D. F. Hart - Accounting for Authors: Financial Analysis, Budgeting, Costs, and Margin Made Simple

ACCOUNTING

FOR AUTHORS

D.F. HART &

Mark Leslie Lefebvre

Stark Publishing Solutions

Copyright 2022 by D.F. Hart & Mark Leslie Lefebvre

Cover Illustrations

Business Report & Meeting of analysis chart graph by ontsunan

Adobe stockstock.adobe.com

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed or transmitted in any form or by any means, without prior written permission.

S tark Publishing Solutions

An Imprint of Stark Publishing

Waterloo, Ontario

www.starkpublishing.ca

P ublishers Note: This work is derived from the real-world experience of the authors to offer insights, how-to, and recommend best practices with it comes to accounting and the business of writing in general. It does not constitute legal or tax advice. The publisher and authors strongly recommend you seek legal and taxation advice from professionals local to and familiar with your regions tax laws.

A ccounting for Authors / D.F. Hart & Mark Leslie Lefebvre

April 2022

P rint ISBN: 978-1-989351-67-3

eBook ISBN: 978-1-989351-68-0

Dedication

To my fellow authors You are awesome, unique, magical wordsmithing warriors. Stay the course, its worth it.

D.F. Hart

For Peter Duffus For helping me face Math head on when it frightened me the most. And for nurturing my creative spirit via inspiring talks and a life changing LDHS marketing assignment that leveraged my storytelling passion.

And for Mom Who managed the modest finances of our single-income blue collar family in a way that made us all feel rich inside and out.

Mark Leslie Lefebvre

A NOTE ON AUTHORSHIP, VOICE, AND RESOURCES

W hile this is a co -authored book, the authors preserved their distinct voices rather than attempt to blend the narrative into a single perspective.

Thus, each of the chapter and some sub-chapters will include a denotation of either DFH (for D.F. Hart) or MLL (for Mark Leslie Lefebvre) to indicate the perspective and voice used for that segment.

In addition, while resources and links are offered throughout this book, all hyperlinks, downloadable resources, and the charts and spreadsheets (which are often difficult to read in an ePub) can be found at the following site:

www.starkpublishing.ca/accounting

FOREWORD

MLL

T here are two things that are important for you to know about me and how it led to deciding to co-author this book with D.F. Hart.

First, I have an unwavering conviction that regardless of the journey you are ontraditional publishing, self-publishing, or some combination of the twobeing an author is a business.

Second, I have never been good at finances, have had to dig myself out of debt numerous times, and when I was young, I constantly struggled with math.

Why are those two things the insights Im leading with to open this book?

The first one is, I hope, obvious.

For most of my adult life as a representative in the bookselling industry, and as an author coach and mentor, much of the work Ive done has involved helping authors understand and embrace the business aspects of being a writer. My Stark Reflections on Writing & Publishing podcast, and the Stark Publishing Solutions series this book is a part of, have that as a central focus.

The second one might be a little more confusing.

Why would I share that Ive struggled with debt, finances, and math in the foreword of a book entitled Accounting for Authors ?

Its to help you understand that if someone like me can decide to look directly into the terrifying and frustrating faces of topics like accounting, finances, and math, complete with the nebulous history of our tumultuous relationship, then you can too.

I have worked in the book industry since 1992. It was a landmark year for me, simultaneously becoming a bookseller and having my very first short story appear in print after years of writing and a multitude of rejections.

Over the decades, which included managing at brick-and-mortar and online bookstores, running a print on demand business (the Espresso Book Machine at the bookstore at McMaster University), and establishing a self-publishing platform (Kobo Writing Life), I learned a lot about the business of selling books in all its formats (print, eBook, and audiobook).

But not a single day goes by where I dont continue to learn even more about the business. I learn from a combination of first-hand experience, reading books and articles, listening to podcasts, and interacting with industry people and other authors.

Even when Im working with new writers, answering their questions, and helping them come up with their own unique strategies and approaches to writing and publishing, Im also learning.

Im taking those learnings and applying them to my author business, but also sharing them with those looking for help and support.

Its a process, a journey, an ongoing evolving experience.

My relationship with math, finances, and accountingdespite my inherent fear of themis no different.

The only subject I consistently did well in was English. Science and Math were difficult for me. Math, in particular, threw me for a loop.

When I was in grade 12 (these were back in the days in Ontario, Canada, when high school was five years, and went up to grade 13), Pete Duffus, our high schools guidance counselor got me involved in tutoring younger math students at the 9th and 10th grade levels.

But I struggle with math, I said, not understanding his logic. Dont you want these students to learn from someone getting straight As in math instead of someone who has to work hard just to get a C minus?

Youll be able to help them, he told me, Because you can understand why and where theyre having difficulty.

And he was right. When one of the younger students I was tutoring in math was staring down a problem, I could clearly see the roadblock from their perspective. So, instead of showing them the answer, I worked through the problem with them.