Words and Pictures with Keris Fox
Why we need to talk about money more in the publishing industry, the difference between writing for teens and adults and top financial tips
We’ve been a fan of
’s substack The Ladybird Purse for a while now and love how she talks ‘openly and honestly about money.’We were really excited to ask her some questions and find out more about her writing, how she creatively re-charges and why she started talking about money in the first place.
is the bestselling author of fourteen novels, including adult and YA romcoms and one Christmas novel for younger readers that is not a romance, but does star a talking pug.Her first non-fiction title, The Harry Styles Effect, both a fandom memoir and celebration of Styles, will be published in March 2025.
Keris writes two Substacks: her author newsletter, Happy Endings, and The Ladybird Purse, where she interviews women about money and shares her own money misadventures. Keris and her two sons recently moved back to the seaside town she grew up in and she never says no to fish and chips on the beach.
Why are words and pictures important to you?
I was a book-obsessed child. I can still remember the magical feeling of reading Enid Blyton (particularly Malory Towers), What Katy Did, a book called The Witch’s Buttons, which I keep meaning to buy to see how much of it I remember.
I know I read a lot of picture books as a child - I have a strong memory of bringing stacks of them home from the library - but I don’t remember specifics. But then when I had my sons, I fell in love with picture books all over again. They made us laugh (Mo Willems, particularly Elephant & Piggie) and cry (the boys’ dad still can’t talk about Harry & Hopper - by Margaret Wild and Freya Blackwood - without welling up.
Reading to the boys at bedtime was always my favourite part of the day. I wish they’d still let me, but they’re 16 and 20 now.
How did you go from having an idea for a story to getting your first book published?
Oh gosh, it’s such a long time ago now! I started writing in about 1997, I think, but didn’t actually finish anything until 2004 when I had an idea for a YA novel and I wrote the first draft during NaNoWriMo. That novel got me my first agent and a two book deal with Orchard. But then my editor said they didn’t think that novel was right for my debut and could I write something else?
So I wrote Della Says OMG, about a teen girl whose diary is stolen from a house party, inspired by the memory of my own diary going missing when my sister had a party while our parents were away.
The original novel was never published and having read it fairly recently, I’m very glad.
Can you share something that might surprise readers about how the publishing industry works?
I want to say… it doesn’t :D
People might be surprised to know that most books don’t earn out. Which means that the advance you receive is the only money you make from that book. Of my nine traditionally published books, only two have earned out.
You write books for both teenagers and adults - is the experience similar or completely different?
Until fairly recently it’s been very similar. I’ve mostly written for the YA end of teen, so my books have sex and swearing, that’s never been a problem. The adult books I started out writing mostly featured characters in their twenties, so they weren’t so different either.
Recently I’ve got to a point where I want to write about characters my own age - currently 53. For a while I worried that I couldn’t because I’m not a normal 53yo - still very into pop culture, not very grown up, etc. - but then I realised that goes for most if not all of my friends too. So that’s what I’m working on now.
But again, I don’t think my writing is different, the tone and humour are the same, only some of the problems facing my characters have changed.
Is writing your full-time job? Has it always been your full-time job or have you done any other work alongside it?
Writing, yes. Novels, no. I think it’s probably around twenty years since I worked full-time in an office. I can’t quite believe that. I had a magazine article published that basically paid the same as I was earning in a month for working three days a week in an accountants. I had a baby at the time and figured that I only needed to sell one article a month to make it work. Of course, that first article paid better than pretty much anything I sold after.
I’ve done some editing, some paid blogging, I wrote for an educational publisher for a while. And now my Substacks.
Do you have a writing routine? If so, can you tell us about it?
I really, really don’t. I try sometimes and it works for a while, but then it stops working and I beat myself up about it. I’m starting to accept that writing routines don’t work for me. Unfortunately, I think I write best in panicked bursts.
This graphic made me feel extremely seen :D
What do you do to creatively recharge?
I listen to music. I love a curated playlist. I also listen to a lot of podcasts, mostly nothing to do with writing novels. I love Mike Birbiglia’s podcast Working It Out; he talks to comedians about their careers and they usually try to workshop some comedy and even though I’m not a comedian (and would never in a million years do standup) I find it really creatively inspiring.
A couple of years ago, we moved back to the town I grew up in (and moved away from at 18) and we live about 15 minutes’ walk from the beach, so if I’m ever feeling stuck - or just generally blah - I take myself off to listen to the waves and stomp some razor clam shells.
You have a substack called The Ladybird Purse which is a space for 'honest and open conversations for women, creatives and freelancers', why do you think it's so important to talk about this?
When I got divorced, I realised that I was dealing with money on my own for the first time in middle age and many of my friends were in the same position. I felt like we talked about everything, but we didn’t really talk about money. One friend literally put her hands over her ears when I brought it up.
Then I read about how the majority of financial information presented to women is about saving and budgeting, whereas for men it’s all about investing and spending. So I wanted to talk to women in midlife about their money experiences. That’s how the Substack started. Now I talk to women and non-binary people of all ages - from teens to, recently, a 93yo - and it continues to fascinate me.
As for creatives and freelancers, I find it beyond annoying that publishing particularly is so cagey about figures. Authors often won’t reveal their advances - I’m more than happy to tell anyone mine - and publishers are often weirdly secretive about sales figures. I remember my agent asking my first publisher for the sales figures and they replied that they were “happy with how it was going.” Good for you. GIMME THE NUMBERS.
I really feel that the more we’re open about money - not just how much we make, but how we spend it, how much debt we have, whether we have investments, pensions, etc. – the better it is for everyone.
What other 'open and honest conversations' do you think we should be having in the publishing industry?
So many. Obviously publishing has a long way to go in terms of diversity. And also with regard to transparency. I also think it’s utterly ridiculous that the publisher can change the date of publication and that means the author just… doesn’t get paid until the new date. How - as an aghast man at the Inland Revenue once asked me - can anyone budget??
What one piece of financial advice would you offer creatives and aspiring authors?
I know everyone knows they should save a percentage of any income for tax. But make sure to read up about payments on account too. The one year I actually managed to put away almost exactly the right amount for tax, I learned that if you earn over a certain amount you have to pay next year’s tax upfront too. So I owed double.
What are the best and hardest bits about being an author?
The best part for me has always been the author community. I’ve made so many friends over the past fifteen (I can’t believe it’s been fifteen) years. Also knowing that people are reading my books? And some people love them? And even read them more than once? That blows my mind.
The worst is having to write a whole book before you even know if it’s going to sell and make any money. That is a huge time investment with no guarantee of reward. And you have to do it over and over again.
Can you tell us what you're working on now?
I’m writing a novel with the working title Dead Frog Lane (I promise no frogs were harmed…) and I’m really enjoying it. It’s about a 50yo woman who suddenly leaves her husband and moves back to her hometown. Temporarily, she thinks, but it doesn’t quite work out that way. It features a falling-down house, an injured seagull, a sixties Merseybeat girl band, family, fish and chips, and a sexy motorbike ride. I really love it.
What advice would you give someone who wants to get published?
Read the type of books you want to write. Get to know some other authors (online is fine!). Don’t worry that you’ve missed the boat or you’re too old. Oh and don’t forget to actually, you know, write.
You can find out more about Keris on her website, instagram and Bluesky.
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Great read. Why are people so secretive about money in the publishing industry?