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| Mary Ellis |
So many of our readers and friends are talking about the ACFW conference a couple of weeks ago in Indy. Hey everyone, Annette here. If you attended, I imagine you saved up for a while first. Did some planning. Mary Ellis is here today to discuss writers and budgets. Read on!
Surviving on a Writer's Income
by Mary Ellis
Ahhh, a writer’s
budget…rather sounds like an oxymoron, no? Plenty of writers will tell you they
have no budget. Money flies out just as fast as it flies in, and it doesn’t fly
in often enough or in sufficient quantity. But readers of this blog are
Christians, by and large, and we’ve heard the Scripture that the Lord will
provide for our needs. In those words we place our faith and trust, but we must
also rely on a budget to meet day-to-day obligations.
First and foremost,
“don’t give up your day job too soon” was the soundest, non-Biblical advice I
received after signing my first publishing contract. Many new writers dream of live-in
maids and nannies after landing a contract with a major house. But please remember
royalties are often years away and paid only twice a year (by some publishers). To estimate your
yearly income, take your royalty “paydays” and add it to your advances. Now
divide this amount by twelve and see what you have per month to spend. See what
I mean about not giving up the day job too soon?
I didn’t “retire” to write
full time until four years after my first contract and two years after signing
a multi-book contract. These days, I place any book advances into our joint
checking account to pay bills. Royalties then go into our savings account. But
before you imagine our family saving up for a villa in France, remember I must
pay income taxes, social security, health insurance, writing expenses (which
get larger and larger each year), Christian charities and of course, the ACFW
conference from this account. Last year I had enough left over to buy tires for
my car.
You get the picture. But the point is, no matter what your financial
situation (married, sole provider, or blessed with eleven children) you must estimate
your yearly income and then draw up a budget. Oh, and don’t forget to give the
Lord his 10 percent. After all, it all
comes from Him.
~~~~~
A Little Bit of Charm
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| A Little Bit of Charm |
A Dream Come True…
A Loss Like No Other…
Is the Price of Happiness Worth
the Cost?
Rachel King, still
recovering from the death of her parents, watches both of her older sisters
find happiness in homes of their own with husbands who adore them. She yearns
for her own new beginning.
Her cousin Sarah
lives near a Thoroughbred stable in Kentucky, and the opportunity to work
around beautiful horses has always been Rachel’s dream. She leaves Lancaster
County to find a home with Sarah and her husband, Isaac, wondering about God’s
plan for her life. When a job at Twelve Elms Stables opens up unexpectedly, it
seems as though He has answered Rachel’s heartfelt prayers.
Then she meets
Jake Brady, one of the owners of Twelve Elms, and her life becomes complicated.
He’s attractive and charming, and his interest in her is flattering. But he’s
also English as well as her boss. And is his trust in God as central to his
life as it should be?
When Amish men
she meets at church and singings start pursuing her, Rachel has important
decisions to make. What does a young woman do when her heart puts her faith in
jeopardy?
~~~~~
Mary
Ellis has written ten bestselling novels set in the Amish community. Before
"retiring" to write full-time, Mary taught school and worked as a
sales rep for Hershey Chocolate. Living in Harmony, book one of her
current series won the 2012 Lime Award for Excellence in Amish Fiction. Her
debut Christian book, A Widow's Hope, was a finalist for the 2010
ACFW Carol Awards. Book two, Love Comes to Paradise has been
nominated for a 2013 Lime Award. Book three, A Little Bit of Charm,
has just released from Harvest House. She can be found on the web at: www.maryellis.net
or at Facebook.
