PAY for it....