January 26, 2022: Are You Going to Write a Book?, Part 3

3a) The Journal of Unemployment Studies is listed on AbeBooks, a site that specializes in "used, rare, or out-of-print" books. 

The Journal of Unemployment Studies is not out-of-print, because Lulu titles are Print on Demand, so more can be printed at any time. You could say it's rare, I suppose. 

There are two copies on Abe, one in "Very Good" condition in the US, and one "Brand New" in the UK. The US edition, listed by Goodwill in Hillsboro, OR, costs $10.95, not bad. The UK edition, at Revaluation Books in Exeter, costs an eye-popping $23.10.  Don't buy that UK copy. You can get it brand new on Amazon US, for $14.95, and it will arrive Saturday. Or if you are in the UK, it's only £9.90, and it will arrive Friday. Or I can send you a copy, free.

I didn’t mention the AbeBooks situation before, because I have Feelings, (comma), Mixed about it. I’m ruminating.

Consider how you might feel: Discovering that your ex- put those gorgeous, monogrammed sheets out on Craig’s List, which is both unsavory (used sheets?) and also further evidence that she wants no vestige of you in her world. Or: FB stalking someone and wishing you hadn’t. Or: Seeing the pet you gave to a good home now profiled on a shelter site. (“Sweet, loving, older companion would like to spend his last years with a forever family…”) Or: Seeing your book on the remainder table. Or: Just wondering why anyone would think there was a market for a used copy in the first place.

And then, of course: Whose copy is it? Or was it?

See, most of the time, when I gave a copy of the book to one of my job-hunt-supporters, I would go to that Honor Roll in the back, and I would put an ARROW next to their name, in pen, and then I’d put a little yellow sticky note on that page, visible without even opening the book, and I’d write, “YOU’RE FAMOUS!!!!”

So if I buy the AbeBooks copies, there is an excellent chance I will see the arrow in pen, and know who didn’t keep them, and feel Feelings such as (in ascending order):

US copy scenarios: 

No arrow – Ah, it was probably one of those door prize copies I gave away, when I spoke to networking groups. Person who got it didn’t know me, never wanted it, no problem.

Kerri Jo arrow – Of course! She recently decided that owning books was a climate crime, and posted videos of herself mulching her library. When I think about it, the fact that Kerri Jo put MY book in the Goodwill bag is a high compliment.

Jack arrow – Oh, yeah.That makes sense. I remember hearing that his widow called in all the used book dealers and said, “From priceless first editions down to some real dreck, take it all, or take nothing, so make me an offer.” Good old Jack. Sigh.

Ramesh arrow – Ramesh? RAMESH?!  WHY??? Why would Ramesh get rid of my book????????

UK copy scenario:

Arrow or not - Brand NEW condition?! I probably gave this book to three people in the UK, total, and one of them didn't even crack the spine? And now it's going for $23.10 on AbeBooks in Exeter? You know who lives in Exeter?

All in all, the downside risk to buying the AbeBooks copies outweighs the upside potential. I’m going to leave them on Abe and forget them. By tomorrow, I will have forgotten them. 

Friday at the latest.

Or I’ll just go buy them. Or YOU can buy them but not tell me, a Bonnie-level act of support. Or … you can go BUY THEM BACK, before I find out you got rid of them. Up to you.

You know I'm kidding, right? Also, you have til Friday.

3b) Speaking of Bonnie, I think, if she hadn’t been stealth-buying copies to encourage me - if she’d been able to do her usual award thing - she might have given me “Most Miniaturized!” for the itsy-bitsy print edition.

3c) Marsha wrote to say she has a Nook, and the NookBook edition looks fine! Yay.! I now await a check from Barnes & Noble, though, as previously mentioned, I have never made any agreement with them that I can recall, around offering it as a NookBook. Maybe they’ll throw their crackerjack author-locating team into a massive effort to find me, so they can mail the check! With Amazon and Lulu, I get 38¢ for each download, but who knows what B&N pays?

(Fifteen minutes searching for that “cents” sign, when I could just have written “cents,” or even $0.38.  But I wanted the “cents” sign, just like I wanted a non-cheesy font before. And then I couldn’t remember the keyboard trick, and I was SURE that ¢ would be right there at the top of special characters. It wasn’t. The trick is holding down Ctrl and “/” at the same time, and then typing C.  There’s also a harder way.)

3d) Take note! When you write YOUR book, do not write "To Florence, my BFF! (little heart)" on the flyleaf. Learn from my mistake.

3e) I really don’t think there is a Part 4 coming. But then, I didn’t foresee writing Part 3….