It might not stay on those shelves for long though…
I have had lots of interesting questions about where to buy, what commission I get, where people can be most supportive, and frankly, I am overwhelmingly thankful. I thought I would give another update, answer these questions, and be as honest as possible about the future of “The Millennial Pastor.”
1. Royalties
Full disclosure, I will make (in theory, I have not received any money yet) between $1.00-$3.00 a book whenever they are bought at stores like Amazon and Barnes & Noble. Here is the breakdown as far as I have been told:
- EBook – 50% royalty ($4.00 retail cost so I get $2.00)
- Paperback – 10% royalty ($12.95 retail so I get $1.29)
- Hardcover – 10% royalty ($29.95 retail so I get $2.99 a book)
If you buy directly from my publisher, the royalty goes up to 25% for paperback and hardcover.
Right now I can only offer the paperback edition through my website or in person. I bought them personally at a discounted wholesale price. I make a 44% royalty/profit if you buy directly from me at the current price, so around $4.oo a book.
Some of you may be wondering, why are you telling us this? This is private. Well, my response is this, if you don’t know me, or haven’t read my book, then you may not have realized yet that I am honest to a fault. The income from this book is not my motivation, because it will almost certainly be non-existent.
Which leads to the next question I am regularly asked:
How can I help spread the word?
This might be more significant to me than making sure you buy my book in a way that gives me the biggest royalty check. My motivation for writing this is the same motivation/conviction that has kept me in the church up to this point.
I think the church is the best thing we have, but it’s flawed. St. Augustine once said, “the church is a whore, but she is my mother.” By the way, I tried to have this quote in my book, but they wouldn’t allow it. Regardless, the sentiment remains. The church is deeply flawed, but it is the best and only way to fully encounter a living God. My desire to continue pastoring is to address the flaws I see in the church, and this is the same motivation I had in writing this book.
The only way to deal with some of these issues is being honest about them, taking them head-on. That’s what I talk about in my book, and I want others to talk about these issues as well. So, back to the initial question, how can you help spread the word? Here are my suggestions:
- Review the book: Even if you don’t buy it on Amazon, review it. Even if you didn’t like it, still review it. More reviews=more of a chance that it shows up in suggested searches and on main pages. The magic number, or so I am told, is 50 reviews. I know more than 50 people have already bought my book, so this is well within the realm of possibility.
- Use Social Media: Like, share, comment, post, etc. My FB page is a huge driver of traffic to my website, but its reach is limited. It becomes less limited (based on algorithms Facebook has in its coding) when people engage with it. Same with Twitter.
- Order the book offline: You can get the book online, but you can also order it in brick & mortar stores like Barnes & Noble. If you do this, it increases the chances that they will stock the book on their shelves. This, in theory, is for any bookstore, whether it’s a chain or not. Below are the ISBN numbers for my book so that orders can be placed in person:
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9781973606789 6×9 Perfect Bound Softcover $12.95 9781973606796 6×9 Dust Jacket Hardcover $29.95 9781973606802 E-Book
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Other than that, just spread the word!
If you want to… Seriously… If you don’t like it or don’t want to, there are no hard feelings. I’m not a conventional author, this is not a conventional book, so I am under no false illusions about being a New York Times bestseller.
However, I do hope enough people read it to start a shift in the church. The church needs revitalizing, needs renewing and a fresh outlook for the future. Truly, this is what I hope my book contributes to. With your help, it can…
Thanks.
Until next time…
Peace out!
#Blessed
