By the Numbers: Marketing Fiction v. Non-Fiction Self-Published Books

A Literal Literary Loser Compares, Contrasts and Confesses

In my January 11, 2023 post, This Little Author Went A-Marketing, I broke down how much I spent to promote my self-published novel(s), The Figure Skating Mystery Series (5 Books in 1), and how much I earned as a result.

A caveat: Though the 5 Books in 1 compendium was self-published, each of the individual titles in it, Murder on Ice, On Thin Ice, Axel of Evil, Death Drop, and Skate Crime, had first been traditionally published as paperback original by Berkley Prime Crime. As a result, I did not need to pay to have them edited, since they’d previously been edited by the editor who acquired them for Berkley.

While I had the right to republish my text, I did not have the right to reuse the original covers. I paid to have new covers created for each individual book for e-book re-release, and for the 5 Books in 1 compendium.

I also did not need to pay to have them professionally formatted by an IT guy, because I sleep with my IT guy. (It’s OK, we’re married.)

As a result, my only expense was the covers, created by artists on Fiverr, for a total of $30.

The rest of my money was spent on marketing, and you can see a full breakdown of what I expended, in this detailed post. That post covers the single year when I decided to pay for promotion.

However, over a lifetime on Amazon (January 13, 2014 till now), The Figure Skating Mystery Series (5 Books in 1) has earned: $1,854.28. The five books sold individually, have lifetime earnings of: $1,053.54 for a total of: $2,907.82. A handful of sales on BN.com rounds it up to roughly $3000. But all the profits are not mine to keep, as I pay a percentage to Ice Theatre of NY for providing the videos for these multimedia editions.

Now let’s compare those results to my overall best-selling title, Getting Into NYC Kindergarten.

Over a lifetime (April 19, 2015 to now) on Amazon, it has earned: $11,942.46. Throw in the Barnes and Noble sales, and it’s probably about $13,000 total.

I did not pay to have this book edited. The cover was created by my then 13 year old son (he did get into LaGuardia, the Fame school, for Fine Art!), and the cover model was my then 6 year old daughter. The IT guy still got paid his usual way.

While figure skating is a worldwide phenomenon, getting into school in New York City is very much a local concern. The market for the former is theoretically much larger than the market for the latter.

I have not, to date, spent a penny to promote Getting Into NYC Kindergarten.

And yet, it is by far my best-selling title, by many orders of magnitude.

So what’s the difference?

The difference is: Non-fiction versus fiction.

It is the difference between a very specific audience and a more generalized one.

It is the difference between offering a solution to a problem, and suggesting a few hours of entertainment.

While I promoted my Figure Skating Mystery Series like it was a non-fiction title - direct mailing to skating fans and clubs, adds in figure skating magazines, a YouTube video, etc….

It was still competing with every other mystery novel, and every other work of fiction out there. I did my best to make it stand out, but the competition was still extremely stiff.

With Getting Into NYC Kindergarten, I knew exactly who my audience was, I knew where they were, and I knew what they so desperately needed.

I may not have spent a cent on marketing and advertising, but the man hours I’ve spent are incalculable at this point. I have a dedicated website (built by my then 12 year old son - as you can see, I am a big believer in free, child labor!). I’ve created multiple YouTube videos. I promote myself as an expert on the topic of NYC schools and have been quoted in newspapers, blog posts, and interviewed on television.

(I just realized I’m wearing the same sweater for both videos… awkward!)

The difference in the amount of sales with fiction versus non-fiction (both books are priced at $9.99, by the way, with the individual skating mysteries retailing from $.99 cents to $2.99 each) is that while readers may want my novels, they need my non-fiction titles. (I also have a Getting Into NYC High School book, which, since September 3, 2016 has earned a total of: $1,853.85 also with no money spent on editing, cover, or marketing, just man hours of promotion).

I love writing fiction. If I could do it exclusively, I would.

But I also love helping people. And I love writing, period. The minute my fingers hit the computer keys I get a major hit of dopamine to the brain. I don’t understand the concept of writer’s block. I am, basically, an addict, a writing junkie.

If I could write fiction exclusively, I would. But I also have kids to feed. They and the IT guy may work for free, but they also expect meals and a roof over the heads and clothes and college, and well, you know…. life things.

So because I love helping people and I love writing, non-fiction is the most financially practical path to take. As I mentioned in the post where I broke down my Figure Skating Mystery expenses, my self-published writing continues to turn a profit year after year because the non-fiction covers up the fiction shortfalls, especially when I choose to pay for any marketing, which rarely pays for itself.

Come back next time, when I compare what I made independently publishing versus what I made traditionally publishing. That’ll be a real eye-opener.

In the meantime, share your own experiences with self-publishing in the Comments. My goal is to help any aspiring authors really get a sense of what they’re in for!