UPDATES:
TEXAS ROADS (e-book version) has made it through the Smashwords pipeline, and is now available in e-book format at Kobo.com. My dashboard shows that it has also shipped to Barnes & Noble, but as of this posting, the book has not gone live on the site yet.
This past week I was interviewed on SellingBooks.com and A Hen’s Nest (Print copy giveaway of TEXAS ROADS through the end of the month!), and next week I’ll be at Casey Herringshaw’s lovely blog, Operation Encourage An Author, where I’ll be giving away a print copy of TEXAS ROADS. I was also interviewed by my college alma mater (Wayland Baptist University in Plainview, Texas–go Pioneers!) for an article that will be published in the alumni magazine, and picked up three speaking engagements. (I don’t say any of this to brag, but to let you see that an author wears many hats–some of which fit a little uncomfortably for us introverted, wanna-stay-in-our-box creatures.)
Speaking of boxes, (nice segue, huh?) I received my first three boxes of books this week and immediately shipped many of them out to reviewers, buyers, and “Heart For Home” newsletter prize winners. I’ll probably get my next shipment this coming week. Pre-order sales are going well, and I’ve sold several copies at Amazon/CreateSpace.
That leads to a few things I want to share with you writers about CreateSpace, the POD company I used to bring TEXAS ROADS into print. The reason I chose CreateSpace is because I felt I could publish the book less expensively AND target Amazon at the same time. I think it was a good move. (To me this makes more financial sense than going with a subsidy publisher, who can charge you thousands for a handful of copies and then make you pay for extra copies. Then again, I am a self-confessed cheapskate.) Just to let you see the way CreateSpace works on the payment end of things, I copied the following screen to share with you.
As you can see, I set my list price at 12.99. That is pretty much on-target for books of the same size throughout the industry. I also chose a standard size of 5.5″ x 8.5″. CreateSpace sets up an e-store for you that is semi-customizable, and since I’m on the Pro plan, I make $5.90 off of every book I sell through the e-store–a 45% profit margin. If the book sells from Amazon.com, I make $3.30 off each sale–25% profit. If I order and sell the books myself, I pay $4.49 per copy, leaving me with a profit of $8.50–65% (not including what I pay to have the books shipped to me which is about 40 cents per book). Most of my sales have come from this third route, though I’ve sold copies via CreateSpace and Amazon. I’ve yet to make back what it cost me to order the first 200 books, but I’ve made a considerable dent on pre-orders alone. (I’m not on the Expanded Distribution plan, since I opted to publish under my own imprint rather than under the CreateSpace imprint.)
My next hurdle is to get the book available through Lightning Source, since that will put TEXAS ROADS on the Ingram database. Spring Arbor (the primary distributor for Christian bookstores) is a part of Ingram, so it’s a necessary part of the process. I will make even less per copy going this route, but it will make the book available in more places.
I also plan to approach several local retailers (bookstores AND other stores as well) about carrying TEXAS ROADS on consignment. And I hope to organize a few road trips to various towns across the state, though it remains to be seen what kind of sales that will generate and whether or not the time and cost will make it worthwhile.
As you can see the workload never lightens. Hope this info is helpful to all you writers.
Now on to our winners!
WINNERS
The winner of A Case For Love by Kaye Dacus is . . . Sherrinda!
The winner of A Flickering Light by Jane Kirkpatrick is . . . Deborah M!
The winner of An Absence So Great by Jane Kirkpatrick is . . . J:-)mi! (Gotta love how she spells her name!)
The winner of The Captain’s Lady by Louise M. Gouge is . . . Brittany!
The winner of The Easter Edition by Robin Shope is . . . agreatdayin2003! (Love that, too!)
The winner of Scattered Petals by Amanda Cabot is . . . Karen!
I’ve sent you all e-mails. Please reply with your mailing addresses so we can get your books on their way to you!
Thanks so much to everyone who participated! I hope y’all have as much fun as I do with these drawings.
And a Texas-size “Thanks” to our awesome authors!
Hope you all have a blessed Lord’s Day tomorrow!
NEXT POST: Spilled Out (Part 2 of an Easter story)
