Sales and Junk

I said yesterday over at The Writing Spectacle that I would talk about sales and junk here today, so here I am. 

Sales to date: 850
Dying Embers - 454
Accidental Death - 379
Wish in One Hand - 17

Weeks since publication:
DE - 29
AD - 15
WE - 2

I'm averaging 4.08 books per day overall.

As for the junk, it's marketing stuff.  Now, understand that I have know way of directly linking my marketing efforts to sales - except for the big jumps I see after I place an ad with ENT.  From those two ads, I got 508 sales at the .99 price point (some with the 35% royalty and some with the 70% royalty.)  Here are some of the other places I've had ads:

Omnimystery News - both paid ads and free 'articles'
Goodkindles
Ereader News Today
Every Writer Resource
Kboards

I'm going to assume, since my rankings have jumped here and there, that some of those ads turned into KU borrows - which later turned into 'sales' after being read.  Speaking of that, KU has accounted for approximately 127 books 'sold'. BTW, Accidental Death has been big with the KU crowd.  Yay.  I hope to see similar numbers down the road for Wish in One Hand and Dying Embers.

Again, thank you for all of your support.  I'm chugging right along and should have a fourth book out in November - good lord willin' and the creek don't rise.

Interesting Discussion with Hubs about Ebook Pricing

Yesterday, Hubs and I were talking about pricing and marketing and ebooks.  As has happened before - because I'm the reader in the family and I know these things - Hubs wanted to know about traditionally published book pricing vs self-published pricing.

Basically it started out with me talking about my own books' pricing, and how much, as a reader, I'm willing to pay for an ebook and why.  (I mean besides the obvious reason that my book buying budget is dinky because I'm funneling most incoming fundage into the book publishing budget.)

Me:  I have a tough time spending more than $3.99 for an ebook, unless it's the next in a series from an author I really love.  And there's only one series I have to have immediately, so I spend $9.99* when they come out because I don't want to wait for the paperback.

Hubs: And how much are the paperbacks?

Me:  Usually? $7.99 or $8.99 but they come out like a year later.  I think (name withheld) puts his paperbacks out at $9.99, so I'm not paying more to have it early.


Hubs: So, let me get this straight.  The paperback - which costs the publisher more money to produce than the ebook - is more expensive than the paperback.  No wonder they're screaming so hard about keeping ebook pricing high.  That's where they're making all their money.
---
We didn't devolve this time into how much of that price the traditionally published author actually takes home.  For them what don't know, it's typically 15% minus the agent's 15% minus any marketing pay for themselves.  (Someone will correct me if this has changed recently.)

So, I walk into our office/library to check something out.  Another author I generally buy in paperback - because Walmart always stocks her new releases - has the list price at $7.99. I paid like $5.99 at Walmart.  I went on Amazon to check the list price of the paperback against the list price of the Kindle version.  Same same.  $7.99 either way.  Unless you're getting the Wallyworld discount.  Same book but with the paperback, the publisher has printing costs and labor and shipping and overhead - in addition to the across-the-board costs of editing, cover art, etc. that all versions of this book bear. 

Hmm.  Curious. 

Then I went to see what a big-name traditionally published author charges for his books.  For his most recent release, MSRP list price = $28.00. Amazon is selling it for $16.80.  Kindle price? $14.99.  The paperbacks aren't due to be released until February and they're listed at $15.99 a pop (or Amazon rate of $12.60).  Wow.  But he's really popular and people will shell that out.  Too bad he's only getting a fraction of that with a fraction taken out of it. 

It's really not surprising that the traditional publishers are pissed at the indies.  We undercut their pricing by around 60% ($3.99 vs $9.99 = $6 difference. If my math is wrong, shoot me.), produce a comparable quality piece of merchandise, and have little overhead.  Rascally upstarts that we are.  What I'm kind of surprised about is that the authors aren't pissed at their publishers who are making loads off the ebook sales and not sharing a larger portion of the pie. :shrug:  Maybe someday publishing contracts will catch up with new technology, but that's a discussion for another time.

One of these days, I'll have to do some more research into how much it costs to produce hardcopy books vs the cost of producing an ebook.  I think the readers might like to know.  But right now, I have work to do.  These books aren't writing themselves. 

*This author's Kindle book prices drop after they've been out for a while.  The last one I bought for Kindle is now $7.99.  It was worth the $2 difference to have it on release day, imo.

What's Up and What's Next - A Ramble

A while back the CFO and I were talking about the self-publishing business and how to keep the engine running. As in, how to keep a production schedule of a book released every three months when I'm clearly not banging away on the keyboard. As you know Bob, I do have a boatload of books already written, so I could probably publish books for three years straight without ever writing a new word.

"Are all of those books viable?"

"Well, I'd like to think they are."

The reality of it is that while they may all be viable and perfectly wonderful books, they also might not be what the market is looking for.  In fact, right now, I'd say MY market is looking for more of what I've already released.  And in order to give the market what it wants, it means more new words.

And in order to give my soul what it wants, I have to let the market down every now and then.

Wait, what? 

Well, I have a lot of books in me - in a variety of genres.  Generally, the market likes writers to stick to one genre and run with it.  So, I expect certain segments of the market will be let down every now and then by what's ahead.  Sorry about that.  If I do this, then the products you enjoy will be better in the long run, though.  Trust me.

Anyway, I'm just about done with this round of edits on Bloodflow (techno-political-medical suspense - a for-me book) and I'm thinking about what to jump into next.  September is for new words.  In deference to my customers, I'll be working on either the next book in the SCIU series OR the next Dennis Haggarty mystery.

I expect from here on out that's about how it'll work - for-you books put out at regular intervals with for-me books sprinkled here and there.  Hopefully some of you will enjoy the for-me books.  Expand your genres, expand the reading material available to you.  Know what I mean? 

Meanwhile, I'd better get editing so I can send this off to the AWE (Awesome Wonderful Editor-gal) and then set my buns down for some heavy-duty word slinging.

Have an awesome day, Everyone!  And happy reading.  =o)

Six Months In - A Numbers and Marketing Post

Well, it's been six months since I started self-publishing.  Actually, I started considering self-publishing seriously about a year ago.  And it'll be a year in November when I spent money on the endeavor.  But, for the purposes of this post, it's been just over six months since my first book hit the e-shelves.  Here's how it all breaks down.

Dying Embers - published 2/13/15

Copies sold: 442
Ebooks: 430
Print: 12

Accidental Death - published 5/18/15

Copies sold: 372
Ebooks: 368
Print: 4

Wish in One Hand - published 8/18/15

Copies sold: 12
Ebooks: 11
Print: 1

All books:
Copies sold: 825
Ebooks purchased: 691
KU books borrowed & read*: 112
Other vendor sales: 6
Print copies sold: 17

I was going to put the number of how much money I've gotten, but then I thought better of it. It's gauche to talk money, and it's really not anyone's business.  Suffice it to say, I have not cleared expenses for Dying Embers, let alone the other two books.  I'm hoping to be able to eventually fund this endeavor without dipping into living expenses. I'll be happy when I can pay back what I borrowed from the living expenses budget.  I'll be ecstatic if this ever gets to the point where I have spending money out of it.

The marketing part of this is still a mystery.  I pay for ads that bring me sales. I pay for ads that don't.  I've had free ads that made me money and others that didn't.  Making Dying Embers free didn't really do anything definitive for either sales or reviews, but it did make it available for pirates.  I discovered I moved more books on one pirated site than I've sold to date.  That was the last time I made a book free and I'm not inclined to do it again.

So far, six months in, I'm calling this a win.  Sure, WIOH started out slower than I would've liked, but it'll get there.  I'm aiming for an average of 2 books sold per day per book.  Right now, I'm at an average of just over 4 books a day. (4.07 as of this morning)

Any questions?

*I have no idea how many people actually borrowed thru KU because I don't get data until they read the book.

Character Profile: Meet Jo Mayweather

Josephine Eugenia Mayweather

born: 1904, NYC to Evangeline and Reginald "Reggie" Mayweather

Hair: Brown
Eyes: Brown
Height: 5'8
Weight: Not even if you paid her.

Year of changing:  1924
Creator: Stavros

Marital status: Widowed
Spouse: Benny
Djinn status: Freed and/or Masterless
Reason for freed status: Master expired


Current residence: basement apartment, Mayweather Antiquities, Estes Park, CO
Current employment: Antiques Dealer, owner of Mayweather Antiquities, founder of the Djinn Liberation Network

Known associates: Basil Hadresham, Mena, Mary Killigrew, Renee Turner, Ezekiel ben Aron, Iago Duarte, Michael, Stavros

Pets: Major (a dog of the Kuvasz breed)

Any questions for Jo?

Out and About

So yesterday was release day.  And by 8am, I was so sick of myself I had to go out into the world - even if just to stop clicking around the sales report page.  I grabbed the grocery list, my errand stuff, and my boo-boo proof*.

First stop, the post office to check my PO Box.  All it had in it were last week's newspapers, but it gave me a chance to show off my proof to the postal gal.  We chatted books for a few minutes until another customer came in.

Then I went to the bank.  I have fans at the bank.  My biggest fan there - the one who managed to beg me out of a proof copy of Accidental Death - has been going thru some stuff, so I didn't expect to see her.  I figured I was pretty safe showing off the boo-boo proof since her car wasn't in the lot.  Nope, there she was.  I set the book down to show her and she started to take it saying 'Let me grab my purse'.  I snatched it back before she got attached to it.  I mean, I felt really bad because she probably could use some escapism right now, but I couldn't sell her that one.  I promised to get her one ASAP.

Next stop, the library.  Now, at this particular local library, there's usually a gal who squees when she sees me coming - especially if I have a new book in my hands.  I walked in - no squee.  She quit.  Totally harshed my day.  I needed the squee.  Craved the squee, in fact.  I just didn't realize it until it wasn't there.  The head librarian was there - swamped because she's now shorthanded and unsure whether the library system will let her hire a new gal - and she was suitably impressed with my pretty book. 

Today it's raining pretty hard, so I'm home.  Today, I'm supposed to get my new proof - with actual page numbers and junk - so I should be able to approve it for purchase and then order a bunch of copies.  (There'll be a Goodreads contest for one.)  Tomorrow, I may head back out into the world and visit my local used bookstore.  She'll pat me on the head for my lovely new book, and I'll be happy.

Who knew I could be so needy?  Bleh.

*Thus called because it has no page numbers.

Release Day!

The first in my paranormal suspense series - WISH IN ONE HAND - is now available!

Careful what you wish for. 

In hindsight, Jo Mayweather should've taken those words seriously back in her flapper-girl days. Of course, being the gal she is, she probably would’ve made the not-so-clever wish that turned her into a genie anyway. Not that throwing wishes around doesn’t have its perks, but for the most part, life's been a pain in the tiny-hiney ever since. 

Especially once she made it her mission to rescue her fellow djinn from their Masters and those three little wishes. Running into a supernatural lowlife who delights in murdering the genies she's vowed to save doesn’t help. 

And some say immortality lasts forever. What do they know? 

Now, instead of freeing djinn-kind, Jo has a killer to neutralize. If only she'd kept her mouth shut years ago, she might not be in this mess. But she's got a job to do, despite some reject from a bad B-movie trying to ruin everything she's worked so hard for. 

Even if, this time her job might get her killed. Or worse-enslaved again.

WISH IN ONE HAND - Releases Tomorrow!

Yep.  Finally.  After all these years.  Wish in One Hand (formerly known as Djinnocide, if you've been playing along) releases tomorrow.

This book.  Well, I got the idea I wanted to write an urban fantasy - you know, since those were so hot - and I tried to think of an idea that would separate me from the growing crowd of urban fantasy titles out there.  So, I looked around and realized there was a dearth of offerings about genies.  (In fact, when I started the book back in... shit, 2007?... there was zilch.)  So I made a start over the summer.  And it was... Bleh. 

Then I sat down for NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month - November every year), determined to write this book if it killed me, and banged out the first draft.  Over the intervening months, I scrubbed it, polished it, gave it to beta readers, and... Well, that's neither here nor there.  Suffice it to say, it wasn't blowing anyone's skirts up.

I ended up scrapping that original draft and re-writing the whole damn book.  THEN I scrapped that draft and re-wrote the whole damn book again - in first person.  What I ended up with after all those scrappings and rewritings and editings was Djinnocide. (Genocide - Genie-cide - Djinnocide... get it?) 

And I submitted it to agents. I got a couple nibbles, but nothing worth even trying to set the hook.  I entered it in a strange submission period for a major publisher and made it to the final cut, but not past it.  I sent it off as a straight submission to another major publisher and, while I got some nice compliments, was told it wasn't right for their list. 

Okee doke.  I wasn't really all that jazzed anymore about taking this through a real publisher anyway.  Not sour grapes. Really.  By the time I got that rejection letter, I'd already begun self-publishing and I was loving it.  So, I took Wish in One Hand and started feeding it through the machine.  Cover art. Edits. Polishes.

All that new grinding commenced in May.  It's been a whirlwind three months after 8 years of slogging through oatmeal, but it's done.  Wish in One Hand will be out there in the world tomorrow.  (It's up for pre-order, so if you want it on your Kindle when you wake up tomorrow, order it now.)

I hope all of you love it as much as I do.  If you can't manage that level of excitement, I hope you all enjoy it enough that you don't want to find me and throttle that $3.99 out of my hide. 

Wish in One Hand - Pre-Launch Snippet

Hey All!  If you enjoyed my little conversation with Jo on Wednesday, here's a snippet of Jo in action:

Basil said this would be easy-peasy. Hearing a centuries-old, tweed-loving genie use the phrase, in and of itself, should’ve been a heads-up. But, no. I took him at his word and dropped into upstate New York blind.

Literally. 

I closed my eyes in Colorado and, before the breeze of teleportation could ruffle my hair, I stood in what could’ve been a storeroom at the Louvre. Except I knew better. Some guy with more cash than ethics had whipped out his double-platinum, diamond-encrusted Visa and bought a great many things he should never own. Judging from what I saw at first glance, this Master was a naughty monkey. No fewer than a dozen works of art reported lost or stolen graced his gallery. In one corner sat a jackal sculpture I knew for a fact went missing from a prestigious Italian museum.

If only his immoral behavior had stopped at owning another person. Not that I have any room to talk, what with the whole set of rapacious genes galloping through me. But I’d never stoop to slavery.

Growing up as the daughter of a cat burglar does have its advantages, though. As my fingers inched toward a priceless Faberge egg, I had to accept that being Reggie’s child had its disadvantages, too. One big one in particular—the need to touch things I have no business touching. A fingertip on the egg’s cloisonné surface started an alarm-ageddon loud enough to blow out eardrums in Pennsylvania.

I jerked my hand away and threw a quick wish. The alarms stopped, but the damage had been done. Even in this sleepy backwoods, I had ten minutes tops before the authorities arrived.

My senses made short work of locating the genie in question. His sanctuary—his lamp away from home, so to speak—sat nestled on a velvet bed in an ornate showcase. Stifling a cringe over the cliché of a genie living in a lamp—especially one as gaudy and gem-encrusted as this—I smashed the glass and snatched the offensive thing.

And suddenly life became way more interesting than I needed.

The initial appearance of a genie to any new friend usually ends up as ‘whoomp, here I am’. Some djinn like a little more pizzazz. This bastard’s full pyrotechnic display shot me halfway across the room. Only quick thinking and energy I couldn’t afford to waste stopped me from destroying a couple million dollars worth of masterpieces.

“Sunuvabitch,” I shouted as the smoke coalesced into a human shape. Before I knew it, I found myself staring at a stand-in for Omar Sharif, Lawrence of Arabia style, but with more flair.

“You are not my Master,” he said without looking at me.

Yep, that's the scene I pulled the cover concept from.  See?

(If you zoom in on the genie's face, you'll see the artist did a most excellent job of making him similar to the recently departed, well respected, and totally loved Mr. Sharif.)

To read more about Jo and her new bestie, Omar, snag a copy of Wish in One Hand on Tuesday.  If you want it to be on your Kindle when you wake up, pre-order a copy today.  =o)

An Interview with Jo Mayweather

Good morning, Everyone.  I decided to sit down today with Jo Mayweather - co-owner of Mayweather Antiquities.

Hello, Jo.  :passes her a large mug of coffee:  Thanks for taking a moment to chat with me this morning.

When you said you wanted to do this, I had no idea you meant this early. :guzzles coffee and magically refills her own cup: So how does this work? What do you want to know?

Is it true you're a genie?

Djinn.

What?

Sorry. Old habits die hard.  The olde guarde prefers to be called djinn.  Genie works for me.  And yes, I am one. 

So you have to grant me three wishes?

:cringes:  No.  You're not a Master, so the Rules don't apply.  If you're nice and I think you really need it, I might nudge a little somethin-somethin your way, but there's no guarantee.

You say 'rules' like they're something special.

There is.  The big R rules were crafted by the gods who created us to keep us in line and stop us from unmaking the universe.  You can't break them even if you want to.

And they are?

Stuff like 'no altering time', 'no bringing people back from the dead', 'no harming mortals'... 

But that last one isn't hard and fast, is it?

Pretty much. I mean, it's generally frowned upon, but a genie could still get around it if they had a mind to.  It's like this.  I can't use a wish to cause harm to someone.  However, I could use a wish to light a fire that might harm someone, or drop a building on them which would cause harm, or create a sudden lightning storm that might fry someone's ass, but I can't say "I wish your head would explode".

What would happen if you did?

Nothing.  The gods would laugh maybe.  I'd look like an idiot.  If I really wanted to hurt someone, I'd have to use the old-fashioned way.  By hand.  Or weapon. 

Would you?

Do I look like a bully?  Genie versus human would not be fair.  We're faster, stronger, etc. Plus nothing hurts us for long.  Super mad healing skills in the djinn world.

Good to know. But enough about that. Let's talk about Jo the person. So, what kind of music do you like?

I listen to just about everything.  It's one of the quirks of living this many years.  I roll with the musical tastes of the age.  It'd be easier to tell you what I don't like. 

Okay, so what don't you like?

Death metal.  My creator, Stavros, was into that shit before humans even conceived of it.  I wouldn't be surprised if he started the whole genre of music.  Asshole.  I also can't really listen to music from my human life. 

Hits from the 1920s? Why?

They make me homesick and a little wistful.  Who needs that?

Dog or cat?

Dog.  Cats and genies don't really get along.  I think they know we're not natural.

Favorite libation?

Libation?  What are you, a writer or something?  I drink gin.  It's a throwback to my humanity, but a gal's gotta stick to what she likes.  I also drink coffee. Lots of it. :a large coffee maker appears beside us:  Want some?  It's hazelnut.

Don't mind if I do.  Quick question.  Do you wish for everything or is this just a coffee thing?

I try to work for what I have.  But when the need arises, I'm not above using a little power.  This? :she waves toward the machine:  I'll unmake it when we're through.  I already have one of my own and wishing isn't about how many goodies I can clutter my home up with.

Then what do you think wishing is about?

I'm not quite sure.  All I know is the gods put us here - probably for their own amusement - and we should do more with our immortality than simply fritter it away.  Put in a little effort.  Enrich our minds rather than just our bank accounts.

So you're against wishing for money?

Totally.  Besides, the Council would have a genie's ass if they caught him.  Nothing alerts humanity to our existence faster than things that shouldn't be there suddenly appearing.  Money is one of those things that gets tracked by the human world.  And when humans start sniffing around, the djinn-world gets pissy.

Can't you just wish up some gold?

And upset the world's financial balance?  Yeah, that's a good idea.  Right.

Favorite food?

Wow, talk about a topic shift.  Waffles. I love waffles.

Yeah, I spend a lot of time at Short Attention Span Theater.  Sorry about that.  I just have questions I'd like you to answer, but I keep getting distracted.

No problem. What's next on the list?

Favorite book?

All of them.  Nearly unlimited lifespan equals a lot of reading time.  I remember once, in the 1960s, I spent a month reading 24/7.

Hey, listen, this has been fun and all, but I have to scoot.  I have a stack of papyrus I need to sort through, Major needs a walk, Basil and I have a meeting at ten that I'm not prepared for... something about a new masterless djinn with an attitude problem...

Life as a genie isn't one of leisure, I take it.

Not hardly.  I have a business to run and genies to rescue.  

Well, thanks for joining me today.  I hope you'll come back soon and chat some more.  Oh, she's already gone.  

Do you have any questions for Jo?  I'm sure I'll get her to stop in and answer them at some point.

And if you'd like to know more about Josephine Mayweather, her business, her mission, and her stories,  Wish in One Hand is available for pre-order and launches on the 18th.

Silence Signifying Something

Hey all.  Sorry I've been silent.  I really had intended to fill this week with stuff leading up to my launch next week.  Problem is there was more to be done to the manuscript than I thought, so I've been busting my hump like a crazy woman - which hasn't left a whole lot of brain space for anything else.  However, I finished the last of that tonight and now all that's left are the proofy-bits.  Should have those knocked out tomorrow maybe - Wednesday at the latest.  Then I can ready this for pre-order and junk.  THEN I should become a rational, thoughtful human being again.

Look for something fun on Wednesday and again on Friday.

Thanks for your patience.  :hugs:

-B.E.

The Production Schedule

Yesterday, I went out and about in the world with my swag to see how my local fans responded to news of the next book.

There was some squeeing, some yaying, and a couple curious responses.  The first makes me wonder if I have a typo on my postcard somewhere.  "How many of these do you get printed at one time?"  I'll address that one after I've had some more coffee.

The next made me wonder how the average person is perceiving my books with this production schedule I've created.  "Wow.  Another book?  Already?"  The look in her eyes seemed skeptical to me.  Like 'how it is even possible' and had me wondering whether she was thinking I couldn't possible put out this many books in one year and have them all still be good.  (Yeah,  I might've read more into that than was there, but I do tend to overthink interpersonal interludes.)

Of course, I explained that since I have been writing books for ten years, I have a lot of books in the hopper ready to move forward - with professional editing and cover art, of course.  She didn't seem convinced.  Especially after I told her I plan on a fourth book this year. :shrug:

If you received my newsletter*, you know the upcoming production schedule.  It's at the end of the email - right above how to contact me.  Anyway, here's this quarter's 'Future Stuff' section:

In near future stuff, my fourth book - the one I am currently referring to as Bloodflow - is under way and should be ready for a November launch.  It's another suspense, but more in the techological / political vein.  Government conspiracies, kick ass good guys, evil villains.  I can't wait to share it with all of you.

Further down the road, the production schedule still looks something like this in 2016:

Winter: Fifth book - In Deep Wish (Djinn 2) (paranormal suspense)

Spring: Sixth book - SCIU 2 (suspense) or Dennis Haggarty 2 (mystery)

Summer: Seventh book - Up Wish Creek (Djinn 3) (paranormal suspense)

Fall: Eighth book - Whichever book didn't go live in the Spring.

You see, of the books in the future schedule, two are already written.  This year, all the books were already written and simply needed to be edited.  That tends to make things a lot quicker.  The other two books for next year are each started and written partway through.  Those should be easy enough to complete and slide right into the schedule. 

So no worries about me rushing, or the quality of the work taking a hit.  K?  This is just how I roll.  I will not put out work I don't feel is the best possible work I can offer you.  Hopefully, you'll agree.

*If you have signed up for my newsletter, but did not get a copy on Saturday morning, please let me know.   If you'd like a copy, ask.  I can forward mine.  If you'd like to sign up for the next newsletter - due in November - go here.

Thoughts on Book Piracy

Over the weekend, I discovered that Dying Embers has been pirated.  I spent a chunk of time on Saturday contacted sites to get it removed.  I searched again on Sunday and found more sites where you can now download the PDF of my book for free.  One place showed over 600 downloads - which is more copies than I've sold to date.  If those had been paid for, I would now have $1200+ and be able to fund another book's art and editing without having to dip into our retirement funds or cut back on the grocery bill. 

But let's forget that for a second.  Let's say, for instance, that those people would not have purchased my book anyway.  I mean, I had a free day back in March and way more people snagged a copy on that one day than bought the book in the first three months of its existence.  People like free stuff.  Hell, there've been times in my life when I wouldn't have read a new book if it hadn't been free.  You know, times when I was scraping by, hoarding my pennies so I could afford to pay editors and artists and... Never mind.

The thing about giving a book away for free is that there's a certain level of hope that those free copies will generate buzz, and book reviews, and boosts in the rankings to help sell books.  It's the reason we do it.  We give, you give, it's all good.

But then you take what was a free book for one day, you upload it to a site where it's free all the time.  And those readers don't even bother to give a little somethin-somethin in return.  No buzz.  No reviews. No boost.  How is that equitable?

Now, some people get their undies in a bunch over piracy.  Personally, it depresses me, but I look at it as part of doing business on the internet.  You put stuff out there without lock & key, and someone somewhere will steal it.  Others actually say it's good for business.  They claim they see an uptick in sales after a book's been pirated.  I don't have sufficient data to back up or deny that claim.

You know, folks, I ain't rich.  I don't do this writing thing for my health.  Sure, I want people to read my books and enjoy them.  The more the better.  But I deserve to get paid for the effort.  Just like you wouldn't want someone coming up to you and making you work endless hours for nothing, writers don't want that either.  If you're unable or unwilling to purchase books for whatever reason, at least leave a dime on the dresser by writing a review, chatting up the book to people with money, or whatever.

Don't worry.  I'm not quitting.  There are enough conscientious and honest readers out there who are willing to save their pennies and buy my stuff that those others are a blip.  Still, that $1200 would've gone a long way to putting more books out there for the world to enjoy.  No income = no new books.  I can't keep funding this cycle any other way.

Sidenote: Oddly enough, Accidental Death isn't pirated as far as I can tell, but I haven't offered that one for free.  As such, I probably won't offer another one of my books for free again.  If you were one of those honest people who would've liked to read my books, but couldn't afford it, thank the pirates for that decision.

I mean, it's three freakin' bucks, people.  If reading is important to you, find a way to buy a book rather than download it from some site where the author isn't getting paid.  And FYI, as of 8/1/15, no site other than Amazon has any of my ebooks - not with my permission anyway.

'Nuff said.