Rich and Famous Yet?

I was on my personal Facebook last night and posted about the new non-fiction semi-fiction snarky travel book that I released under my real name. (Anne M. Carpenter is one of my fiction pennames; in real life, I'm Tiffany Aller.) It had a few sales right after it went up and hit 3 genre bestseller lists and 3 hot new release lists almost immediately. (Yay!)

One of my friends, who I've known since 7th grade (for anyone trying to do arithmetic on that, you're going to need a *few* more fingers) asked me if I was enjoying the fame and fortune that came along with having published several books. (Thanks, Jen! Boosted my ego a bit!)

In reality...not quite. Am I making money? Yep. Am I getting rich? Yeah, no. Do I ever expect to? No, but I've been trending sales on all KLG Press titles since we started self-publishing just over a year ago (26 titles out now with a bunch still coming by Christmas) and it looks like my partner and I should both achieve our full-time income goals by this time next year.

Will that make us rich? Nope - but we both have other income streams right now, and we anticipate being able to replace them just with our indie publishing. About 70% of what we publish, we also write. The other 30% comes from other authors and we keep only 10% of their royalties - our "fee" for proofreading, formatting, publishing and promoting their books. So that's not bad.

But here's what's even better - my short stories, things I would likely never have made a dime from after they were contest entries/winners - have found an audience. Ahead of my first novel releasing, I have people who know my (pen)name. And under my (real)name, I have already published my "travel funnies," largely mined from several old blog posts from years ago. And I will soon begin publishing career-related books, calling upon years of experience from my non-writing life. Where else but through indie publishing would I really have that opportunity to go in so many different directions?

With Patti, I've published four cookbooks. What fun that is! The income from those cookbooks goes directly back into our business and funds our business-related expenses like stock photography. And we've sold these cookbooks around the world, which is just amazingly mind-blowing for me.

Even more fun, I get to edit/proofread books by our other authors - devotionals, natural health books, video gaming books and more - that I might not have otherwise read. Broaden my horizons!

Famous? Oh please no. I'm beyond thankful to have so many Twitter followers and Facebook fans and GoodReads friends and now even Google+ circles. But I can do without fame. Because of a years-ago incident outside of my control, I ended up with local media following myself, my husband and my children around for several months. And getting crank calls and death threats phoned to my house. No fame, please. Enjoy what I write (I hope) but I don't need fame.

How about you? Are you rich and famous yet? Or just working along to build up to a liveable income over time like we are?

While you're here, KLG Press has a free cookbook on KDP Select today (9/6) and tomorrow (9/7) - go enjoy if you're so inclined.

Favorite Recipes Game Day

Worth a Damn Food presents our favorite party recipes, ready for the Big Game or any game. You gather your family and friends and we'll supply recipes for mouth-watering food to wow your crowd. From yummy nachos to spicy buffalo wings to decadent chocolate mudd, we have you covered from kick off to buzzer with more than 30 recipes. Up your game with these "keeper" recipes so your guests enjoy their fill of sports, food and fun.

Amazon US
Amazon UK


I also alluded to the semi-fiction travel parody that I put out under Tiffany Aller - if you want a peek inside what I write when I'm not scribbling suspense or women's lit, check it out!

Check In Sit Down Shut Up!

Check In Sit Down Shut Up! presents real life lessons for those among us who suck at traveling. It's also for those of us who have had just about enough of watching the hijinks of others screw up the whole shebang at the airport. This book will educate the flat-liners and tickle the funny bone of experienced travelers.
Proceed with caution if you have no tolerance for snark.  
You've been warned!

Amazon US
Amazon UK

Have a great day, ya'll!