Monthly Recap: October 2026

Man, sometimes it's expensive to be an author!

This could have been an amazing month. A couple of good events, and I would have been wrapping up this year with a bang. But neither Foothills or Multverse were all that great for sales (they were fine, but you have to dream big, you know?) Couple that with the rest of my very large book order hitting, plus paying for some fairly expensive editing, well, that's just gonna hurt the bottom line a little. So the month on the whole was a slight loss, but them's just the breaks. At least I had a decent overall sales amount to soften the blow.

Income - Book Sales:

(Amazon, Website, Ingram, In Person, Audiobooks, Consignment)

Total: $2,122.17

Income (Other):

(Patreon, Appearances, Affiliate, Pod Shirts, Freelance)

Total: $91.08

Expenses:

• Books Order

• Schedhie

• Multiverse room

• Shipping - Bookstore

• Book Editing

• Taxes

• Facebook ads

Total: $2,893.00

Monthly total made:

• Income: $2,213.25 ($4,479.50 last month)

• Expenses: $2,893.00 ($2,215.24 last month)

• Net Income: -$679.75

Yearly Gross Total Made:

• $23,350.68

Yearly Net Total Made:

• $6,842.86

All in all, a pretty meh month. I still haven't tweaked my ad. I may turn it off today, or I may just let it run. I haven't decided. 

Facebook is changing things up, a lot, and I'm sort of in a holding pattern while I see how that is going to play out. 

On the plus side, I recorded and released a couple of podcast episodes! So that's cool!

Anyway, here are the numbers:

Social Media Growth:

• Facebook Page Follows: 1193 (+20) 

• Instagram: 992 (+15)

• Facebook Fan Group: 414 (+2)

• Youtube: 156 subscribers (+0)

• Email List: 680 subscribers (+7)

• Discord Server: 80 (+0)

• Threads: 296 (-1)

• Bluesky: 215 (+1)

• Patrons: 29 paid/58 free (+0/+1)

• r/Talesbybob: 28 (+1)

• Total: 4,054 (+45)

Podcasts:

• Podcast Downloads (Monthly): 254 (+190)

• Podcast Downloads (Since April 2022): 7323

Here's what I am thinking I will do:

• Do my final pass on 'In the Wicked Garden' when it comes back from Cleo.

• I will tweak my Facebook ad.

• I will get Black Water Requiem published to the point I can order a proof copy.

• I will work on getting Ben Meeks 'Them Outside Cranny Hounds' and 'In the Wicked Garden' ready for January publication.

Here is what I planned to get done this month (copy/pasted from last months recap), with its status:

• Do my final pass on BWR when it comes back from Cleo. (Yep!)

• I will tweak my Facebook ad.  (Nope!)

• I will finish CON edits. (Yep!)

• I will do my pass over Ben's new book, Bloodhounds. (Yep!)

I got a lot done:

• Made a cover for Them Outside Cranny Hounds

• Made a cover for In The Wicked Garden

• CON final edits.

• Did my final pass on Black Water Requiem.

• Worked up a potential CON cover.

• Submitted Bio stuff to Falstaff Books

• Did my review of Them Outside Cranny Hounds.

• Sent Them Outside Cranny Hounds to editor.

• BBI promo images

• Contract stuff

• Foothills Book Festival

• Multiverse Con

• BBI blog

• Ben Interview for BBI site

• Made assorted Promo Images

• Blogged Multiverse

• Recorded BBI Episode

• Recorded SFF Episode

• SGF Blog Post

• Interviewed Alex Bedsole

• Purchased Millbrook/Elmore Business License 

• Paid Taxes

Alright, alright, alright!

So of note this month is:

I got a lot of editing done. That was the focus really. Editing, a few events, and setting up more back end stuff for Bearded Bard Inkworks. The only writing I did was testing out the start of a story I will probably be submitting to an anthology, if the story comes together like I hope. 

Beyond that I did a little podcasting, which was nice. Big thanks to Ricky for motivating me to get back into doing that. I also have gotten to do a couple of interviews with folks this month, which was fun. 

Books are still on schedule, so Black Water Requiem should be coming in December, and Marsh 7 (now titled In the Wicked Garden) in January (alongside Ben Meeks 'Them Outside Cranny Hounds' his first book in the Jubal County Universe!). 

Quick summary:

• Word Count: 2457

• Hours Writing: 20

• Hours Working: 27

• Pages Edited: 209