Author Topic: Chris Fox 2018 Income Report  (Read 3065 times)

Anarchist

Chris Fox 2018 Income Report
« on: January 06, 2019, 09:58:43 AM »
A lot of business savvy in the back half of this video...




"The first lesson of economics is scarcity: there is never enough of anything to fully satisfy all those who want it. The first lesson of politics is to disregard the first lesson of economics.” – Thomas Sowell

"The State is an institution run by gangs of murderers, plunderers and thieves, surrounded by willing executioners, propagandists, sycophants, crooks, liars, clowns, charlatans, dupes and useful idiots—an institution that dirties and taints everything it touches.” - Hans Hoppe

"Virtue is more to be feared than vice, because its excesses are not subject to the regulation of conscience." - Adam Smith

Nothing that requires the labor of others is a basic human right.

I keep a stiff upper lip and shoot from the hip. - AC/DC
 
The following users thanked this post: sliderule, EC Sheedy, Ghost5, inkblot, Rocket

inkblot

Re: Chris Fox 2018 Income Report
« Reply #1 on: January 06, 2019, 12:12:50 PM »
Interesting stuff. Thanks for sharing. Setting aside his consulting practice and the net income associated with that, I was impressed with the growth his audiobook income and affiliate royalties. They combined to offset softness in his ebook sales (predominately because it appears he didn't publish in 2018, or was less aggressive in publishing). Yet, I was more impressed by his efficiency in advertising, though it does seem he was helped by an extensive backlist and a strong media presence leading into 2018. One wonders how long he could have sustained that efficiency into 2019 without resurfacing to publish.

Still, the dude is a strategic thinker with a clear plan and the savvy to execute it. Hat tip.
 

LilyBLily

Re: Chris Fox 2018 Income Report
« Reply #2 on: January 06, 2019, 01:55:44 PM »
I loved his consultant story.
 

Arches

Re: Chris Fox 2018 Income Report
« Reply #3 on: January 06, 2019, 02:26:27 PM »
Anarchist, thanks for mentioning the video. Chris Fox always has an interesting perspective.
 

Matthew

Re: Chris Fox 2018 Income Report
« Reply #4 on: January 06, 2019, 07:21:48 PM »
They combined to offset softness in his ebook sales (predominately because it appears he didn't publish in 2018, or was less aggressive in publishing).
He published 4 books in 2018 compared to 7 plus a box set in 2017 (both from his Amazon author page and the video).

From the data in his video, his ebook sales were only down ~7% while his total income was up ~45% (granted, the gross was only up ~8%). But still, publishing half the books and making more money is impressive. Not to mention, keeping up the pace of 8 books per year is quite tough. Skip to ~10m mark for his comments on it.
 

angela

  • Short Novel unlocked
  • ***
  • Posts: 493
  • Thanked: 447 times
  • Gender: Female
  • Indie publishing since 2011. Still kickin'.
Re: Chris Fox 2018 Income Report
« Reply #5 on: January 07, 2019, 01:42:51 AM »
I also published 4 books and had similar results, except my editing costs are much lower. (Contact me today for my $500/hour consulting!)

Am I correct that his editing was 23k? If a person publishes 300k words, that works out to over 7 cents a word.

EDIT -- it's editing and covers, lumped together. That makes the bookkeeper in me cringe a bit, but full points to Chris for sharing his numbers with the community. He seems like a sweet guy, and I've recommended his nonfic books to a number of authors.
« Last Edit: January 07, 2019, 01:46:44 AM by angelapepper »
 

kingdavid757

  • Tag Line unlocked
  • *
  • Posts: 4
Re: Chris Fox 2018 Income Report
« Reply #6 on: January 07, 2019, 06:36:22 AM »
I love his videos, I've watched a lot of them. the thing that surprised me was his profit for this year. I was thinking "hmm that is a small amount of money made when compared to his gross, only a 4th of his gross pretty much.

Then I realized his profit was after his salary was taken out of his earnings. and 23k for another expense was going back into his household
Genre: Fantasy, Thriller, Science Fiction


Author Central | Mailing List | Website
 

Sarah

Re: Chris Fox 2018 Income Report
« Reply #7 on: January 07, 2019, 07:19:21 AM »
Am I correct that his editing was 23k? If a person publishes 300k words, that works out to over 7 cents a word.

EDIT -- it's editing and covers, lumped together. That makes the bookkeeper in me cringe a bit, but full points to Chris for sharing his numbers with the community. He seems like a sweet guy, and I've recommended his nonfic books to a number of authors.

I'm wondering if he's had his 2019 releases edited/covered and included that in his 2018 costs, so he can just hit publish when he's good to go.
 

angela

  • Short Novel unlocked
  • ***
  • Posts: 493
  • Thanked: 447 times
  • Gender: Female
  • Indie publishing since 2011. Still kickin'.
Re: Chris Fox 2018 Income Report
« Reply #8 on: January 08, 2019, 03:10:00 AM »
I'm wondering if he's had his 2019 releases edited/covered and included that in his 2018 costs, so he can just hit publish when he's good to go.

Could be.

I didn't see anything for audiobook production. That makes me wonder if he's doing revenue split, and if so, what the hell?? His sales are so strong. If it's rev-split, he has fewer distribution options down the road, plus he's giving away money.

Then again, it could be an accounting thing. I've had a lot of cash flowing into long-term asset investment this year due to audio, though it is currently expensed fully in the year I pay it.  He might be carrying forward some of those expenses to when the audiobooks release. Blah blah account stuff.
 

mike herman

Re: Chris Fox 2018 Income Report
« Reply #9 on: January 08, 2019, 08:22:40 AM »
Chris Foxes video seems to reflect much of what people are saying about the state of the industry today.
1. That he can command $1000/hr reflects the desperation of authors who want to rise above the muddled masses of books out there. It fits right in with the supposed Jeff Bezos quote, "Its time to shear the sheep"
2. It also fits right in with authors complaints of how expensive it is to advertise these days, compared to the "good old days" when stories like A.G. Riddles account of his first book launch where he did virtually nothing and magically his books sold. That will supposedly never happen again. Even he promotes with giveaways and such these days. The good old days are gone and the field is more crowded than ever. It seems to have mirrored the state of the music industry where DJ's command more money than actual musicians. Hype is the name of the game.
3. Chris's amazing transparency and apparent honesty shows that even for him, someone who helps...or...preys on the self-pub author, (Depending on one's point of view) the rewards are less than phenomenal. (Not that he isn't making a good living at it. Electrical engineers right out of school make only a little less in California)
4. The $1000/hr reminds me of an interior designer back in the 70's who commanded the same hourly. Perception is everything. I heartily commend him for his actions.
 

Shane

Re: Chris Fox 2018 Income Report
« Reply #10 on: January 15, 2019, 09:43:05 PM »
Hi Chris,

In recent years there's been a veritable explosion of notable Chris's within the Hollywood firmament--Chris Hemsworth, Chris Pine, Chris Evans and Chris Pratt.

Have you found that readers' positive neurological associations with these Chris's have translated favourably into more book sales for you?

Shane
 
The following users thanked this post: Captain Cranky, angela