What am I worth? The thought popped into my head after I sat down to analyze why I was not making a living from my writing. I was not questioning my talent, but my actual dollar value. Although I had been submitting my manuscripts for a decade and sold a number of them, I was not any closer to making my dream come true. I felt the time had come to take a closer look at what I was doing wrong.

Since income is generated from submissions, I decided that was the place to start. Up to this point, I had been very satisfied with the way my submission system was set up. I had four main folders each containing a different category: magazines fiction, magazines non-fiction, books fiction, and books non-fiction. If I wanted to check the submission status of any title, I only needed to pluck its tracking sheet from the appropriate folder. But looking at my system from a new perspective, I realized that I had no way of knowing what these submissions were worth. Even if all of them were accepted, what would I earn from them?

To find the answer, I created a chart using Excel. In the first column, I listed the titles of all the manuscripts I had available for submission no matter what the category. I then rearranged them in alphabetical order for easy reference. Next, I created a second column called Value. For each title that was presently out to a publisher, I listed the amount I expected to earn from that sale. For books, I used the flat fee or advance offered. (I didn’t bother with royalties, as they can’t be predicted.) When dealing with multiple submissions where publishers offered different payments, I chose the publisher I felt was most likely to accept my work. In the case of a draw, I settled for the lowest fee. Totaling the amounts of that column, I came up with a startling number. My writing was worth no more than $2000. No wonder I was not making a living from my writing yet!

My chart showed me other interesting facts. By highlighting in yellow the titles that were out, I could clearly see that there was a lot more white than yellow visible. I only had about one quarter of all my available manuscripts in circulation. A much smaller number then I had imagined. A change of plan was obviously in order. Fortunately, I now knew exactly what needed to be done. With a little tinkering, I added other columns to my chart, making it the basis for my new plan. See below for more details on setting up your own Worth Chart.

A mere six months later, my writing is now worth over $16 000. That money is very much virtual as I am still waiting to hear from the publishers I sent my manuscripts and queries to. (Yes, queries count for your total value as well even though the manuscripts may not yet be written.) That money may be a long way from actually sitting in my bank account, but it’s certainly getting me closer to my goal.

Another unforeseen positive effect of this chart is that it incites me to submit more, which in turn fuels my motivation to turn my ideas into queries or manuscripts. It’s a great way to beat procrastination. It also helps me choose which project I should concentrate on or develop next. This isn’t to say that I only pick projects with a high-dollar value. I still send many submissions to lower-paying magazines as they garner me more clips, experience, and exposure. But by keeping in mind that I wish to reach a certain amount, I’m less likely to shy away from contacting publications which might have intimidated me in the past. Also, I find that setting myself a monthly dollar goal helps a great deal. Once that dollar goal is met, I can send as many smaller-earning submissions as I want without affecting my bigger goal.

Did I chuck out my old filing system? Not at all. It is still invaluable for knowing which publisher I contacted for each title, what their responses were, and so on. I have even added another folder to it since creating my new system as it has allowed me to expend my repertoire to greeting cards.

If you’d like to give it a try and make your own Worth Chart, use the following column headings and instructions:

Title: Adjust column to fit your longest title. Use the sorting tool to list alphabetically for easy reference.

Value: Type the amount you expect to earn. Payments are often listed in market guides or on publishers’ Websites. If you don’t know, make a guess. Multiple submissions don’t change the value as you can only sell a piece to one publisher at a time.

Submissions: Enter the number sent. Highlight the whole row in yellow. If you receive a positive response, change highlight to green so you know it is out of circulation for now. Should you get a rejection, adjust the number. If that number is zero, take away the yellow highlight so you can see it needs to be resubmitted.

Date and Rights: When accepted, add date of publication and rights offered as a guide for future submission potential.