I recently took a big picture look at my writing income. As I look into the year ahead, it was super helpful to look at which activities and income streams were the most profitable. I can use this information to help me structure my time, choose which future jobs to accept (and which I should likely decline), and which branches of my business tree I should cut off entirely. I can also use this information to figure out which tasks make me the most amount of money for the least amount of effort/time and do more of those.

First, I’ll show you the breakdown of the numbers and then share my thoughts.

Teaching** - $19,464

Client Work - $17,802

Book Sales - $7,431

Teachers Pay Teachers - $2,631

Misc. - $1,641

Speaking Gigs/Workshops - $1,250

Total: $50,380

** I teach part time at Western Technical College.

Additional Considerations

First of all, I am super stinking proud that I have been able to earn an income comparable to my full time teaching salary. When I resigned from K-12 teaching four years ago, I wasn’t sure what was in store for me or that I’d be able to make it. I AM MAKING IT, and the sky’s the limit for where I can go from here. But knowing my bills are paid and there is money in the bank because I am able to earn money doing what I LOVE, is a pretty darn good feeling.

There are several things I do that do not directly make money, but that build my credibility and platform. These tasks include blogging, sending email newsletters and engaging on social media. Strangely enough, these tasks take up monumental amounts of time. Likely 30 hours a month. BUT, through these activities, people get to know me and my projects. Which eventually results in sales and speaking gigs. I have considered cutting down on these activities so I have more time to write… but if a writer writes and no one knows about it… will anyone buy their book? THIS IS THE REAL QUESTION THAT HAUNTS ALL AUTHORPRENEURS. What is the appropriate amount of time to spend on each task?

Another activity that did not factor into the financial report of 2021 is the exceptional amount of time (approximately 5 hours a week) I spent making YouTube videos. My channel is close to monetization. I’m less than 1,500 hours shy of the 4,000 hour benchmark. Once I reach that, I’ll be able to earn money per view from the Google AdSense program and add this platform as a revenue stream. In 2022, these weekly hours spent making videos will result in added income. Likely $200 or so a month at the start, but then, like Teachers Pay Teachers, it will grow and run on autopilot making me money while I eat, sleep, chauffeur children, write my next novel and fold laundry.

It would be unwise to completely forget the COVID AFFECT. In 2019, speaking gigs, school visits, in person workshops and conferences made up 16% ($5,810) of my income. In 2020 and 2021, that number was down to 5% and 3% respectively. I am hopeful 2022 will bring us back to “regular life as we knew it”, but I’m not all that confident we will ever reach that point again. This is a huge reason why I put a lot of energy into YouTube this year. I needed an additional stream of income that didn’t rely on the world’s ability to get their you-know-what-together enough to allow for large group gatherings. My current 2022 calendar has a handful of in person events, including presentations at a state level conference… so we’ll see. Fingers crossed!!! But when you think about the impact this disease has had on small businesses, don’t forget to think about presenters and performers, like me. Covid wiped out my largest income stream two years in a row. Yes, restaurants and stores were hit, but it’s effect goes far further.

So what am I going to do now?

I am a HUSTLE + HEART kind of authorpreneur. So, I’ll admit, that while it might be a smart idea to cut blogging, I’m not going to. Why? Because it brings me joy. If I wanted a life with a job that didn’t bring me joy, I’d do something else… that made a lot more money. So, while this deep dive into my 2021 finances started as a way to productively and efficiently schedule my time to increase future profits, I’m not going to entirely ignore my own personal satisfaction and enjoyment. To do so, would completely negate leaving a stable 9-5 to pursue a career focusing on my passion.

Please know that I share these goals and numbers not to brag or be self-congratulating. I personally learn by studying how others succeed and my hope is that by transparently shouting out my numbers/process/goals/steps that you can make your own aspirations a reality. Know this, IT CAN BE DONE. And you can be the one to do it.

My money making plans for 2022 include:

Monetizing my YouTube Channel
Re-doing and relaunching my YA science fiction series (currently called Breaking the Surface) that you’ve likely never heard of because I don’t promote it. I don’t promote it because it’s the best I could do in 2013… and that product is embarrassing to the “2021 me”. (Another benefit to self-publishing… you get as many do-overs as you want!) Be looking for this eco-inspired teen story in February 2022! :)
Increasing my resource offerings on Teachers Pay Teachers
Writing and self-publishing Close Quarters #3

What should you do?

If you haven’t yet done a deep dive into your own business finances and time management, I’d highly recommend taking a couple hours to do so. You might stumble across some surprising revelations that can help you make this next year your best yet. If you have any questions or want to talk through some of your idea, email me! Or, let’s plan to meet up for coffee. Dreaming big and scheming with entrepreneurs is one of my favorite things to do and I’d love to chat with you.

Cheers to 2021 and bring on 2022. We’ve got this!

~ Amanda

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