Around the Campfire with D. V. Stone gives a peek behind the curtain of her publishing life.

Hard to believe it’s September. My summer flew past, and not totally in a great way. Of course, there were ups and downs. We don’t camp as much in summer as in spring and fall. I love the crisp nights sitting around a fire. We usually do that when we’re home around the firepit. Since returning home from our winter digs in Northern Florida, we’ve only gone out a few times. Once on grandkid babysitting in Pennsylvania. Unfortunately, it rained the entire week. We did go on an overnight trip to Connecticut for a writers’ event. It was so blasted hot that we bailed right after the conference finished. And last but not least, a two-day trip to Newburgh, NY. Um, it rained again the entire time. But as I tell the campers at my part-time job, I’d rather camp in the rain than not camp in the rain at home. Oh, did you notice what I said? My part-time job.
Retirement didn’t pan out the way I’d hoped. Initially, I dreamed of making enough money to supplement my social security. Hah! One of the first things people ask when they find out I’m an author is, “Do you sell a lot of books?” I do sell books. Not tons. But some. What they and I didn’t understand back when I’d made my plan is that a writer makes pennies on the dollar. That is unless you are one of the fortunate ones. I don’t begrudge them a bit. I want to be one of them. Writing is hard. Think of all the hours spent filling the pages—then editing, etc.
 Take Rock House Grill, for example. It lists at seventeen dollars at online retailers, but after everyone gets their share, the publisher, the printer, etc., then little ole me at the end receives about one dollar and thirty-eight cents. eBooks are where most sales are, so let’s take a peek at that. We’ll stick with Rock House for a minute. The eBook retails at $4.99. In the end, my royalty is $1.05, a little better than the hard copy because of printing costs. Unless a library orders a copy. Guess how much I’ll receive then? About 6 cents. Don’t get me wrong, I love having my books in libraries. It’s an honor, really. I mean that. I’ve donated books to libraries.
Let’s talk about indies. Independents or self-published do get a higher royalty, but most books are eBooks or, in certain cases, with independents on Kindle Unlimited. I’ll explain about KU in a second.
Royalties are definitely higher with eBooks, that’s good. But, and it’s a big old junk in the trunk, but the costs to publish fall on me and me alone. What does this mean? My publisher pays the editor, cover artist, printer, etc. For self-publishing, all that falls on the writer. The most significant chunk is probably for an editor. A good editor can cost ranging from hundreds to thousands of dollars depending on how long the book is, what type of editing is required, how many rounds of editing it takes, the size of the manuscript, etc.
Advise from me. Don’t scrimp or overlook editing. It’s so important to have a good editor. When I do interviews or panels, I’m often asked where a writer should invest with a limited budget. My answer is to obtain the services of the best editor you can afford. It’s that important. Then you need to have a great cover. Again, this can run into hundreds of dollars. And let’s not forget a marketing budget. According to Reedsy, the costs associated with publishing a manuscript are between $500 and $4,800.
I mentioned Kindle Unlimited. All my independent books are KU. That means a reader joins for a yearly fee. The annual fee lets them choose any book listed as KU. There are boatloads. Then, the author gets paid for the pages read. The KDP per page payout as of July 2023 is  $0.003989. Let’s say you have a three-hundred-page book. If the reader reads the whole book, the writer will receive about $1.20
Do the math. Years ago, I owned a coffee shop. Pricing is tricky. Too high, no one buys. Too low, and you make no money. How many $1 cups of coffee does it take to cover the rent?
So, what is the moral of this story? Yeah, it’s a bit of a gripe. I hated going back into the workforce. But I love writing. Like children, sometimes your books are a pain. They can cost a lot. Often, you feel like walking into a closet and screaming with a pillow over your mouth. In the end? It’s worth it. Realistically, I’ve been in the author world since 2016. I have nine published books, inclusion in one anthology, and a bi-monthly column in Still Moments Magazine. Six books are in various stages of development.
To anyone reading this, be assured I don’t want to discourage new writers. Your path may be totally different than mine. Others, if you’ve been in this game for a while and are struggling, don’t feel like you are alone. Readers? I just wanted to give you a peek behind the curtain. And especially to myself, D. V. Stone, like one of your favorite characters, Dory, just keep swimming. 
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I'm part of this! From N. N. Light's Book Heaven
www.nnlightsbookheaven.com/fall-into-these-great-reads-bookathon
September is the kickoff back-to-school and autumn weather. In our view, it is also the launch of curling up with a cup of hot cider and reading. So, we cleverly titled our September month-long event to coincide with the season of fall and have gathered almost forty books you will want to add to your reading list. These books are penned by award-winning, bestselling, and top-rated authors plus there's a huge giveaway where one reader will win a $75 Amazon gift card. Below you will find the links to each book spotlight all September plus the Rafflecopter giveaway. This page will update every day by 5 pm EST. Check back every day to see what books are featured. Good luck and happy reading!