Dear Reader, Issue 6, Volume 2
Middle school mayhem, book sales report and a return to the office.
Dear Reader:
Today’s update will be longer and meatier than usual, a fact that I state at the beginning so you can prepare a coffee and a tasty treat to indulge yourself while reading. This is intentional for two reasons. I have lots of interesting tidbits to share and it’s likely these Dear Reader segments will be spaced out further than usual — think months instead of weeks.
Sending these out less frequently is by design, since I’m no longer submitting short stories for traditional publication, and my goal is to instead use this journal space to keep you updated on the progress of a novel. It has no form yet, only an inkling of an idea, and I need to give it flesh and bone before sharing more. It needs to graduate to an active, passionate pursuit before I reveal anything.
That kind of long-form fiction effort takes time. There’s no reason to inundate you with fluff to fill the void. I prefer to wait and send you a smorgasbord of delights right about the time you’re famished.
Middle School Mayhem
I was invited to speak at Immanuel Lutheran, where my sister is a special education teacher. March is reading month, and if you have K-8 children in the United States, then you know schools try to plan activities to encourage reading. I asked the kids some questions about what books they like, we read “The Unwritten Rule” together and then I talked about my journey, followed by Q&A and a book signing!
Three readers volunteered. The photo is of Dayton, a sixth grader. He did an amazing job, as did the seventh and eighth grader who also came up to read portions. I hope to do more activities like this in the future, where stories can be read that appeal to adults young and old. Using protagonists that are children really helped to seal the deal, but that’s not always necessary to tell a good story to middle schoolers.
I will take part in our local library’s author fair at the end of May, which is another opportunity to sell books, connect with an audience and get my name out there.
Book Sales for “The Stars Will Fall”
I’ve determined with certainty that Substack is the absolute best platform to establish an online presence for a fiction writer. Experience tells me:
It’s opt-in. People that want your content get it.
It’s deliverable. An inbox takes precedence.
It’s communal. Substack creates features that encourage organic growth.
It’s flexible. You can still spotlight any other platforms you use.
In speaking with a good number of folks, albeit anecdotally, having a social media account no longer benefits us in any meaningful way. I still hear ramblings of agents requiring authors to maintain a presence on Twitter, but that’s coming from unrepresented authors, not agents. I don’t know where these authors hear that, or why they even choose to believe it.
The truth is followers don’t translate to buyers. It’s that simple. You need a closer audience, and to be succinct, you need those people to be connectors. These are mostly readers within your circle that personally support your efforts, and who are willing to spread the word on your behalf. They certainly use social media to do it, but the point is they encouraged others with a call to action — a destination — resulting in a payoff. In my case the destination is Amazon.com.
Amazon isn’t the key. It’s merely an avenue to sell your book. If you’re a writer, remember that. Your real market is your dedicated Substack readers, friends, family, colleagues, neighbors or even your librarian or the manager at the bookstore. Word of mouth among those trusted, connected individuals is still the best marketing. In my specific case, the following actions resulted in a larger than expected number of sales:
I posted to LinkedIn so that my former and current coworkers could see it. Because I don’t use LinkedIn as a social presence, the book can be appreciated as a career accomplishment. Several wonderful people bought it, the result of knowing them personally and professionally.
My wife posted to Facebook. There’s something about moms with kids, and their connections to other moms with kids. Word spreads quickly. She also has a loving extended family that support us. She could have emailed this group, but the point is she’s connected… not criminally, though.
My sister, who is a special education teacher, asked me to come and talk to their middle school for reading month. I provided the teachers a reading guide for several of my stories that contain young adult protagonists. They recommended parents purchase the book, which is clean by publisher standards, resulting in more sales.
All of that meant a fantastic and positive launch. After registering with the U.S Copyright Office, I made about $60 in profit, which means I’m in the black. Let’s break down the market and numbers.
Japan, France and Italy are also listed as markets that show individual purchases, but they’re not represented in the Orders By Market view. It’s possible it’s a mistake, or that those numbers are reflected through the United States unit count. If you’re from those regions and you purchased a book, drop me a comment or email. I would be thrilled to know The Stars Will Fall travelled around the world!
You can see the initial launch in the Royalties By Timeline bar graph, a lull and then at the end are purchases made by parents from the middle school. The paperback is priced at $9.99, which nets me about $2.50, while the eBook is $4.99 and nets me about $4.00. Yes, you read that right. Your largest profit will always come from the eBook, a considerable portion of the purchase price.
The Royalties By Market breaks down the royalties by region. Amazon does a good job of translating the exchange rate, as well as communicating where those royalties are split. The KENP royalties are based upon pages read through the Kindle Unlimited program, which translated to approximately 15 books worth of pages! Margins are much smaller, but there are no disadvantages. If a user already has unlimited, then they’re unlikely to spend $5 to buy one eBook.
If I had additional expenses for cover art design, editing, proofreading and typesetting, the entire process would be a major loss. Having the technical chops, an art background and journalism degree gives me an advantage that I don’t ever want to take for granted. You can see why I won’t be quitting my day job any time soon based upon the royalties.
Back to the Office
At the beginning of this year, we received some very disappointing news. The company I work for retracted their remote work policy and is requiring we go into the office 2-3 days a week, starting in June. On some days the drive can be an hour each way, a prospect that leaves me mentally exhausted. The politics, the reasons why or how it fits into American work culture no longer matters to me. I could start an entire Substack dedicated to the subject after 24 years in the workforce.
Maybe it will light another fire and help me to realize the time I spend with my family and fulfilling my dreams is precious enough that I have to work harder at it. There’s no magic solution or get rich quick scheme that will provide the answers. There is only writing.
Happy Reading,
Brian Reindel
Dear Reader, Issue 6, Volume 2
Thanks for sharing this insight, Brian. Aside from the valuable knowledge for others contemplating writing and publishing (🙋♀️), you’ve hit on a key factor that I think we need to consider more purposefully: to create community, not a social media presence.
Brian, thank you for the transparency regarding your book, book sales, etc. It’s such a great behind-the-scenes look at the process and demands of self-publishing, too. But most importantly, congratulations on all your successes! I’m pumped for you! You’ll have to let us know how the author fair goes when it rolls around.
What’s one thing a student said that stuck with you? I think it’s so cool you were able to read and discuss your book with middle schoolers!
Take care, and best wishes with the roll out of your novel. I’m excited to hear about your journey!