Willow's Indie Book Services

12/07/2016

Good morning, and happy hump day!!! ~Sara

12/05/2016

Good morning friends!!! Check this amazing deal out!!! ~Sara

DECEMBER PROMOTION/SALE SALE PRICES FOR GIFT CARDS ARE AS FOLLOWS 1 week pimp package  – $20.00 (regularly $30.00) Graphics package of 5 graphics -$30.00 or 10 for $50.00 (reg $40.00 for 5) O…

08/29/2016

❤ This!!! Everyone should read this!! ~Sara

07/12/2016

~Sara

Do you sometimes wonder if you are a bit of a grammar nerd? (Or—let’s face it—a hands-down pedant!) Here are some…

07/09/2016

Just going to put this right here!!!! ~Sara

In its latest effort to reclaim lost territory from Amazon, Barnes & Noble will sell self-published books, in print, in its stores.

07/09/2016

18+ Lily Stevens had it all. The white picket fence, amazing kids, and the perfect husband? Till one day it crumbles around her when she discovers her husband is mixed up in a real bad situation and that her mother has been holding the truth from her. When she meets Oliver she thinks her life is ...

07/07/2016

Good morning!! ~Sara

❤❤❤

06/20/2016

Good morning friend's ~Sara

Wishing everyone a bright and blessed Summer Solstice today

06/09/2016

Hahaha ~Sara

Any other places you wouldn't want to go?

04/28/2016

Good morning!!! ~Sara

Writing Inspiration

03/14/2016

Good morning everyone!!!! ~Sara

Exactly!

03/12/2016

Head on over to my author page and enter to win a copy of Falling to Pieces!!!!!!! Remember you have to comment on the pinned post on my author page to be entered!!!!!!! ~ Sara Nelson, Author

18+ Lily Stevens had it all. The white picket fence, amazing kids, and the perfect husband? Till one day it crumbles around her when she discovers her husband is mixed up in a real bad situation and that her mother has been holding the truth from her. When she meets Oliver she thinks her life is ...

02/25/2016

Good morning!! ~Sara

It's getting a little hot in here! ;)

02/20/2016

Hahaha ~Sara

If reading too much is a problem, I don't ever want an intervention. ~ tara dawn

02/17/2016

This is the best post I have read so far!!! What are your thoughts?? ~Sara

I was talking to a friend and fellow author today, and the subject turned to expiration dates. No, not that jug of funky smelling milk in the back of your fridge. Career expiration dates. GASP!!! Yes, we are going to talk about such ugly things. So go ahead and give this post a read, and don't forget to comment with your thoughts on career expiration dates.

But Catherine, what do you mean by "expiration date"?

Well, for me this means a set date when I will choose to leave the independent community if I do not meet my set goals. To others, it may mean quitting altogether, or even just seeking out a different publisher.

Okay, so why do you have an expiration date?

When I sat down just a few months before my 30th bday and decided to write a book, I didn't have realistic goals. I simply decided that I would write the book, and if it was accepted by a publisher before I turned 30, I'd continue to write. Well, as you may have noticed, that went well, and I figured deadlines were good, but I needed a more reasonable one. As a result, I decided that if, by the end of my 5th year in this business, I hadn't reached my goals, I'd give it up. Why? Because sometimes, the bravest thing you can do is admit that you just don't have what it takes.

All right, you've mentioned goals a lot. What are these goals.?

Everyone is going to have different goals. If yours is to write a book and become a billionaire . . . ha ha ha ha ha . . . okay had to get that out of my system. I honestly wish you luck, and I hope every single talented, well-deserving, hard working author out there somehow accomplishes that dream. But, here in the real world, my goal is something slightly more attainable.

My realistic goal from day one: Earn enough money to make a living from. For me, that meant just making what someone who worked at McDonald's or the local grocery store would make. I mean I do work at writing. Its not all fun. Its hard. There are expenses. I have to pay taxes. And though I may not have to leave for work everyday, I do have a schedule that is insane in order to write, work a full time job outside of writing, and care for my family of five. (I'm not whining or complaining, I chose this.)

So, my goal was to get paid as if I had a regular job, and I was even so reasonable, I didn't even expect to earn as much as I made at my day job. I was happy with minimum wage. ($7.65)

So lets do math... GROAN.

At 40 hours a week (though I work a lot more than that) a minimum wage employee will bring home around $242 a week or just under 14,000 a year. That's it. That was my goal.

Seems reasonable. How did that work out for you?

Ha... you may be sorry you asked.

Turns out, my goal wasn't as reasonable as I thought. Problem was that people don't want to pay for books. Everyone wants you to give them away free. (Which I will at release parties or once a year just because its part of the business.) No one seemed to value my work because they don't see it as work.

In fact, books selling from .99 up to $2.99 earn me between .06 to $1.55 per book.

More math! YUCK.

So at my lowest, I would have to sell 4,033 books a week! Who the hell did I think I was when I set that goal, Anne Rice?

At my highest, I would have to sell 156 books a week. Okay, not so bad...but wait...what about all that money I spend and the taxes I still have to pay (because if you didn't know, authors are self-employed and we are taxed higher than minimum wage employees of a company.

Yeah... so if I deduct my expenses and 6.2% taxes.. oh and there's that 1.45% medicare tax... I won't go through the math again ( I really hate math) but you can imagine by the time I do all that, I need to sell a lot more than 156 books a week... again, Who did I think I was when I set these goals, James Patterson?

Is there a point to this?

Yes, and I'm getting there. I think.

Are you quitting, is that what this is about?

I'm not saying that I'm quitting. You are smart folks, you can do the math. ( :( more math) If you know when I started my career, then you can figure out how close that expiration date is looming.

The point then?

Okay okay. I get it, you've managed to read all of this, and you are ready for me to shut up. My point is that careers have expiration dates. Ha! Yeah, all that for the point I made in the very beginning. Except, I wanted you to know what your favorite author might be thinking. What kind of magical looming date is hovering over their career like the grim reaper, ready to drop that blade down on their neck. I wanted you to know what the majority of independent authors are going through. Sure, you see our ads and you think, "Oh, that book sounds good, but I'll get it later." Well, there may not be a later. Or worse, people might think, "Oh, I'll wait until its cheaper or free." Well, that puts that author that much closer to the decision of walking away from an unprofitable market.

Wait! Profit! Don't you do this because you love it?

Well, my darling dears. Its not cheap to do this. Even with a great publisher, it costs to be an author. Just like if you were to open your dream business tomorrow, you would need funding, and so do we. You would love working if you had your dream job, but you'd still want to get paid.

So, I'd just like to remind you to support an author today. Don't ask for free books. Review the books you do get. Share a book with a friend. For the cost of a soda and a candy bar, you can help someone's dreams come true. For less than a Starbucks coffee you can extend someone's expiration date. In fact, if every person who has liked my page bought a single book today, that would be almost 3000 reasons for authors not to expire.

Thanks for reading.

02/17/2016

Good morning!!! ~sara

01/14/2016

Such a shock! Another amazingly talented man - gone much too soon :'( RIP Alan Rickman... So many wonderful characters, much loved villains and, of course, people will be reading Harry Potter forever and you will be Snape - Always...

01/14/2016

Lookie here!!! ~Sara

Hot Tree Publishing is open for romance submissions of all sub-genres of adult romance.

We will consider all heat levels, from sweet and spicy, to holy hotness, explicit.
Submissions should be sent via email to [email protected]
For more info see: http://www.hottreepublishing.com/

01/12/2016

And do it all over again! ~Sara

Think Like A Publisher: 33 Tips to Write, Promote, and Sell Your Book, a book by Randy Davila, President of Hampton Roads & Hierophant Publishing.

For more information about the book, please visit: www.getpublishedbook.com

01/10/2016

Keep your head up friends, I know it's hard but so worth it win you achieve your goal!!!! ~Sara

12/16/2015

Good morning!!~Sara

12/14/2015

What are your thoughts on this? ~Sara

For the last few months, Amazon has been changing it’s review policy and implementing new review standards. Authors have complained about reviews being taken down, or disallowed and it is all part of Amazon’s changes. You can read Amazon’s review policy here.

12/11/2015

Hahahaha!!~Sara

Haha!

12/09/2015

I love him!!!! ~Sara

"I really am going to tell you everything you need to pursue a successful and financially rewarding career writing fiction, and I really am going to do it in ten minutes, which is exactly how long it took me to learn."

12/09/2015

Sums it up!!! ~sara

This should clear things up.

11/26/2015

Happy Thanksgiving!!!!

11/24/2015

Awesome!!!

Well there you have it. :)

11/14/2015

If you haven't already heard the news, there have been coordinated terrorist attacks in Paris this evening. The news is still unfolding. My heart aches for what is taking place. Please join me in sending prayers love and light to the people of Paris and beyond.

11/11/2015

Thank you for your service!!! Each and every one of you are HEROES!!!

10/30/2015

This is a good article!!

Recently, I attended a session called "Writing About Fighting" at VCON, a science fict ion and fantasy conference. The panel consisted of writers and experts who were disciplined in multiple martia...