ECONOMICS AS A POET-PUBLISHER

Poetry Economics -- it doesn’t get any easier. I just did my taxes and here’s my 2007 Income Statement as a Poet (by which I include my roles as author and publisher):

2007 SUMMARY:
TOTAL REVENUES: $7,721.88
TOTAL COSTS: $14,027.17
NET LOSS ($6,305.28)

On one level, this is a good result in that the net loss figure is less than the prior year’s, per the 2006 summary:

2006 SUMMARY:
TOTAL REVENUES: $3,607.47
TOTAL EXPENSES: $10,068.83
PROFIT/(LOSS): ($6,461.36)

In comparison with 2006, I earned more last year in order to help finance higher costs which ramped up due primarily to book production costs. My earnings had to do with not just book sales (by me or by authors I publish) but also my paltry reading fees, a factor likely to decrease further in the future as I plan to downscale moi gigs.

Fortunately, I may not be able to live without poetry, but I most certainly don’t live on it. Six grand or so a year -- my contribution to high kultchah...