Yes. I thought there might be some interest in this. In the spirit of transparency which has characterised the Macmillan New Writing imprint from the outset, I thought I'd make the figures available.
The statement covers the first quarter of the book's release, from April 5 to June 30th.
Number of copies sold in that period: 1,804.
Income generated by the book: £10,429.76.
My earnings (20% of the above): £2,085.95.
It's been paid directly into my bank account, so I can't take a photo of the cheque.
I expect sales will drop off considerably now. But I'm not done yet.
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24 comments:
That's very transparent of you, Roger! Interesting figures. It looks like the gamble on you has paid off - though I guess it would be difficult to put a figure of the publication costs themselves (editorial, marketing, and so on).
Well earned, sir.
Does 'very transparent' equal 'stupid'!? There has been so much about the way MNW-ers are getting paid, even to the extent that people have called this a scam exploiting desperate young writers (I'm no spring chicken and neither is Brian Martin) so I thought I'd just be open about it. It will probably get me into trouble!
Way to go, dude! Maximum respec'. When's the paperback coming out? It's a timely reminder that unless a book sells in shed loads, the writer is unlikely to make a living from it. Do you think MySpace has made a difference?
Birdy
Yes, well done, Rog and MNW. Err, can I borrow a fiver?
Nik.
Great result, Roger. Hope you go from strength to strength!
Well done, Roger. Amazing figures.
Gutsy move to put in on the blog, sir! Wow... money in the bank. I guess like all writers you've already spent it?
Me? I've spent enough for three books and my first doesn't come out until January!
eeeh Roger you are transparent, like it. And doesn't it feel great? Like being a proper writer at last, or maybe it's just me feels like that. Not ready to become tax exiles yet though eh?
Good to see you at Lucy's do t'other night.
As everyone says, very transparent of you, Roger. And it's interesting to see how the sales translate into money.
Thanks Birdy, Nik, Debi, Tom, Matt, Cate and Cas. I keep telling myself that it's not the volume of sales that matters, but the connection with individual readers. I hope that of all those that bought the book, some will have got something from it. It won't be everyone's cup of tea, I know that. Or should I say Twirl mug of tea. To understand that reference, I'm afraid you will have to read the book. Possibly even buy it.
By the way, Cate that was a great review of Selfish Jean on the Shameless blog. Who is Shameless, I wonder???? And yes, it was good to catch up briefly at Lucy's launch. She did very well. I don't believe she suffered from nerves at all and it was a great turn out.
Congrats, Roger on the earnings from your first novel.
Usually, the stock reply would be 'don't spend it all at once' but in this case perhaps you should spend it all at once. Not enough for a fast car, but maybe a new laptop?
Congratulations, Roger. Those sales figures sound pretty good especially considering you didn't get a traditional marketing push (2 for one type thing).
Any interest from film companies? I can see it on the screen (just think of the opening scene!!)
Thanks Debra and femme.
debra - I think I already bought the laptop in advance. Spent the money before I had it. Ooops.
Femme - ah, film companies. Well, sadly, no. A couple of very long shot leads that came to nothing. Never mind. Maybe I'll make it myself! (That's a joke, by the way.)
Did I tell you I am the queen of adaptations...?
Congrats Roger! But spend only after allowing for the tax deduction!
I think you're right when you say it's about connecting with readers, especially on a first published novel. Word of mouth brings growth as does the next novel...
All the best,
CFR
Echo the post above, don't forget the tax-man 'cos he won't forget you, Roger! ;-)
But, to put it in context, the royalty statement covers a little over two months, therefore that's £1k a month (give or take), which to many is what they live on with the day-job, so not a bad little earner!
Thanks for the offer faf!
You're very sensible cfr. But then you do know what you're talking about.
Hello Chris! Nice to meet you. I have a feeling I've seen you over on Matt's blog. Thanks for dropping by. I like what you're saying, but I really do think that the first statement will be a bumper one, and sales will tail off pretty rapidly after that. You hope for a next generation of readers - ones who come to it by the recommendation of the first wave, but I think it's probably a mistake to rely on that too much.
Congrats, Roger! And you haven't even hit the US-big time yet! Way to go!
Transparency is the way to go, Roger. Congrats on the over 4,000 clams you've netted so far. Have their been many reviews? If you have any review copies still laying around I'd be happy to e-mail you my mailing address... (Yes. I'm just angling for a free book, but you'd get a review out of it in the process that would be posted on www.tqrstories.com).
Regardless or whether we do this transaction or not, I'm very happy for yuz!
Well you've done brilliantly and thanks for the transparency.
Thanks Kathryn, Steve and Alexandra.
Yes, Kathryn, it will be interesting to see what happens when the book goes on sale in North America (USA and Canada).
Steve - I'm sure it can be arranged. I shall contact the publishers as soon as I have your postal address.
Thanks Alexandra and thanks for looking in.
Always interested in the financial side. Happy to see your book doing so well.
Thanks Sandra. Thanks for looking in too.
Hi Roger...
You don't know me (apologies for that rather horror-flickesque opening line), but I am a fellow MNWer (or MNWer-to-be, anyway!). My novel, Cover the Mirrors is (provisionally) set to be published in November '07, and I've been Googling existing MNW authors to see what they've been up to, so I thought I'd just comment on your blog to tell you that it's been very interesting for me to read. It's great that you've been brave enough to post your royalty statement online, because unfortunately there's so much inaccurate and negative press surrounding MNW's payment system that authors may be misled. Anyway, thanks and congratulations on Taking Comfort!
Faye
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