Novel news

Late last night word came from the publisher that the book presented no serious problems in terms of format and design, and this morning I ordered a proof copy. It is due sometime late next week. Once I have reviewed it and approved it for distribution, the paperback version should be on the market within a matter of days.

I am disappointed at how much they will charge for the book. My intention had been to set the royalty as low as possible so that friends -- the only people I imagine will buy it -- would not be too burdened. That would have kept the price well below ten dollars. But I had to accept their formula, which means it will sell for $14.95 in the US of A. It will be available in other places through Amazon, but the price will be somewhat higher. The only consolation is that the book is almost twice as long as my John of the Cross mystery and will cost only a couple of dollars more.

I never quite avoid sticker shock when I see the price of anything. Three decades in a monastery, where I seldom bought things directly, means that my memory board is still operating on 1972 prices ... When I ran this 2014 price through an inflation calculator, I discovered that it would have cost about $2.65 in 1972. So maybe that's not too bad.

What am I saying? That's absurd. Of course in those days, mass market paperbacks were mostly under a dollar.

I also did all the work necessary to make the book available in Kindle format, and that should be on the Amazon lists within the next couple of days. The Kindle version will sell in the States for a whopping $2.99! 

I will let you know more when I know more.