One is napping, one is rolling around on the floor and one is off running track. So, let me give a few moments to share some stark facts about the writing life:
1. When you buy the book directly from me, you give clean water (and an opportunity at health, education and work as well as hearing the gospel) for one person for 7.5 months through Living Water International! Multiply the number of books you buy and you can provide clean water for a whole family for a year! WOW! This gets me excited!
2. There is an understanding that “authors make about a dollar.” They get a small advance at the signing of a contract and a small advance when the manuscript is delivered. By small I mean what you probably pay on your mortgage and some utilities for one month. Then they get 14% of royalties on all sales–a check once a year. Recording artists get a lot less. After spending years writing, research, editing, praying and spilling their guts they generally make well below the poverty-level. That’s why no author wants to see their work posted up for free on the net (ahem, google!)–as a culture we need to value our artists!
3. 95% of books only sell about 2,000 copies and never make it to a second printing. Good sales for a first run is 4,000 copies. If an author wants to keep writing, their sales need to be good. Sad, but true, it all comes down to whether or not your work will sell. Art now is market driven and not driven by excellence.
4. There are book salesmen all over the country. And most book stores will buy 1-4 copies of a book at a time, especially if it comes from a smaller house and is not a household name. It’s a good day t0 sell 10 books. Most authors sell 3 books (through the bookstores) at a 2-hour book signing.
5. You have direct bearing on if a book sells–it’s all about networking. READ it. What a way to show honor to an artist and open up your heart to be re-orientated! This means if it has meant something to you (my book or others) then you must TELL people and become an advocate for the work! Buy copies, ask your local bookstore to stock it (yes, you have the power to do this), send a note to 100 people on your Facebook/email, post a review on Amazon.com, ask your local paper to run a review, share quotes, get involved on the authors FB page or blog with your comments, tell the author if their work named things for you, but please don’t be silent!
6. Personally, I want Running into Water to sell because I believe in the overall vision, believe in raising funds for Living Water, believe God has called me to much more listening, researching and writing, believe I want to minister to women globally through this and believe I would love to able to help support my family in small ways. I believe that God can multiply what we give Him.
7. Okay, join me?
ANGELA BLYCKER 