Things You Recently Bought or Got, Redux

[CatrionaGrace]

I know you're a professional writer an' all, but I'm sorry to tell you I buy all my books second hand, with very rare exceptions that didn't coincide with possession of a gift card for a bookshop. I'll keep you in mind whenever I get another.

Being a professional writer has nothin' to do with my book buying habits. I check out most of my books from the library. A book certificate allows flights of fancy to take precedence over practicality: a third illustrated edition of The Secret Garden, a taxonomy of lavender, and a coffee table book of Klimt prints came into my life thanks to book certificates.

 

[Rigor Mortis]

Being a professional writer has nothin' to do with my book buying habits.

I meant it more that professional writers don't get royalties from second-hand buyers like me. I have indulged in new buys for books that never appear in the previously loved department but most everything eventually ends up on someone's donation pile.

 

[CatrionaGrace]

I meant it more that professional writers don't get royalties from second-hand buyers like me. I have indulged in new buys for books that never appear in the previously loved department but most everything eventually ends up on someone's donation pile.

I figured that's what you meant, but I'm not ego-ridden enough to think readers exist to enrich me. Once upon a time I met a writer who hated libraries because people could check out her books without paying her for the privilege. She was a wee bit cracked on the subject. She regarded library patrons as literary hobos and thought libraries should have to pay royalties every time someone checked a book out.

She wrote nonfiction. I wonder where she did her research.

 

[Set2Stun]

@JT Woody can speak more on this of course, but writers do actually receive revenues from having their books in libraries! There's a few different ways, I believe.

 

[CatrionaGrace]

@JT Woody can speak more on this of course, but writers do actually receive revenues from having their books in libraries! There's a few different ways, I believe.

She wanted a pay per view.

 

[Tallyfire]

I treated myself to a Pokémon advent calendar. Sixteen little figurines — I love it so far! I bet Kid Me never would have expected Adult Me would be this cool.

 

[JT Woody]

@JT Woody can speak more on this of course, but writers do actually receive revenues from having their books in libraries! There's a few different ways, I believe.

Libraries pay a subscription for digital materials. Like Libby and Hoopla for example. The rate is higher for big publishers and big ticket authors. Thats why, if you are a libby user and all the digital books for a certain title or author is checked out, its possibly because the price is higher for those (i was once 164 in line for a book that hd 5 copies). The author gets paid by the number of checkouts and renews the book gets. [EDIT TO ADD: ive had patrons complain "why doni have to wait in line" and "how is this ebook checked out?? Its an ebook!"... its because we can only afford a certain amoint of digital copies because the price is hefty!]

For print.... its been a while since i've done print ordering. But we have a subscription to Ingram now because of the downfall of Baker & Taylor. We get library discounts, but i think we still pay higher. Especially for the big publishers and big authors.

 

[JT Woody]

Hoopla also added an indie author account where self pubbers can list their books on Hoopla for libraries to see and purchase

 

[CatrionaGrace]

Digital books: someone told me she had my book checked out on digital and it disappeared right in the middle of the denouement. She called the library to express indignation and they renewed what ever it was they needed to renew so she could finish the book.

Point of satisfaction: I always check the catalog when I go to the library. The book was released in March. Last week was the first time the hard copy was back on the shelves, and the digital copies have always been checked out.

 

[JT Woody]

Yeah, reader trends also dictate what formats we get. We had your book as an ebook before we had it as print, and yeah, they were checked out!

 

[Homer Potvin]

A new washer and dryer. Finally. First set wouldn't fit through the basement door (28"). Second set, 27" barely fit after removing the door and molding. Now I have to put the door back together. Hold my beer.

 

[Catrin Lewis]

Hoopla also added an indie author account where self pubbers can list their books on Hoopla for libraries to see and purchase

Oh, really! I'll have to look into that. We should all look into that.

 

[Catrin Lewis]

Just ordered a 16 GB RAM kit for my ancient Windows 7 laptop. Just in time, maybe, because apparently they don't make the kind I need anymore.

Hopefully--- hopefully--- maxing out the RAM on the ThinkPad will give it a few more months of effective life. If I had to replace what I have on this tablet, it'd run me north of $1,300. And I'd be stuck with Windows 10, or worse, Windows 11.

 

[Set2Stun]

Good gravy, Windows 7? Hope that one is kept offline. No security updates in 6 years now. Windows 11 didn't take me too long to get used to. The worst one was Windows 8. Ew. The main differences now are with the settings menus. You can still use the old Control Panel, though. And instead of "Computer" or "My Computer" for your file directory, you just search for "file" and use "File Explorer" instead.

Regarding Hoopla, you can get your books on there easy peasy using Draft2Digital (for free). A couple weeks after I added my book there, I now see in the google results for my title a library in Connecticut. That's fun.

Only issue I ran into is that for print versions, you have to "transfer" the ISBN from where you first published to them. It's the same thing with IngramSparks. I don't really understand it as I got my own ISBNs and then used them with Amazon first. I'm not worried about it though - it still let me distribute my ebook on Draft2Digital and that's good enough for me.

 

[Rad Scribbler]

Just bought a 12 string electro-acoustic guitar. As a guitar player you can never have too many guitars. I've had it nearly 2 weeks now. Plugged it in to the amp and it sounds great

 

[Homer Potvin]

Just bought a 12 string electro-acoustic guitar. As a guitar player you can never have too many guitars. I've had it nearly 2 weeks now. Plugged it in to the amp and it sounds great

Nice! And, yep, I have 10 and that still isn't enough. I had a Fender 12 string acoustic back in the day. I used to tune the secondary strings into thirds instead of octaves/unisons. Interesting sound, but not terribly useful. It ended up cracking all the way down the back beyond the point of repair... so I smashed it and lit it on fire!

 

[CatrionaGrace]

I have no idea how many musical instruments we have around this place. I just gave the child sized guitar to my stepgrandson, who is a guitarist, for his son. I bought it at a flea mart at the end of the day for $15, and it's a good little instrument. My favorite guitar was my Contessa 12 string. I darn near played the varnish off that thing, but haven't touched it for years now.

 

[Homer Potvin]

I have no idea how many musical instruments we have around this place. I just gave the child sized guitar to my stepgrandson, who is a guitarist, for his son. I bought it at a flea mart at the end of the day for $15, and it's a good little instrument. My favorite guitar was my Contessa 12 string. I darn near played the varnish off that thing, but haven't touched it for years now.

I might grab another 12 if one comes my way. I'm not much of a strummer though, and there are no open strings in jazz so it kind of defeats the purpose.

 

[CatrionaGrace]

When I was around thirteen, I started collecting Appalachian ballads and Civil War era music. I also liked country-western. That was considered weird in California in the late sixties and early seventies, so I occasionally threw in stuff that was more familiar thanks to Joan Baez.

 

[Set2Stun]

Ooh, instrument talk. The first guitar I bought is a (Mexican) Fender Stratocaster, cream in colour. Looks exactly like the American one Wayne covets in Wayne's World. I looked up the serial number a while ago and iirc it was manufactured in 1992 or thereabouts. My second is an acoustic Hondo from the early to mid-80s. Used that one to busk while backpacking in between jobs. And the third is a beautiful Lake Placid Blue American Stratocaster, just a couple years old, bought brand new. I need to get back into playing guitar more.

I've also got a full drum kit that I obviously can't use in my apartment, but can't bear to get rid of. And a ukulele I suck at, and a keyboard that I gave up trying to learn. I still have the first electric bass, but I should just toss it. The E string rattles real bad, and it wouldn't be worth repairing at this point. I still have all the amps and speakers from back in the day. In theory I could put on a rock show with all the equipment here.