Transparency Project
What This Is!
I love to help other authors who are coming along on this crazy journey with me. So to that end I break down all the stats I can for folks, and post them on my blog. But I thought it would be helpful to have one central point where I can point people, so they can see the full knowledge base I am offering. Typically clicking the section heading will link you to a page with just those blog posts.
Why I'm Doing This!
When I started out, I had no other authors that I knew well enough to ask questions about sales numbers, social media growth, etc. I'm a big believer in the concept of 'be the change you want to see' so I started sharing all that information, in hopes that it would motivate other authors to do the same. And even if they don't, at least this information is available to anyone who wants to know what those types of stats look like for a small time author like myself.
Book Launch Info!
Every time I launch a book I record all the statistics. I also do posts about things like when I hit my break even point.
Monthly Reports!
Each month I break down how my numbers were. I track my social media growth (or shrinkage), as well as all the money that comes in, ranging from book sales to POD shirt sales.
Yearly Breakdowns and other Major Milestones!
If you don't have time to look at monthly reports, then maybe a yearly breakdown is more your speed.
Convention Reports!
I do a lot of conventions. I don't do recap posts on all of them, but for those that I do, I relay information like what panels I was on, how sales went, what my costs were, etc.
Dragon Con Recaps
Dragon Con is my biggest event each year, so it gets usually 3-5 blog posts by itself each year.
Success Markers
I am a big believer in defining success for yourself. I like to track my own success markers, and love to celebrate when I hit one.
State of the Tales by Bob Empire
Each January I do a long post where I review the year before, and look ahead to the year to come.
Mental Health
As an author who has struggled with depression, I try to be transparent around that as well.
Methodology
Or What Bob Shows and Doesn't Show as of 05/01/2024
If you are reading all these posts, especially the monthly recaps, you need to understand that they don't paint the entire picture. Mostly because I don't list out most of the one off expenses in all places. What does this mean?
The monthly report is as accurate as I can make it in that moment. Sometimes I realize a number is off somehow after the fact. When that happens, I don't go back and change it. I just make sure the next one is more accurate, and update my master spreadsheet.
If I buy something for my booth, like a book stand or rack, I don't include it in the monthly report.
I don't list out the cost of ordering inventory, like books, stickers, and zines.
I don't include my booth fees, hotel rooms, or food costs for cons in the monthly report.
I do list out the booth fee and hotel cost in a convention recap. I usually leave off food and gas, though I may mention it in general terms.
I don't currently pay for ads. When I do, I will probably list that out in another expense.
The book launch posts are pretty damn accurate though. I list all the relevant expenses there.
So understand that you are mostly seeing the profit. Which I realize is posting a pretty rosy picture. It's easy to make a profit when you have no expenses.
To that end, I have started showing my expenses more fully. This takes the form of a couple of posts a year where I list out all my expenses that have not been covered elsewhere.
Most Recent Transparency Blog Posts
Visit my BLOG to see all my posts.
Other Authors Who Share
I started this all in hopes that others would join me. No one benefits from this type of data remaining secret. So as I find authors who are joining me in transparency, I will list them here. To be clear, I don't keep up with this, so for all I know maybe they stopped. But at one point at least, these authors were doing monthly recap type posts:
Stephanie Gilmour
Stephanie, author of The Alex Steward Series, was the first to join in! Here is a link to her first post: CLICK HERE
R.M. Hamrick
Here is her website: HERE. She posts her transparency posts, both monthly and event recaps on her Patreon. She's so good at it, she has given me ideas that I have implemented.
