How much does it cost to be a writer?
The pithy answer is it’s up to you. Below you’ll find my itemized writing expenses, the logic behind them, and some tips for spending less. This is not sponsored.
First, you need to decide how much your writing career is worth to you. I’m not selling anything here, nor am I trying to encourage you to spend money. This is just a question you need to answer honestly. I’m not asking for or judging you based on your answer, and you shouldn’t care about what others think, positive or negative. You aren’t more or less of a writer because of your spending.
With that out of the way, let’s get to the list of expenses:
Printer —> $319.99 (accessories not included, listed below)
Ink —> $50
Paper —> $35.99
Net cost/page after 40,000 pages = $0.01/page (add up the costs then multiply by 100 to determine how many pages before you get here).
Writing Aids —> $249 (itemized below)
Scrivener (word processor) —> $49
Pro Writing Aid (grammar tool) —> $200 (on 50% sale, normally $400), lifetime membership
Beta Reading Services —> $300 critique (yourbetareader.com)
Fantasy World Convention —> ~$2,000 (itemized below)
Membership fee —> $250
Hotel —> $1,363.54 (5 nights, includes taxes and fees)
Food —> $400 (expected cost)
Craft/research books —> ~$350 (25 books, 20 craft, 5 research)
Corkboard —> $148.97 (6’ X 4’)
Pins —> $9.54
Index Cards —> $5 (500 cards)
Laptop —> $634.99
Bag —> 34.99
Novels —> $200
Website —> $18/mo (only active for one month at time of writing)
Publishing Research/Professional Memberships —>
One year subscription to Publisher’s Weekly —> $199
One year subscription to Writer’s Digest —> $19.96
One year The Writer Membership —> 59.88
Association of Writers and Writing Programs (AWP), 2 yr membership —> $120
The total is $ 4,737.31, or about $2,350/year.
Should you spend this much? Probably not. My continued expenses going forward will probably be $940/yr, or $78/mo. Not including website hosting. That makes it $96/mo.
Why spend this much? Each expense has a different reason behind it.
Printer: many of my beta readers wanted physical copies, as did my writing group. Paying for printing is often $0.05/page, which is prohibitive when printing 400+ pages multiple times. By buying a quality printer, ink and paper in bulk, I can get the printing cost down to about $0.01/page, which makes a single copy of one my novels $4.50 or so.
Writing Programs: these are easier to explain. You can eliminate this cost by using free word processors like google docs, Libre Office, WPS Office, etc. I like Scrivener for its versatility and ProWriting Aid for the sheer power of its algorithms and analytics, plus the ability to compare your writing to famous authors.
Critique services are optional for those pursuing traditional publishing, but essential for those who wish to be self-published. Self-published expenses are much higher as they include book cover images, many professional edits, marketing, and a slew of other things I’m not qualified to talk about. I opt for critique services because I’m a new writer and don’t know if I can trust my instincts yet. If I use the service a couple times and find they think the same things I do, I’ll consider it money well spent and forgo it for more traditional beta reading (which should be free if you’re lucky enough to have supportive friends/family/coworkers).
Conventions are right out for most people. I don’t know a lot of folks who have the time or money to drop on these things. I’m lucky I do, for now. Here’s the idea: the traditional publishing path can either be luck and skill based (blind submissions) or luck, skill, and charisma based (convention and in-person marketing). If you didn’t make charisma a dump stat, this is an easier path to publishing. You still need to be just as good, but the luck takes a back seat to your people skills. I’m gambling that I am more charismatic than I am lucky.
The corkboard is part of my process. If you don’t break your book into scenes and paste them up for a visual aid, you can skip it. I like it, and I have room in the basement, so I use it. Got the idea from Save the Cat and Save the Cat writes a novel. Really helped me nail my second draft. Damn was my middle bloated.
Laptop: optional if you have a PC and a good writing space. If you don’t, almost essential. You can use a phone or tablet if that’s your jam, but you’ll need to spend something on your writing tools of choice, even if it’s notebooks and pencils.
Books: this one is non-negotiable. If you’re writing, you need to be reading in your genre. You also need exposure to different genres to keep your ideas fresh. And you aren’t good enough to ignore craft. Nobody is. The moment you neglect learning more about writing and challenging yourself is the moment you stagnate. You can only go so far on your own, and its a much shorter distance than you think. I don’t know your budget, but if anything needs to happen, it’s this. If the money is an issue, borrow from a library. Many have inter-library loans. Plan ahead, always check a couple out and have a couple on the way. You can also buy from used books stores and thriftbooks.com to get much better deals on physical copies.
If you’re really pressed for cash, consume authortube videos and writer podcasts. I have a few linked on my Reading List page. These are not a full substitute, but they’re free.
Website: common advice seems to be to have a website as an author. I don’t know if you need to go as crazy as I did. I chose Squarespace’s Business Membership because it was the cheapest option after taking into account how long it would take to master wordpress or wix and the functionality I knew I’d need down the line (newsletter, emailing service, website analytics, etc.). If you aren’t published yet, you can probably get away with a free offering from Wordpress and MailChimp’s free email service. I’m able to afford a more professional looking option, so I take it.
Publishing Research: This could be even more expensive. Publisher’s Marketplace is considered essential by many aspiring writers pursuing traditional publishing for its information on agents, editors, and book deals. It costs $25/mo all on its own, which is pretty steep compared to the other expenses I’ve mentioned. I don’t know what is essential here, but the publications I’ve chosen have received awards and have valuable insights. Digital subscriptions or library lending may help with some of these, if there is a local college library to draw from.
So, how much is your career worth to you? I recommend figuring out which of the above items you need and which you don’t. Find the amount you can spare per month and do what you need to fit in your career. If you have a family, student debt, a crappy job, or anything else that strains you financially, you likely won’t be able to do everything I’ve done. But that doesn’t mean you can’t be successful. You could spend $10,000 and still never be published. Success is not a result of spending. Money helps, but it’s not the be-all, end-all. You need to figure out how to stretch what you have, not overextend yourself.
I hope that helped somebody. For the next installment, read The Social Cost of Writing. Now get back to writing.