The logistics of writing (Patreon)

In case anyone was wondering, Book one of Broken Knife was 129k words. To me, that's about right, because when it's published, the book will be a good size and weight to hold in your hands. More practically speaking, I can charge the same price as my other books and still get a decent return in royalties.

For reference, my first book, Clearing, is 391 pages, 132k words, and I get $3.45 in royalties for each physical copy, and $1.05 for each ebook. (That's for books sold on Amazon. KU is based on Amazon's KU subscriptions per month, divided by the number of pages read, and whether a butterfly lands on a flower or a leaf. It varies every single month.)

On the other hand, my largest book, Harvest, is 505 pages long, and almost 163k words. The physical book is almost unwieldy, and I get $2.08 from selling a physical copy, and only $1.40 for an ebook. (Incidentally, I do sell the physical books on Barnes & Noble, but I only make 84¢ per book, so simply as a matter of fiscal necessity, I focus on Amazon.)

Now, if I sold thousands of books, that would add up very quickly, but the sad fact is that I don't. That means I have to watch book sizes, so that when it comes time to publish, the book is at a good size for the reader, but small enough for me to make some tiny profit. Otherwise, I have to get a job at Costco or something, and while that would be fine, well... Between being a mom and a full time non-authory job, there wouldn't be a lot of time or energy for writing. But I digress.

Guess how many words TBK2 ended up at? 165k. Now, that's only one chapter longer than Harvest, but I'm still going to need to do some thinking when it comes time to publish. Those decisions are at least one, and possibly as many as three more books away though, so I have time. Right?

I have all my fingers and toes crossed that you guys, and my readers on Royal Road, continue enjoying TBK and Kaz's adventures, even if you prefer some arcs over others. Onward to Book Three, By Power or Fire!