Amazon No. 16: Ron Paul's Revolution

The demand for Ron Paul's new book is enormous, today sitting at No. 16 on Amazon among all books, and holding the top spot in these categories:

#1 in	Books > Nonfiction > Philosophy > Political
#1 in	Books > Biographies & Memoirs > Leaders & Notable People > Political
#1 in	Books > Nonfiction > Social Sciences > Political Science > Political Doctrines

Congratulations, Dr. Paul. Even if you're not a Ron Paul fan, his book is worth reading if only for the government corruption it exposes. My review of Paul's book can be found here.

We have lost our belief that freedom works, because we no longer have the imagination to conceive of how a free people might solve its problems without introducing threats of violence -- which is what government solutions ultimately amount to. [p. 85]

CreateSpace

About two weeks ago I was exploring ways to get my book listed on Amazon and discovered CreateSpace, one of Amazon's companies. CreateSpace has no upfront charge for posting a book and will even get you an ISBN for no charge. If you already have an ISBN, fine. I didn't.

I was able to upload my manuscript and have it accepted immediately because the specs (6x9") were the same as Lulu's.

The challenge was the cover. It took me three days of trial and error to get it accepted, but I like the results better than the one I made for Lulu. I'm not a layout artist, nor do I have software that lets me do anything fancy.

Once the cover and contents were accepted, I ordered a proof copy and it looked good. I signed off on it and first noticed its listing on Amazon late Thursday, April 3. It looks good. And it's posted at a competitive $16.95.

So, with CreateSpace as my publisher I've obtained an Amazon listing for my book, for no upfront charge. Lulu was unclear about whether they could get an Amazon listing, and they wanted $100 for an ISBN. If someone wants a hardbound copy, I'll have to order through Lulu because CreateSpace doesn't do hardbound books. At the moment I'm not concerned that I don't have a hardbound offering on Amazon.

On Saturday, April 5, I noticed the book had already sold four copies through Amazon. I don't know who ordered them, and I never will know because of Amazon's privacy policy. I just know it wasn't me. I'm pleasantly amazed at the quick sales. I would make almost nothing on any book I sold through Lulu. Under my agreement with CreateSpace, I make a decent royalty on each book sold.

I'm very happy with CreateSpace and Amazon.

If you really write well and have a way of marketing your work, you could make good money this way.

Barbarous Relic Blog

Fortunately, the new 36-hour day allows me enough time to add another blog to my plate, this one devoted to "the world of monopoly money and central banking." The blog is part of my barbarous relic website.

I'm using Apple's iWeb to manage the blog, which so far has been satisfactory. It would be nice if it worked like this one, where all I have to do is click a button that says create post, then another called publish post when I'm done. Since I don't have a .Mac account, I have to FTP the updates myself. I use Panic Software's Transmit for that task. No real complaints about either iWeb or Transmit so far. I'm a big fan of easy-to-use yet powerful software that is low on bugs.

Ordering prints through Apple's iPhoto

Yesterday (Tuesday) I decided to order prints from Preston's party and other events and send them to my mom in Pennsylvania. I selected 75 high-res photos and uploaded the order a little before noon. They were processed in California and flown to Memphis during the night. They were then flown to Philadelphia a little later. At 10 this morning a FedEx driver handed the prints to her. For less than $20, 75 photos of my choosing went from images on my computer to prints in my mom's hand in less than 24 hours. And I could've saved $6 if I had sent them standard shipping instead of express. The price per 4x6" print has dropped from 19 cents to 12 cents, and overnight shipping is $9.99. Don't these people know about inflation?

What a great deal.

Preston's birthday

My grandson Preston turned three on Monday, coincidentally the birthday of the great anarchist - economist, Gustave de Molinari. He had a party on Saturday and received some special gifts on Monday.


The monster truck moonwalk . . .


. . . was a big hit with the kids.


Testing his new bike, which has both front and rear brakes.


After doing a spin-out in his new car.


Beating granddad to the finish line.

I also took some video:

They made it

The cover looks pretty good, for the most part. But check out the margins below.



I have some work to do.

The Books are Coming

The first two hardbound copies of my novel that Lulu shipped last Friday are in transit and on-time for UPS delivery Wednesday 2/27/2008. Last night I couldn't sleep thinking about all the possible problems with the whole project. I imagine the formatting of the published book to be messed up to the point of being unreadable, or that I'll see killer flaws in the story that had stayed hidden until their emergence in book form.

But I calmed myself with the reminder that I ordered these copies for the very purpose of seeing what needs fixing. Only when I'm satisfied will I apply for an ISBN, make it available in paperback, etc.

I can't wait for the books to arrive.

Family videos on YouTube

Not all my videos are political. Today's is one of several that feature my grandson Preston, who'll be three in a week. This one shows him playing hoops with a door-hanging basket and a soccer ball. For music I used Brother Bones and His Shadows' incomparable version of Sweet Georgia Brown.



I managed to edit and upload the video while he napped. Thank God for children's naps.

BookSurge

Amazon's publish-on-demand company is BookSurge, which I emailed last weekend to see what they do and what they charge.

According to a reply I received they don't publish hardbound books. My effort at Lulu, therefore, has not been completely wasted. If I can get a hardbound copy of my novel into a reviewer's hands I think my chances for a positive review will be high. I think my chances for getting it reviewed, period, will be strongest if the reviewer has a hardbound to read.

But I still need a trade paperback available for the retail sales on Amazon and B&N. The hardbound edition is too costly to compete at the retail level, where I'm already at a disadvantage because of my obscurity. I would guess the paperback will be higher than traditionally published paperbacks but at least the price will be lower than the hardbound . . . I hope.

If I can't bring the price down by having it sold directly through online bookstores I'll see if I can set myself up as a reseller on their sites. That way, I can bring the price down considerably. Here's how I see it working: I buy a number of copies from a POD publisher. I get the book listed on Amazon, B&N at a price lower than what people would pay if they bought it directly from them. That part is attractive to potential buyers. That part that isn't is the statement that goes something like, "ususally ships in 2-3 days." Maybe I can get that changed, though. I would ship ASAP, that day or next day.

BookSurge had not replied to my last query in which I asked about the projected retail price for a 6x9" trade paperback version of my novel. I emailed them again a short while ago asking for a reply.

Maybe I'll have to do everything through Lulu.

My goal in using publish-on-demand is to show a potential traditional publisher that my book has commercial potential.

Meanwhile, I received an email from Lulu yesterday telling me the two copies I ordered have shipped. UPS has a projected delivery date of Wednesday, February 27. The copies I'm getting are comparable to proof sheets (I believe they're called) sent from a regular publisher.

If the copies look good I'll get an ISBN and go from there.

Ron Paul's Popularity

Using a highly unscientific measure, I've concluded that interest in Ron Paul has dropped significantly since last Tuesday's primaries. The video I created over the weekend - "Rocky" Ron Paul -- is languishing on YouTube, whereas a video I made two days before Super Tuesday -- Good Reasons to Vote for Ron Paul -- had hundreds of hits before the election results started rolling in.

Of course, this is hardly surprising.

Waning interest is one consequence of looking at poor numbers. Paul hasn't been getting the votes, ergo he's all but eliminated.

But Ron is the front man for a freedom movement that should never quit. Even if he bows out of the campaign his supporters need to stay together -- like the original Sons of Liberty -- and look ahead.

I say these things about Ron Paul from a position of total rejection of the state. I have little admiration for the Constitution because the convention that created it was itself a step in the direction of big government. In his campaign Ron frequently explains his positions on issues by referring to the Constitution. His comments have a rational pro-life ring only because government has long abandoned even the pretense of adhering to the Constitution, which is to say government is on a much higher rung of statism than the law of the land allows.

Ron Paul's views on the income tax, federal reserve, war, and government spending are being heard around the world. He is bringing people together who agree with his views. That is the great value of his campaign. That his views are, in some cases, consistent with the Constitution is coincidental.

His popularity should never diminish because his views were not made up or watered-down for his run for the presidency; they are long-held personal convictions. He really wants to bring the troops home. He really wants to kill the IRS and end the income tax. He really wants to abolish the Fed. People should study and adopt these positions. They should fight for them in every way possible. We need freedom desperately. It's a matter of survival.

Reviewer wanted

How nice it would be if I could get someone to read and endorse the story before I bind it up in a book. I could add the reviewer's comments to the dust jacket, just like a real book.

The question is, Who would give me the time of day?

I've already tried James Turk and G. Edward Griffin, but there are others.

It might be better to get the book published, offer to send someone a free review copy, then go from there. If someone reviews and likes it, I can change the dust jacket copy to include relevant quotes. When you publish books one or a few at a time, you can make changes on the fly. I might be able to get the reviewer to post his/her comments on Amazon.

What a life. And I gave up computer support for this?