The morning after
Oct. 19th, 2009 11:35 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
So. As I've told a few people, I'm not really comfortable disclosing how many copies I've sold, as much as people would like to know, in a cheer-you-on sense. The thing is, this isn't a book deal where I receive a flat-fee advance; if I tell you the number, you can do the math and figure out exactly how much I've made, and there's no way that won't get wanky. But I can tell you that I've just now made enough to cover the laptop and data retrieval on Betsy 2.0. And there's always "Vampires" next month to help out with the repair bills.
Just to explain some of the financial aspects: I priced the e-book at $5. Lulu then added 1/4 of that ($1.25) on top, for a total of $6.25, as their cut. The soonest they'll release the money is 30 days (November 18th for yesterday's purchases, November 19th for today's, and so on, I guess), through PayPal to me, and then PayPal will take 2.9%, which isn't so bad (I was remembering it as 8%). Otherwise, I can wait until 45 days after the end of the financial quarter (i.e., FEBRUARY) for a check, which--forget that. PayPal it is. But at this point, I like having it on Lulu, because other people might stumble across the book and buy it without having any foreknowledge of Movies in Fifteen Minutes, they'll keep a more accurate count of how many copies it's sold, they might notice strong sales and decide to spotlight it in some way, it adds a veneer of officiality to the enterprise, etc.
Also, I ranted a bit on Twitter yesterday about the Lulu publishing process, because that's what you do when you're frustrated, and it makes you feel better. ("HOW DO I CHANGE THE PRICE???? $0.00 IS NOT A PRICE!! IT IS A FREE!!!!") Well, now Lulu's customer service Twitter account is all chagrined, ("Also: Going to punch lulu.com in the e-face" probably did it...), so I feel like I need to assure everyone that, in the end, I'm happy with how it turned out. My pissosity was mostly what you get when you're trying to maneuver a site for the first time. ("YOU SAY I CAN CHANGE THE PRIVACY SETTING BUT I DO NOT ACTUALLY SEE WHERE I CAN DO THIS.") So, um. I feel kind of bad about this. ("WHY IS IT THAT WHEN I GO TO 'REVIEW PROJECT' IT ACTS LIKE I WANT TO CREATE A NEW ONE, BECAUSE I TOTALLY DON'T.") Although I should have expected this, given that I was able to summon UPS the same way. ("I CANNOT ART UNDER THESE CONDITIONS.") Honestly, when I put the second e-book together next month, I'll know exactly what to do and it will all be perfectly wonderful. So. Uh. Sorry about that, Lulu.
I'm also trying to figure out how much promotion is sensible (I'm not very good or comfortable with promoting myself) and how much is straight-up obnoxious. Y'all have all been so great about mentioning it, though, and feedback so far has been really positive. So there's also that.
Oh, and we're working on getting the Kindle version finished and the "buy multiple copies" using PayPal thing. Hold on a bit for that.

Just to explain some of the financial aspects: I priced the e-book at $5. Lulu then added 1/4 of that ($1.25) on top, for a total of $6.25, as their cut. The soonest they'll release the money is 30 days (November 18th for yesterday's purchases, November 19th for today's, and so on, I guess), through PayPal to me, and then PayPal will take 2.9%, which isn't so bad (I was remembering it as 8%). Otherwise, I can wait until 45 days after the end of the financial quarter (i.e., FEBRUARY) for a check, which--forget that. PayPal it is. But at this point, I like having it on Lulu, because other people might stumble across the book and buy it without having any foreknowledge of Movies in Fifteen Minutes, they'll keep a more accurate count of how many copies it's sold, they might notice strong sales and decide to spotlight it in some way, it adds a veneer of officiality to the enterprise, etc.
Also, I ranted a bit on Twitter yesterday about the Lulu publishing process, because that's what you do when you're frustrated, and it makes you feel better. ("HOW DO I CHANGE THE PRICE???? $0.00 IS NOT A PRICE!! IT IS A FREE!!!!") Well, now Lulu's customer service Twitter account is all chagrined, ("Also: Going to punch lulu.com in the e-face" probably did it...), so I feel like I need to assure everyone that, in the end, I'm happy with how it turned out. My pissosity was mostly what you get when you're trying to maneuver a site for the first time. ("YOU SAY I CAN CHANGE THE PRIVACY SETTING BUT I DO NOT ACTUALLY SEE WHERE I CAN DO THIS.") So, um. I feel kind of bad about this. ("WHY IS IT THAT WHEN I GO TO 'REVIEW PROJECT' IT ACTS LIKE I WANT TO CREATE A NEW ONE, BECAUSE I TOTALLY DON'T.") Although I should have expected this, given that I was able to summon UPS the same way. ("I CANNOT ART UNDER THESE CONDITIONS.") Honestly, when I put the second e-book together next month, I'll know exactly what to do and it will all be perfectly wonderful. So. Uh. Sorry about that, Lulu.
I'm also trying to figure out how much promotion is sensible (I'm not very good or comfortable with promoting myself) and how much is straight-up obnoxious. Y'all have all been so great about mentioning it, though, and feedback so far has been really positive. So there's also that.
Oh, and we're working on getting the Kindle version finished and the "buy multiple copies" using PayPal thing. Hold on a bit for that.
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Date: 2009-10-19 04:57 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-10-19 05:00 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-10-19 05:01 pm (UTC)I bought one! :D And lol-ed. You are the main reason my roommate thinks I'm insane.
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Date: 2009-10-20 12:42 am (UTC)(no subject)
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Date: 2009-10-19 05:01 pm (UTC)YAY! Minions to the rescue!
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Date: 2009-10-19 05:02 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-10-19 05:02 pm (UTC)Okay, so there probably is. But word of mouth is probably one of the best promotional tools, so that's awesome.
YAY for being able to get the new laptop.
Also, "IT IS A FREE" makes me laugh so hard every time I read it. It never stops being funny.
no subject
Date: 2009-10-19 05:05 pm (UTC)Seconded!
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Date: 2009-10-19 05:02 pm (UTC)So happy you got enough for the computer!
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Date: 2009-10-19 08:23 pm (UTC)(no subject)
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Date: 2009-10-19 05:04 pm (UTC)I fully plan to get myself a copy of the ebook (even though I don't normally go for ebooks, as I spend enough time straining my eyes on the computer as it is, I can totally see why this project needs to be one) as soon as I make sure my recent purchases shake up to enough leftover cash. I mean, it should, as it's a very modest price you've set, but I tend to scrape every penny out of my bank account, and dance right on the edge of overdrawing.
no subject
Date: 2009-10-19 06:18 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-10-19 05:06 pm (UTC)If you don't like self-promoting, how are you with other people promoting? I mean, will it bug you if I post to my journal that this is available and you're awesome?
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Date: 2009-10-19 05:12 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-10-19 05:11 pm (UTC)b) I personally want you to promote your books - if you don't tell me it's there, I'm too daft to notice and I'll miss out and OMG I WANT THE VAMPIRES!! xD
So yeah, please promote :3
no subject
Date: 2009-10-20 09:50 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-10-19 05:14 pm (UTC)Heh. You sound like me trying to navigate Sony Vegas.
Glad to hear you can fix the computer! I'm buying my copy as I type.
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Date: 2009-10-21 07:08 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-10-19 05:16 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-10-19 05:17 pm (UTC)I'll be buying your ebook tomorrow when I get paid. :)
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Date: 2009-10-21 04:51 pm (UTC)I totally agree with this! I also think that you should definitely do it before the new Twilight movie comes out, since if this one is anything like the last one, you'll get a huge jump in readership/page views at that point, and many of those people may be coming from off LJ, so won't be viewing you on their friends page. I don't know why you haven't done AdSense, as soon as I saw that LJ was doing it, I thought "Oh, perfect timing for Cleo!"
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Date: 2009-10-19 05:28 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-10-19 05:29 pm (UTC)The e-book will be available for quite some time yes? I'd love to buy it but right now I really can't spend the $5 and change.
Also, I just noticed you background. Cute! Do you change it for the season?
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Date: 2009-10-19 06:22 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-10-19 06:03 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-10-19 06:06 pm (UTC)Thank you for making many, many, many of my days brighter.
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Date: 2009-10-19 06:09 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-10-19 06:24 pm (UTC)Yay for Cleo!
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Date: 2009-10-19 06:39 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-10-19 06:42 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-10-19 06:58 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-10-19 07:06 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-10-19 10:59 pm (UTC)hrair-rah love!
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Date: 2009-10-19 07:16 pm (UTC)Congratulations on making enough already for your new computer and data retrieval! That's great.
Please do continue to promote yourself. One thing I noticed is that later promotions on this journal do not spell out what is included in the book. Probably most of the folks who read you regularly already know, but it might be good to give the contents again like you did on
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Date: 2009-10-19 07:24 pm (UTC)I'm enjoying the book very much, but no Doctor Who?? It makes me sad.
Seriously - season 2 (David Tennant's season with Rose) is one of the best seasons of tv ever made. It's so well done. I hear you about hours in a day, but if you ever do get a chance to rent it, it is so well worth the time.
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Date: 2009-10-19 07:54 pm (UTC)Oh my god - I died laughing. Which is a problem, since I'm at work.
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