Glad you're posting more here in yt. I constantly come back and watch your vids because it's literally 'cozy' like you're just hanging out with a friend
I really appreciate this openness about your finances and income. It's easy to either have unrealistic expectations or to despair. It's good to have some realistic basis for thinking about money.
I often let the ads play because you deserve every penny ❤ I don't do this for anyone else hehe I just love how genuine you are and how I could listen for hours ❤
I feel you on the water bill. I am absolute rubbish at keeping track of those kind of things and, like you, I have established time-based routines where I pay the bills on X day. The rest of the time, the existence of the entire concept of bills disappears from my consciousness, leaving nary a trace. Back in the old days, when everything had to be paid via paper bills, paper checks, and snail mail, I probably spent a good 10% of my income on late fees. You have to know where the physical bill is, where the envelopes are, where your checkbook is, remember where you put the stamps, and . . . where is my pen? WHY ARE THERE NO PENS?!! It seemed there was always at least one of these items missing. Can't find the stamps? Guess what . . . you can't pay that bill until you go to the store and buy more stamps. The next day, you come home with stamps and realize you've misplaced your checkbook. All I can say is, you have my deepest sympathies regarding your water company's apparent ability to operate through a time-portal from their headquarters in 1992. Would it be possible to just pay the bill early? Like, next month, when you get the bill on the 2nd, send a check that covers 2 months worth of water bills. Then you will be ahead by a month, and you can pay at the end of the month from that point forward. Not sure if that would work but it's a strategy I used back in the dark ages. And please forgive my unsolicited advice. 😅You're a smart lady who's probably already thought of this. I really appreciate your transparency. Love all your videos!
Yes, I feel all those things with this water bill! I hear some people don't even have checks anymore. Not me! I will ALWAYS need checks because of The Water Bill O' Doom! I've thought about paying it ahead but then it sometimes fluctuates a bit or just plain goes up for the year, so...I don't know, then I get a little paralyzed. Will I confuse them if I don't send the right amount? I really do miss having a quarterly water bill that I could pay online. What a concept!
In the UK, we've been paying everything online or through a direct debit for over a decade now, and I've not used a cheque to pay for anything in my life. All that is to say, I may be completely off here, but would it be possible to speak to the water company and change the billing/payment date?
Wow, this is giving me flashbacks to when I was a tarot reader, asking other readers what their financial scene was...and of course, it was a mishmash of, oh, it's just hobby/pocket $and really I practice law, or there was a wealthy boyfriend/husband/parent, or the reader owned the building she worked out of and rented to other readers, etc. etc... you are very generous to share such personal info, thank you. Too often we consider ourselves failures if the income profile simply isn't mainstream, let alone prosperous, this being America....
Yeah, through my 20s I often felt really bad because I didn't seem to have as much money as anyone else around me. Then one of my friends mentioned credit card debt, and a little later another friend talked about getting help from her parents, and it clicked that I really can't compare myself to anyone's OUTWARD situation.
This is such a great breakdown! I love getting a behind the scenes look at making a living as an author. I'm really impressed with all your skills and how many projects you manage at once! I'd love a video with tips on Amazon books sales and marketing if you've picked up any tips and tricks. :)
I’m so glad I found your channel. It was through an email about John Holt and unschooling that I found you. You’re very relatable, and I’m not even a fiction reader, let alone a fantasy fiction reader. I look forward to more of your videos.
You know, there are a lot of authors using TH-cam, we had a whole Authortube Writing Conference at the end of June--we just don't have the audience you do! Am following to learn the secrets, lol
Honestly I didn't really plan this as an Authortube channel! I planned it as a channel on the creative, simple life where my particular path happened to be fantasy writing. Probably 75% of my actual subscriber growth comes when I go off author-specific topics!
Thank you for your transparency, even if we're not all in the same position or striving for the same things, it is healthy to have a well-rounded idea on what is/isn't possible and what's "normal". As it turns out, my assumptions on your living expenses as a frugal mountain dweller were quite different from reality. (That's a weird thing to say, who am I? I don't *know* you, heh. Anywayyy) I also consider myself frugal, and am a forest dweller of sorts :) Your earnings and expenses are wild for me to grasp, as are the expenses of just about every other regular person out there but I thought we'd be a tad more similar :P I can only hope to acquire side incomes as you've worked to procure, and I really hope someday I do with writing/youtube too!
Now I'm curious as to whether you're far more frugal, or living somewhere more expensive...it can really go either way. Locations are so varied in what they cost. This area has gotten downright fancypants, honestly. Our tiny downtown is absurdly hip, it's still so weird to me because the last town I lived in was similarly tiny but not hip at ALL. I'm quite worried that my friends who rent will be driven out before long.
I had a similar problem with our water bill. Especially because it cones on a flimsy postcard and sometimes gets lost in the mail. So I started paying an extra months worth, so I have a credit for one month and only have to pay every other month. And especially if I’m going to be traveling. We can’t see ours on line it’s a small water system provider.
We'd love to hear more about this water bill 🤣 If you knew what we were paying for rent every month, whewwwwww heart palpitations. I'm both very happy for your mortgage rate and also green with envy. Can I come live in your shed lol? Love the transparency and love the little details like your addiction to kombucha!
You're already living the writer's dream! Congrats! :) By the way, was wondering, have you ever done a video on your technique on how to keep character choices and actions consistent to their nature throughout a story? Do you use the enneagram as a guide?
Can you contact the water company and ask them if they can bill you on a different date? Most of my repeat bills let me pick the day of the month my bill is due, but that may not be possible if your water company doesn't even have the option to let you pay online- philistines! Anyway, thanks for your transparency. This is really helpful ❤
Yeah, it's a town of like 800, 900 people or something so I think you get things the way they do them, which probably hasn't changed in 50 years, and that's just how it is. I just need to get more on the ball about it.
Great video! I'm currently writing my first alien romance novel and plan to be a full-time writer in the future and it's nice to get an actual realistic expectation of what i could make. I'm not sure if you have a video on this, but do you have any tips on how to write your first novel and build an online presence while working a 9-5? Again, great video!
I talk about this a bit in my marketing tips video, but my general advice is, pick the one platform you actually like as a user the best, and just try to post consistently there...and then maybe keep a mailing list with a signup in the back of every book and send an email about new releases (at minimum)...just so there is one "universal" way for super fans to find you. If you're writing and working 9-5 you will easily spread yourself too thin. If you CAN handle 2-3 platforms consistently, great, but in that case recycle content as much as possible.
@@lidiyafoxgloveauthorthank you for the reply! Ill check out the video and i totallt agree focusing on one platform right now would be the more manageable option. Thanks!
How do you make so much on Amazon? I only make $200 now as my books have gone down. But I would love to make over $1000. Do I have to write more books?
There's really no one answer, but I do have a LOT of books... If you haven't watched the video on all my books and how much they've made over time, that will kind of demonstrate how many I've written and how some were duds and some still help carry my income years later: th-cam.com/video/7WZRdyiP_hw/w-d-xo.html
That's very kind of you! But I don't have a site. Or any time to figure out how to make one or what to put on it. It's on that endless back burner list...
Tolino. It's not very important though... I probably sell about 4 books a year on Tolino, which is a German bookseller. But if you get a Draft2Digital account they'll just distribute to all those global places with one click.
Yes! This is my favorite series on audio: www.amazon.com/Sorcerers-Concubine-Telepath-Sorcerer-Book/dp/B06XY7NK1R But I also have the entire series of Guardians of Sky and Shadow, Witch Among Warlocks, and Paranormal House Flippers, as well as Beauty and the Goblin King.
Glad you're posting more here in yt. I constantly come back and watch your vids because it's literally 'cozy' like you're just hanging out with a friend
And also yt algorithm be recommending your vids
Same!
Yes, so cozy!
Same, and even better you don’t hold your lav mic 😂😁
I really appreciate this openness about your finances and income. It's easy to either have unrealistic expectations or to despair. It's good to have some realistic basis for thinking about money.
I often let the ads play because you deserve every penny ❤ I don't do this for anyone else hehe I just love how genuine you are and how I could listen for hours ❤
I love listening to you talk! Your sense or humor is unique 😊
Thanks for the transparency. Always interesting to get an honest take on others’ financials.
I feel you on the water bill. I am absolute rubbish at keeping track of those kind of things and, like you, I have established time-based routines where I pay the bills on X day. The rest of the time, the existence of the entire concept of bills disappears from my consciousness, leaving nary a trace.
Back in the old days, when everything had to be paid via paper bills, paper checks, and snail mail, I probably spent a good 10% of my income on late fees. You have to know where the physical bill is, where the envelopes are, where your checkbook is, remember where you put the stamps, and . . . where is my pen? WHY ARE THERE NO PENS?!! It seemed there was always at least one of these items missing. Can't find the stamps? Guess what . . . you can't pay that bill until you go to the store and buy more stamps. The next day, you come home with stamps and realize you've misplaced your checkbook. All I can say is, you have my deepest sympathies regarding your water company's apparent ability to operate through a time-portal from their headquarters in 1992.
Would it be possible to just pay the bill early? Like, next month, when you get the bill on the 2nd, send a check that covers 2 months worth of water bills. Then you will be ahead by a month, and you can pay at the end of the month from that point forward. Not sure if that would work but it's a strategy I used back in the dark ages. And please forgive my unsolicited advice. 😅You're a smart lady who's probably already thought of this.
I really appreciate your transparency. Love all your videos!
Yes, I feel all those things with this water bill! I hear some people don't even have checks anymore. Not me! I will ALWAYS need checks because of The Water Bill O' Doom!
I've thought about paying it ahead but then it sometimes fluctuates a bit or just plain goes up for the year, so...I don't know, then I get a little paralyzed. Will I confuse them if I don't send the right amount? I really do miss having a quarterly water bill that I could pay online. What a concept!
@@lidiyafoxgloveauthor I totally get all of that, especially the paralysis. I will keep you in my thoughts and prayers. 😉
In the UK, we've been paying everything online or through a direct debit for over a decade now, and I've not used a cheque to pay for anything in my life.
All that is to say, I may be completely off here, but would it be possible to speak to the water company and change the billing/payment date?
Wow, this is giving me flashbacks to when I was a tarot reader, asking other readers what their financial scene was...and of course, it was a mishmash of, oh, it's just hobby/pocket $and really I practice law, or there was a wealthy boyfriend/husband/parent, or the reader owned the building she worked out of and rented to other readers, etc. etc... you are very generous to share such personal info, thank you. Too often we consider ourselves failures if the income profile simply isn't mainstream, let alone prosperous, this being America....
Yeah, through my 20s I often felt really bad because I didn't seem to have as much money as anyone else around me. Then one of my friends mentioned credit card debt, and a little later another friend talked about getting help from her parents, and it clicked that I really can't compare myself to anyone's OUTWARD situation.
This is incredible, thank you for the transparency! Also thanks for mentioning how chronic illness can take a toll on maximum income.
This is such a great breakdown! I love getting a behind the scenes look at making a living as an author. I'm really impressed with all your skills and how many projects you manage at once! I'd love a video with tips on Amazon books sales and marketing if you've picked up any tips and tricks. :)
I do have a marketing video, with more detailed videos to come. th-cam.com/video/j8nEUGcpv8k/w-d-xo.html
I appreciate the financial transparency!
I absolutely adore this level of transparency! Thank you so much! It really helps ground people's expectations or fantasies into reality!
It’s so inspiring how you are making it all work!
I'm just finding your videos for the first time and I'm glad I found you! And love the transparency here. Thanks!
I really respect the financial transparency. Hope to do the same someday soon. I think it's something we need more of.
I appreciate your transparency and nuance!
Loved the video. You are very enterprising and I find it inspiring. Thanks for sharing. 🦋
I’m so glad I found your channel. It was through an email about John Holt and unschooling that I found you. You’re very relatable, and I’m not even a fiction reader, let alone a fantasy fiction reader. I look forward to more of your videos.
You know, there are a lot of authors using TH-cam, we had a whole Authortube Writing Conference at the end of June--we just don't have the audience you do! Am following to learn the secrets, lol
Honestly I didn't really plan this as an Authortube channel! I planned it as a channel on the creative, simple life where my particular path happened to be fantasy writing. Probably 75% of my actual subscriber growth comes when I go off author-specific topics!
Thank you for your transparency, even if we're not all in the same position or striving for the same things, it is healthy to have a well-rounded idea on what is/isn't possible and what's "normal".
As it turns out, my assumptions on your living expenses as a frugal mountain dweller were quite different from reality. (That's a weird thing to say, who am I? I don't *know* you, heh. Anywayyy)
I also consider myself frugal, and am a forest dweller of sorts :) Your earnings and expenses are wild for me to grasp, as are the expenses of just about every other regular person out there but I thought we'd be a tad more similar :P I can only hope to acquire side incomes as you've worked to procure, and I really hope someday I do with writing/youtube too!
Now I'm curious as to whether you're far more frugal, or living somewhere more expensive...it can really go either way. Locations are so varied in what they cost. This area has gotten downright fancypants, honestly. Our tiny downtown is absurdly hip, it's still so weird to me because the last town I lived in was similarly tiny but not hip at ALL. I'm quite worried that my friends who rent will be driven out before long.
I love how cheerful you seem :).
I love these budget videos
I had a similar problem with our water bill. Especially because it cones on a flimsy postcard and sometimes gets lost in the mail. So I started paying an extra months worth, so I have a credit for one month and only have to pay every other month. And especially if I’m going to be traveling. We can’t see ours on line it’s a small water system provider.
That sounds like a pretty simple solution. Maybe I'll try paying double this month and see what happens.
We'd love to hear more about this water bill 🤣
If you knew what we were paying for rent every month, whewwwwww heart palpitations. I'm both very happy for your mortgage rate and also green with envy. Can I come live in your shed lol?
Love the transparency and love the little details like your addiction to kombucha!
The south as a whole is really pretty cheap, but...it is also still the south and the northern states eternally call to me...
You're already living the writer's dream! Congrats! :)
By the way, was wondering, have you ever done a video on your technique on how to keep character choices and actions consistent to their nature throughout a story? Do you use the enneagram as a guide?
thanks for this!
Super awesome video!! Thank you!
Thanks for the update. Cheers
We are very happy with cricket wireless. 133 for 4 lines. :)
Can you contact the water company and ask them if they can bill you on a different date? Most of my repeat bills let me pick the day of the month my bill is due, but that may not be possible if your water company doesn't even have the option to let you pay online- philistines!
Anyway, thanks for your transparency. This is really helpful ❤
Yeah, it's a town of like 800, 900 people or something so I think you get things the way they do them, which probably hasn't changed in 50 years, and that's just how it is. I just need to get more on the ball about it.
@@lidiyafoxgloveauthor in that case, my suggestion is phone/calender reminders! It's the only way I remember to pay anything that's not automated!
thank you!
Great video! I'm currently writing my first alien romance novel and plan to be a full-time writer in the future and it's nice to get an actual realistic expectation of what i could make.
I'm not sure if you have a video on this, but do you have any tips on how to write your first novel and build an online presence while working a 9-5?
Again, great video!
I talk about this a bit in my marketing tips video, but my general advice is, pick the one platform you actually like as a user the best, and just try to post consistently there...and then maybe keep a mailing list with a signup in the back of every book and send an email about new releases (at minimum)...just so there is one "universal" way for super fans to find you. If you're writing and working 9-5 you will easily spread yourself too thin. If you CAN handle 2-3 platforms consistently, great, but in that case recycle content as much as possible.
@@lidiyafoxgloveauthorthank you for the reply! Ill check out the video and i totallt agree focusing on one platform right now would be the more manageable option. Thanks!
Kombucha addiction. Yes! $$$$$
so... literally as you say "we haven't tried mint mobile..." a mint mobile ad plays XD
Anyway, i thought the irony was hilarious and had to share
LOL they're trying. I wonder if mentioning Mint mobile gives me a better ad rate!?
@@lidiyafoxgloveauthor i mean, you have this video and now comments saying how on target the marketing was, i'd bring it up and see 😉
what does it mean to 'write to market'?
Writing what you think will sell based on current market trends.
where do you live that healthcare is that low? :) Thanks for sharing.
How do you make so much on Amazon? I only make $200 now as my books have gone down. But I would love to make over $1000. Do I have to write more books?
There's really no one answer, but I do have a LOT of books... If you haven't watched the video on all my books and how much they've made over time, that will kind of demonstrate how many I've written and how some were duds and some still help carry my income years later:
th-cam.com/video/7WZRdyiP_hw/w-d-xo.html
❤😊
Do you save for retirement?
Yes, currently all my new savings are going into retirement savings.
@@lidiyafoxgloveauthor I see. Retirement is one of those things I worry about
@@cera7804 I certainly don't think you're alone there. I'm on an okay track but you have to juggle a lot of assumptions.
I have a web server that is a sunk cost for me, so if you want a place to park your site, I’m happy to host it for you.
That's very kind of you! But I don't have a site. Or any time to figure out how to make one or what to put on it. It's on that endless back burner list...
11:00 my captions actually failed me so I didn’t catch what the other one was besides Smashwords….
Tolino. It's not very important though... I probably sell about 4 books a year on Tolino, which is a German bookseller. But if you get a Draft2Digital account they'll just distribute to all those global places with one click.
Do you have audiobooks
Yes! This is my favorite series on audio: www.amazon.com/Sorcerers-Concubine-Telepath-Sorcerer-Book/dp/B06XY7NK1R
But I also have the entire series of Guardians of Sky and Shadow, Witch Among Warlocks, and Paranormal House Flippers, as well as Beauty and the Goblin King.