I’m a little late. The month snuck up on me, what with the Nebula Weekend and all. Yes, I’ll be the CFO for SFWA starting July 1. No, nothing I ever post here will be me speaking for the organization, the board of directors, or its members. I will never post anything here in my capacity as CFO. (I’m required to make that disclaimer because apparently people don’t really understand how organizations work.)
I’m still plugging away on Home Run. My goal is to get this book’s first draft wrapped up tomorrow. I don’t expect to meet that goal, but for those of you who need a date, that’s my goal. It’s as realistic as anything else I can give you. I’m at 52k and the story is finally coming together here in the middle so all I really need is a few days without website issues, car problems, kid problems, doctors appointments, or any of the other confusions that seem to bedevil me these days.
The Smuggler’s Tales will be made into audio books. Some day. Probably not this year. I’m still working with Artistic Whispers to get the Tanyth Fairport stories up and the Smuggler’s Tales will have to wait until that three book project is complete. Hiring audio production is expensive and I haven’t released enough new works to support running parallel audio projects.
I’m currently behind on paperbacks for Milk Run, Suicide Run, and To Fire Called. I don’t have a date for those. I’ll get at least one of them done by year end 2018.
For those who don’t understand why I don’t place a higher priority on paper, it’s because that final step from ebook to paper is the most expensive of any step after I have a completed manuscript. Converting the final manuscript to ebook is about a day. Converting the ebook to paper is about a month of elapsed time and another week of actual labor. The revenue contribution of paper is 8%. Even audiobooks that I’ve licensed through Podium contribute more. That’s bad news for those who love dead trees and I appreciate that my delaying the production of paper probably exacerbates the problem but for me to release both at the same time means nobody gets a book for at least a month later than the ebook is actually available.
Oh, and I get requests for signed paperbacks rather frequently. I’ve been lax in answering those requests and now state Use Tax regulations adopted by 42 states requires me to collect sales tax on books sold to people in those states and pay that (or notify how much people in those states owe to both the people who purchased and the state’s revenue office). Until this gets sorted or changed, I’m giving up on stocking books for sale here. It’s just too much overhead for me to deal with.
And before you ask, yes, there are ceilings that I probably won’t reach but in the event of a state audit, I’d still need to prove I didn’t meet them and it’s just not going to happen.
So, some good news, some bad news, and a few mea culpas.
I really need to get back to this book. It’s gettin’ really interesting.
See you next month.
Personally, I’d rather you write and publish. I love the feel and smell of paper books, but I had to make a choice. I have always moved around a lot, and I am a voracious reader. It got to the point that I could fill half of a 24 foot Uhaul truck, with boxes of books. They are heavy, and I am roaring up on 50. I bought a Kindle and pared down the paperbacks to “books I will read annually.” I discovered The Western Annex because of this choice. I discovered Tai Chi because of Ishmael Wong.
I am content
I agree with Darren, I’d rather have you writing than publishing. I too was once a transported of printed books. When I gave up an apartment to slip into the driver’s seat of a tractor-trailer, my 200+ book library went to a used book store. Each time I came home, I stocked up on more books. When I retired, I bought a Kindle; you’ve no idea how often I wished I had one on the road. That said, if 8% of your income seems to be claiming a large part of your time, it’s probably time to readdress your schedule. Actually, you summed it up quite well, “… I haven’t released enough new works to support running parallel audio projects” basically, what you already know write more. If you need help, hire an assistant to deal with the bulk of the rest.
You keep telling us about all those you’ve go to write but until they are, are they merely distractions?” Bottom line, we’re all impatiently awaiting your next book.
Oi, Skip, keep at it! I’m looking forward to Home Run an will enjoy the audiobooks when they come out. 🙂
Nathan – good to see you are soldiering on, I’m looking forward to seeing where you’re going next.
Question: Is this still the design for the Unwin Barbell (http://solarclipper.com/books/name-the-ship/) or did you change it along the way?
That’s still the design.
I to would rather read more books that store dust on dead trees. yes i used to keep every book i ever read but for most of my life i moved every few years which meant i had to sell or give away all my books, the cost of transporting them was too dear. That is until laptops and kindle i currently have 685 text books and 30 or so audio books on my laptop with hardly any space used up.
Which means i have a lot of space for your new books and lookfoward to reading them 🙂
I agree with supporting you to write, not waste time with, well, “trivial details of administrative hell.”
Keeping your health with diabetes includes keeping the stress off just as much as nutrition and weights. I speak from personal lifestyle. So, keep that stress off 😉
I sure wish Amazon would come up with a way to “pay $5 (or $n) for an author’s signature to be (automatically?) added onto the graphic Kindle cover. I’d pay that for every book of yours, Nathan!