Day 290 of the 365 Days of Blogging

The author/publisher,
Dane F. Baylis

FINALLY - I THINK

OR

YOU HAVE TO KNOW WHEN TO SAY, BASTA!

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I have poured over the manuscript and layout for the chapbook for the last time. I made one correction I considered significant last night - the addition of my e-mail address to the title page and back cover. There were three minor corrections in the actual text. That's it! That's "basta", or "enough" in my native tongue. The Editor-in-Wife gets to take a swing at it next and it will be ready to send off.

 

I got back the revised estimate today. The finished product will run six pages longer than my original concept, or thirty pages. This constitutes an increase of twenty-five percent and a corresponding rise in cost. I'm looking at a cost of just under five dollars a copy for a run of fifty copies. I'm considering charging seven dollars a copy, which is a profit of slightly more than one/third over printing costs.

 

This figure does not take into consideration, or charge for, the time to assemble, edit, or format the book. It discounts the time and effort put into an original cover design and logo for my imprint. It also ignores locating and coordinating with the printer. Nor does it take into account the time and gas to go review a proof, and the same trip again to pick up the finished product.

 

What it does take into account is the figure of fifty to one hundred percent over printing cost I have seen referred to in my research into what other authors charge for their work. I view it this way: The term chapbook is derived from the root, "cheap book". That says "really inexpensive" to me, not "take a loss for your art".

 

What's next? Back to editing "LUNCH MONEY" and "THE VOICE ACROSS THE ALLEY", getting an outline going for a new short story, and following up on my goal of at least one significant piece of poetry a week. Also, there's researching the possible move to WordPress and the purchase of my own domain name, and eventually finishing this blogging challenge (last man standing and all that). There's my studies, and a possible NaNoWriMo project. Outside of that, not much, really!

 

Anyway, last night was a night off. I've recovered from my literary postpartum depression and I'm back at the keys. Still haven't heard from anyone out there about the use of PayPal for on-line sales of books. Does that mean there are no thoughts, or just nobody does this? I'm open to hearing anything you have to offer. Until then, in the words of Charles Bukowski, "Style is the answer to everything".

 

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Meanwhile...live, love, write.

 

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page. You can leave comments in the form below. I can be reached directly at dbaylis805@gmail.com . You can also find links to some of the sites I visit from time to time on the right. I'm also looking for submissions to the Your Work/Your Love page. Authors retain all rights.

 

Tomorrow,

 

Dane F. Baylis

Author/publisher.