The Business Side of Writing

If you are contemplating publishing a work of great art, limpid prose and side-splittingly funny anecdotes, know the following.

In my case createspace.com does not publicize your book.  They apparently feel that printing the thing is as far as they care to go.  And for that they take a royalty every time one is ordered.  They use Print on Demand or POD.   They don't stock pile anything but the copy you sent them in a file.  They get an order, punch a couple of buttons on their computer and - viola your book (and all of amazon.com's, too) is in the mail.

Can you expect to quit your day job and live on royalties.  No.

Here is what I have found.

List on "And the Best Blog Is:  Word of Mouth" $12.  CreateSpace.com takes $8 of that and the humble author (me) gets $4!  For a work of breathtaking wit!

However:  I can buy my book from them for $3.20 per book.  I then hustle it and charge $12 and, deducting the $3.20 per copy make $8.80 per book.

So, I don't travel around with a copy or two in my purse.  Yesterday I sold one "off the back of the truck," so to speak, at the South Bay New Orleans Jazz Club and as a club member, generously put the book price at $10.  He needed change for the $20 he was handing me so I gave him the $10 I had.  When he had walked away (eagerly scanning the pages) I waved the $20 in Richie's face, crowing, "Beer money!  Order a pitcher!"  And at that, I made more $$$ than CreateSpace was willing to give me.