Intro and Shameless Plugs
The Dark Humor Will Continue Until Morale Improves released in early June and came with a promise: Half of all proceeds from book sales would go to ActBlue (an organization to help democrats get elected and end Cheeto Man’s reign). Today I’m going through how many books I sold so far, breaking down the data a tad—I am something of a scientist after all—and then sending out the first quarter’s donation.
If you haven’t read or listened to The Dark Humor Will Continue Until Morale Improves: 10 Short Stories About Fascism, AI and Corporate F*ckery, good news, it’s still relevant! You can find the book wherever ebooks and paperbacks are sold, and the audiobook is available as a part of a Spotify Premium Membership, or for about $10 everywhere else.
Digital/Paperback Breakdown
Since launch, The Dark Humor sold 33 copies; pretty great for an indie book with very little marketing. The bulk of those came from digital through various platforms:
28 copies * $2.07 royalty per copy = $58.07 royalties
The second, and slightly less profitable source of royalties was paperbacks. I sold 2 paperbacks through Draft2Digital, and then 7 of my own stock. The copies from my own stock are the most profitable and the most fun because it usually involves meeting all you lovely readers in real life (more on that below). But, here’s the breakdown for the Draft2Digital sales:
D2D Paperback Royalties = $1.54 per copy*2 = $3.08 royalties
Of my personal stock, 2 of those copies were to my lovely neighbor and local artist who enjoyed it so much she sent a copy to a friend (thank you, Mindi!). The other 5 were at an incredible event at Elliot Bay Books where I was invited to participate in a panel on dark humor by author, Scott Lambridis (you can buy his new book here).
2 copies at $10 – $5.01 fee to print/ship = $4.99 per Copy = $9.98 in neighbor royalties.
Most importantly, that panel showed me that I still have no idea what to do with my hands when someone takes a picture, so I just give a thumbs up.
Or I make whatever this face is where my neck becomes extra long.
Or I gesticulate mildly while looking a little like a lawn chair that has folded after a windstorm.
The sticky part about those Elliot Bay copies is that I haven’t been paid yet (not in a shady way, don’t worry). They also have some copies of this and my other books on consignment, signed, and for sale in their shop, so you can go get them now! I assume I’ll get paid for those books when my consignment period ends, so there will be a bit of a delay. Such is the life of an indie author.
Audiobook Breakdown
Ok, now for the audiobook in the room—people definitely say that. Audiobooks have a lot of channels they can sell through. I’m surprised to report the top channel for this book has been library reads. Nearly 71 folks have checked this book out from the library since June! That’s a huge number. Even if the royalty rate is low ($0.53 per checkout) I’m still thrilled with that number.
What’s interesting on this chart is the Pool number. That is the money I’ve made from Spotify so far. Spotify pool royalties are an opaque model where you really can’t see much of anything (read more on my history with Spotify audiobooks here).
My rate per hour at the beginning of the program was around $2.64, now it’s closer to $0.14 per hour as the service expands. Now, I’m not sure if the low royalties are a reflection of this book not finding an audience there, or a shrinking market, but either way, they’re lower than I expected.
Still, Audiobook royalties are sitting at $44.19. It’s a fair distance to break even, but I’m still counting it toward the donation because profitability wasn’t the point with this collection.
Calculating Review Rates
Before we get to totals, here is one wild stat I wanted to share with you. Across all channels, this book sold ~122 copies. Currently, it has 7 ratings on Goodreads (all five stars). The reviews also include this gem of a quote:
“…each interaction treats us with raw unbridled emotional content wrapped around a plump 100% comedy center, like a corndog for the soul.”
Redditor Who Listened to the Audiobook
Just incredible. With that count, the book is at a 5.7% review rate, which I’m told is a bit higher than the average, but if you’re this deep in the Substack, I’m hoping you’ll break that statistic. If you have read the collection, please, pop on over to Goodreads and/or wherever you bought it and leave a quick star rating/review. Reviews are the #1 thing you can do to help indie authors; I really appreciate it.
Total Royalties & Donation Amount
Totaling up all the royalties for the books first three months, we have:
Digital Royalties: $38.07
Paperback Royalties: $3.08
Neighbor Royalties: $9.98
Audiobook Royalties: $44.19
Reviews Comparing Book to a Corndog: Priceless
Total: $115.32
Total to Donate: $57.66
Receipt:
That’s all for now! I hope you enjoyed this math-laden post. If you haven’t read the collection, please consider purchasing a copy or listening to the audiobook. It’s funny, it’s frustrating, and it’s a perfect encapsulation of how the world feels to me right now. If you have read it, let me know what your favorite story was in the comments! I’m always curious to see which ones folks gravitated towards. Thanks for reading!
As a bonus for making it this far, here’s a photo of my dog.
Ashton Macaulay 