So buy GHOSTS ON AN ALIEN WIND tonight, read it, and recommend it to all your friends! Be the hero to you peers that you were always meant to be. You can do it. I believe in you.
Failing that: there are fridge magnets now! Plus, stickers, prints, and even more stuff – but fridge magnets for certain. Pick a couple up, if you like. I’m curious as to how they sell.
#commissionearned
There’s a bunch of other stuff at the new store, but… mugs and fridge magnets!
I have gotten a good tier for my account – better than I expected, in fact – so I’m willing to see how this experiment plays out. There is value in setting up one-stop-shopping merchandise, so let’s see what it is!
If you’d rather just buy my books, that’s cool, too.
#commissionearned
I’m looking at the fee structure for the very popular service I think most people use. It seems to work out to an 8% to 16% commission for the stuff I sell, with the 16% almost certainly out of my reach (if I did sell that much merch a month – and it’d have to be four figures in gross sales – I guarantee you I’d be bumped up to a higher tier anyway). This is… kind of horrible, but arguably found money at my current level. I may very well use it anyway, if only to let people buy their own fridge magnet or something.
However, if I want to have my own products to hawk at cons and stuff I’m going to need a company that isn’t (three syllables, starts with R, last two syllables rhymes with trouble). Thoughts? I understand that small batch orders cost more, but surely there are companies out there whose business model isn’t dependent on people making hasty decisions. I want merch, but I’m not desperate for it.
I have art, and I have a variety of places who will either make me things for an outrageous markup, or sell things for me for an even more outrageous markup. Sobeit. Everybody’s got to eat, including online store facilitators. What I need to figure out is what to sell. So far, this is my list:
Like I mentioned yesterday, I am working right now with a certain artist who is doing a Fermi Resolution-themed design. The way she’s doing it, I’ll be able to turn it into a 3×1 bookmark, 2×2 fridge magnet or sticker, and/or a 3×2 bookplate. I’ll show the art when the basic design is finalized: it’ll undoubtedly be a stretch goal in the Kickstarter.
In the meantime, what else should I be selling? I know that mugs and stuff are a favorite, but those are better suited for an online store. What swag should I be doing for a table display? Weight considerations are a priority here; no Tom Vargas encased in carbonite* refrigerator fronts, sorry. But what else?
Moe Lane
*Although… that might work in the next book…
