Looking At Your Numbers

By Sarah

Last month, I did something I've been putting of for as long as possible. I took a hard look at my numbers and, well, the best I can say about that is I'm still alive to tell the tale.

I don't mean sales numbers. I refuse to look at those and, yes, I know that's a mistake. Most successful commercial writers insist you've got to keep on top of sell throughs, etcetera, etcetera. But that kind of stuff freaks me out and makes me a less productive. Plus, instead of writing what I want to write and where my talent takes me, I find I'm tempted to write what the market wants and, frankly, that never works. Once a trend's been spotted, it's pretty much over.

Therefore, I've asked my agent and editors for a general "selling well" versus "not selling well" and my stand alone novels - The Sleeping Beauty Proposal, Cinderella Pact and, fingers crossed come June, Sweet Love - sell well. That's all I want to know because I just don't feel as if I have that much control over this area. I try to make each book better than the last - interesting characters, more layers to the story, better dialogue, humor, pathos, inspiration. I keep a mailing list and alert my readers when the next one's out, I send postcards as reminders and show up at events when I'm invited. Other than that, I give the rest to God, as the athletes say. Let Him deal with sales.

The numbers I'm talking about are much more personal and unlike past book sales these I do have control over - my weight and my finances. I know, yuck. Who wants to look at those?

Not me. And I didn't. For months while I was working, killing myself writing and rewriting Sweet Love, I refused to get on the scale or read my bank statements. Yes, I paid bills by "guesstimating" how much I had to cover them. But fortunately - or, as it turns out, unfortunately - it was a "good year." The money came in; the money went out. And I kept on writing.

With Sweet Love done and in, I cleaned up my office and took stock of my life. In other words, I looked at my numbers and found I was overweight. I was stressed and, as I suspected, I owed the IRS a shitload of money. People, let me tell you, stepping on that scale, doing those taxes, facing the bank statements and the credit card bills added up to a week of pain. But now, at least, I know where I stand. Which is to say, in a hole.

Oddly enough, the person I kept in mind throughout this ordeal was Sarah Ferguson. Remember her? Used to be married to Prince Andrew until she blew it by cavorting with some Texan business magnate.  After her divorce, she took an assessment and found she was broke and fat. Now she's trim and in the black.

Of course, Weight Watchers isn't going to hire me to be their spokesmodel, but they've never let me down. A month in and I've lost about ten pounds, enough to get me out of the overweight end of the insurance tables and squarely in the normal range. I've got ten more to go before I'll be satisfied and perhaps ten more after that until I'll be happy.

The tax situation is a cruel one. We could go on and on about how the system's set up to penalize people who strike out on their own. As a self-employed person I've got to pay both halves of my social security. On the other hand, I can write at one a.m. and go for a walk with the dog in the middle of the day. I'm not complaining.

That said, all my earnings from this year will be going toward paying last year's taxes, this year's quarterlies and making my IRA payment. (I try to put in the maximum.) Like most of America, we'll be tightening our belts this year and that means back to clipping coupons, budgeting household expenses, getting rid of the gym membership, most of the cable and dinners out. No vacations. No new toys.

Charlie and I have been there before and it's funny how oddly comforting it is to live simply. Perhaps it's my blue collar roots and the example of my mother who craftily stretched her "allowance" and family budget by hitting triple coupon days, sewing her own clothes and never buying retail. Then again, talk to me in a year. I might be homicidal.

We're in for tough times ahead and I'm sure that's not news. Will hardcover fiction survive? I think, yes. Penny for penny, a book is the best, most satisfying form of entertainment around. A book offers hours  and hours of escape from all the icky stuff above (i.e. numbers) for relatively little money. A hardcover is a perfect gift, not too pricey, not too cheap. It's portable. It passes through airplane security with nary a beep. And if it gets sandy, simply brush it off. Plus, it requires no batteries or upgrades. It is the ideal medium.

In fact, I predict reading will surge throughout this recession. Book clubs will take off because nights on the town will be too expensive. Like me, people will scale back on their cable. They'll go to the library and meet with friends to discuss what they're reading. People will give each other books for Christmas instead of PS3s. I'm telling you, this recession could very well spark the beginning of a new American Renaissance.

We'll just have to see what the numbers say. Because, as I've learned, writers lie - numbers don't.

Sarah

Comments

[Susan]

Sarah: I think you're absolutely right about comfort in simplicity, although I still feel your pain about the tax situation and the weight situation. I don't think you'll be at all alone in your scaling back as the financial crisis in the US continues to percolate and spread to plain folks as well as the Wall St. tycoons who screwed up but good. And good on you for making retirement savings a priority, even when it hurts.

My kids are in for an education about how bad things can get and how we somehow do survive such times in this country. My daughter is sick of hearing about the gas lines in the 70's and the impact of inflation. My mother, like yours, was also expert in stretching a budget; her gift, I think, was that she did it in such a way that we kids never thought for an instant that we were poor. Maybe that's because we lived in a world of books and music. As you suggest, that may be where we all find ourselves in a couple of months/years. And it's not a bad thing, is it?

[Josh]

Here's a number: 1. That is the number of jerk ranking of your former "boyfriend," Jim McGreevey. Someone (wink, wink) should link to your post of your memorable date. Just think, that could have been you getting wife-watched and later betrayed.

[sarahS]

Never, Josh! Never!

Susan - hey, how smart are you, huh? Isn't it nice to know OUR tax dollars - the one income this country can count on, apparently - will be going to bailout banks where CEOs make in the millions, CEOs who backed the subprime mortgage movement. They don't want to be regulated, but they want to be bailed out.....They're like irresponsible teenagers.

I think it's time we took our country back.

[Susan]

E.J. Dionne has it right in today's Washington Post. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/03/17/AR2008031702154.html?hpid=opinionsbox1

The free market for thee, but not for me, eh? The teenager analogy is right on the mark, Sarah.

I think it's time to take our country back as well, but I'm more than a little worried about what kind of shape it will be in when we finally wrest it back.

[janetlynn13]

I whole heartily agree with Susan - it's way passed time to take our country back. I am just so afraid that the voters will get so wrapped up in the campaigns that they forget the position we are in when they go to vote.

I can't believe how my basic bills increase twice as fast as my salary - year after year. It has to stop sometime, right??

[SarahS]

That's a brilliant piece, Susan. And, yes, janetlynn. At some point our basic bills have to stop overtaking our salaries....I wouldn't be surprised if the White House gets stormed over this.

Meanwhile, the "let them eat cake" attitude prevails with You Know Who.

[Harley]

Oh, Sarah, Sarah, you took the blog right out of my mouth. Live Simply. I'll tell you, this is becoming my mantra. And may I borrow Sarah Ferguson as my role model too?

I think for an American in our generation to Live Simply -- as an aspiration-- is a big deal. I also think it's the Next Big Thing. If only I liked Raw Food as much as I like Oreos.

[Josh]

We cut back on the cable TV last year, but those rotten kids are still in private school, and that tuition keeps rising. (I am not in favor of vouchers, by the way.) I told my daughter on Sunday that she was the reason that I don't have a convertible.

Yes, I would like crackers with this whine.

[Sheila Connolly]

As a newly-published writer, I've been wondering about the impact of the economic downturn (to put it mildly) on book purchases. It would be lovely to see a reading renaissance, as you suggest. Certainly a book, especially a mass-market paperback, is less expensive than a movie, much less dinner out, even at Burger King. Maybe all the pastimes of yore will come back: playing cards together, doing jigsaw puzzles, even quilting (!). And bear in mind, by next year we will have to pay for cable to receive any television transmissions at all, if we want to nurse along our old televisions. Otherwise we have to shell out big money for a new digital model. Ouch. So read!

[Kathy Reschini Sweeney]

Great blog Sarah - and it's very true.

But what I'd really like to talk about is the fabulous cupcake on your new book cover. Why? Because I am doing taxes too.

I would rather think about cake. I like chocolate cake. I don't even need any icing.

[sarahS]

Right you are, Kathy! As Raymond Carver wrote, eating is a small good thing. Or, my friend Patty's twist on it, drinking is a small good thing....

The frosting on that cupcake looks like Magnolia bakery's no? I have the recipe for that.

Also, I have the recipe for a Torte Caprese - it's in Sweet Love. Dark chocolate, ground almonds, butter, eggs......unfreaking real.

[Maryann Mercer]

Just taking back the country doesn't mean a thing unless we make sure the young people of this country realize what 'simple' means. Many of them are so material-driven that an SUV is more important than lower fuel prices, a house in an upscale subdivision more worthwhile than energy efficiency and disposables more important than recycling. Taking back the country means reconsidering the options, truly looking at those numbers, and then having the guts to do something about big business and ridiculous prices for essentials from eggs to prescriptions, from education to healthcare. We know the money isn't ending up in the pockets of the average Joe or Jane. The state of the economy tells us that simple fact.
That said, all we have to do is look at history to see that books (and later movies) have been the escape of choice when things get tough. Despite the fact this is an election year and politically oriented titles abound, most of our requests are for mysteries, romances, and really good fiction. And parents are buying the classics for their kids and finding new authors as well. This is a good thing. :o)
I seem to be in a contentious mood this week...possibly because I'm tussling with my former employer on the distribution of my retirement funds into my IRA. Numbers-phooey!

[Sue]

I'm perversely enjoying seeing my 17 year old (and his friends) budget. Having grown up in lives of plenty, to see them carpool, stay at home and play pool, and just sit and talk, because they can't afford gas, dinner *and* a movie, is refreshing. They're learning a valuable life lesson before they get out there and become overextended like so many adults with their ARM's and status Hummers. I hope it sticks. We talk about it a lot, hoping it does.

On another note....how can you stick to a diet while cooking for a family? I have a husband who will only eat beef or pork, and a teenage cross country/track athlete who wants pasta before *and* after a meet. Please.....tell me your secrets. I need them desperately before I have to add on an addition to the house to accommodate my hips.

[SarahS]

Sue - I'll briefly jump on my Weight Watchers box. It's all there....beef and pork and the HUGE variety of food in between. Get your teenager to eat whole wheat pasta - makes a big difference on those hips. White pasta is death to me. But for some reason whole wheat is okay. And it works.

WW online has a ton of recipes and there are even more around the internet. Eat what they eat, but eat smaller portions and cut down on the cheese/sugar/white stuff. It's just like tbe bank account - when you keep track of the numbers they behave themselves.

Good luck! (You might want to try my cinderellapact@yahoo group. They've been around for 2 years - long since promoting the book - and they are a wonderful support group. And they're free!)

[Pam aka SisterZip]

I do not believe in vouchers either, Josh. Dear Hubby & I grossed less than $150k last year and for the first time in 30+ years of marriage we have to send both the feds & the State of Missouri money. We have always had it planned out very well until now, we have our house almost paid off. My daughter attended a Lutheran elementary school...the one my grandparents, father, and I attended. They did not pay tuition, but I did for my daughter. I don't deserve a tax break for paying that tuition...it was my choice to send her there when there was a public school just up the street from my house. The reason everyone pays for public school is because it is up to everyone (you know that silly little thing called 'It Takes a Village") to educate the children. In the long run it is better for the community. JMHO.

My stepdaughter, 34, is the one who is in for a rude awakening. She has always had 'champaign tastes on a beer budget'. Well, their budget now is 'water'. And they aren't very good at denying themselves for the electric bill, if you catch my drift. My daughter, on the other hand, knows how to stretch a buck. She prides herself on cruising the clearance racks in the higher end stores for bargains. She even shops Goodwill, Salvation Army and other trift shops. She has found quite a bit of good stuff for really cheap.

What kills me is when they say, everyone should cut back, save more...uh, we already do all the things they recommend on how to live more simply. I don't know how much more simply we can go! Luckily we both work in professions that are on the upswing...education & pharmaceutical. lol!

[michele]

Gosh, I wish I had the energy to diet right now. Maybe when the mercury goes above 18? My weight is inveersely correlated to the temperature outside -- how's that for number crunching?

Congrats on wrestling with your numbers, Sarah!

[Laura (in PA)]

I'm dismayed that we are all getting stuck bailing out irresponsible people, on both sides of the coin - those giving bad loans and those buying things beyond their means. We try to live responsibly and budget to pay for what we have, only to be stuck paying for people who don't bother.

I will, however, jump on the Weight Watchers bandwagon. I got disgusted with myself in November, and went back on their plan, and started going to meetings again. It always works, if you follow it. I lost 10 pounds, which I've managed to keep off even though I fell "off plan" about a month ago. I'm now ready to start again, and hopefully lose at least another 5 pounds, if not 10. I think it's a way for me to feel like I can control something, especially since my miscarriage last year that made me feel out of control. Now I just have to get back into the exercising - I was doing so well for a while...

[Pam aka SisterZip]

My younger sister decided about a year ago to do something about her weight. She had never been skinny and she wanted to see what would happen if she tried to lose weight. She joined WW and started exercising (started out walking and then went into pilates & free weights). As of last Friday, she has lost 87lbs and is planning on another 25. She is literally working her ass off. My daughter didn't just put on the Freshman 15...it was more like 50. But on WW she lost it all and then some. Back to her skinny minnie self. One of these days I will decide....

[Pam aka SisterZip]

Oh, and my sister...

She cried the first time she was able to buy off the rack, in the regular misses department. She had never done that before and she is 43.

[Mary Storyteller]

Living simply . . . Thoreau would be so proud of you. (and he'd probably like the occasional cupcake, too). I've never had cable (though the id fraud folks did, in my name), and I think there are supposed to be converters to make our old TVs work (though I still haven't received the $50-off vouchers that are supposed to be coming). We do need to take our country back, indeed. . .maybe start with health insurance for everyone?? Full-time storytellers find it so hard to find affordable policies that most of them do without -- not a good place to be.
Josh, I know your daughter knows you much prefer her to any convertible, but you reminded me of a friend's story: She was trying on a fur coat at Famous (St. Louis store, now gone), and a little girl said to her mom, "Look at the pretty coat!"
The woman told her daughter, "I could afford a coat like that if I didn't have to take care of you."
My friend, a 7th grade teacher and always the advocate of the child, said, "I'd give up every coat in the world if I could have a wonderful daughter like yours."
Sometimes the messages people send their children just break my heart.

[Karen in Ohio]

When I wrote my first book, in 1994, my husband kept harping that "every author" he knew (and we do know a lot of writers) "glued their butts to the chair" as a key to their success. Well. I took that incessant advice, and gained 20 pounds, thank you very much. It's not easy to both write and work out. A guy whose writing I've edited for 25 years is just now beginning to pare off some of the 60 or so extra pounds he has packed on in that time. It ain't easy, Sarah, so you get major kudos for that 10 pounds!

Mary, we have never had cable, either (you might be right about us being twins!), and whenever I go someplace where they have it, like a hotel, I'm endlessly grateful that we did not waste all those years endlessly and mindlessly channel surfing. We read to our girls every night until they were old enough to read chapter books on their own (and even a little then). On one memorable long car trip, when my middle daughter was learning to drive, we let her drive the car (to Nebraska, Harley!), and we took turns reading the latest Harry Potter aloud. That was one of our favorite trips.

When I travel I make a point of stopping at bookstores, and it's always gratifying to see gobs of people in the stores, no matter what time of day it is. Having the coffee shops inside the stores was a brilliant idea; it gets customers in there early, and keeps them there late. The other day I had a great conversation with a librarian from Asheville, NC, and she said they are trying to innovate with the times, but they see the future of books as rosy.

I've been out of town for a week and a half, and came home to a small mountain of tax stuff, bills, and the 2007 TurboTax my husband picked up for me. Ugh. Guess what numbers I'll be working on for the next week or two!

[Sobaka]

In reply to: "On another note....how can you stick to a diet while cooking for a family?"

For years I've been cooking separately for my husband and myself. Due to differing food preferences and schedule conflicts, it was hard to find time to sit down together and eat something we both agreed on. At the start it was a pain to do "extra" cooking, but I soon got used to it and don't think anything of it anymore. This way he can have his meat/potatoes, and I can have the vegetarian food I prefer. Once a week we go out to eat. Once a week I make a more elaborate meal that we sit down and eat together. Also, cooking for only one meat-eater means lower food bills for us.

[Amie Stuart]

I got a raise last month. Almost all of it is going toward...gas =(

with two teenaged boys it's HARD (you should SEE my food bill), but I've got to start trimming fat. and not just off my butt LOL

[Kerry]

Sarah and everyone -- good for you/us on the weight loss! Reducing calories in and exercising to get more calories out is the way to get it done, whatever plan you use to get it done (and may I recommend SparkPeople as a good -- and free -- website for assistance?). Pam, your sister sounds amazing.

I decided that the "living simply" movement had finally arrived when I started seeing magazines devoted to it at the checkout counter. The irony still amuses me. Especially as all of the "solutions" seem to require buying lots of specialty products.

My husband and I were talking about the economy last night; we don't figure we're in too much trouble, but we're already making back-of-the-brain plans for when/if our daughter can no longer afford her rent. I already know where the elliptical trainer will go when I have to move it out of "her" room. As he says, "No one's better at circling the wagons than we are."

Thank goodness we have each other to rely on. I know far too many who are vulnerable and who lack the support system we have.

[Kerry]

P.S. -- Call me a bad wife and mother, but I resolved the "separate meal plan" by requiring my daughter and husband to cook for themselves if they didn't want to eat what I fixed. Neither had any problem with that, and it made things nice and easy.