Good news! You can now buy books straight from this author. I’ve been wanting to set up a new online shop for some time and, finally, this week, I managed to complete the task. (The things you achieve when you can’t get into your usual writing routine…)
Books Available Widely
In these uncertain times, authors like many other creative entrepreneurs, need to put in place alternative ways of receiving income from our work. As you may know, all of my books are already available from various eBook stores including Amazon, iBooks, Kobo, Barnes&Noble, and GooglePlay. In addition to this, any brick-and-mortar bookstore can order copies (in normal times, that is), and the books are also available from libraries all across the world. All you need to do is to ask the library to order the book – and I still get paid even if the books are free for you to borrow. It’s a win-win!
It’s Their Store, Not Mine
But there are downsides to all of these re-sellers. In short, I’m selling my books in their stores, not mine. I do not have much control over how much they push my books in front of the readers, however much I pay in advertising or play with their algorithms.
Plus, I have no control over their finances. I cannot do anything if, for example, due to a worldwide pandemic, a bookshop (either a high street store or an online retailer) closes and stops selling my books. I will most probably have to wait for a long time for my royalties, or never get them if the retailer goes bankrupt. Luckily, at the moment, I sell most of my books through Amazon in digital format, something which looks like one of the winning formulas in this current world crisis.
Cashflow
Even if the retailer is financially stable and open, I have to wait up to 90 days for my royalties to come through from the re-sellers. This is a long time for any entrepreneur, but for writers, the return on investment is even longer than this. Cashflow is a real issue for many authors. Here’s why.
Most writers take one to two years to produce an edited, proofread, and formatted book with a professionally designed cover. All the costs of the cover, editing, formatting, and proofreading have to be paid upfront. If you are self-published, you won’t have the cushion of an advance from a publisher, which should cover the research and writing phase of producing a saleable title. So any return on the investment for an indie author will be at least one year plus 90 days away. An author writing their first title will need to fund their writing time, plus put aside a sum to pay for the publishing services, perhaps years before they press ‘publish’. So you can see how a site that offers the sales proceeds from your books immediately after a sale would be highly attractive…?
New Payhip Shop
There are several answers to this cashflow problem. You can set up a shop directly on your own website, and this is certainly something I am aiming to do next.
But there is also another simple solution. Today I took the plunge and set up my own shop on Payhip. This site will pay any proceeds from a sale directly to my bank account. I will not have to wait 90 days for a settlement but get paid as soon as a reader purchases my books.
If you are an author and would like to find out more about Payhip, go here. (Or go to www.selfpublishingcoach.com where I have written a more comprehensive post on Payhip).
My Payhip shop includes the newly updated book, Write Your Story: Turn Your Life Into Fiction In 10 Easy Steps, plus all the books in The Nordic Heart as well as Love on the Island series, and my other fiction titles.
Discount: 25% Off For A Limited Time
If you are a reader who wants to support a writer check out their Payhip shop. If they don’t have one, encourage them to upload their books to Payhip. The link to my shop is here.
To celebrate my new shop, I have a special discount for you. Use the coupon code HELENAHALME to receive 25% on all my books on Payhip. But hurry, this offer ends 30 April 2020.
Go on, check out Payhip now!
