How Much Did That Book Cost?

I kept launching books without ever adding up what I'd actually spent. Ads, covers, editing, promo swaps, that course I bought in a panic — it all adds up fast and most of us have no idea what the real number is.

This skill scans your Gmail receipts, sorts everything by book, surfaces every subscription you're still paying for, and gives you a CSV you can drop into a spreadsheet.

Run it once and you'll finally know.

What it does

Before you run this — two things

1. Connect Gmail in Claude Settings → Integrations. Use the email address where your publishing receipts arrive. If receipts are scattered across inboxes, forward them to your connected Gmail first. Claude can read receipts in the email body but cannot open PDF attachments.
2. Create a Claude Project first. Name it Budget, Publishing Expenses, or Operations. Paste the skill into the Project Instructions. Always run this skill from that Project so Claude remembers your books and history between sessions.

Get started

1. Create a Claude Project — Budget, Publishing Expenses, or Operations. Paste the skill into Project Instructions.
2. Connect Gmail in Claude Settings → Integrations if you haven't already.
3. Open your Project and type: 'How much did that book cost?' or 'Run my publishing expense audit' or 'What am I still paying for?'

This skill is yours to customize. After your first run, if something is missing or not working the way you want — just tell Claude what you wish it had done differently. It adjusts going forward. The skill gets smarter the more specific you are.