Getting Paid & the Indie Author

I ran across an interesting blog yesterday about the average salary a housewife should earn and wearing hats here. It got me thinking of just how much money I'd earn a year if I was actually getting paid for it. I'm always talking about the hats I wear and call myself the master juggler so I was wondering just how much I'm worth per hour with all my hats. Salaries source based on 1/12/12 www.indeed.com and are used as  ballpark figures.

As a wife, mother, and grandmother per year...

Housekeeper    $22,000
Nanny              $23,000
Accountant       $61,000
Shopper           $81,000
Tutor                $57,000
Consultant        $58,000
Nurse                $73,000
Chef                  $47,000
Dishwasher       $22,000
Seamstress       $21,000
Chauffeur          $30,000
Per year total   $576,000

Now granted the average housewife does not do all these things 40 hours a week, 52 weeks a year. Yes, 52 weeks because homemakers do not get sick leave or vacation time. Sometimes there is sleep deprivation also. The average is $38 per hour spent doing all these tasks. I know, I know there are many more jobs that aren't listed.

Now as a semi-retired minister, I earn on average of $13,000 per year. Ministers rarely get sick time or vacation time so it averages to about $6.25. So close to minimum wage for a 24-hr on-call service. Weekends and holidays do not apply. It's a work of faith and love, not actual money. I know there are ministers who make more and less.

As an indie author...
Writer                               $57,000
PR                                    $56,000
Editor                                $52,000
Marketing                         $55,000
Cover artist                      $54,000
Video producer                $44,000
Blogger                            $47,000
Web designer                   $76,000
Text formatting                  $50,000
Social Media Consultant   $65,000
Publisher                          $74,000
Sales Rep                         $46,000
     Per year total             $767,000

That's equal to $368.75 an hour over a standard 40-hour week/52 weeks a year. Let's face it if you are an indie author...do you ever really take time off? You even dream story lines, dialog, and scenes, but still I'm being conservative with the 40 hrs a week. I didn't add the accountant in here but that's another hat you have to wear when the royalties come in. Granted you do not do all these things at the same time, but I'll be you do several of them.

Now adding it all up. I SHOULD earn $413 per hour...based on a standard 10-hour work week per section with 2 weeks vacation/sick time (because even being the master juggler I can't do this many things at the same time)....$206,500 per year.

So the next time someone says, "Oh, you are just a self-published or INDIE author, be armed and throw some figures at them.  Would I love to actually be earning this amount of money a year...heck yeah! Wouldn't you?

In the long way around I feel better and worse about my choice of retirement careers. How many people do you know who make $413 per hour besides maybe Bill Gates?

Keep writing and loving the Lord.