The Black Sword: The Secret U.S. Army in Vietnam—available at selected outlets
I’m changing direction today. Some background:
I wrote my book, for personal reasons, while living in Tucson. It took three years to write. After it was written, I didn’t do anything with it. After moving to Morton, I decided to get it published. I wanted to publish it myself but had no idea how to accomplish it.
I settled on using a publisher that basically was a cross between self publishing and a regular publishing house—using their publishing knowledge, but I having control of the finished product. One thing that had to be done my way was the number of pages per chapter. I could accomplish that goal under this scenario.
I put my manuscript into the print format they wanted used, paid a printing company to put my Word file into PDF format as required, and sent it off to them. I received notice that I had not done the margins correctly according to their printer (It turned out that the publishing company outsourced the printing of the book.) and I had to redo the copy. They included some technical directions for doing so that I, as a non-computer person, didn’t fully understand.
I redid the copy as I understood the directions. To do so, I also rewrote sections of the book by adding material so that each chapter would have the number of pages intended. I went back to my printers to have this new file put into PDF format and brought the directions I was given with me. I asked them to check to see if they thought I had followed the directions that I had been given. They said it looked good to go!
I sent the PDF off once again. The publisher sent it back as before. Same story. The margins were not correct for their printing presses. I responded that I needed a less technical explanation that I could understand because I wasn’t going to keep doing some hit or miss process until I stumbled onto the correct, acceptable final product. They replied back that the directions I received originally were the only directions I was going to be given.
I said, “It can’t be done! It won’t be done. I’m not wasting anymore time with this. You’ve not fulfilled the contract. I’ll do it myself!”
And I did! I went back to the printer and asked if they printed books. They didn’t, but they did outsource to a company in St. Louis. I gave them a copy of the PFD, an employee worked with me to design a back cover (The original publishing company had designed the front cover.), I bought ten ISBN’s—one for this book and nine others for other books I hoped to eventually write and publish—and they sent the material to the printer they worked through. This printer had no problem with the margins and the book was printed.
I had already copyrighted the material even before I started contacting publishers. I re-established the copyright by providing two printed copies of the finalized book and started selling it. As explained in a previous post, the State of Illinois and I had a disagreement on how I would file and pay the required sales tax. I wanted to do it by mail; the State wanted me to do it over the internet. Since I don’t trust the internet and we couldn’t reach an agreement, I stopped selling the book in Illinois. I stopped July 1st of 2009.
Then, earlier this year, I received a small royalty check from the original publishing company. The one who could not print my book because the margins were wrong! How was it possible for me to receive a check for a book that could not be printed? Turns out it could be because it was.
One afternoon soon thereafter, I googled (actually, binged) “The Black Sword” and there it was “shop for the black sword.” And under that heading, a picture of the front cover of my book.
I clicked the picture and websites were given that were selling my book. None of the websites given was my website. None of the websites were selling my book that I had published. All were selling my book as published by the first publisher who could not print my book because the margins were wrong. How did that happen?
They were selling both a hardcover and a paperback edition and they were selling the paperback edition for a lower price than I am! Now that’s a dilemma! I’m in competition against my own book and my price is being undercut!
I was torn between posting about this discovery or just letting it slide. However, I’ve had some potential buyers in Illinois ask to buy the book. They couldn’t because I can’t sell to Illinois residents without dealing with the State. And I won’t do that!
So, until I move from Illinois, which may be soon, I’ve decided to let anyone interested know about this opportunity. If you’d like to buy my book through the internet, which is the only way an Illinois resident can buy one (I imagine you may order one from a Barnes and Noble store too.), as far as I know, here are some outlets that are selling my book and some prices as of March 18th.
Oh yes, I occasionally buy things from Barnes and Noble although I don’t like to make purchases through the internet. I broke down and bought my own book in a hardcover edition. The book, as far as I can tell, is identical to mine except for information in relation to the publishing company, the spine, and the back cover.
If you’re interested:
The Black Sword: The Secret U.S. Army in Vietnam—available at selected outlets
1) From http://www.amazon.com/
http://www.amazon.com/Black-Sword-Donald-L-Vance/dp/1602666067/ref=sr_1_7_title_0_main?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1300473837&sr=1-7
The Black Sword: The Secret U.S. Army in Vietnam (hardcover)
List Price: $19.99
Price: $14.99 & eligible for FREE Super Saver Shipping on orders over $25.
You Save: $5.00 (25%)
(When I purchased my hardcover copy, the price at Amazon was slightly higher than at Barnes and Noble. The price has been lowered since then so that it is now lower than the Barnes and Noble price.)
http://www.amazon.com/Black-Sword-Donald-L-Vance/dp/1602666059/ref=sr_1_7_title_1_p?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1300473837&sr=1-7
The Black Sword: The Secret U.S. Army in Vietnam (paperback)
List Price: $11.99
Price: $10.19 & eligible for FREE Super Saver Shipping on orders over $25.
You Save: $1.80 (15%)
2) From http://www.barnes&noble.com/
http://search.barnesandnoble.com/Black-Sword/Donald-L-Vance/e/9781602666061/?itm=3
The Black Sword: The Secret U.S. Army in Vietnam (hardcover)
List Price: $19.99
Price: $15.27
(You Save 23%)
Spend $25, get free shipping
http://search.barnesandnoble.com/Black-Sword/Donald-L-Vance/e/9781602666054/?itm=2
The Black Sword: The Secret U.S. Army in Vietnam (paperback)
$11.99 List Price
$9.98 Online Price
(You Save 16%)
Spend $25, get free shipping
3) From: http://www.alibris.com/
http://www.alibris.com/booksearch?qwork=10284870
The Black Sword: The Secret U.S. Army in Vietnam (hardcover)
From:
$13.28
List price: $19.99
You save: $6.71 (34%)
The Black Sword: The Secret U.S. Army in Vietnam (trade paperback)
From:
$7.10
List price: $11.99
You save: $4.89 (41%)
4) From: http://www.promiseangels.com/
http://www.promiseangels.com/donald-l-vance/the-black-sword/SKU/97732
The Black Sword: The Secret U.S. Army in Vietnam (hardcover)
Our Price $14.79
Retail Value $19.99
You Save $5.20 (26%)
http://www.promiseangels.com/donald-l-vance/the-black-sword/SKU/97733
The Black Sword: The Secret U.S. Army in Vietnam (paperback)
Our Price $8.99
Retail Value $11.99
You Save $3.00 (25%)
5) From: http://www.deepershopping.com/
http://www.deepershopping.com/item/donald-l-vance/the-black-sword/97732.html
The Black Sword: The Secret U.S. Army in Vietnam (hardcover)
Our Price $14.79
Retail Value $19.99
You Save $5.20 (26%)
http://www.deepershopping.com/item/donald-l-vance/the-black-sword/97733.html
The Black Sword: The Secret U.S. Army in Vietnam (paperback)
Our Price $9.35
Retail Value $11.99
You Save $2.64 (22%)
I’m changing direction today. Some background:
I wrote my book, for personal reasons, while living in Tucson. It took three years to write. After it was written, I didn’t do anything with it. After moving to Morton, I decided to get it published. I wanted to publish it myself but had no idea how to accomplish it.
I settled on using a publisher that basically was a cross between self publishing and a regular publishing house—using their publishing knowledge, but I having control of the finished product. One thing that had to be done my way was the number of pages per chapter. I could accomplish that goal under this scenario.
I put my manuscript into the print format they wanted used, paid a printing company to put my Word file into PDF format as required, and sent it off to them. I received notice that I had not done the margins correctly according to their printer (It turned out that the publishing company outsourced the printing of the book.) and I had to redo the copy. They included some technical directions for doing so that I, as a non-computer person, didn’t fully understand.
I redid the copy as I understood the directions. To do so, I also rewrote sections of the book by adding material so that each chapter would have the number of pages intended. I went back to my printers to have this new file put into PDF format and brought the directions I was given with me. I asked them to check to see if they thought I had followed the directions that I had been given. They said it looked good to go!
I sent the PDF off once again. The publisher sent it back as before. Same story. The margins were not correct for their printing presses. I responded that I needed a less technical explanation that I could understand because I wasn’t going to keep doing some hit or miss process until I stumbled onto the correct, acceptable final product. They replied back that the directions I received originally were the only directions I was going to be given.
I said, “It can’t be done! It won’t be done. I’m not wasting anymore time with this. You’ve not fulfilled the contract. I’ll do it myself!”
And I did! I went back to the printer and asked if they printed books. They didn’t, but they did outsource to a company in St. Louis. I gave them a copy of the PFD, an employee worked with me to design a back cover (The original publishing company had designed the front cover.), I bought ten ISBN’s—one for this book and nine others for other books I hoped to eventually write and publish—and they sent the material to the printer they worked through. This printer had no problem with the margins and the book was printed.
I had already copyrighted the material even before I started contacting publishers. I re-established the copyright by providing two printed copies of the finalized book and started selling it. As explained in a previous post, the State of Illinois and I had a disagreement on how I would file and pay the required sales tax. I wanted to do it by mail; the State wanted me to do it over the internet. Since I don’t trust the internet and we couldn’t reach an agreement, I stopped selling the book in Illinois. I stopped July 1st of 2009.
Then, earlier this year, I received a small royalty check from the original publishing company. The one who could not print my book because the margins were wrong! How was it possible for me to receive a check for a book that could not be printed? Turns out it could be because it was.
One afternoon soon thereafter, I googled (actually, binged) “The Black Sword” and there it was “shop for the black sword.” And under that heading, a picture of the front cover of my book.
I clicked the picture and websites were given that were selling my book. None of the websites given was my website. None of the websites were selling my book that I had published. All were selling my book as published by the first publisher who could not print my book because the margins were wrong. How did that happen?
They were selling both a hardcover and a paperback edition and they were selling the paperback edition for a lower price than I am! Now that’s a dilemma! I’m in competition against my own book and my price is being undercut!
I was torn between posting about this discovery or just letting it slide. However, I’ve had some potential buyers in Illinois ask to buy the book. They couldn’t because I can’t sell to Illinois residents without dealing with the State. And I won’t do that!
So, until I move from Illinois, which may be soon, I’ve decided to let anyone interested know about this opportunity. If you’d like to buy my book through the internet, which is the only way an Illinois resident can buy one (I imagine you may order one from a Barnes and Noble store too.), as far as I know, here are some outlets that are selling my book and some prices as of March 18th.
Oh yes, I occasionally buy things from Barnes and Noble although I don’t like to make purchases through the internet. I broke down and bought my own book in a hardcover edition. The book, as far as I can tell, is identical to mine except for information in relation to the publishing company, the spine, and the back cover.
If you’re interested:
The Black Sword: The Secret U.S. Army in Vietnam—available at selected outlets
1) From http://www.amazon.com/
http://www.amazon.com/Black-Sword-Donald-L-Vance/dp/1602666067/ref=sr_1_7_title_0_main?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1300473837&sr=1-7
The Black Sword: The Secret U.S. Army in Vietnam (hardcover)
List Price: $19.99
Price: $14.99 & eligible for FREE Super Saver Shipping on orders over $25.
You Save: $5.00 (25%)
(When I purchased my hardcover copy, the price at Amazon was slightly higher than at Barnes and Noble. The price has been lowered since then so that it is now lower than the Barnes and Noble price.)
http://www.amazon.com/Black-Sword-Donald-L-Vance/dp/1602666059/ref=sr_1_7_title_1_p?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1300473837&sr=1-7
The Black Sword: The Secret U.S. Army in Vietnam (paperback)
List Price: $11.99
Price: $10.19 & eligible for FREE Super Saver Shipping on orders over $25.
You Save: $1.80 (15%)
2) From http://www.barnes&noble.com/
http://search.barnesandnoble.com/Black-Sword/Donald-L-Vance/e/9781602666061/?itm=3
The Black Sword: The Secret U.S. Army in Vietnam (hardcover)
List Price: $19.99
Price: $15.27
(You Save 23%)
Spend $25, get free shipping
http://search.barnesandnoble.com/Black-Sword/Donald-L-Vance/e/9781602666054/?itm=2
The Black Sword: The Secret U.S. Army in Vietnam (paperback)
$11.99 List Price
$9.98 Online Price
(You Save 16%)
Spend $25, get free shipping
3) From: http://www.alibris.com/
http://www.alibris.com/booksearch?qwork=10284870
The Black Sword: The Secret U.S. Army in Vietnam (hardcover)
From:
$13.28
List price: $19.99
You save: $6.71 (34%)
The Black Sword: The Secret U.S. Army in Vietnam (trade paperback)
From:
$7.10
List price: $11.99
You save: $4.89 (41%)
4) From: http://www.promiseangels.com/
http://www.promiseangels.com/donald-l-vance/the-black-sword/SKU/97732
The Black Sword: The Secret U.S. Army in Vietnam (hardcover)
Our Price $14.79
Retail Value $19.99
You Save $5.20 (26%)
http://www.promiseangels.com/donald-l-vance/the-black-sword/SKU/97733
The Black Sword: The Secret U.S. Army in Vietnam (paperback)
Our Price $8.99
Retail Value $11.99
You Save $3.00 (25%)
5) From: http://www.deepershopping.com/
http://www.deepershopping.com/item/donald-l-vance/the-black-sword/97732.html
The Black Sword: The Secret U.S. Army in Vietnam (hardcover)
Our Price $14.79
Retail Value $19.99
You Save $5.20 (26%)
http://www.deepershopping.com/item/donald-l-vance/the-black-sword/97733.html
The Black Sword: The Secret U.S. Army in Vietnam (paperback)
Our Price $9.35
Retail Value $11.99
You Save $2.64 (22%)
posted by Christian Gunslinger at 5:11 AM
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