The Rogue Author - Episode 2: Stop Checking Your Damn Royalties (And Do This Instead) cover art

The Rogue Author - Episode 2: Stop Checking Your Damn Royalties (And Do This Instead)

The Rogue Author - Episode 2: Stop Checking Your Damn Royalties (And Do This Instead)

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 In this episode, Scarlet dives into the compulsive habit that's destroying authors' mental health: checking royalties daily. She explores the psychology behind why we torture ourselves with constant number-checking, shares her personal journey from excited newbie to obsessive checker, and reveals the game-changing weekly summary method that completely shifted her mindset about ad spending and income tracking.Scarlet breaks down why Facebook ads fluctuate, how daily numbers lie to you, and offers practical baby-step strategies to break the checking cycle. From the science behind our need for control to real business advice about tracking patterns and external factors that affect sales, this episode tackles the honest reality of running an author business without the usual sanitized advice.Now here’s the transcript:Hey there, I'm Scarlet, and welcome back to The Rogue Author - the podcast where we dive into the real thoughts that so many authors have but few dare to voice out loud.The Royalty Checking AddictionToday I want to talk about something that's probably going to hit way too close to home for most of you: the absolute torture of checking your royalties daily. And look, I get it. I still struggle with this sometimes, even now. But I've found something that's completely shifted my mindset and honestly, it's been the best thing I've done for my ads and my sanity.First, let's talk about why we do this to ourselves, because there's actually some psychology behind this self-destructive behavior. When we're anxious about our performance, we compulsively check because we think more information will help us feel in control, even when that information makes us feel worse. It's like picking at a scab - we know it won't help, but we can't stop ourselves.There's something called "catastrophic thinking" where we assume the worst-case scenario, so checking confirms our fears even when the reality isn't as bad as we imagined. Plus, as humans we're wired to pay more attention to threats - those low sales days - than positive things, so those bad days stick with us way more than the good ones. And if that's not enough, there's also this weird psychology where we secretly want to know we're doing poorly. Maybe it's fear-based, maybe it's some twisted form of self-sabotage, but we almost seek out that confirmation that things aren't going well.I personally believe it's a matter of trying to keep us safe. Because we all know that we're going to have bad days, that's part of life, but maybe we think if we know we had a bad day, then we can possibly stop the ball from rolling further in that direction. I think a lot of it is an attempt at protection, even though it's not helpful at all.My Journey from Excited Newbie to Obsessive CheckerWhen I first began publishing, it was with a small little book and I was just excited to get it out there. It wasn't about what I made. Then people started asking about earnings, then I started wondering, and then I realized I wanted to turn this into a career - which meant understanding how I made my money.I started in 2021, back when TikTok seemed far easier because if you posted something a little racy, sang along to a song, or danced, you'd get views. TikTok was still new to a lot of people and its algorithm was less complicated than it is now. Although, it also had a lot of drawbacks, like how it would instantly smother the views of black people because it viewed black/dark subjects as poor quality, but that's a conversation for another time and it's definitely long - I could go on and on about the racism within the bookish community.But to make a career in this and do this full time, I had to first pay out money or be in the red, and then hope to earn money back and be in the black. And if you've published anything, you might know how difficult that is. Most people are not an instant success. Even a lot of the books going viral on TikTok now are books from over a year ago.Publishing a new book also doesn't mean more money, because you're still in the red from edits, cover design, and so on. Trading services used to be more of a thing, but now people are busy trying to make their money and build their business. It's much harder to find those willing to do it. And even if you do it yourself, you'll likely still need feedback, and time is a type of currency too.So it makes sense that you're constantly checking. It makes sense that you want to see your income improve. We all have goals and we all have what we look at as measures of success. But it can also be really mentally detrimental.The Ad Spending RollercoasterNow I make the majority of my money on my direct store, and I run most of my ads to my store. I drop thousands of dollars a month on ads. And even to get to the point where I felt comfortable doing that was a journey. But I knew I needed to spend more, get my books out there more, to earn more. And yet, just like publishing, the ad game is very fickle.Facebook works in ...

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