- Joined
- Feb 13, 2011
- Messages
- 161
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Hi guys,
Can I ask how people handle the issue of posting ARCs? I usually send out digital copies but recently a handful of people have been specifically requesting paperbacks. I don't live in the US... and sending paperbacks to the US (at the cheapest possible shipping rates) equates to $15 per book.
Which leaves me thinking about how I should handle this. Some of the requests I've OK'd and agreed to send out; others I've left unanswered for the moment.
I have some questions for you self-pub pros (who I greatly respect and admire )
* Do you have a set limit for how much postage you will spend/how many copies you will send per month?
* If so, how do you turn people down gently?
* Do you decide who to send out to based on a number of followers/views the blog has?
* Does it sound like you're a total cheapskate if you tell them you can't afford to send to them? Or that you have a budget that limits the number of paperbacks you can send in a month?
* Do you treat requests differently if the person requesting a paperback is someone you didn't seek out? (I.e. some paperback requests come from people who I offered an ecopy to; others come from out of the blue.)
* On the other side of the discussion, does anyone think that all the postage spent is an investment? And that you should just bite the bullet and send out to everyone who asks?
I know it sounds like I'm overthinking things. But I never expected to get requests for paperbacks, and I don't even know how much I'm going to be able to make from this project. (Yes, I'm a newbie who hasn't done a business plan yet.) Like most people, I'm just not made of money
Cheers,
Todsplace
Can I ask how people handle the issue of posting ARCs? I usually send out digital copies but recently a handful of people have been specifically requesting paperbacks. I don't live in the US... and sending paperbacks to the US (at the cheapest possible shipping rates) equates to $15 per book.
Which leaves me thinking about how I should handle this. Some of the requests I've OK'd and agreed to send out; others I've left unanswered for the moment.
I have some questions for you self-pub pros (who I greatly respect and admire )
* Do you have a set limit for how much postage you will spend/how many copies you will send per month?
* If so, how do you turn people down gently?
* Do you decide who to send out to based on a number of followers/views the blog has?
* Does it sound like you're a total cheapskate if you tell them you can't afford to send to them? Or that you have a budget that limits the number of paperbacks you can send in a month?
* Do you treat requests differently if the person requesting a paperback is someone you didn't seek out? (I.e. some paperback requests come from people who I offered an ecopy to; others come from out of the blue.)
* On the other side of the discussion, does anyone think that all the postage spent is an investment? And that you should just bite the bullet and send out to everyone who asks?
I know it sounds like I'm overthinking things. But I never expected to get requests for paperbacks, and I don't even know how much I'm going to be able to make from this project. (Yes, I'm a newbie who hasn't done a business plan yet.) Like most people, I'm just not made of money
Cheers,
Todsplace