About Me

Hello, I’m Nancy K. Humphreys. I’m an author, librarian, and an indexer with advanced degrees in English and Economics.

As an author, my first book was on the Underground Economy. I sold it to a publisher for $300 in 1985. This book took me about two years to research and write.

Prior to this, I’d published a feature-length article, “Ethiopia: Trapped by Foreign Aid” in The Nation magazine for $50. That article took me about six months to research and write.

Shortly after I wrote about Ethiopia, I spent a week at a writers conference up in rustic Rhinelander Wisconsin. There an editor from a magazine like The Nation explained how they set rates for articles. As the editor, a woman about my own age spoke, my stomach began to sink. She concluded with a statement to the effect, “and of course, we always pay a lot more to any well-known person who writes for us.”

I was stunned. I had no idea they paid based on who you were instead of what you wrote. The lead author in the issue of The Nation that my story was published in was an exceedingly famous leftist pundit of the times. No wonder I got so little!

I began to understand that hard work pays off, but it may not pay well. I began to suspect that publishing was a bit like gambling. The only ones who always come out ahead are the ones who own the “house”, i.e., the publishing house.

Still, I gave it one more try. I’d promised myself I’d write at least three books, the first two as practice for a third one about Bruce Springsteen.

My second published book was on American Women’s Magazines. Twice as long as my first book, this one took five years. After it was done I stood on a friend’s rooftop in San Francisco gazing at stars feeling utterly empty. I wondered what on earth I was going to do with the rest of my life. That book had been my whole life!

My boss threw me a nice book party at the Oakland Public Library. Eagerly I awaited my first royalty check. It arrived in the mail. I tore it open to find a short letter saying, “Your check for $54.15 is enclosed.” Incredulous, I shook the envelope and looked around on the floor. Had something fallen out? No, it hadn’t. There was only the letter and a check for $54.15

Envelopes from my publisher dribbled in every once in awhile. I never knew when they would arrive. I never found out how much my publisher deducted for expenses for my book either. After a year I’d barely earned more than on my first book. I sensed something was very wrong. When I went to work in my university library job, I looked up which libraries were buying my book. I found all of 25 libraries had bought it. I was chagrined.

This was first book ever on American Women’s Magazines. It was comprehensive, authoritative, well-written, in hardback, and printed on paper guaranteed to last 10 times longer than I would! Unbelievable!

Infuriated, I began my own ad campaign. I used library reference room directories to identify all libraries, bookstores, women’s centers and other places where they might want a copy of my book. I created a one page flyer and sent it out.

Sure enough. Those envelopes dribbled in a bit faster. Gradually I earned more and more. By the time my book’s run was over, I’d collected around $3,000. It seemed a puny recompense for five years of my life. But that was the average amount that writers of books earned back in the early 1990s. (And believe it or not, that’s still the average amount book authors earn today!)

This time I didn’t feel empty or ripped off. I felt happy! Because I knew I was never going to publish a book again unless I published it myself! That’s what I’ve done, and why I’m here to help you do the same thing.

My third book(s) were called Brucemaps. They were self-published, made-to-scale maps of Northern New Jersey, New York City and LA by my partner, Susan Pomeroy along with my commentary about places Bruce Springsteen lived, worked, and played. We sold them at concerts, to music stores and via the Web to people all over the world.

And we got rich? Right? Nope. We barely broke even on expenses for those booklets. But it sure was great fun to travel around, collect the information, put them together, and sell copies to other fans!

The moral of this story? You’ve GOT to start marketing your book even before you begin writing it. That’s why this site exists. On it you’ll learn how to use your index, along with the other parts of your book, to promote your book. Whether you’re a self-publisher or a published author, you must publicize your own book if you want people to read it!

Wordmaps Indexing is here to help you do just that!

Welcome!

Nancy K. Humphreys, author of the forthcoming book, The I Ching Circles