Royalties

Don't dare say PA does not put books iin bookstores.
I just was charged for returned books from bookstores.
I would love to know which bookstores these were.

Dear Alice,
Perhaps they could tell you. Did they send you a bill for it or did they deduct it from your check.

I got my check today. Eleven people bought Wooffer. They must have gotten them 'used' through Amazon because that is the only way Wooffer is sold for the prices that they put on the statement. Thank you, all eleven of you!
Love,
Betty

Used books don't show up on a statement, only books that the publisher makes money from. So yes, 11 people did buy Woofer new.

I got my own royalty check yesterday for my textbook. Wow, used books sure cut into my sales, it's half of what it used to be.

I got mine today, too. I did have a charge for one returned book, and the sale prices were considerably lower than the selling price, but overall, it apparently sold much better than last year (oh, wow, is that an understatement!!) Last year I got one check so low I didn't bother to cash it, and the other statement was simply a note telling me that I would get paid when they got paid. It seems there are circumstances where they sell actual books to retailers whom they allow to return unsold copies. That would explain my statement. It looks like they finally got paid. The prices were lower, but I sold a lot more books than I have for some time.

I will definitely cash the check this time, and hold off on asking for my rights back.

Ann

Maybe Forever Travels bumped up your sales, Ann. Hope so!

Me, too! One of the things that might have - I told my daughter tonight that it looked as though someone had bought 40 copies. I could be reading the list wrong. It could be a comilation of orders at the same price. But Lynn (who is a school administrator) said, "Classroom set," which would mean it is being used somewhere as a textbook supplement. Her guess is that it would be a college class, because Texas History is taught at the Middle School level. Of course, it might be US History, too, for a WWII unit. But Comparative Mythology is not usually taught at the high school level (although I snuck it in, using the classical mythology unit as an excuse. The book is based on that unit.

Talk about wishing to know where!

Lyn said try googling the title along with "university catalog."

Ann

The title (in apostrophes) plus one of these - "bkstr," "edu," "syllabus," "inurl:edu," "inurl:doc," or "inurl:pdf" might work, too.

The interesting thing about Ann's royalties is the fact that at least 40 books were sold and royalties paid on those books (that Ann cannot track). It flies in the face of all the rhetoric spewed out by the bashers over at AbsoluteWrite. The books were bought not by friends or relatives but by an unknown buyer(s). The book is still selling five years after it was published. PA is keeping track of those sales and paying out the royalties.

The bashers, who whinge and complain because of the poor performance of their books (that are given the same opportunity as all the other PA books), want to believe that every other PA book does as badly as their own. It makes them feel better and less of a failure. If they find a new publisher with a better outcome, instead of being grateful to PA for giving them that first chance, they feel that their success is all down to themselves and PA was a bad experience they want to put behind them. In reality, their first publishing experience was a poor one because their books were equally poor.

$3.13 Royalty. Once I pay the postage to send it for deposit, I may net $1.50. Perhaps I should invest it, but in what?

Do you have any street people in Germany?

I received a royalty cheque today -- much to my surprise. When my first cheques arrived, it was hardly worth cashing them. I asked PA if I could return the cheques and receive one that would be worth cashing. They agreed. I returned the cheques. When the royalties dropped to zero, I asked for a cheque to be sent for back royalties. They sent a cheque (for the correct amount of all my accumulated royalties) and I cashed it. Then I contacted support and asked for my rights back since the book was no longer selling. They suggested that it would be in my best interest to have shared rights. I agreed. My book will stay on Amazon and all the other online stores. I see no reason to change that. The book is going nowhere. I did try to find another publisher but to no avail. Time to move on and leave Mr. Planemaker's Flying Machine in cyberspace for anyone who might like to buy the occasional book.

My full rights will be returned to me this October -- but I don't think I need them. I would recommend to all PA authors wondering what to do about their rights that they should ask for shared rights. Otherwise, it will stay on all the online store with "Not available" next to it. I don't see the point.

So far PA has sent me several letters offering to return my rights: $99; $199 and now $299. I don't see the logic. If I wasn't going to pay $99, I'm sure not going to pay $299. I do need to break Arirang: The Bamboo Connection into three novels. Sept. 2013 seems a long time to wait.

Why don't you ask PA if they would be willing to sell the book as a trilogy? If it produced sales, I'm sure they would be interested.

That's a good idea, Shelagh. I think they might price each piece too high, though. Good thought...

Even Curt and I sold one book and split the royalties! He was generous and gave me his half. I may go out and splurge on a 3-pack of gum!

My contract is up in November. I do not think I can have PA go for another 7 years even with shared rights unless they would use the edited version that our lovely Shelagh so kindly did for my book. I do not think I would do it even then because they have been so unkind to me and downright disparaging. That has all been because of someone's defense of Pier.

No, I will do something else. I hope.

Love,
Betty

Yeah, my last royalties from PA wouldn't buy gum. I congratulate those of you who have had continuous sales for the whole seven years. I used up my quota in the first four - and when the hoopla started at Amazon with the buy buttons and price changes - and then getting bumped off the PAMB - well, I put my marbles into Ghost Orchid and let Arirang: The Bamboo Connection slip as far as PA sales.

I did have my ebook rights returned and theKindle ebook sales have been steady, a few bags of groceries now and then.

Well, they claim 10 books were returned by bookstores at 17.77. I can only see 6 sold at that price. I will not worry about it. I did sell one book though.

They have still overlooked Amazon sales.

The whole matter is not worth fussing about. I am glad I don't make my liviing off of book proceeds.

Did I tell you how much I love your book? And the cover? It's a pleasure to read. There is still something special about a real book...some real books anyway.

DK

I am glad you like it. I am also glad I went with PA. I found some great friends there.

It is said that best friends with whom you would trust your life can be counted on one hand; good friends two. There must be a special category for the electronic age where friendship is felt without being personally acquainted. The nuances that come from meeting a person are lost; but there is also a quality of safety that leads to a different level of knowing.