In my many years of railfanning I have met and even gotten to personally know many rail book authors. None of them have ever really made any money at it. Their only hope was that the proceeds would offset a little bit of the costs and efforts put into that project. They did it for the love of the hobby and a certain sense of obligation.
Jerry, you can count on me to help defer your costs. What you are doing is incredible and everyone who posts on this forum should give you a round of applause.
Keep up the great work!
Regards,
Donald Foster