NEW NEWSLETTER
Okay, this is the first of the month
and you would expect me to remind you that I want $1 from each of my readers
every month. And I do. I also want world peace and an arsenal full
of HK-91’s and 1911A1’s. I won’t get any
of that. Of the seven people who sent
money, I love you. Now never bother
sending any again. The other 593 ( I hit
600 readers one day-can you believe that!? ), you suck. Unless you are unemployed or sent a lot in
the past, you just plain suck. However,
I blame myself, not you. Obviously, I
had no idea that after publishing steadfastly for ten years I still had to
prove myself worthy of financial support.
Do you think I get paid on my books?
At the height of that return, about $15 a month. Advertising?
At most, $30 a month. And that is
on a good year. Amazon commissions,
which cost you nothing, have gone from $100-$150 a month to around $50. On a good month. So, yes, I keep futzing about with the
formula for finances ( again, for as few readers as I have, I am well rewarded and
I appreciate that. But as this last
experiment proved, two percent of my readers are who send the bulk of my
money. I hate that. Everyone should be chipping in and relieving
the few of the burden ). I want to earn
my living by writing, but not by selling out.
So, the newest idea. If you want
to send that dollar a month but are too tight or hate me or whatever, you can
now spend a dollar on a Kindle book and get extra writing not available on the
blog.
*
Oh, don’t get me wrong. It is the same kind of writing. Just more of it. New subjects?
Ha! Only if you get lucky. I remind you here, you go to the link I give
you,
( here is the premier issue:
) and I then get a whopping THIRTY
FIVE CENTS as royalty! Be still my
heart. Hey, thirty five cents is more
than what I was getting. If Baby Jesus
shines his benevolence directly down on me and I get a hundred buyers each
issue I’ll start working at being happy.
And, by the way, proving I love you all much more than you love me, the
first issue will be available under Kindle Unlimited so that one won’t even
have to cost you anything. Each one will
be a minimum of six thousand words ( I post 500 words a day, 5,000 every two
weeks, for comparison ). The first
issues articles are: Using Credit Irresponsably, Is Rimfire Still A Good Idea,
and Wheat For The Apocalypse.
*
I hope this idea pans out. I might even try the free ads idea again,
adding to my content and page count.
I’ll try about until the end of the year, unless the purchases are
REALLY bad, see if I should keep wasting my time. I wanted to go every other week, but I
thought that might be way too much time pressure. Ready, steady, ORDER!
END
ReplyDeleteOrdered the newsletter and sent a small donation your way Jim. Small price to pay for the entertainment that your site has provided over the years. Only one small criticism, and that's that you were more at the top of your game when you were off grid. Oh well, you're still light years ahead of the competition as far as I'm concerned.
Wayne
I don't disagree with you as far as "on my game more" when off grid. Alas, it made for a very sad and morose Jim. I truly believe in the "suffering artist" as a way to increase creativity, but it is a high price to pay for ones more creative output.
DeleteGuilty as charged, Your Honor! I had to wait till payday (the 30th). A donation will follow. Keep up the good work!
ReplyDeleteI'm keeping on keeping on. On the gerbil wheel.
DeleteEdit note for the newsletter.
ReplyDeleteToward the end under hints for wheat you said:
"Start substituting white for wheat flour"
I am assuming you meant to say "wheat for white flour"
Idaho Homesteader
Christ on a pogo stick! That's embarrassing. I'll post a correction next issue. Thanks for catching that one.
DeleteI clicked the link and I noticed that your newsletter is free if you have Prime or Kindle Unlimited. I have both of those but was wondering if you still get the same cut if I use one of them?
ReplyDeleteThe books under those programs are given away, no money for me. 1st, I read enough under Unlimited ( an article on that next week ) that I have to contribute myself. 2nd, I'm hoping to bring in more regular readers or at least more buying minions by giving the first one away free. I've given away books and blog articles all through the years and I can tell you frankly it doesn't really work all that well. But I keep trying. I do this mostly for Mad Street Cred, all this begging is just to keep enough money coming in for book buying
DeleteUnderstood. I bought the newsletter without Prime or Kindle Unlimited. Just wanted to make sure you got your fullest cut.
DeleteBelieve me, it is much appreciated.
DeleteBrilliant! I keep forgetting to go through your link on the infrequent occasions I order from Amazon. Just please keep reminding us when you have a new issue out, and Saturdays are a good time to do it.
ReplyDeleteNot ordering from Amazon is a good way to save a lot of money. If I could do that, I'd be much better off financially. But, alas, my soul needs to read.
DeleteQuestion regarding buying through your link:
ReplyDeleteI often 'window' shop and place things in my cart to buy later.
If I enter Amazon through your link and there are already items in my cart from a previous visit (that was not through your link) Will you still get credit?
In other words, do I need to be on Amazon through your link when I add items to my cart or be through your link only when I am ready to buy? What gets you the $$?
Idaho Homesteader
If I'm not mistaken, go through my link when you're ready to buy. And thank you.
DeleteI'll be trying that myself. I buy enough on amazon you should be getting a couple of dollars every week.
DeleteIf I could get my Amazon commissions back up to a reasonable level I wouldn't care about sales or ad revenue or the like. Dangerous, as when the economy falls so do sales. At the end of the day, commission revenue will disappear totally. Yet, so will all other conventional methods of writers paychecks.
DeleteGuilty also. I got hit with kids tuition and youngest's school stuff. I have donated in the past and bought your thumb drive books. I will get something in the mail soon. Silver is down so much I may just send you a Jackson or 2. Don't have a kindle.
ReplyDeleteJust download the software for your Kindle on your desktop computer. I do recall you being generous with your "extra and above cost" money with the thumb drive, so you only partially suck this year. I can wait, as long as everyone feels guilty and doesn't slack off too often. :)
DeleteOkay, you've shamed me, I'm guilt-ridden. I read all the time and have never donated a cent. I'll get some bucks in the mail to you.
ReplyDeleteDamn! It worked?
DeleteGiven the choice, which would you prefer: My ordering you something off of your wish list, or my mailing you an Amazon gift card for the same amount so you can choose what you want to buy?
ReplyDeleteHmm, a gift card would be really nice, please and thank you. e-mail address is
Deletejimd303@reagan.com
It's on its way via email, LB. Thanks for writing a great blog! (P.S. - Speaking of amazon gift cards, you did find the one in the pocket of the DVD album that was in the care package I sent a while back, right? Wouldn't want you to overlook it...)
DeleteThat vaguely rings a bell, so I must have. You're too good to me, thanks!
Delete