First off, I hardly make any money as an adjunct. This is a known fact among academia that we are the “fast food workers” of higher education. But even so, I devote a solid chunk of my paychecks to my books to help promote them. The Name and the Key is no different.

I’ve spent about $2040 on materials for the book, which is incredible because I literally make no money, and I’d like to break down what I did with those dollars. This is to help you make wise decisions about where to put your money….and as a caveat, at this point, I can’t tell how wise my decisions have been so far. I can only hope that my choices end up working out for me.

This money didn’t suddenly materialize, by the way. It’s come out of paychecks from November 2025 to May 2026. In other words, I’ve paid for things slowly.

Beta Reading – $450

One beta reader was slightly more expensive than the other. Both are experienced writers and read in the genre I write, so I thought they were good choices. Their reactions to the book were wildly different from each other’s, but both were integral to helping the book shine.

Editorial Reviews – $431

I chose four different places to submit my book to, and I did this well before publication date in order to build some buzz and have Editorial Reviews show up on Amazon instead of that section being blank. All my reviews posted by April and The Name and the Key releases in July. I’m trying my best to build early buzz. It’s unfortunate that I couldn’t get my hands on free editorial reviews, so I tried to find the least expensive ones.

Commissioned artwork with commercial licensing – $825

First, I commissioned three separate artworks from one artist, and then I had to pay commercial fees for all of them in order to make prints and stickers for promotion, and to share them on social media everywhere. This was by far the largest expense, and the most important to me, but I don’t know if I can keep going on affording something like this. I think I’m going to hold off on stickers next time and just do a single postcard of art to save money, but it will still be over $600 if I do it again. I had to pay my artist over a few months/a few paychecks in order to be able to afford this art. Luckily she trusts me to always come through on payment and offered me the flexibility to pay over time. And I love her artwork.

Swag for ARC readers and reviewers (aka printing)- $150

I decided to make chibi stickers of Lily and Andresh and then a more serious, painterly portrait of the two in a romantic pose to be printed on 4×6 postcards. I promised all ARC signups that they would get the goods whether or not they review (you cannot offer incentives to review/trade goods or money for a review), and if I have some leftovers and extra copies of the books, I’ll send them to reviewers I know from Instagram.

Postage (for swag only) – $84

This is my fault it’s so expensive. I forgot to write that the ARC signups would be limited to USA only, and I had 12 people from other countries sign up to be readers/get swag. So this postage is a combination of domestic and international stamps. The international readers are only allowed to get the postcards–I’m not allowed to mail the stickers with them or else I have to change the designation to package and spend tons more money. But US readers get stickers and postcards. I was going to stop ARC signups at 100, but quickly shut it down at 69 (teehee) realizing I couldn’t afford printing and shipping at a higher number.

Writing contests – $99

This might be my stupidest purchase. I actually entered three different contests, and two of them were free because I had purchased an editorial review from them. I’ve already won one–the Gold Book Award from Literary Titan. The last one, Reader’s Favorite, seemed like one where I stood a chance because they gave me a gold, five-star review. But the entry fee is steep. Unless I place finalist or higher, I probably won’t spend money on a contest again. It was an impulsive decision.

Final thoughts…

I still need to buy author copies of the book to send physical copies to reviewers and possibly sell on consignment to the indie bookstores in the area. I get five automatically from my publisher, which is awesome, but I know that if I want to go to conventions or see my stuff in stores, I need more books. Which, I can’t afford right now, because I’m on my last paycheck until the fall when teaching supposedly resumes (it’s up in the air, and I haven’t been able to find a summer job yet).

I also need money to pay for beta readers for The Step and the Walk, but, I’m broke. I’m not sure how to pull this one off, because I’m writing a bisexual character for the first time and I need reader feedback on that. I’m a bit worried.

Lastly, I found a Bookstagram tour that was more affordable than the last two I did for Son of the Siren, but…again…I have no money for it. So…it’s just a dream at this point.

Other than that, I’ve spent my money how I’ve wished. Some of this I will repeat for Books #2 and #3 in The Darkening Gate, but I think even then I’ll have to be more judicial with my funds.

Every book is a lesson!