I post my earnings monthly in hopes the transparency will help other inspiring indie authors. It was a great month for book sales! There were many factors at play. Let’s get into a few reasons why this was my best month for 2025 (so far).
There were three live events on my schedule for May. As stated in previous posts, live events often result in nice sales for me. For the first live event, I attended an outdoor makers’s mart with the Starlite Collective. Despite the cold and wet weather, I was able to introduce my book to a location (Kalamazoo) I haven’t visited through comic or book conventions.
The second live event was the Cherry Capital Comic Con in Traverse City. My werewolf series, full of supernatural creatures, does well among comic book fans and parents of comic book fans. This was my first event of 2025 where I introduced the fourth book in my series. I also made it available at this event before it was officially released to the public. I believe this exclusivity, though only by a handful of days, delighted readers and resulted in sales.
The third live event was a book launch party at a local bookstore to celebrate the release of that fourth book! Though a bookstore event runs books through the store’s register, and therefore gives them a % of the sale, it’s something I’m willing to do in exchange for hosting at their space. I also adore indie bookstores and, since I don’t have a lot of expendable income, view this as a way to support the store by bringing in an audience.
I had my second triple digit month on the big online bookstore! This was due to combined sales from a $2.99 special for my first book, and the launch of my fourth book.
Some of the indie bookstores prefer to buy the books outright at 50%, instead of on consignment. Those extra sales of two bookstores doing so can be seen in this month’s sales.
And with the fourth book, fans of the series purchased the book direct from me if they were from out of town or couldn’t make it to the book launch event.
So, many factors resulting in great sales this month. Here are all the stats:
May 2025 Sales
- Audiobooks: $15
- Print books: $45
- E-books: $105
- Website direct sales (all book formats): $91
- Bookstore direct sales (stock new book): $22
- Live events (all book formats): $1,203 – 3 events this month (art market, comic con, book launch party)
- Total: $1,481
May 2025 Social Media Growth
- Author Stefanie Gilmour on Facebook: 275 (+8)
- Author Stefanie Gilmour on Instagram: 267 (+12)
- Author Stefanie Gilmour on “The TikTack”: 593 (+7)
- Stef’s VIP Mailing List: 382 (10 new – 3 unsubscribe =+7)