Herringwood Messiah is out now!
Buy it here. For my Dutch “Helenists”: buy it here.
A lot of you chose to buy the first book directly from me, and I appreciate that. That way, I get the biggest cut. But it’s not viable strategy in the long term, so while I will sell direct again at some point, you’d actually do me a bigger favor by buying the book through official channels. In this case, Amazon.
Here’s why: Engagement. Sellers love engagement
When I sell you a book directly, you and I know it, but nobody else will. That means Amazon thinks nobody cares, and it won’t suggest the book to anyone. While I absolutely appreciate the support you have given me, friends and family are a finite pool of sales.
If you still want to read the second book, it would actually benefit me more if you don’t buy it from me. Yes, I get less money, but let’s be honest here: I’m not exactly Stephen King. My books will remain in the red for the foreseeable future, and that’s fine.
More important than money is making a name, and that happens (eventually) when you get the book from an official seller. Plus, it has the added benefit of being able to leave a review, should you want to.
So, the drawback? Yeah, I prefer you buy through Amazon, and that means big, evil Amazon gets your money.
I will be selling through other channels, but that’s why this is a soft release. Due to some bullshit, the release date at Ingram Spark (who sends it to all the other channels) can’t be reset to “now” and I’m stuck waiting until my previously set date of June 30th.
And while it seems trendy to hate Amazon, they’re making it really easy for me to get shit done, unlike the other one. There was a problem with the title displaying wrong for Amazon’s Dutch marketplace, and a nice lady called Priya fixed it within the promised two-to-three work days.
They’re also reliable with sending proof copies, as opposed to the week-and-a-half at Ingram, not to mention the latter prints in the UK, which means I had to pay an additional fee to get my book across the border.
I could go on comparing the two, but you get the point.
If you’re willing to wait, you can buy Herringwood Messiah elsewhere. I don’t mind. It still counts as engagement, it’s just spread out a bit more. And if you really insist, I will eventually have a small supply ready to sell direct.
But definitely not before June 30, and that’s assuming everything will be in order on release day. I’ve got my end done, but it usually takes a bit before all the resellers (like Bol.com or Barnes & Noble) get their data correct. Not to mention that time with the first book where it was listed for fifty dollars. I’ll have to make sure things like that don’t happen again, because even I don’t think you should pay that much for my book.
You can if you want, though.
Anyway, book’s out. Buy it here.