# 3 year anniversary: how to make a modest living and travel the world...



## kathrynoh (Oct 17, 2012)

I usually let goal posts go by without even noticed but realised I'm nearing my three anniversary of self-publishing. I'm no superstar writer making the big bucks but maybe my story will be helpful to someone. It seems we hear a lot about the big successes and those who are struggling but not so much from those who just plod along making a living at this.

I don't have any advice to offer. The last time I gave publishing advice, I told my sister to write short porn and put it in KU. A few days later, I was like just forget everything I told you, it's no longer true... 

Anyway, three years ago, I had some short stories I'd had published in anthologies and a drawer novel and figured why not get them out there. The short stories were erotica but way on the literary side, not the kind of thing that sells well.

I really didn't sell much that first year. I did a big promo and sold over 300 books one month and thought that was my peak! Along the way, I discovered kboards and read a lot. Most of the advice was about writing in a series and making the first book permafree. I figured that worked for other people but wasn't for me.

Then, after about a year of working on novel that I'd made little progress on, I figured I'd try this series thing. I had a bright idea for releasing a romance series under a pen name. I wrote the first book in the series in a month and put it out there with a bit of promo. While I'd had a few months were I'd earnt over $100 under my real name, the pen name novel pushed me firmly into the > $100 a month.

In Jan 2014, my contract ended (I worked as an IT contractor) and I had a heap of savings so I decided to give this writing thing a shot. I knew looking for another job would eat into my writing time, all that application writing and going for interviews. It took four months after the first romance book to release the next one! Then another four months to release book 3. Once I released book 3 and set book 1 permafree, I started earning in the thousands rather the hundreds every month. This thing actually worked!

I stopped living on savings because I could earn enough writing to support myself. Then I took the series out of Select and went wide. It really took off on Apple and now I make around 50% of my money on other channels. The two big jumps in my income (I mean permanent jumps not just a nice bump from promos) happened when I put my first book permafree and when I went wide - the first taking me from three figures a month to four and the second taking me from low four figures to higher.

So far, I've made a total of around $70,000 on that first series.

After that, I started a series that totally went off genre. Book 1 didn't do that well so I decided to scrap that series (book 1 was a standalone with the potential for more stories).

Around the end of 2014, I had a brilliant idea -- I didn't need to live in Australia to write. I could do it anywhere. And Australia is a very expensive country in which to live. I started reading blogs by digital nomads and figured about $3000 is the sweet spot where you can live a decent life style almost anywhere (of course, you can live on a lot less in some places). But, if I could live on that in one of the most expensive cities in the world then I was fine.

I spent the first half of the year working on getting out another three book series then headed overseas in June. I've been travelling since then. I spent some time in Europe and am now in Tokyo for the next two months. I live mainly in short term apartments (mostly Airbnb). I've got to experience some amazing things -- going to a shooting range and playing with guns (not so easy in Australia and I figured an essential thing to know for a writer), going to a bear sanctuary and feeding the bears, Game of Thrones tour in Dubrovnik... so many wonderful things. But then I spent most of last month housesitting for a friend in Geneva and barely leaving the apartment so I could catch up on writing 

I really feel like I've gone from tentative steps to living the life of my dreams. I've done it while having a very balanced work-life balance and without earning piles of cash.

For the past year, I've averaged $6000 a month but don't spend nearly that much so my savings are piling up. Pretty much the only promo I do is blog tours (although I'm cutting down on that now) and paid adverts. I've been accepted by Bookbub twice which has given me a nice jump in income. The first time I only had two books out in my first series and, while I'd never knock about a Bookbub, I didn't have the back catalogue to maximise the ad. The second time(in Jan this year), I got a huge jump in sales that stuck around for months. I don't think you need Bookbub to make a living at this and I don't plan for it but it's a nice cherry on top.

*What I've learnt:*

- Listen to the advice of those more successful than you are. I used to think "well that's okay for them but my circumstances are different" which is a very self-defeating attitude. Now I look at others and think how I can apply what they do to my circumstances. Conventional wisdom exists for a reason. That doesn't mean you should follow it slavishly but, if you don't, do it for the right reasons not because of lame excuses.

- Listen to your readers. If they aren't buying something or are meh about it, then cut your losses.

- Keep good records. For my first year, I only recorded sales but that meant I had no way of doing things like evaluating promos.

I'm sure I've learnt a whole heap more but I'm brain dead atm.

*What I'm working on:*

- Simplifying decision making. This is huge for me because when you add on the logistics and mental overhead of travel to writing, it can become overwhelming. I need one of those things Dumbledore had in Harry Potter that emptied all the crap out of his head but, since they are hard to get hold of, I've been trying to really simplify things by doing stuff like doing with my first impulse for minor things. With writing, and life, making a decision and going with it beats all that second guessing. Not to say I don't evaluate things but framing it as I'll x for y months and, if I don't have z result then I'll reconsider my options stops me from getting overwhelmed (I hope).

- I really want a VA. I have some areas where I need to step up my game, such as developing my ARC reader list.

- Writing more. While I'm earning more than enough to live on with current output, I have a huge procrastination/distraction problem. I want to cut out the useless, time wasting stuff so I have more writing time and more fun adventure time rather than surfing the net time - although not to the extent of not looking at unlikely animal friend combinations 

I'm not sure if anyone will actually read this far but, if you have, thanks for reading. Ask me any questions you like but I will NOT reveal my pen name on a public forum.


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## Liz French (Apr 13, 2014)

I really envy you, I spent a long time travelling a few years ago (before I decided to start writing) and was always intregued by the people I met who worked as they travelled. It's such a great lifestyle if you can not give all your energy to being on the road, and give yourself creative space. It sounds like you're aware of that though, and are hitting the balance. 

I woul do this in a hearbeat if my situation was a bit different. Who knows, maybe I will in a year or two. 

Good luck and say hello to the world for me


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## Jennifer Joy (Sep 23, 2014)

What a cool story! Thank you for sharing your experience.


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## NoBlackHats (Oct 17, 2012)

Thank you for the very interesting update!  It sounds like writing has been exactly the best thing for your lifestyle and needs


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## Guest (Sep 13, 2015)

Wow. I think you're living the dream. Enjoy.


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## kathrynoh (Oct 17, 2012)

Liz French said:


> I really envy you, I spent a long time travelling a few years ago (before I decided to start writing) and was always intregued by the people I met who worked as they travelled. It's such a great lifestyle if you can not give all your energy to being on the road, and give yourself creative space. It sounds like you're aware of that though, and are hitting the balance.
> 
> I woul do this in a hearbeat if my situation was a bit different. Who knows, maybe I will in a year or two.
> 
> Good luck and say hello to the world for me


Thanks Liz. For many years, I worked full time and raised my son on my own. People say you shouldn't wait but follow your dreams now but I think there is a right time for things.


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## Liz French (Apr 13, 2014)

kathrynoh said:


> Thanks Liz. For many years, I worked full time and raised my son on my own. People say you shouldn't wait but follow your dreams now but I think there is a right time for things.


Yeah true. I have permanently itchy feet, but after 4 years in Sydney I'm about to return to the UK to spend some time with my family. I just know that after a year or two I'll be gagging to pack my bags again! My current dream is to go back to Buenos Aires and settle there for a while. It's definitely a city I could write in.

Mind you, Tokyo is a pretty amazing place too!


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## Marina Finlayson (May 2, 2014)

Wow. When people say publishing changed their life, they don't usually mean THAT much! What a great story. So happy for you, Kathryn, that writing has freed you to make such changes. And I bet all that travel gives you lots of material for your writing too.


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## kathrynoh (Oct 17, 2012)

Nicknacks said:


> Struth! It's beautiful but painful lol. My hubby's in IT, the type of job that only needs the 'net so we're in a similar position. We're saving every single dime to invest in property before the bubble bursts, then we plan to leave... that's the 2-3 year goal.
> 
> Congrats on three years in and on living the dream!


It's crazy. I thought Geneva was more expensive than Melbourne but my friend said rent makes all the difference.


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## kathrynoh (Oct 17, 2012)

Liz French said:


> Yeah true. I have permanently itchy feet, but after 4 years in Sydney I'm about to return to the UK to spend some time with my family. I just know that after a year or two I'll be gagging to pack my bags again! My current dream is to go back to Buenos Aires and settle there for a while. It's definitely a city I could write in.
> 
> Mind you, Tokyo is a pretty amazing place too!


I've spent a lot of time in Tokyo so it's an easy option for me  Buenos Aires would be amazing!


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## Liz French (Apr 13, 2014)

kathrynoh said:


> I've spent a lot of time in Tokyo so it's an easy option for me  Buenos Aires would be amazing!


BA IS amazing. Maybe I'll see you there


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## Joseph J Bailey (Jun 28, 2013)

Wonderful story!

I am glad to hear that writing is not only a vehicle to express your dreams but to realize them as well.

Keep us posted on your adventures and successes to come!


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## kathrynoh (Oct 17, 2012)

Marina Finlayson said:


> Wow. When people say publishing changed their life, they don't usually mean THAT much! What a great story. So happy for you, Kathryn, that writing has freed you to make such changes. And I bet all that travel gives you lots of material for your writing too.


It's amazing what you can do when you have an "empty nest" 

I think the shooting range was awesome for writing. Not that I have a lot of guns in my books but I really had no concept of what it was like to fire a gun before ie. how much it hurts!


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## Liz French (Apr 13, 2014)

Actually, I do have an actual question. How do you manage your payments? Do you still use your Aussie bank account and take the hit on the exchange rate, or have you set something different up?


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## anotherpage (Apr 4, 2012)

kathrynoh said:


> I usually let goal posts go by without even noticed but realised I'm nearing my three anniversary of self-publishing. I'm no superstar writer making the big bucks but maybe my story will be helpful to someone. It seems we hear a lot about the big successes and those who are struggling but not so much from those who just plod along making a living at this.
> 
> I don't have any advice to offer. The last time I gave publishing advice, I told my sister to write short porn and put it in KU. A few days later, I was like just forget everything I told you, it's no longer true...
> 
> ...


That was great

Can i ask you a few questions.

1. Are you writing contemporary romance or erotic romance?
2. On the one that took off were the characters in college age or middle age?
3. When you put the first one free, what price did you put for the 2nd and 3rd?
4. Is each book in your series 50,000 or higher word count ( i.e 200 pages? )
5. Even though you mention the term "Series" is each book standalone, meaning the story wraps up and the next book is 2 new characters, or is it a continuation? basically a cliffhanger?

Thanks kindly.


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## kathrynoh (Oct 17, 2012)

Liz French said:


> Actually, I do have an actual question. How do you manage your payments? Do you still use your Aussie bank account and take the hit on the exchange rate, or have you set something different up?


I get Amazon paid to Payoneer and D2D to paypal (in $US) which has been fantastic lately  I check my paypal balance and the $AUD amount keeps going up. I did transfer a heap of money to my Aussie account a couple of months ago thinking that the exchange rate couldn't get worse! It's an interest paying account in Aus though so I'm just letting the money sit there until the dollar bounces back.


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## Liz French (Apr 13, 2014)

kathrynoh said:


> I get Amazon paid to Payoneer and D2D to paypal (in $US) which has been fantastic lately  I check my paypal balance and the $AUD amount keeps going up. I did transfer a heap of money to my Aussie account a couple of months ago thinking that the exchange rate couldn't get worse! It's an interest paying account in Aus though so I'm just letting the money sit there until the dollar bounces back.


Thanks. That's working really well for you. I'm doing the opposite, moving Aussie $ to the UK is depressing!


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## kathrynoh (Oct 17, 2012)

kalel said:


> That was great
> 
> Can i ask you a few questions.
> 
> ...


1. Contemporary romance. The sub-genre I mainly write in is mainly erom and that's what I intended writing but it ended up not being that. It was like the characters just didn't want to shag  Then I figured I wanted to keep it around the same heat level. Maybe I'd sell a lot more if had more sex (I do have a couple of scenes in each book but not to an erom level), but I've never had readers complain about the lack of sex.

2. College aged.

3. The 2nd and 3rd have always been $3.99. The only time I've changed the price on them is once I was asked to lower the price on book 2 for an Apple promo. Oh and I think I released book 2 at 99c for the first week.

4. I aim for 50,000 word first drafts because I write short so that usually gets up close to 60,000 in the final draft.

5. Both series I've written are continuous, with cliff hangers. I'm currently working on a series with different characters in each book so I'll see how that goes.


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## anotherpage (Apr 4, 2012)

kathrynoh said:


> 1. Contemporary romance. The sub-genre I mainly write in is mainly erom and that's what I intended writing but it ended up not being that. It was like the characters just didn't want to shag  Then I figured I wanted to keep it around the same heat level. Maybe I'd sell a lot more if had more sex (I do have a couple of scenes in each book but not to an erom level), but I've never had readers complain about the lack of sex.
> 
> 2. College aged.
> 
> ...


First, thanks for sharing your journey.

So you do the erom but you don't detail all the sex scenes. Do you get anyone who complains about that? I used to write a lot of erotica ( all parts were mentioned and where they were going ). I didn't know where the line was with romance erom ( like romance is suggesting they had sex, erotica is all the bells and whistles) so where does romance erom fall into?


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## kathrynoh (Oct 17, 2012)

Liz French said:


> Thanks. That's working really well for you. I'm doing the opposite, moving Aussie $ to the UK is depressing!


The only $AUD I get now are from Google Play and I'm too scared to change things there in case it mucks something up. It's only about $100 each month so not worth the hassle. I'd hate to be moving things the other way!


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## Abderian (Apr 5, 2012)

kathrynoh said:


> I get Amazon paid to Payoneer and D2D to paypal (in $US) which has been fantastic lately  I check my paypal balance and the $AUD amount keeps going up. I did transfer a heap of money to my Aussie account a couple of months ago thinking that the exchange rate couldn't get worse! It's an interest paying account in Aus though so I'm just letting the money sit there until the dollar bounces back.


Big congrats on your success and wonderful lifestyle! I wanted to offer a word of advice about Paypal. It's notorious for freezing accounts with little reason and for months at a time. I get paid into Paypal for my paying work (not fiction writing, lol), and I always transfer out frequently to keep the balance low.


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## kathrynoh (Oct 17, 2012)

kalel said:


> First, thanks for sharing your journey.
> 
> So you do the erom but you don't detail all the sex scenes. Do you get anyone who complains about that? I used to write a lot of erotica ( all parts were mentioned and where they were going ). I didn't know where the line was with romance erom ( like romance is suggesting they had sex, erotica is all the bells and whistles) so where does romance erom fall into?


I include sex where the plot needs it and do get detailed but don't have that many sex scenes. I don't call it erom because I think that has more sex scenes per book.


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## anotherpage (Apr 4, 2012)

To be making $6,000

How many books though do you need to have roughly ( i.e 4 series of 3 books in each series )?  

I remember erotica was a nice little earner in the day. I had about 15 eroticas ( shorts ) but then KU 2 hit and everything went quiet lol


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## kathrynoh (Oct 17, 2012)

Abderian said:


> Big congrats on your success and wonderful lifestyle! I wanted to offer a word of advice about Paypal. It's notorious for freezing accounts with little reason and for months at a time. I get paid into Paypal for my paying work (not fiction writing, lol), and I always transfer out frequently to keep the balance low.


Thanks for the warning. I do have my payments spread around enough to not have a major problem if Paypal froze my account -- although it would be awful.


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## kathrynoh (Oct 17, 2012)

kalel said:


> To be making $6,000
> 
> How many books though do you need to have roughly ( i.e 4 series of 3 books in each series )?
> 
> I remember erotica was a nice little earner in the day. I had about 15 eroticas ( shorts ) but then KU 2 hit and everything went quiet lol


I have 2 series under my pen name from which I made most of my money, three books in each series.


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## Anonymouse (Apr 27, 2015)

Congrats! Sounds like you're doing great!


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## hopecartercan (Jun 19, 2015)

I'm a newbie. Thks for a great post...and yes, I read every word of it. It was all very encouraging. Oh yeah...congrats on your success!


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## LectorsBooks (Apr 30, 2013)

Congrats! This is my dream, to someday make enough money and manage to convince the family to become global nomads - at least for a few years or so. Thanks for sharing!


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## Cxxxxxxx (May 30, 2015)

Congratulations and thanks for sharing! I pretty much aspire to be you. I have no big dreams of bestsellerdom, but would love to make enough to live modestly while traveling and socking away some savings. I travel full-time now, and find it super-inspiring. The goal is to replace hubby's income so he can quit his job and add international trips to the mix. Sounds like you're living the dream- one that seems attainable!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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## sela (Nov 2, 2014)

Congrats! Sounds like you have a great life -- how wonderful to be free to travel and live in different places!


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## NanSweet (Apr 14, 2015)

That's exciting!  I'm glad you are able to travel and write


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## Joe Trent (Jul 13, 2014)

Awesome story. Thanks for sharing it.


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## OEGaudio (Jul 26, 2012)

I know this might sound random, but how do you go about finding accommodations for the places you end up living? I'm at a place where I could afford to live abroad next year and I really want to give it a shot (moving around a lot because of visa stuff) in Europe and it seems like accommodations on places like AirBnB would take up a lot of my budget. Maybe that's just Europe lol.


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## kathrynoh (Oct 17, 2012)

OEGaudio said:


> I know this might sound random, but how do you go about finding accommodations for the places you end up living? I'm at a place where I could afford to live abroad next year and I really want to give it a shot (moving around a lot because of visa stuff) in Europe and it seems like accommodations on places like AirBnB would take up a lot of my budget. Maybe that's just Europe lol.


I use Airbnb. Often I stay at places outside the city centre. For example, I stayed in a small town that was about 20 minutes by train into Budapest. I got a really good price and, because I wasn't planning on doing stuff every day like a tourist, it wasn't a huge hassle. Also, prices on Airbnb can be negotiable. It can be a win-win for them to give you a cheaper price for a longer term stay rather than have the place empty for half that time.


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## eastwest97 (Jul 26, 2012)

Thank you so much for sharing.  I love hearing experiences like this; it's so inspiring.  I am a single mom and have felt forever that I need to wait until my daughter is self-sufficient...she's college age, before "starting" my writing career. Writing is all I think about but thinking and doing are two different things LOL.  I guess I need to stop the procrastination and get with it.  Thank you again for your encouraging words and just sharing such personal business information.  Wishing you more and more successes!


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## OEGaudio (Jul 26, 2012)

kathrynoh said:


> I use Airbnb. Often I stay at places outside the city centre. For example, I stayed in a small town that was about 20 minutes by train into Budapest. I got a really good price and, because I wasn't planning on doing stuff every day like a tourist, it wasn't a huge hassle. Also, prices on Airbnb can be negotiable. It can be a win-win for them to give you a cheaper price for a longer term stay rather than have the place empty for half that time.


That's awesome and very helpful, thanks for replying. If you negotiate do you contact them directly (I've never used Airbnb lol). Thanks


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## DGS (Sep 25, 2013)

Congrats, I can relate. I left US and have now been in spain for 3 months writing and traveling. I am actually leaving in 7 days as my visa runs out and am thinking of going to Bali. I also arrived at the 3k/month figure, although I hope to cut that in half in Bali. I found myself still struggling with the 'work/life' attitude on the road - on one hand a part of me says 'of course go explore, you're traveling!' while the other says ' yeah, you're a traveling AND working, so work first!"  I have to say letting myself go let lose did help, do you find yourself still stuck in a lifestyle pattern/hobbies even as you work and travel? 

Sorry don't mean to be a downer, I am sure all of your friends are jealous too. It's pretty great to travel and write, but for me I know until I've met people to share it with it was lonely. 


On airbnb - for me I found a monthly rate is SO much better than anything under. Like 1/3 cheaper.  So I stay at a place for a month. Also it's best to find a local website and negotiate, prices were lower by 30-40% vs the SAME apartments on airbnb. For spain that's idealista, for example.

some other tips:

first days in a new city, go for a run. Bruce Lee did it and you learn so much about where you're staying. For example, it took me 3 weeks living in Barcelona until I realized if I took a right and then another right out of my apartment, I have restaurants and a nice grocery store. I kept always going left before!

Also check out Mallorca, if you can. It is simply one of the most beautiful places I've ever been to, and I've seen a few.


Congrats again


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## hunterone (Feb 6, 2013)

Congratulations. Must be nice traveling the world.

Does having your books in Kindle Unlimited part of your success or do you advise against that?


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## Jake Decker (Jul 27, 2012)

Very inspiring thread and congrats to you Kathryn.

I work in IT currently and my wife is Japanese. After my contract expired last fall we went there for almost two months and I took a 2 week Shinkansen trip from Tokyo to Hiroshima that was simply awesome. Travel can be such a fulfilling experience, even despite its challenges at times. I also stayed in an AirBnb in Hiroshima and have had good luck with it.

Question though. I too am easily distracted (I blame my profession) so how do you settle in to focus on writing? I think it would be challenging for me to feel settled enough to write a book. Then again it could be a great way to give yourself a deadline if you know you'll be moving on in 90 days because your visa is running out.


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## Abderian (Apr 5, 2012)

I've always dreamed of staying at a little guesthouse on the bank of the Mekong at the border between Thailand and Laos. I've been there before, both twenty years ago and about six years ago. It's a wonderful, mellow, quiet place with great food. I imagine myself writing and watching the Mekong slip by,

Oh, to dream! http://www.mutmee.com/


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## kathrynoh (Oct 17, 2012)

OEGaudio said:


> That's awesome and very helpful, thanks for replying. If you negotiate do you contact them directly (I've never used Airbnb lol). Thanks


Ha, I can send you a referral if you like 

I contact them through the site. Even if I'm not negotiating the rate, I message people first otherwise Airbnb puts a hold on your funds and, if your request for accommodation is rejected, it takes a week to get that money back.


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## kathrynoh (Oct 17, 2012)

DGS said:


> Congrats, I can relate. I left US and have now been in spain for 3 months writing and traveling. I am actually leaving in 7 days as my visa runs out and am thinking of going to Bali. I also arrived at the 3k/month figure, although I hope to cut that in half in Bali. I found myself still struggling with the 'work/life' attitude on the road - on one hand a part of me says 'of course go explore, you're traveling!' while the other says ' yeah, you're a traveling AND working, so work first!" I have to say letting myself go let lose did help, do you find yourself still stuck in a lifestyle pattern/hobbies even as you work and travel?
> 
> Sorry don't mean to be a downer, I am sure all of your friends are jealous too. It's pretty great to travel and write, but for me I know until I've met people to share it with it was lonely.
> 
> ...


Yeah I found it hard to start with and I'm way behind schedule on my next series. When I first arrived in Europe, I had a few life issues too - problems with accommodation, my mum getting hospitalised and hurting my back so I had trouble walking. I guess that stuff would put you off track no matter where you live. I read a great quote somewhere about how writing and travelling are difficult to combine because writing is all about going inside yourself while travel is about the external, even the small things like having to be constantly aware of your environment so someone doesn't run off with your bags.

I've found being in places I've visited before helps. I'd gone to Geneva last year for 10 days so had done just about everything you can do there  and now I'm in Tokyo where I've lived before. I've also started setting daily goals that need to be done before I do other things. I'm not naturally a morning writer but find if I do things outside the house before settling down to write, it doesn't get done. I'm a night owl though so I'll probably end up doing the next day's work the night before.

Monthly rates are definitely the way to go. I think travelling any faster than that gets a bit taxing anyway. In Japan, Airbnb is definitely the way to go because monthly rental agencies add on a whole whack of extra charges so that cheap monthly rate becomes less attractive. I am thinking of going to Chiang Mai after Christmas though and found the Airbnb prices very uncompetitive compared to local agencies.


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## Marilyn Peake (Aug 8, 2011)

Very inspiring post! Congratulations on living the dream!


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## kathrynoh (Oct 17, 2012)

hunterone said:


> Congratulations. Must be nice traveling the world.
> 
> Does having your books in Kindle Unlimited part of your success or do you advise against that?


I don't have much in KU and have gone wide with most of my stuff. I don't know that I'd advice going wide to anyone else but it's worked for me. I'd decided to go wide with my first series just before KU came in and suddenly people were making a lot of money in KU but then my series must've got picked up for a promo or something and I started sell well on Apple so it's impossible to know.


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## kathrynoh (Oct 17, 2012)

Brian Bergquist said:


> Very inspiring thread and congrats to you Kathryn.
> 
> I work in IT currently and my wife is Japanese. After my contract expired last fall we went there for almost two months and I took a 2 week Shinkansen trip from Tokyo to Hiroshima that was simply awesome. Travel can be such a fulfilling experience, even despite its challenges at times. I also stayed in an AirBnb in Hiroshima and have had good luck with it.
> 
> Question though. I too am easily distracted (I blame my profession) so how do you settle in to focus on writing? I think it would be challenging for me to feel settled enough to write a book. Then again it could be a great way to give yourself a deadline if you know you'll be moving on in 90 days because your visa is running out.


With the series I wrote before I moved overseas, I put the books up for pre-order very early in the process so had hard deadlines I had to meet. I've been too scared to do that while travelling though because so much can go wrong. I think writing before doing anything else helps. Also knowing if it doesn't get done, I don't get paid  I have an illusion that I will write while travelling on planes and trains. I mean, you have all those hours with nothing else to do. I've never even once done it though.


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## kathrynoh (Oct 17, 2012)

Abderian said:


> I've always dreamed of staying at a little guesthouse on the bank of the Mekong at the border between Thailand and Laos. I've been there before, both twenty years ago and about six years ago. It's a wonderful, mellow, quiet place with great food. I imagine myself writing and watching the Mekong slip by,
> 
> Oh, to dream! http://www.mutmee.com/


I've never been to Laos but it's on my list of places I want to visit


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## Liz French (Apr 13, 2014)

Abderian said:


> I've always dreamed of staying at a little guesthouse on the bank of the Mekong at the border between Thailand and Laos. I've been there before, both twenty years ago and about six years ago. It's a wonderful, mellow, quiet place with great food. I imagine myself writing and watching the Mekong slip by,
> 
> Oh, to dream! http://www.mutmee.com/


I've been there! And yes it is very tranquil. Laos is a lovely country, the people are so kind. I once took a slow boat down the Mekong to Luang Prabang. Such a lovely experience. I need to stop reading this thread it's giving me serious wanderlust.


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## Abderian (Apr 5, 2012)

kathrynoh said:


> I've never been to Laos but it's on my list of places I want to visit


It's a good place for writing because there isn't that much to do, lol. I lived there in the early nineties with my boys when they were young. It's changed a lot but retains plenty of charm. I actually love the place, but here (Taiwan) is easier. You should stop off here for a while, too, if you get the chance. Plenty of flights from Tokyo. You can fly direct to Songshan in the heart of Taipei.


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## Abderian (Apr 5, 2012)

Liz French said:


> I've been there! And yes it is very tranquil. Laos is a lovely country, the people are so kind. I once took a slow boat down the Mekong to Luang Prabang. Such a lovely experience. I need to stop reading this thread it's giving me serious wanderlust.


Wow, what a coincidence! The Mut Mee is great, isn't it? I recommend it to everyone. The perfect stopping off place on the way to Laos. I've never done the slow boat to Luang Prabang. I must do that if I ever get back there.


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## Andie (Jan 24, 2014)

What a fun adventure! Thanks so much for sharing your story.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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## unkownwriter (Jun 22, 2011)

Thanks for posting your experience, Kathryn. I guess it goes to show that "bestseller" isn't necessarily needed to do well, and that certain things are heard over and over because they work (at least, for most, always exceptions).

I'd love to travel before I physically can't manage it, but I don't think I'd want to be a nomad. I could leave now, if I had the money, as my children are grown and capable of living on their own. Well, I'll see how the next year goes.


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## Violet Haze (Jan 9, 2014)

Thanks, this is amazing. My son is only 6 and I homeschool. It's been my goal from day 1 to make enough money from writing to travel with him in tow, I think it would be such a great experience for both of us. We've been to three countries so far and I'm used to living on close to nothing so I'd say about 3k a month is my goal! (Even better would be having enough money to move to Europe though, honestly. lol)


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## E.M. Cooper (Feb 27, 2015)

Thank you for your inspiring story, kathrynoh.


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## kathrynoh (Oct 17, 2012)

she-la-ti-da said:


> Thanks for posting your experience, Kathryn. I guess it goes to show that "bestseller" isn't necessarily needed to do well, and that certain things are heard over and over because they work (at least, for most, always exceptions).
> 
> I'd love to travel before I physically can't manage it, but I don't think I'd want to be a nomad. I could leave now, if I had the money, as my children are grown and capable of living on their own. Well, I'll see how the next year goes.


I don't think having no fixed address is for everyone. I am pretty much at home anywhere so long as I have my laptop  Travel slow is definitely more affordable than trying to fit everything into a short vacation though.


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## kathrynoh (Oct 17, 2012)

Violet Haze said:


> Thanks, this is amazing. My son is only 6 and I homeschool. It's been my goal from day 1 to make enough money from writing to travel with him in tow, I think it would be such a great experience for both of us. We've been to three countries so far and I'm used to living on close to nothing so I'd say about 3k a month is my goal! (Even better would be having enough money to move to Europe though, honestly. lol)


I found $3000 a month wasn't undo-able in Europe but then I'd been to some of the more expensive parts on holidays last year so this time spent more time in places like Prague and Budapest which are much cheaper -- and Switzerland but I had free accommodation there.


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## Susan Alison (Jul 1, 2011)

This is such a magical post (and consequent thread) - thank you for writing it.


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## lmckinley (Oct 3, 2012)

Congratulations on your success


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## C. Gockel (Jan 28, 2014)

Thank you for posting! What an inspiring story.


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## Chinmoy Mukherjee (Apr 26, 2014)

That was inspirational for fellow software professional.


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## KevinH (Jun 29, 2013)

Thanks for sharing!  I always enjoy hearing stories like this from authors who've made it over the hump.


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## hunterone (Feb 6, 2013)

kathrynoh said:


> With the series I wrote before I moved overseas, I put the books up for pre-order very early in the process so had hard deadlines I had to meet. I've been too scared to do that while travelling though because so much can go wrong. I think writing before doing anything else helps. Also knowing if it doesn't get done, I don't get paid  I have an illusion that I will write while travelling on planes and trains. I mean, you have all those hours with nothing else to do. I've never even once done it though.


Can you clarify this. On the first series. Are you saying you uploaded 3 images, marked the first one free, second 99 cents, third $3.99?
And do you have to upload a file when you setup pre-ordering?


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## NoCat (Aug 5, 2010)

That's really cool. I'd love to do this someday, but my husband won't let me abandon our cats yet, haha.

Enjoy Japan. I hear it's amazing.


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## JTriptych (Aug 23, 2015)

Congrats on living the life you want to live!


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## Kenneth Rosenberg (Dec 3, 2010)

I'm hoping Australia is a little more reasonable now that the dollar has slid lately (Aussie dollar).  After spending a lot of time there more than ten years ago, I've avoided going back because of the cost, but now it's starting to seem doable again.  I'm seeing rooms for rent on Airbnb in Sydney for around $1,000 per month.  For the past five years I've spent a lot of my time living and writing in Budapest, where rents are super cheap, but I'm flying to Sydney with a one-way ticket on Thursday.  Just in time for spring!


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## Evenstar (Jan 26, 2013)

Wow, this thread really makes me want to jump on a plane even though I hate to travel!
Well done Katherine, that's such a great result, and shows others how life changing this job can be.


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## jessie520 (Jul 26, 2015)

Such an inspiring post and thread.   Congrats on your success! It's so interesting hearing about where everyone's traveled.


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## Ann Grant (Jul 16, 2015)

Congratulations... and good for you for thinking everything through. I hope you have many more wonderful travels and books to write in the days ahead.


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## Nicole M (Nov 1, 2012)

Thank you so much for posting this. In 2012, I planned to self publish but life got in the way. I only remembered it was an option this year when talking with my boyfriend about our long term travel dreams. I thought, hey, that self publishing thing might help. As much as I adore reading threads about people making five or six figures per month this seems to me a more realistic thread. For once, instead of dreaming I'm thinking hey... I can do this. Thank you  

I have a quick question, it might be different since I'm from the states but if you're traveling in the long term and don't have property in the country you came from, who do you pay taxes to?


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## kathrynoh (Oct 17, 2012)

hunterone said:


> Can you clarify this. On the first series. Are you saying you uploaded 3 images, marked the first one free, second 99 cents, third $3.99?
> And do you have to upload a file when you setup pre-ordering?


I didn't do preorders on my first series. I just loaded them as they were ready and did a free + 99c deal when I released book 2 to get some traction.

For the second series, I uploaded the cover and a very rough draft of book 1 then, before I uploaded the final draft did the same for book 2 so that I had that link to put in the first book. Same when I released book 3 of the series. For that series, I released all three books at full price.


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## kathrynoh (Oct 17, 2012)

Kenneth Rosenberg said:


> I'm hoping Australia is a little more reasonable now that the dollar has slid lately (Aussie dollar). After spending a lot of time there more than ten years ago, I've avoided going back because of the cost, but now it's starting to seem doable again. I'm seeing rooms for rent on Airbnb in Sydney for around $1,000 per month. For the past five years I've spent a lot of my time living and writing in Budapest, where rents are super cheap, but I'm flying to Sydney with a one-way ticket on Thursday. Just in time for spring!


Yeah it's definitely a good time to be going to Australia from elsewhere. Sydney is so expensive for rent that $1000 a month is a bargain


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## kathrynoh (Oct 17, 2012)

Nichole Moreno said:


> Thank you so much for posting this. In 2012, I planned to self publish but life got in the way. I only remembered it was an option this year when talking with my boyfriend about our long term travel dreams. I thought, hey, that self publishing thing might help. As much as I adore reading threads about people making five or six figures per month this seems to me a more realistic thread. For once, instead of dreaming I'm thinking hey... I can do this. Thank you
> 
> I have a quick question, it might be different since I'm from the states but if you're traveling in the long term and don't have property in the country you came from, who do you pay taxes to?


I have no idea about the US but I'm still considered an Australian resident for tax purposes. I think I could only get out of that if I had permanent residence somewhere else.


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## sunnywriter (Aug 7, 2014)

Congratulations on your success and thank you for sharing your inspiring story


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## tommy gun (May 3, 2015)

K, you are awesome.

Thanks for letting us know.  I hope one day to see some of the successes that you have had.  It can be done.

Enjoy the travelling!


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## Felix R. Savage (Mar 3, 2011)

Thanks for sharing your story, Kathryn! Hope you are enjoying Tokyo. Give me a shout if you need any local info / advice. I've lived here for yonks and know my way around quite well


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## Kenneth Rosenberg (Dec 3, 2010)

kathrynoh said:


> Yeah it's definitely a good time to be going to Australia from elsewhere. Sydney is so expensive for rent that $1000 a month is a bargain


Yeah, I'm coming from California, where a similar room for rent would cost around $1300 or more. A year ago Sydney was actually more expensive than L.A., but things have really turned around. This compares to Budapest, where you can rent your own studio apartment for $250, but maybe it's time to move on.


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## kathrynoh (Oct 17, 2012)

Felix R. Savage said:


> Thanks for sharing your story, Kathryn! Hope you are enjoying Tokyo. Give me a shout if you need any local info / advice. I've lived here for yonks and know my way around quite well


Thanks Felix  I know Tokyo pretty well myself because I used to live here.


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## TT Kove (Aug 20, 2015)

This is so inspiring! 

I have this vague plan of moving somewhere else in Europe once I start to make more money from my books. I'll have to earn A LOT if I want to live off of this here in Norway, because this country's so bloody expensive, but I could live off of less money other places. Been thinking aout the UK, Spain, perhaps the Netherlands or something.


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## RBK (Nov 28, 2014)

Good post. I'm considering a similar thing next year now I've got a bit saved up and earning a steady (for now) income.

Congrats, by the way. Glad to see you living your dream.


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## CarolynVMurray (Mar 13, 2015)

Very inspiring. I have been dreaming about doing something similar for years -- although a more settled version of it. I would love to be a global snowbird -- spend 6-9 months in Europe a year, based in one city, lots of weekend travel, and then head south for the winter. 

It's almost impossible for Americans to get jobs in the EU, so a full-time writing income is the best option. And I believe that if I could demonstrate that I had supported myself for 2 years as a writer, that I could apply for an EU artist's visa. I'm nowhere near this right now, but that's the plan.

Unfortunately for me, the city I love the most is also one of the world's most expensive -- London! (But I don't mind flatmates.)


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## kathrynoh (Oct 17, 2012)

TT Kove said:


> This is so inspiring!
> 
> I have this vague plan of moving somewhere else in Europe once I start to make more money from my books. I'll have to earn A LOT if I want to live off of this here in Norway, because this country's so bloody expensive, but I could live off of less money other places. Been thinking aout the UK, Spain, perhaps the Netherlands or something.


It's so easy to move around in Europe too. It amazes me, as an Australian, how you can cover such a tiny distance but the cost of living, culture, everything changes


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## Violet Haze (Jan 9, 2014)

What is an EU Artist visa? I pretty much would love to do the same thing, but I have to say as a US citizen I've never been quite sure where to start, and wondered how I could stay in that area longer (or even on a permanent basis by moving around to avoid overstaying in any one place). Feel free to PM me so we don't derail the thread, please, lol.



CarolynVMurray said:


> Very inspiring. I have been dreaming about doing something similar for years -- although a more settled version of it. I would love to be a global snowbird -- spend 6-9 months in Europe a year, based in one city, lots of weekend travel, and then head south for the winter.
> 
> It's almost impossible for Americans to get jobs in the EU, so a full-time writing income is the best option. And I believe that if I could demonstrate that I had supported myself for 2 years as a writer, that I could apply for an EU artist's visa. I'm nowhere near this right now, but that's the plan.
> 
> Unfortunately for me, the city I love the most is also one of the world's most expensive -- London! (But I don't mind flatmates.)


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## kathrynoh (Oct 17, 2012)

CarolynVMurray said:


> Very inspiring. I have been dreaming about doing something similar for years -- although a more settled version of it. I would love to be a global snowbird -- spend 6-9 months in Europe a year, based in one city, lots of weekend travel, and then head south for the winter.
> 
> It's almost impossible for Americans to get jobs in the EU, so a full-time writing income is the best option. And I believe that if I could demonstrate that I had supported myself for 2 years as a writer, that I could apply for an EU artist's visa. I'm nowhere near this right now, but that's the plan.
> 
> Unfortunately for me, the city I love the most is also one of the world's most expensive -- London! (But I don't mind flatmates.)


Yeah there are quite a few European countries where you can get visas now if you can support yourself and not take a job away from locals. I think it will only get easier too since you are adding the local economy  I've found living outside of the main cities to be not only cheaper but you have less temptation to skip working when the excitement isn't right on your doorstep.


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## mStrong (Sep 14, 2015)

Thanks for posting that. 

I have been procrastinating, and making excuses like, "I don't know how to use computers well enough to have a website and do all the other technical tasks necessary to pull off online publishing".

But I'm going to hire a street urchin or whoever, to help me get started.

Thank You. 

And thanks to whoever posted this to Facebook ! 

I'm signed up on kboards, and ready to tell stories ...



Mike


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## Guest (Sep 14, 2015)

Kathryn, first, congratulations.    Second, I'm completely jealous of your traveling lifestyle.  My husband and I will soon be complete empty nesters.  We plan to do much more traveling as we get older.


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## kathrynoh (Oct 17, 2012)

mStrong said:


> Thanks for posting that.
> 
> I have been procrastinating, and making excuses like, "I don't know how to use computers well enough to have a website and do all the other technical tasks necessary to pull off online publishing".
> 
> ...


Thanks. Definitely don't let your lack of technical skills hold you back. Kboards is a great place to start and I'm sure you'll be able to find people to help you out either by outsourcing stuff you can't do or helping you learn how to do.


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## kathrynoh (Oct 17, 2012)

Jolie du Pre said:


> Kathryn, first, congratulations.  Second, I'm completely jealous of your traveling lifestyle. My husband and I will soon be complete empty nesters. We plan to do much more traveling as we get older.


An empty nest is a fine thing  So much more money and time and the satisfaction of knowing you've raised an independent, functioning adult!


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## RN_Wright (Jan 7, 2014)

Congratulations! Your story is so inspiring. Makes me want to go, I dunno, write.


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