Price Drop, Donations and Royalty Summary
December is a fun time of year, and I’m trying to make it a little bit better in my own way. When I released my book in July, I really knew very little about the art of publishing and marketing a book. I would still describe myself as a rank novice in these spaces, but I have learned a lot.
One commitment that I made and continue to uphold is to donate 20% of the author royalties and other special events to children’s hospitals. This morning I wrote a check to the Alberta Children’s Hospital Foundation to support their wonderful efforts. I would strongly encourage anybody who is able to donate to their local children’s hospital as well.
My second drive has been to try to get my book to as many people as I can. I’ve offered the book to several local schools. So far, only a couple have accepted, but I am handing off a copy this morning to a local school. I’m really excited at the possibility of my book helping to elevate literacy and support our schools as well. For any of you that aren’t from Alberta, there has been a great deal of cuts made to our education budget. If I can help out a little, then I’m thrilled to do this.
| Format | Price |
|---|---|
| eBook | $2.99 |
| Paperback | $12.95 |
| Hardcover | $34.95 |
At the same time, I’ve donated several copies of books to the local library, and to little free libraries near my house. This adventure wasn’t about the money when I started, and I still would rather a thousand people read the book and from it earn nothing, than have a single reader give me a thousand dollars.
To this end, I’ve changed the price structure of the book drastically in time for Christmas. (They are as low as I can now make them without taking a loss on each copy sold.) – Prices vary at different retailers.
If you are still looking for your own copy of the book, it can is available everywhere online, and in several local bookstores.
Begging for Reviews
One last thing, please post a review of On Swift Wings. Amazon, GoodReads, Indigo, or anywhere else. Better yet, post it to all three! The biggest hurdle I face right now is getting outside of the friend zone. The only way I’ll achieve that is by word of mouth. Recommend the book to a friend, or post a review online. I love feedback. A few readers have been keeping me up-to-date on their progress, and I love hearing their thoughts, feedback, and criticisms. It’ll only take you a minute to type in your thoughts, please help!
Brett Wiens 
It is wonderful your giving efforts. I’m about 100 pages into your book and as promised I will be leaving some reviews once I am done. I am grateful for your book prompting me to read the original Gulliver’s Travels first to better appreciate where you are coming from with this homage. Especially now that I’ve gotten to the twist of your homage to Lemuel.
Yours and another friend who came out with an ebook at the same time finally pushed me to get an e-reader and I’m grateful for the built in dictionary. Both yours and Swift’s original had some challenging vocabulary for me.
So early in my critique, one thing I was hoping for was a more modern novel and protagonist. Having read both yours and Swift’s so close together I can appreciate the love you have for the original, but it’s been very much coming across as a novel from the 1700s with a narrator who seems more like a stiff professor than a cast away flight attendant. Also as a Calgarian I was disappointed there wasn’t any fun made with the term “yahoo”. :p
It’s still an enjoyable read with what you’ve crafted. I’ll share a full review on those 3 sites when I am done that I’ll run by you first.
——
Hopefully in the new year you might be able to do some book tours at schools and libraries to get the word out. Back in November the Lethbridge library even had someone in to talk about Gulliver’s Travels along with the 1930s animated movie.
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Thanks Mike, I love your comments. The style and language of the book, as you rightly noted, is an attempt on my part to mimic and pay homage to Mr. Swift’s classic. I even like the ‘stiff professor’ bit.
I’ve certainly heard that a few people have taken advantage of the dictionary feature. The vocabulary can be a bit intimidating, but I hope when you finish reading it, you’ll feel a sense of accomplishment. I remember reading War and Peace and getting to the end thinking, “I did it.” I’m not suggesting I’m Tolstoy, but if the story is sufficiently entertaining to read from end-to-end, and the reader feels a sense of achievement having read it, I will feel likewise.
BW
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The accomplishment is reading it as a father of young kids. I’m amazed at you even making the time to write it!
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