So! We now have a chimney. Which is good. Tomorrow, we will have a working chimney, which will be Even Better.
Trooper has been a Hero of the Revolution, making sure he’s with Steve or me, serving as back-up against the Noises and the Strangers. Scrabble and Sprite have taken cover in various spots, and come out cautiously at quiet times, like when the crew takes lunch, or a rest break. Sprite had been sequestered in the bedroom closet, but she vacated when we removed all the Stuff, so one of the guys could get up into the crawlspace/attic (the hatch for same being in the closet ceiling) to finish the joins up properly.
This has all happened despite the rain, which was amazingly heavy this morning when I went out to deposit the April royalty checks and the on-signing money. The royalty statements always make for intriguing reading — I see that Necessity’s Child continues to be an unexpectedly strong seller and that, in general, ebooks tend toward providing half of our income on each book. I’m also. . .pleased to see that our biggest seller, from June – December 2014, was Liaden Universe® Constellation, Volume 2.
The real standout, though?
Carousel Tides, published in November 2010, has earned out. Yes! I got a royalty check! *fist-pump*. And Carousel Sun only has about $1,800 to earn out, so, who knows, I may see another check in the October royalty payment.
Moving back to the construction crew for a moment, and their projected finish date of tomorrow — Steve and I are scheduled to go down to New Hampshire to pick up Belle on — wait for it — Thursday.
Except there’s a big hole in the wall at the end of the hall. By which I mean that there is no wall in the back of the hall, only a view of the new chimney.
We’ve been keeping the cats out of this Interesting Space by placing screens in front of the hole, but we haven’t been leaving them alone with it, either. So, now the questions arise: (1) should we get the sheetrock guy in on Thursday, which means I stay home and Steve drives south, or (2) should we try to get the sheetrock guy on Thursday, find out that he’s busy until the middle of next week (the likeliest scenario), and I stay home to keep the cats from experimenting with the Interesting Space while Steve drives south?
Perplexing questions, indeed.
But, hey! We’ll have a chimney tomorrow, which means also that we’ll be able to turn the furnace on. Hot water will happen! Just…wow.
In the midst of chaos, and noise, and cat trauma, I have been. . .reading, mostly. Almost through Kerry Greenwood’s Devil’s Food, the third? Corinna Chapman novel, and enjoying myself immensely.
Let’s see, what else?
Oh, for those interested in such things, Smart Bitches, Trashy Books has just posted a lovely, thoughtful review of Local Custom. Here’s your link.
Also! Remember that Uncle Hugo’s is taking pre-orders for signed and/or personalized copies of Liaden Universe® Constellation, Volume 3. Here’s your link for instructions, deadlines, and Table of Contents.
. . .and I think that’s all I got.
Is 5 years good, bad or average for earning out?
I can’t tell you that, because! Earn-out hinges on a number of things, including most importantly the size of the advance, the distribution of the book, and whether it has generated “buzz.”
The wisdom of my colleagues is that one never expects to earn out. I hear it said that most books do not earn out. Indeed, the Del Rey editions of Agent, Conflict, and Carpe never earned out; nor did the Ace mass market reprints of the first ten books. Duainfey and Longeye both still owe the House money.
That said, our usual experience with the Liaden books, post-Del Rey, is that they earn out in their first six months — that being as close as we can come, with Baen. With Meisha Merlin, which you’ll recall printed hardcovers to preorder, we always earned out on the preorders.
As a writer who has never written A BOOK this discussion on earning out is fascinating to me. Over the years I’ve written three books worth of articles and have contributed essays to several books but have never written one of my very own (solitary tear of regret falling down cheek).
Congratulations!!!! And good luck with the cats not yet in the hole…
The poodles we had growing up were so curious and helpful ™ that they were a Hazard to Home Improvement. Kids (my brother and I) were usually on Poodle Prevention.