Monday’s planning tip for authors

Author profitability has more to do with cash flow than the absence or presence of an author’s creativity, inspiration, or inherited talent.

Although rarely addressed in the hundreds of books on writing success available, an author’s cash flow plays an important role in determining  the lifestyle the author and his family will enjoy.

The total number of books an author sells doesn’t matter if the author and family are continually scrambling to make ends meet.

In short, authors must address their book’s cash flow–as much as topics like reader needs and competition from existing books–when planning their book.

Cash flow and book publishing options

Cash flow should also play a major role in an author’s choice of publishing options. Unless authors have ready access to sufficient cash resources, their decision to self-publish a book should be done only after detailed cash flow analysis. When self-publishing a book, the money flows out long before it is returned to the author as sales and profits.

Author Cash Flow Management Worksheet

To help authors better view their books as businesses that should be planned, rather than run by the seat of their pants, I created the Published & Profitable Author Preliminary Cash Flow Planner, shown above.

The Author Preliminary Cash Flow Planner is one of a series of new Published & Profitable worksheets designed to help authors plan for their success and minimize the possibilities of disappointing setbacks by realistically analyzing situations in order to make appropriate decisions.

Upcoming Author Guide to Cash Flow Event

Watch for details about Published & Profitable’s Author Guide to Cash Flow Premium Event on Thursday, December 3, 2009. E-mail me to learn more about the  event, and others in the series.  Note: see previous Essentials of Author Profitability posts