"From Norwich, it's the Quiz of the week, the Sale of the Century......"And so began the introduction to the popular game show from the seventies starring Nicholas Parsons.
If you're old enough to remember the show (sadly I'm not as I was only born in 1985), you'll recall that contestants answered general knowledge questions for a pound or two per correct answer and could then "buy" prizes such as a patio set for £15 etc.
Such fantastic bargains are to be had today if you look in the right places and I'm happy to report that I have found such a deal for those of you with a hankering to flick through a fictional account of a heart wrenching story of abandoned babies, kiddie fiddling and mental breakdowns followed by a happy ending in a shared bedist in Olde London Towne.
I am referring of course to the forthcoming blockbuster co-written by the nations favourite ex-homeless person now living in rented accommodation, Wanderingscribe.
On January 22nd, I mentioned that the Recommended Retail Price (RRP) of the book was already being discounted from £12.99 to £8.57 and asked everyone to keep 'em peeled (gawd bless ya Shaw Taylor!) in case they found even cheaper copies for sale.
My thanks to several eagle eyed readers of this humble blog who took the time to email me with the news that you can now pay even less than Amazon's price if you "let your fingers do the walking" over to Brown Books where you can grab yourself a copy for £8.44.
Not too much cheaper than Amazon I must admit but if you are living on the streets and have been saving up for a year now to afford this seasons must have to display on your cardboard coffee table then every penny helps.
I'm sure the publicity machine must be gearing up now as there's only 5 weeks to go till Launch Day.
I myself awaken each day, wide eyed with anticipation as we draw closer to the momentous occasion.
To calm my nerves I have been reading up on the chances of success with publishing a book and the results are far from optimistic.
- There are over 4,000 books published worldwide every day.
- 70% of books never recover the advance paid for them.
- Harper-Collins lost more than £125million in a single year just on returns (Books that did not sell and were returned to the publisher).
- Up to 40% of all books manufactured never sell.
I feel a bit calmer after all that research ........
42 comments:
You're sooooo last century...Very useful information altough I'm sure I will be able to read the abridged versions of every single chapter here...
Such a gloomy perspective...So many trees waisted...
Too true Mr Anony mouse.
I feel it will be my public duty to present an abridged version (once I've bagged a copy from Poundland).
It's what my many gazillions of fans have come to expect.
Great Big Gimormous Hugssss........
Lady Duchess Princess Anya Wandering-Peters McScribe III
Too many believe the old canard that a book isn't showing a profit until it earns out its advance. That's simply not true; for trade nonfiction, the true profit point is usually with sales generating royalties of around 70% of the advance. Different categories have differing profitability points; many have a true breakeven at around 60% of the advance. Thus, many so-called "disappointments" are actually profitable for the publisher.
That's so interesting...Humans are so picky...
Too obsessed with figures, comparison and size!...How do they think I feel after being demoted?!...
sigh...
Mr Mouse your A...if you'll be telling us the story that won't be good for wanderingscribe's business because some people may never buy the book. You're not from around here, are you?
Some interesting points there folks.
Not quite sure of the maths from Lawrence though.
Lets say that WS got 50 grand as an advance.
According to him, Harper Collins only have to claw back 35 Grand before they are in profit?
Taking into account, all the actual costs involved in publishing (including production, marketing etc.) that seems like horse poopy to me.
Truly, Book Publishing must be a Black Art !
As for letting the cat out of the bag vis a vis "Abandoned", there won't be much new on offer.
As Andrew Croft has "assisted" in many books concerning kiddie fiddling previously, one would probably only have to compare and contrast books that he has "assisted on" with "Abandoned" to find some similarities.
After all, how many ways can the same story be told by the same person?
It might be rather fun to start researching some of his previous efforts to see if there are any similarities.
As he has been known to frequent this blog he may even "comp" me a few copies.
After all, what's he got to hide .....
Looking forward to your email, Andrew.
:)
A multitude of hugnessssssss....
Her Royal Duchiness, Countess Anya Von Peters
What's the problem with you and horse poop? Maybe your poop is of a superior condition...hein?
All that money to write a book??!! My caligraphy is not suitable otherwise I would indulge myself in poop talk such as yours and share it with the world...
So you're saying I could have someone writing it for me?? Hmmm...
Animal Hugs poopy free
Feel free to insert any animals name of your choice if you have a particular aversion to equine faeces.
As for getting someone else to write your book whilst you sit back and take all the glory..... I couldn't possibly comment.
Horsey Hugs....
Wandering Anya
I found a brand new pre-order hard cover copy for the princely sum of £4.42 on Amazon
Do I win a prize?
No, you don't win a prize. £4.42 is the "saving" not the price you pay - that's £8.57.
"No, you don't win a prize. £4.42 is the "saving" not the price you pay - that's £8.57"
Sacre Bleu!!!
That's daylight robbery!
Amazon.co.uk have a special deal - if you buy "Abandoned", you can also buy the brilliant "Damaged: The Heartbreaking True Story of a Forgotten Child" at the same time and get two misery memoirs for the stunning price of £16.36!
"Damaged" is the perfect partner for "Abandoned" apparently, and if you look at its reviews, avid readers also recommend "Daddy's Little Girl", "Who Cares?" and "For The Love Of My Mother".
Gosh, looks like Andrew Croft has been very very busy writing "true stories"!
...And the Amazon page for "Abandoned", "Damaged" and the likes features this sponsored ad for a "sell your story" service...
http://www.cash4yourstory.co.uk/?OVRAW=Damaged%3A%20The%20Heartbreaking%20True%20Story%20of%20a%20Forgotten%20Child&OVKEY=true%20story&OVMTC=advanced
I wonder if "Anya" clicked!
I should imagine that "Andy" has written so many books on behalf of others that he has some book generator that creates 'em on demand.
Merely insert a name, some place names and select how torrid he wants the story, press a button and BINGO !!
Anya Peters
Are you envious of Andy's machine?
Anya's plugging again, this time on a BBC online article about Misery Literature.
The story has changed again. Apparently writing a private diary is not enough to deal with the shame she felt so she had to publish.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/magazine/6563529.stm
It's the last comment.
Checks! Last comment...
A blog is not exactly a private diary! It may be anonymous, sure, but private???!
And as far as ending the secrecy with publishing a book, WTF is Anya Peters??
:)
If that's the best that she can do in terms of promoting her book then Harper Collins must have an advertising budget running into the tens of pounds.
Didn't she post that she was under orders not to mention anything in case the advanced publicity peaked too soon?
And if she can post some waffle on the BBC site then surely she could update her own blog.
It has been 2 months since an entry after all.
Poor likkle me type hugs.....
Anya Peters
Sorry my comments about book profitabilty and advances weren't clear. You misunderstood what I meant. Mea culpa.
"70% of books never recover the advance paid for them" means that for 70% of books author royalties are less than the size of the advance. But author royalties are only part of the revenue that comes from a book. Approx 50% of cover price will go to the retailer, 10% in author royalties, leaving 40% for the publisher. This 40% can make the whole project profitable even if author royalties haven't earned out the advance.
That 40% isn't all profit for them though so they could still make a loss. They have the production and marketing and distribution of book and all those costs to cover first. 40% of not very much is not very much.
Yes, that's right. It's revenue to set against costs such as printing and distribution. But it means that the project can eventually go into profit before the advance has been earned out by author royalties.
Hmmm....Not my cup of tea, really!!...
Cheers for the clarification Lawrence,
It looks like Harper Collins may not "go short" after all (as long as they get that Book Deal with Poundland). :)
Financial Hugness........
Anya Peters
Lawrence,
you shouldn't play with your sister's computer. Go finish your math exercices. Here's a hint : 1+1=2
Obviously percentages are a long way ahead in your future...
You can't trust anything on the internet??!...
Sacré Bleu Hugs!...
A perfect partner for Abandoned The True story of a little girl who didn't belong would be The True story of Pocahontas. I don't know why Amazon didn't make the connection.
"Weeks and weeks since I've written in here. I haven't known what to write. I kept waiting for something more interesting to happen, but since I've written the book nothing has really, not really, nothing particularly bloggable anyway."
Odd that, considering for something like a year she spouted a fluent stream of "nothing particularly bloggable anyway". Again, I would have thought that the sharp contrast between being homeless and sleeping in a car, and having a secure roof over ones head whilst picking up the threads of ones life would provide ample material for introspective musings. Hell, Proust spun a whole (if admittedly mind-mubingly tedious) series of books out of the simple act of eating a madeleine!
You mean you read it (the WS blog)?
I am just building up my reserves of courage and hiding all sharp objects before I attempt to do so in case the mind numbing banality of it drives me to suicide.
She's looking more and more like a one trick pony every day .......
Equine Hugsss......
Anya Peters
Last week I went up to get the last of it, bags and boxes stored up in an old organ loft in a church near Hexham. I spent a few days on the way back walking in Yorkshire. On the last day I ended up at the Yorkshire Sculpture Park. One of the main attractions there is the sky space, in an old deer shelter. There is seating around the walls and everyone sits in silence looking up at the sky through an open roof. It really is very beautiful, and loving the sky the way I do, ever since I first heard about it months ago I was really looking forward to going. Falling into a mediative state along with everyone else as I leaned back and stared up at big, white cumulus clouds drifting through all that clear, bright blue, I realised how familiar that state of mind was
Is that you Anya?
Trying to reach out to my many millions of fans via my own humble blog as yours is a desert nowadays?
Is anyone else surprised that she stored stuff in an organ loft?
Ordinary folk would have used a chums attic but that doesn't sound quite "dreamy" enough for our poor dillusional friend.
So she has to tart it up to something more melodrmatic.
Organ loft my arse !!
Bottomy hugness........
Anya Peters, Patron Saint of Organ Lofts
All she had was a bit of jutting out kitchen and a bucket she had pissed in.
Then as I passed the ‘new release’ hardbacks on the wall by the door I caught sight of something out of the corner of my eye and stopped in my tracks. There staring back at me amongst all the others was a copy of my book.
It was the weirdest thing. I think my heart stopped at least two beats.
Tuesday, May 01, 2007
Mayday...
My book was published today.
.
posted by WanderingScribe @ Tuesday, May 01, 2007 links to this post
I have been waiting for this book to appear for months now and I'm pleased to say I'm pleasantly surprised. I wouldn't usually read this sort of book but did so having followed the author's "Wanderingscribe" blog. I was fascinated, and horrified, to find out how the author came to be living in her car. It is a gripping account of how in the wrong circumstances a life can simply unravel. Some of the scenes in Brighton as the author struggles to come to terms with her homelessness were extremely well done.
What came as a revelation was the account of the author's abused childhood which is hardly mentioned in the blog. I guess "chilling" would be the single word I would use to describe such wickedness inflicted on one small girl over so many years. I really did turn the pages in horror at what I might read next. The writing here is powerful and compelling, and all the better for letting the story tell itself simply and directly. I won't forget for a long time the scene in the police station where the little girl is forced to put into words for the first time what she has suffered. You really do feel yourself actually in her mind as she struggles with feelings of love, betrayal, terror and apprehension at where her confession may lead. Highly recommended.
And which category did you find it under Mr Brodie? Fiction? or Super Fiction? Or next door to ...'Confessions of A Compulsive Liar' ?
Hah, well... she's stuck with her re-invented history now.
Talk about speed reading...The book is out for two days and it is already being reviewed...
Oh my god!!! The earth is spinning just to fast for me...Should I slow it down a bit???
Chill. You often find books in the shops a few days, even a week, before their "official" publication date.
Funniest character, since Mr. Bean...Anya.
Would you be an Anya Sicko-Fant by any chance, Tom?
I only ask as someone by that name has been whining on other blogs about how you (they) aren't allowed to post dribble in my comments section (as opposed to being denied the chance to post anything at all on Anya's blog).
Let's not forget that the book was mainly written by Andrew Crofts who was done it all many many times before.
How does the writing style compare to her blog?
Sounds like there's bugger all comparison (according to your mini review) which kinda backs up the whole Andrew Crofts involvement, n'est-ce pas?
BTW folks, you'll have to ignore the multitude of yanks that are infecting our llittle blog at the moment as some numpty in the US is trying to cash in on th ewhole "homeless and living in a car" thing.
Even though he had 7 houses !
What a twonk ! :)
Hugness Unlimited ........
Anya Peters (I've published a book, me!)
Good post.
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