Susan’s Cool Shit: If you Love an Author

I found this great post and since The Demo Tapes: Year 2 is coming out on September 12, I thought I’d call your attention to it.

I’d change one thing, though and that’s Point #3. Yeah, it’s great if you take the ISBN number from either book of mine and carry it to your nearest bookstore and order it. That’s a great way to make a bookseller aware of me and the Trevolution. You might make new fans along the way, and that’s always a good thing.

BUT. Here’s the thing. My royalty rate slides. If you buy the books directly from me, I get the most moolah. That’s helpful because I have to front the cash to buy the books — which eats into my profits. Plus, you can get an autograph.

If you buy the books from Lulu.com, I get the next-highest royalty. The payment on the download is higher than on the print copy. I think Smashwords, once I get the store open, will fall into this next area, as well.

And finally, there’s what I get from bookstores. Ready? For Demo Tapes 1, I get sixty-six cents. For Demo Tapes 2, I get fifty cents. PER BOOK.

So… something to keep in mind.

Now, books published by the big publishing houses don’t follow these royalty rates. These numbers are unique to people like me, people off the mainstream radar.

But it’s something to keep in mind when you buy books. As is the rest of that post. If you love an author, there are easy things you can do to help him/her/me out. We’d love it if you’d try.