I asked myself, “What’s a whirlwind?” and Populated came immediately to mind. So here you go. Populated‘s our book of the day. Although really, any book from the Trevolution would work, too, since Trevor is, himself, a whirlwind in ways Delia would never want to be.

Hoo boy, calling today a whirlwind is probably being kind. I’ve got my six-month ophthalmologist checkup (If you missed the story, go here, but there are a lot of posts about it that follow). Then I get to come home and pack up for the Block Northway farmer’s market, where Doug Solter and I will be hanging out, talking to shoppers, and selling lots of our books. And in between, the first box from my pre-Westmoreland Arts and Heritage Festival stock-up is due to arrive. I ordered 95 books, y’all, and I’m worried that, even added to what’s currently here, it won’t be enough. 80,000 people are supposed to be in attendance!

editing

I finished that amazing first in a new series yesterday, as planned, and got it back to the author. Hoo boy, it’s a good one.

Today, in between all this, I have to invoice the author who’s up next and hopefully start on that, but I’m also working on some cover copy for another client. And mind you, I have to leave the house a little before 1:30!

writing

Slowly clawing away at that deficit in my word count on Authentically Alyssa. I’m a bit worried something happens too fast, but that’s what revision is for. This draft is for getting it all down.

I woke up to royalties today! Lots of library loans, and you know I love those!

Legacy has been doing exceptionally well at Kobo. If you’re a reader who picked it up out of the series order, let me know how it works as a series intro, will you? I suspect it’ll work.

And yeah, my book order is starting to arrive. Whee!

Book of the Day

Flirty Dancing, by Jennifer Moffatt
Yep, that’s our affiliate link.

As always, I’m keeping this short, and not just because stuff’s piling up on me faster than you’d believe possible. In the time it’s taken me to write this post, I have three new tasks and issues to chase down.

So book my editing services, buy my books (thank you to those who do!) and stuff my Ko-fi to help me cover operational expenses here because right now, I feel like I’m drowning in this whirlwind of a day!

This would have been the third year I’ve told you guys that all I wanted for my birthday was book royalties. We did it two years ago with Mannequin, then last year with King Trevor.

So what’s the holdup?

Me.

I dawdled. Dragged my feet. Debated hiring an e-book formatter (the awesome Deena at e-Book Builders. Tell her I sent you.), hesitated about asking the uber amazing Lakota Phillips if she’d step up for her boy and do the art again. Tried to do the formatting myself.

I suck at formatting.

So… the book’s not coming out today. This year, the birthday gift will be late. But it’ll be here, and you will NOT want to miss this one. Be sure to read the intro… it confirms what many of you have suspected. And that’s all I’ll say about this, so move along…

Save your pennies… the price will be the usual: $2.99 e-book and $9.99 trade paperback (I hope).

And yes! Because this will be the best-selling Demo Tapes anthology yet (no easy feat, since Demo Tapes 1 has been out since November 2008 and is still the top-selling anthology), I’ll be folding some of the royalties you guys generate into having Deena reformat Demo Tapes 1, 2, and 3. Lakota’s already on board to give 1 and 2 new covers, as well.

There just might be a special something for anyone who leaves a review of ANY of the Trevolution books (including Mannequin) anywhere online. Stay tuned for that…

Have I mentioned there WILL be a Demo Tapes 5?

There’s been a lot of huff and puff over the revelation that Amazon doesn’t pay out the full 70% royalty they promise on Kindle books. There’s been other talk, as well, about royalties. I know I’d prefer if you all bought my e-books via Smashwords because my royalties are higher.

I mean, I get it. We’ve got bills to pay. I’m not the only one in this boat; a well-known author friend has long talked about how her book sales fuel her mortgage payments. Now that I’m responsible for the mortgage around here — along with everything else — that has taken on a new resonance.

You can probably imagine my shock on Monday, when the Boy Band announced the reason we don’t use Spotify in the house is because a song has to be played on Spotify over 4.51 MILLION times for a major label artist to earn the equivalent of a month’s worth of minimum wage payments — that’s a bit under $1200 a month. (For the record, that’s not the reason I don’t use Spotify. I don’t use it because… well, no reason, actually. I just haven’t signed up.)

The Boy Band had other royalty numbers for one other music source — and iTunes. Since we became an iTunes family in 2009, I’ve wondered what the royalty rate is for a major label artist for a 99c download. It’s a fair comparison, no? I sometimes sell certain books for 99c, and my short stories are ALWAYS 99c.

So… the Boy Band, instead of showing off his math skills, Googled something or other and found this article. It’s not quite a year old, but the terms probably haven’t changed too much. The headline says it all: A Major Label Artist Makes 8 Cents On a 99-Cent iTunes Download…

It’s based on figures from Chuck D, who can’t be confused with an artist I listen to, but I doubt the numbers are much different for my beloved artists in the rock and roll world.

Eight cents.

Somehow, 35c on a 99c book seems better than it did before — and I was firmly in the camp that 35c was pretty darn good. (To be clear, that’s the percentage I get from Amazon’s Kindle platform. I get higher royalties from Smashwords and their affiliates, who I use rather than dealing directly with the various retailers, such as B&N. And yes, I’d get even more from those other retailers, but I’m willingly and knowingly giving up that higher royalty — and faster sales reporting — in exchange for the convenience of not stressing that I won’t get a payout from this retailer or that one or the other one. It’s cut down my stress level quite a bit, especially when I look at those mortgage coupons and my royalty statements and … ouch!)

I’m still not a fan of this new culture of the free book that Amazon’s been championing. Because when I look at it… even 8c is better than 0.

Like I said, I’ve got a mortgage to pay.

Since 2009, my first birthday after the publication of Demo Tapes: Year 1, I’ve been saying that all I want for my birthday is book royalties. Well, okay, I wanted iTunes gift cards as well.

It didn’t get off to a good start.

Then it dawned on me that I needed to make it easier. Give you an incentive. Last year, I released Mannequin. It’s still 99c, if you haven’t picked it up yet.

This year?

Well, I’ve been working hard on the follow-up to Trevor’s Song. So it made sense to, on my birthday, crown the king.

King Trevor. Available today at Smashwords, Kindle, CreateSpace, and Amazon. The other retailers, like B&N and Sony and Apple, are still pending.

And check out all the folk who are celebrating with me by posting about the release:
Mary at BookHounds
Me, over at the #Amwriting site
Nimrodiel at Confessions of a Literary Persuasion
JC Cassels is teasing everyone about my upcoming appearance.