Lesson 45

Writing Class 101 by Rick Kurtis books
 Lesson 45
Surprising Market
 It is my Birthday week. Happy Birthday to me. Thank you all for the best wishes. It is no great feat to reach another year older, it’s just another day. So, let’s get started.
Another week has come and gone, and we are back once again learning little tidbits on how the system works. Is your book done, or are you just starting? Did you find an editor, cover design, publisher, or agent, or are you stuck in the middle in need for more inspiration? This lesson may not help you, today, but it will give you some food for thought. It certainly was an eye-opener for me.

Many of us want to share our work, but we also want to make a living at it. That means sales, which in turn means income. We authors are at the mercy of so many others, such as vanity publishers, the cost in set up, cover design, copyrights, editing, and marketing and advertising.
I recently paged through the Internet to find things for my books in order to sign up on other websites. During this time an ad popped up for eBay with the sale of my own books posted on the front page. I almost fell off my chair, thinking, WOW, I am popular. Then I thought, “How, and who gave my books to eBay when I made little to no sales?” The books were posted by a site called Thrift Books. So I decided to research deeper into the hows and whys.
Thrift Books began as a small company warehouse in Seattle Washington in the year 2001. Within four years they expanded to five states, and now panhandle over 13 million used and new books for pennies on the dollar. We authors help to employ over 900 of their employees, not to mention supplying the postal services with jobs whether it is USPS, FedEx, or UPS, along with Print on demand, paper companies and ink companies. Thrift books are supplied with used and new books that have been donated by companies unknown. I have heard that Goodwill and Savers charity organizations get so many books that they too donate them to Thrift Books to get rid of their overstock. Can you imagine that when you see a table filled with books at Goodwill for $.25 to maybe $1.00? Crates are filled with over 2,000 books that arrive at one of the five Thrift Book warehouses where they check, sort, mark, and sell by placing them on their site and on eBay.
One of my books came from Illinois, another came from the UK. They have quite a few of my books new and used, and some of the prices were cheaper than what I could buy them for myself as an author discount. It still baffles my mind on how they are given away without being sold. Does Amazon keep a few books for so long, then donate them just to replace them with another? Did the vanity publishing company hand out free copies to websites which in turn donated them for a tax write-off? Maybe stores bought through Ingram, sold one and returned the other 49 copies. These questions will never be answered. But the great news is that my books were given a five-star rating, and that they reached readers in England and around the United States.
Still being very curious, and that one of my books had a price lower than my author price discount, I thought why not buy it. The book that I purchased turned out to be a great disappointment. Let me explain. I come from a large family, and after my mother’s passing, my siblings gave away her things that they themselves did not want. Yes, the only free copy that I gave my mother was that very same book. How do I know, because I signed the inside, dedicating the book to her. And yes, I am now an orphan and have no family. I have 14 books posted and on the market sharing posts weekly on Facebook, and they can’t even like, let alone share to help spread the word. Heaven forbid that they would buy one.
So remember, if you give books away, you may be helping the economy with no benefit whatsoever. BUT; Thrift Books does have many more of my books, stating that they are new, and used, and they are for sale at the regular price, discounted prices, and even higher prices. These sales in no way benefit you, the author.
In the meantime, cheer up, and keep writing. Maybe some cheap movie producer shops on eBay, and things could happen for you. Until then, happy writing.
 
Bye from Rickkurtisbooks.com
 
PS: Don’t forget to thank a veteran this week. If you know someone who is serving in the Armed Forces, thank them. If you know of a person who has served, thank them for their contribution. Show some kindness to the ones who kept your country safe.