In an effort to offer transparency to fellow indie authors, I post my earnings from each month. Every writer’s journey looks different.
During February of this year, I went back to full-time-that-isn’t-writing work. It has relieved financial stress at home, but hasn’t helped my marketing efforts for my book business. I also cut back on the amount of live events to sell my books. The numbers for 2026 so far reflect both those decisions.
September was my busiest month for live events. I attended the inaugural Holland Literary Festival, a rainy Merchant’s & Maker’s ArtPrize market, and the Trail of Michigan Authors event at Muskegon’s Barnes & Noble. The festival and author event both excelled at bringing book lovers to a book event. The ArtPrize market delivered on the sheer amount of people that attended, even though the day started off rainy and remained chilly and overcast.
Here are the official numbers!
September 2026 Sales
- Audiobooks: $0
- Print books: $0
- E-books: $7
- Website direct sales + payment link sales (all book formats): $0
- Bookstore direct sales: $0
- Live events (all book formats) – 3 events: $984
- Total: $991
September 2026 Social Media Growth
- Author Stefanie Gilmour on Facebook: 386 (+1)
- Author Stefanie Gilmour on Instagram: 495 (+8)
- Author Stefanie Gilmour on “The TikTack”: 609 (+0)
- Stef’s VIP Mailing List: 322 (+1)