Laura Purdie Salas

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[my writing life] Royalties!

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I did a happy dance when I got my royalty statement last week!

I did a happy dance when I got my royalty statement last week!

On an email group I’m in, a well-published and award-winning writer made an offhand remark, along the lines of: “My book with NG only sold 10,000 copies.” That took the wind out of my sails a bit. Why? Because I’m very excited that BookSpeak! Poems About Books ?(Clarion, 2011) has hit the 10,000 copies sold mark! It made’several nice lists, and it even won the Cybils and the Minnesota Book Award–yay! But the thought that 10,000 people or institutions actually bought it…that at maybe 8,000 libraries around the country, readers could discover it…oh my gosh. That’s the best thing ever.

I know in sales terms, 10,000 is not a huge number. I hope it keeps selling, keeps reaching more book lovers–or maybe making book lovers out of book likers, or making poetry likers out of poetry tolerators. We all have things we hope our books do.

But considering my first trade poetry collection, Stampede! Poems to Celebrate the Wild Side of School (Clarion, 2009), sold only a few more than 2,000 copies, I’m feeling pretty darn good about BookSpeak‘s 10,000 right now. 😀

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Comments

  11. Congrats on that! I think it’s awesome as well. BOOKSPEAK is a great book!

  12. Congrats on that! I think it’s awesome as well. BOOKSPEAK is a great book!

  13. Congratulations, Laura! That’s wonderful to hit and surpass that 10,000 mark. I love the thought of all those kids reading all those poems!

  14. Congratulations, Laura! That’s wonderful to hit and surpass that 10,000 mark. I love the thought of all those kids reading all those poems!

  19. Congratulations! 10,000 books means a lot of classrooms now have it, which means a lot of kids to love it and share it. And that means some multiple of 10,000 have already read your book and are now recommending it to others. And so on… Numbers are relative in the arts business. My singer-actress daughter’s YouTube channel (Laineylips) recently hit 10,000 subscribers, and she made a special thank you video for her fans. One commented that he couldn’t believe she only had that number, but he meant that as a compliment. I am sure your readers feel the same. Now I have to get your book!

    • Aw, thanks, Susan–and CONGRATS to your daughter. That’s wonderful! There are so many talented artists–writers, singers, visual artists, etc.–who can now reach more people in so many different ways. It does get harder and harder to stand out. 10,000 subscribers is awesome!

  20. Congratulations! 10,000 books means a lot of classrooms now have it, which means a lot of kids to love it and share it. And that means some multiple of 10,000 have already read your book and are now recommending it to others. And so on… Numbers are relative in the arts business. My singer-actress daughter’s YouTube channel (Laineylips) recently hit 10,000 subscribers, and she made a special thank you video for her fans. One commented that he couldn’t believe she only had that number, but he meant that as a compliment. I am sure your readers feel the same. Now I have to get your book!

    • Aw, thanks, Susan–and CONGRATS to your daughter. That’s wonderful! There are so many talented artists–writers, singers, visual artists, etc.–who can now reach more people in so many different ways. It does get harder and harder to stand out. 10,000 subscribers is awesome!

  21. You should be thrilled, Laura! Congratulations!!! I’ve heard that 10,000 is the mark of success – if you hit at least that, everyone is happy. So here’s to the next 10,000!!! 🙂

  22. You should be thrilled, Laura! Congratulations!!! I’ve heard that 10,000 is the mark of success – if you hit at least that, everyone is happy. So here’s to the next 10,000!!! 🙂

  29. Laura,
    Congratulations! What an important milestone. Well deserved for a great poetry collection. Thank you for sharing so much good information with us. I have a few questions.
    At a recent children’s poetry workshop, an editor told us their “standard” first run for a poetry book is 4,000 copies. Do you know if that is true for the big 6 houses? If an advance is made, “an advance against royalties,” does that mean authors of poetry collections get smaller advances, or do they even get advances? It seems like it might take forever to earn out one’s advance. Now, I more clearly understand your excitement about the royalty check. Well done.

  30. Laura,
    Congratulations! What an important milestone. Well deserved for a great poetry collection. Thank you for sharing so much good information with us. I have a few questions.
    At a recent children’s poetry workshop, an editor told us their “standard” first run for a poetry book is 4,000 copies. Do you know if that is true for the big 6 houses? If an advance is made, “an advance against royalties,” does that mean authors of poetry collections get smaller advances, or do they even get advances? It seems like it might take forever to earn out one’s advance. Now, I more clearly understand your excitement about the royalty check. Well done.

  31. All your hard work with promotion and making yourself available to the public is paying off. I’m so proud of you. Your book sales will keep on multiplying! Keep up the good work, Laura!

    • Thanks, Diana–You’re doing lots of the promotion and public stuff, too! Congratulations on getting out there and making more people aware of your lovely art!

  32. All your hard work with promotion and making yourself available to the public is paying off. I’m so proud of you. Your book sales will keep on multiplying! Keep up the good work, Laura!

    • Thanks, Diana–You’re doing lots of the promotion and public stuff, too! Congratulations on getting out there and making more people aware of your lovely art!

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