Track Your Author Income Without Going Nuts
Beginner bookkeeping for authors who want to stay organized without spreadsheets taking over their life.
Publishing your first book is exciting. But if you want a writing career—not just a one-time release—you need to treat it like a business from the start.
That means tracking where your money goes, how much you earn, and whether your promotions are doing anything at all.
You don’t need to know everything. You just need a simple system. The earlier you start, the easier everything becomes—from taxes to ad decisions to long-term planning.
So, before you publish, this is what you need to do first.
Start by setting up one place to track your author finances. A basic spreadsheet is fine. It doesn’t have to be fancy. It just has to be something you’ll actually open. Create three tabs: Income, Expenses, and Ad Performance.
In the Income tab, log every monthly royalty payment. Amazon, Kobo, Barnes & Noble, direct sales, BookFunnel bundles, Patreon, whatever you earn, list it. Record the amount, the platform, the date, and which book(s) it came from. Even if it’s just a few dollars, this helps you see what’s working and where your income comes from.
In the Expenses tab, log everything you spend to get that book into the world. Editing, cover design, ISBNs, proof copies, software, website hosting, author tools, and ad spend. Add dates and short descriptions. If it supports your writing and publishing process, track it. It’s either deductible or it tells you how much it cost to launch that book.
Now comes the part most new authors skip: the Ad Performance tab. This is where you track ROI—return on investment. If you run any promotion, you want to know if it worked. Record how much you spent, what kind of ad it was (Facebook, Amazon, newsletter swap, BookBub feature), the dates it ran, and what happened after.
Did you see a spike in royalties? New subscribers? Better rankings? Compare that increase with what you spent. You don’t need to be perfect. Just look at whether it helped or not.
A simple way to calculate ROI is: (Profit – Cost) ÷ Cost = ROI
So if you spent $50 on ads and earned $75 in royalties, you made $25 in profit. Twenty-five divided by fifty is 0.5—or 50% ROI. If you earned less than you spent, that’s a negative ROI. But even that’s useful. It tells you what not to repeat.
That kind of insight becomes incredibly valuable the next time you run a promo. You’ll know what’s worth repeating and what was a waste.
A lot of authors avoid this step because it feels too early. They think they’ll set up a system after they’ve made some money. But that’s backwards. You track now, so you know what’s profitable when it starts to grow. You don’t want to guess. You want data.
You also don’t want to deal with a year’s worth of royalties, receipts, and ad invoices at tax time. Starting early prevents that mess. It takes less than an hour a month if you stay consistent.
And no, you don’t need expensive software. Google Sheets works. So does Excel. If you’re using a paid tool like QuickBooks or Wave, that’s fine too, but don’t overcomplicate it. Use the simplest system that keeps you organized and visible.
This doesn’t mean you have to become an accountant. It just means you’re building the habits of someone who takes their work seriously. That includes knowing what you earn, what you spend, and whether your strategies are paying off.
It also gives you freedom. You’ll stop worrying if that ad spend was worth it. You’ll start knowing. And when the time comes to scale up, you’ll have a clear record of what worked for you—not just what other authors say should work.
Start now. Open a blank sheet. Label three tabs. Put in your most recent royalty payment. Add your last expense. Make a note of your next ad. That’s it.
Once you start, you’ll realize this is less about spreadsheets and more about control. And in this business, that’s something worth keeping.
