Well, ok, Bar Dreams isn't that expensive - but it still isn't cheap. But yes, overall, my books are, so far, expensive. Diary of a Plate Addict especially so.
Here are some thoughts as to why:
1) I am doing this all by myself - I don't have a publishing company behind me that is paying for advertising, doing all the design work, finding me places to do signings, promoting me, etc. It is, sadly, all me.
2) I know, it might sound like a conundrum, but when I am selling thousands of books a month, the prices will be lower, for sure! Right now, each book costs me a lot to produce and that doesn't even begin to account for the time, effort and money that went into getting the book ready to be produced. I mean, look at all the money I had to spend on beer, just to be able to write the book! (19 plates at $1000 a plate, give or take...) So, when that is paid back...
3) Diary of a Plate Addict (DPA) is less of a book than it is a souvenir and an art-ish book. Souvenirs always are more costly. And art books, oh my goodness. Mine has the additional benefit of being fun (at least I hope it is fun) to read and look through. Almost a coffee table book - and we all know how expensive those are! It is a niche book, even.
4) DPA is supposed to be a book that one can look at over and over again - not like a novel that you read once and put on a shelf. And it can be taken around to various Saucers and autographed by people hither and yon. I mean, why the heck not?
5) One of the major target demographics for this book is someone who is working, assiduously, towards their plate or plates at the Flying Saucer. Anyone who can consciously choose to spend upwards of $1000 towards a plate can certainly afford the cost of one day's drinking to buy a copy of this book!
6) This is my only source of income just now and I sincerely appreciate on anyone who wants to support a starving artist.
I am sure there are more reasons, but this will suffice for the time being. Read on!
Tuesday, December 20, 2011
Sunday, December 18, 2011
Maybe it is just google...
This writing blog has 200 views already - and only two posts! Weird.
A few quick things - anyone anywhere know how to program an e-book? Not just a PDF - but an e-book that can be read by the iBook reader or the Kindle or the Nook...I haven't even googled it yet - but plan to. And I am going to need a designer again for the self-help book. At least that is the current intention. I think I am going to go for someone local, if I can find someone I can work with (tall order there) and who won't be too expensive.
Does anyone know where to get an inexpensive copy of InDesign? I think that is the app that Heather used to design Diary of a Plate Addict. I am planning on doing the revisions and the update on my own. A few errors have already been noticed - and I am going to want to add a few pages - maybe 6 or 8 - after I finish going to all of the Saucers. And since it is mostly designed now - I think I can manage to add a couple of pages that look to be part of the package.
Lastly, this isn't really writing related, but I am looking forward to actually catching up on the picture a day albums on Facebook. Hopefully, by the time this is posted, I will have accomplished at least one of the 6 remaining months!
A few quick things - anyone anywhere know how to program an e-book? Not just a PDF - but an e-book that can be read by the iBook reader or the Kindle or the Nook...I haven't even googled it yet - but plan to. And I am going to need a designer again for the self-help book. At least that is the current intention. I think I am going to go for someone local, if I can find someone I can work with (tall order there) and who won't be too expensive.
Does anyone know where to get an inexpensive copy of InDesign? I think that is the app that Heather used to design Diary of a Plate Addict. I am planning on doing the revisions and the update on my own. A few errors have already been noticed - and I am going to want to add a few pages - maybe 6 or 8 - after I finish going to all of the Saucers. And since it is mostly designed now - I think I can manage to add a couple of pages that look to be part of the package.
Lastly, this isn't really writing related, but I am looking forward to actually catching up on the picture a day albums on Facebook. Hopefully, by the time this is posted, I will have accomplished at least one of the 6 remaining months!
Sunday, December 11, 2011
Week of Sales in Review
Sadly, I think that writing and then selling one's work are connected. I will say that, though it would be nice, I do not aspire, nor am I driven, to sell 100s of 1000s of books. I would like to break even, I would like people to enjoy the works. Heck, I would like to sell at least 1000 copies of anything that I produce. That being said, I am a lackluster sales person. Once a potential customer engages, I can be quite winning and convincing. But it is getting the customer to engage - being too in one's face or pushy, that I just can't do. I bet I could have sold many more copies if the Saucer would have let me hire an off duty server to hawk the book table to table. My belief is, as usual, that people just weren't aware enough of the book.
But I am getting ahead of myself, which is pretty typical. I went to Raleigh this past week, to try and sell copies of my second book, Diary of a Plate Addict. This is a niche book - written specifically for a very small segment of the population of the world - basically three groups of people, all quite limited in number - first - fans of the Flying Saucer chain of restaurants and bars - and more specifically a subsection of these people - people who are members of their beer drinking rewards program - the UFO Club. Secondly, people who are acquainted with me and would like to support me and my efforts to be a somewhat profitable (ha) author. And third, random people who like decently designed, good looking books that are really expensive. (Ok, so this last isn't a very large group - and the first isn't so huge either - the middle group probably numbers in about 60,000 people...)
I went with the thought that it would be possible to sell 300 copies in the Raleigh venue. With a downward limit of maybe 50. This was to be a sort of litmus test to see how sales would be. A test case. Jeff, the GM, agreed to put up Flyers, which he did. And the flyers were kind of eye catching. not breathtaking - but in places where they would be seen - especially at the kiosk where UFO members usually go to select their beers of an evening. He mentioned announcing it on the microphone, but that never happened. That could have helped quite a bit. I also spent too much time at my table and not enough wandering around. I got many more sales when I was wandering around. One day, Jeff let me sit near the front of the bar. We both thought more visibility would increase sales. But it didn't. I am not going to guess why sales were not as great as they could have been. Many of the usual suspoects bought copies, and for that I am very grateful. Many more said they would and didn't. What is that about? Irksome to say the least. A few who ought to have bought copies didn't - not one server bought a copy of the book and to me that is simply mind-boggling! Who wouldn't want to buy a copy of a book with one's picture in it - even if it is a small picture? Hmm? Really? Whatever.
So, the final tally was 57 copies of Diary of a Plate Addict and 13 copies of Bar Dreams sold. Not great but certainly not terrible.
Some things that might have sold more books: announcements over the microphone that I was there - maybe a better flyer - something that shows the cover, not just the logo - and maybe something that looks more like a book. More wandering through the bar - maybe I will have to make myself a Diary of a Plate Addict Shirt and wear it around. More time spent in the bar - after 7 pm. I think as people become more tipsy, they become more likely to buy a copy of the book. Most days I bailed at around 7 - and almost always there was a sale or two just before I left.
My fingers are still crossed that Stephanie (a woman who works at the HQ for the Saucer) will be able to sway Keith and Shannon to get behind the book - they ought to buy one for every Saucer member! Or at least for all of their staff members for Christmas. At the very least, they ought to buy ten copies for each store to sell in their merchandise cabinets...
Any other thoughts are of course welcome! My plan for the next week is to come up with a google ad and see if that brings in any sales. Anything is possible (most things are unlikely).
But I am getting ahead of myself, which is pretty typical. I went to Raleigh this past week, to try and sell copies of my second book, Diary of a Plate Addict. This is a niche book - written specifically for a very small segment of the population of the world - basically three groups of people, all quite limited in number - first - fans of the Flying Saucer chain of restaurants and bars - and more specifically a subsection of these people - people who are members of their beer drinking rewards program - the UFO Club. Secondly, people who are acquainted with me and would like to support me and my efforts to be a somewhat profitable (ha) author. And third, random people who like decently designed, good looking books that are really expensive. (Ok, so this last isn't a very large group - and the first isn't so huge either - the middle group probably numbers in about 60,000 people...)
I went with the thought that it would be possible to sell 300 copies in the Raleigh venue. With a downward limit of maybe 50. This was to be a sort of litmus test to see how sales would be. A test case. Jeff, the GM, agreed to put up Flyers, which he did. And the flyers were kind of eye catching. not breathtaking - but in places where they would be seen - especially at the kiosk where UFO members usually go to select their beers of an evening. He mentioned announcing it on the microphone, but that never happened. That could have helped quite a bit. I also spent too much time at my table and not enough wandering around. I got many more sales when I was wandering around. One day, Jeff let me sit near the front of the bar. We both thought more visibility would increase sales. But it didn't. I am not going to guess why sales were not as great as they could have been. Many of the usual suspoects bought copies, and for that I am very grateful. Many more said they would and didn't. What is that about? Irksome to say the least. A few who ought to have bought copies didn't - not one server bought a copy of the book and to me that is simply mind-boggling! Who wouldn't want to buy a copy of a book with one's picture in it - even if it is a small picture? Hmm? Really? Whatever.
So, the final tally was 57 copies of Diary of a Plate Addict and 13 copies of Bar Dreams sold. Not great but certainly not terrible.
Some things that might have sold more books: announcements over the microphone that I was there - maybe a better flyer - something that shows the cover, not just the logo - and maybe something that looks more like a book. More wandering through the bar - maybe I will have to make myself a Diary of a Plate Addict Shirt and wear it around. More time spent in the bar - after 7 pm. I think as people become more tipsy, they become more likely to buy a copy of the book. Most days I bailed at around 7 - and almost always there was a sale or two just before I left.
My fingers are still crossed that Stephanie (a woman who works at the HQ for the Saucer) will be able to sway Keith and Shannon to get behind the book - they ought to buy one for every Saucer member! Or at least for all of their staff members for Christmas. At the very least, they ought to buy ten copies for each store to sell in their merchandise cabinets...
Any other thoughts are of course welcome! My plan for the next week is to come up with a google ad and see if that brings in any sales. Anything is possible (most things are unlikely).
Tuesday, December 6, 2011
I just don't get it...
I am feeling sad and frustrated at the dearth of sales of Diary of a Plate Addict. I really did believe that I could sell 300 copies here in Raleigh. Two days in, and I have sold less than 1/10th of that total. Yup, 28 copies sold in Raleigh. Mostly to my best friends and long time beerknurd acquaintances. Which is understandable. Sure, some of them haven't ponied up the cash and probably won't. Thence begins my confusion. Diary of a Plate Addict is a souvenir book - it is full of pictures and little things that will sneak up on people - like all of the plates in the background, like the flip book, like all of the different glasses that are used as page numbers. Yes, it is expensive. But it is not a cheap book to have printed. It is, almost, a coffee table book. I had even contemplated making it into a coffee table book - hard cover, or at least heavily laminated, with a metal o ring type binding, but I am, now, glad I didn't. People balk at $25 for the book - what would they do if it were $45!
But is it truly price that is keeping people away in droves? I don't think so. Last night there were probably 300 people in the bar in the 4 hours I was there. How many people came up and asked about the book? Not one. Not a single person came up and asked me about it or took a look at it. So they didn't even know how much it cost.
What confuses me most, though, is the servers. Not one server has bought a copy. The ones I have harangued, only a little I hope, have all claimed poverty! Really? Most of the servers take home between $200 and $400 dollars in a night. Many of them have waited on me many many times and I have consistently tipped them decently. I am tempted to say to them (though I haven't) "Hey, sorry, I can't afford to tip you." One server told me about their $1000 debt or something - I basically stopped listening when she said she couldn't afford it. Really? A whole whopping $1000 debt? I laugh in retrospect. Another said she was poor - both of them I saw out drinking the night before. How much did they spend on their night out? $20? $50? $100? More?
Maybe people just don't buy books anymore. Well, that isn't the case according to Amazon! And this isn't a typical book - this is more of a souvenir than a book. True, it is interesting to read if one takes the time to do so. And the pictures are pretty good - even though taken by a bad photographer with an old point and click digital camera. But still...
I hate selling. I really do. It is part of the reason I never went into professional theatre or film - the idea of selling myself over and over and over again just didn't appeal at all. Sadly, selling books is very much like selling myself. And I hate it.
The reason this is in the writing blog is because, as a writer, I really enjoy the process of creating the work. But selling it is just frustrating as all get out! And they are both parts of the package. Glarp.
But is it truly price that is keeping people away in droves? I don't think so. Last night there were probably 300 people in the bar in the 4 hours I was there. How many people came up and asked about the book? Not one. Not a single person came up and asked me about it or took a look at it. So they didn't even know how much it cost.
What confuses me most, though, is the servers. Not one server has bought a copy. The ones I have harangued, only a little I hope, have all claimed poverty! Really? Most of the servers take home between $200 and $400 dollars in a night. Many of them have waited on me many many times and I have consistently tipped them decently. I am tempted to say to them (though I haven't) "Hey, sorry, I can't afford to tip you." One server told me about their $1000 debt or something - I basically stopped listening when she said she couldn't afford it. Really? A whole whopping $1000 debt? I laugh in retrospect. Another said she was poor - both of them I saw out drinking the night before. How much did they spend on their night out? $20? $50? $100? More?
Maybe people just don't buy books anymore. Well, that isn't the case according to Amazon! And this isn't a typical book - this is more of a souvenir than a book. True, it is interesting to read if one takes the time to do so. And the pictures are pretty good - even though taken by a bad photographer with an old point and click digital camera. But still...
I hate selling. I really do. It is part of the reason I never went into professional theatre or film - the idea of selling myself over and over and over again just didn't appeal at all. Sadly, selling books is very much like selling myself. And I hate it.
The reason this is in the writing blog is because, as a writer, I really enjoy the process of creating the work. But selling it is just frustrating as all get out! And they are both parts of the package. Glarp.
Wednesday, November 16, 2011
First Post about Writing
I am not a great writer. I am a good writer. At least I like to tell myself that. So, that being said, this is a blog about my writing. What I have written, what I am working on, that sort of thing. I plan on putting snippets that I have written on here. Maybe even whole sections of work. And I will be asking for feedback. Not that I expect to get any, but one never knows, does one?
I tend to write non-fiction. I do this for several reasons. First off, fiction is hard! Second, most fiction has a lot of dialogue, with which I am not comfortable. Mainly because it takes such effort to type. All of that punctuation! Eeeek! Second, non-fiction seems to flow more easily from my brain and fingers.
For those of you who don't know, I have written and self-published two books: Bar Dreams and Diary of a Plate Addict. Both are available on Amazon and at my own website - www.renottopress.com. I am sure I will write more about those as time goes by.
So, my project for today is to find the projects I have started and put them all in one place. Then to open each of them and see just where I am with them. The projects I can think of are: my relationship book, a self-help book, a fantasy story and a romance. Sigh. There are probably a few others. Anyway, if anyone has any thoughts on what I ought to focus on, please send them my way!
I tend to write non-fiction. I do this for several reasons. First off, fiction is hard! Second, most fiction has a lot of dialogue, with which I am not comfortable. Mainly because it takes such effort to type. All of that punctuation! Eeeek! Second, non-fiction seems to flow more easily from my brain and fingers.
For those of you who don't know, I have written and self-published two books: Bar Dreams and Diary of a Plate Addict. Both are available on Amazon and at my own website - www.renottopress.com. I am sure I will write more about those as time goes by.
So, my project for today is to find the projects I have started and put them all in one place. Then to open each of them and see just where I am with them. The projects I can think of are: my relationship book, a self-help book, a fantasy story and a romance. Sigh. There are probably a few others. Anyway, if anyone has any thoughts on what I ought to focus on, please send them my way!
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