#amwriting

*Emerges blinking into the light* For more years than I care to recall, I've been working on a non-fiction book. It's been set aside more than once, most recently for several years, as my lovely readers were increasingly pressing regarding the next works in my fiction series, but at the beginning of this year I finally returned to this work. This morning I *finished* the first draft! Still a huge amount of work to be done, but a very, very good feeling. Currently celebrating with fresh scones topped with homemade guava jelly. #AmWriting #NZHistory

So, I am a self-published author, and I wanted to diversify away from the #Amazon ecosystem for some time. However, I am hitting a snag with the Print on Demand options.

My paperback books are sold in a 6"x9" format, which is a standard format for paperbacks. With Amazon KDP, I sell my books for a standard price of $17.99, and I get about 5$ in royalties for each paperback sold.

Now I've used online calculators to calculate printing prices for a 384 page book on assorted Print on Demand platforms (this is the length of my current manuscript).

With Amazon KDP, I get the usual $5.19 in revenues.

With OneBookShelf (a platform that is primarily for #TTRPG, but which also sells fiction) I get US printing costs of $11.73, which should leave me revenues of about 4$. Still acceptable.

However, the biggest "alternative" Print on Demand platform is Draft2Digital, and there I would only get revenues of $1.11. Which is too low for my tastes.

So if I want to keep decent revenues for my print books, my options are:

• Increase the prices for my paperbacks. And I would have increase the price all the way to $24.49 if I want to get at least $4 in royalties.

• Skip Draft2Digital as a print publishing platform, and stick to Amazon KDP and OneBookShelf - although the latter only prints in the USA and the UK, which means customers in other countries will have to have to pay extra for shipping.

What are your thoughts what I should do? And what are some other Print on Demand platforms I should look into?

#amwriting #publishing

#Today 29 Good day! There’s pine tree texture, but then there’s this pine tree seemingly becoming a dinosaur foot at its base. Once you see it, you can’t unsee it. Kind of fitting as we approach October and spooky season, this year coming with extra spooky. Be everwell. #WritingLife #AmWriting #WritingCommunity #Aging #HealthyLiving #HealthyLifestyle #GetOutside #Hiking #Trails #HikingAdventures #Nature #NaturePhotography #NatureLover #Photography #LandscapePhotography #TextureTuesday

#Today 27 #SilentSunday Yeah, it was like that… Be everwell. #WritingLife #AmWriting #WritingCommunity #Aging #HealthyLiving #HealthyLifestyle #GetOutside #Hiking #Trails #HikingAdventures #Nature #NaturePhotography #NatureLover #Photography #LandscapePhotography

RE: https://bookstodon.com/@ododopress/117324471061537506 So here is my third collection, and unlike the first two where the publishers largely picked the stories, I selected these, opting for a horror theme as I have a large stockpile of stories in that genre waiting to see the light of day. A lot are my earliest works so it will be exciting to revisit those ideas. There is a sample story that will open the book, on this page, where you can also pre-order. https://www.ododopress.com/short-story-collection/eater-of-happiness/#amwriting #AmWritingSFF #books #bookstodon #sff #horror #art

#writing #amwriting RESURRECTION: The first book in the Commonwealth series is currently priced at 0€. https://payhip.com/OwenGRichards The normal price will be restored on 30/09/2026.

You don’t write because you want to say something, you write because you have something to say. F. Scott Fitzgerald Courtesy The Economist #Quote #Writer #AmWriting

#Today 23 Good day! At last, autumn has arrived, but not just any autumn. Be safe out there. I wish it was different. I wish none of this was happening. I wish a lot of things. Wishing doesn’t accomplish anything. It never has. Autumn is here and it’s almost time to vote. Be everwell. #WritingLife #AmWriting #WritingCommunity #Aging #HealthyLiving #HealthyLifestyle #GetOutside #Hiking #Trails #HikingAdventures #Nature #NaturePhotography #NatureLover #Photography #LandscapePhotography

I find it _interesting_ that most modern portrayals of fairy tales involve kings, knights, princesses and so forth - the privileged aristocratic classes on top of the social pyramid. Even if the protagonist of such a tale is poor, they are still secretly from privileged parents, and their story tends to be about reclaiming their "rightful" (i.e. privileged) place in society. Meanwhile, the _vast_ majority of German folk tales I have read feature peasant protagonists. Nobles _might_ appear, but they are the villains as often as they are a force for "good". Reframing fairy tales to focus on protagonists of privileged birth and relegating low-born characters to sidekicks and background characters was a _choice_. It's so pervasive nowadays that most modern-day storytellers don't even realize that they are making this choice, since they have accepted this as "normal". But it is a choice nonetheless. And if we are telling stories of our own, we need to ask ourselves what choices we are making when developing our protagonists. #privilege #storytelling #AmWriting #ClassStruggle

#Today 22 Good day! This is my favorite time of year to focus on the forest floor, rather than in the trees. That’s where stuff is happening, including color changes. Not that I’m an expert. More like the opposite. Oh, but curiosity… Be everwell. #WritingLife #AmWriting #WritingCommunity #Aging #HealthyLiving #HealthyLifestyle #GetOutside #Hiking #Trails #HikingAdventures #Nature #NaturePhotography #NatureLover #Photography #LandscapePhotography #Moss #Lichen #Fungi #TextureTuesday

#FFXIVWrite2026: Day 18 & 19 - Reason & Liminal https://www.worldanvil.com/community/manuscripts/read/5670349998-casualcatte-cornerstones/55d077d1-ebfb-4943-ac99-42593b26fbcd #ffxivwrite | #amwriting | #ffxivfanfic | #ffxivwriting #ffxivroleplay | #mateusroleplay | #mateusroleplayer | #writing | #fanfic | #fanfiction | #XochitlCanek

#Today 20 #SilentSunday video: NO music or AI Yesterday, climbing through the forest, I was unaware of events below me. The canyon was filling with clouds. I topped Pengelly Ridge… Be everwell. #WritingLife #AmWriting #WritingCommunity #Aging #HealthyLiving #HealthyLifestyle #GetOutside #Hiking #Trails #HikingAdventures #Nature #NaturePhotography #NatureLover #Photography #LandscapePhotography #Montana

I finished the penultimate chapter of my novella. Please clap. #AmWriting

#WritersCoffeeClub September 2: What was the last thing to interrupt you while writing? Almost definitely a cat meal. ​​ Yes, they have a schedule but if I try to stop writing ahead of the clock, I'll get nothing done ever because there's always an alarm coming. #Writing #AmWriting

"I hate writing, I love having written." — Dorothy Parker Staring at LibreOffice today and feeling this in my bones. Having a finished manuscript in hand is the best feeling in the world, but the actual process to get there? That is something else entirely. One word, one page, one chapter at a time. #AmWriting #WritingCommunity #WritersOfMastodon #Bookstodon

#WritersOfMastodon/ #WritingCommunity, most of you probably know the "Somehow, Palpatine returned" meme. How would you, when editing, call a piece of information which is repeated in such a way, so that it doesn't feel quite smoothly conveyed? I'm looking for a concise term ("oh, that's an xyz error!"). #amWriting #amEditing #FollowerPower

#WordWeavers September 16: If your MC was elected mayor of your own town, would you stay or move? Why? Going with John Doe from By Fire's Light, I'm unlikely to move towns because of a mayor. However, if someone has elected John for anything, something has gone very very wrong and it might be time to check on options for migrating to another universe. #AmWriting

#FFXIVWrite2026: Day 14 - Against the Grain https://www.worldanvil.com/community/manuscripts/read/5670349998-casualcatte-cornerstones/da8699cd-50b0-4ee5-9a4f-9ac42e26354d #ffxivwrite | #amwriting | #ffxivfanfic | #ffxivwriting #ffxivroleplay | #mateusroleplay | #mateusroleplayer | #writing | #fanfic | #fanfiction | #XochitlCanek

RE: https://writing.exchange/@hiisikoloart/117269599940766167 An ePub formatting troubleshooting thread dives into how to fix stubborn paragraph breaks in Sigil (including a practical margin-based workaround). #IAS #IndieAuthor #IndieAuthors #AmWriting

#ScribesAndMakers 12 question for SAM @saposcat@indieauthors.social@willelm@indieauthors.social@gahlearner@sunny.garden Thank you for the time and effort the three of you put into this hashtag. It shows in a positive way. Today's chat is kind of a variation on TTMD, which is a superb vehicle for engagement. As a group, or individually, have you considered ideas, or even made plans, for other variations if you run out of artists who are willing to be the focus? #AmWriting #WritingCommunity #TTMD