Happy Easter, Passover, or Spring

I hope this day finds you in good spirits and celebrating for whatever reason your culture allows. As for me, my grandson is in California, visiting his stepbrothers...his first airplane ride and I'll bet he was so excited. So...no hiding eggs or eating chocolate, but I can't wait until he gets home and tells me about his adventure. My husband works on Sundays, so I'll be spending the day alone, and I hope to get something accomplished on the writing front. Probably not, as I'm not motivated right now.

But that brings me to a conversation I've been having with some friends. What makes an author an author? Royalty time is always depressing, and some of us just received notice of what we'd earned. Can you believe a sixteen cent return on a print book? It's true. Although my payment period was from 1-1-2010 through 2-28-10 only, I sold seven PDF copies and four print copies. My royalty payment was $6.74 before paypal fees. Not a big return on my time and effort. Here's the breakdown for one book:

eBook Sales
1 $3.57 PDF @ 35.00% $1.25
1 $3.57 eBook Subtotal $1.25

Print Sales
1 $1.63 Create Space (Amazon Print) $1.63 @ 10.00% $0.16
1 $1.63 Print Subtotal $0.16

Of course, every author wants to see their book in print...to hold it in their hands, but at what cost? I worked countless hours on this book, and for each print copy made I earn sixteen cents (print on demand.) Is it any wonder that we all welcome the addition of ebook readers to the reading market? Too bad that most of my readers prefer books, and the cost of the POD seems to be rising if the release price of my latest book is any indication. I have little hope of print sales for a book that has doubled in price.

While my friends and I continue to debate and share our woes, I just concluded an email to them with my true feelings. Regardless of my earnings and the times invested, I actually started this venture because I love to write. I have more than nine novels, novellas and short stories on the shelves over my desk that bear my name and talent. That's all the proof I need that I'm indeed an author. No matter what friends, relatives or others may say because my books aren't in regular stores, nothing lessens the effort, time and love I put into each story I've written. Note: Since this picture was taken, I've been able to replace Sister's in Time with the new version and cover.











Have a wonderful day, and keep reading because I'm definitely here to stay.