Segun’s Blog
Why I’m selling my book for 50 bucks
I’m not sure exactly how I got to this moment. In fact, if I think about it, it was probably the result of three key moments, and as I sit here thinking…. ‘damn Shegs you’re really going to do this,’ the answer of course, is a blistering YES!
I’m coming to the end of a book project, The White & Gold People. I started writing this book in Feb 2015, I finished the first draft in March 2018, and the second draft in August 2018, a hard 5 months which took it out of me to say the least. I enjoy writing 10 times more than I enjoy editing, maybe because it’s my first full blown novel, but it was a long and humbling process. I’ve been matched with an editor from a friend who she sings praises about, so I trust my manuscript is in good hands and look forward to receiving the first structural edit, which I then have to edit, and give to a proofreader for a final check, after this the book should be finally complete.
All this work, for a measly £12? Nearly four years graft for the cost of a cocktail. Please stop and think about this for a moment.
While we’re on the subject of time, I feel like I’m in good company with other novelists such as Anna Blum, Andre Dubus III, Wally Lamb, and Richard Russo who spend between four and ten years writing a book. Others like Jane Green or Toby Neal spend 6 months. Writing a novel, according to Holly Robinson ‘takes as long you want or need it to take.’
I like to dip my toes into other areas, I’m an IT contractor, have a publishing and fitness company so I admit I do get side-tracked but I know I finish ALL projects that I start eventually, and after this, my fourth book I know it’s part of the process to lose some of that excitement you have in the early stages, like the first 6 months of a relationship when the levels of endorphins and feel good chemicals are sky high, so sometimes I’m not too hard on myself especially if I’m satisfied with the final result.
In my work as a fitness Instructor, I teach group exercise classes like Boxercise, Insanity, etc. I get paid £30 a class, £12 for sports-based classes like Dodgeball. Some days I might have Insanity and Boxfit back to back so that’s £60 for two hours work. I would need to sell 5 books to make that amount, just food for thought. Given the length of time, effort and damn near pain to finish a book, (you’ll know what I mean if you’ve ever written one yourself) I dare to raise the question, is it me or are books heavily undervalued?
My first book Black Egyptians: The African Origins of Ancient Egypt also took me 3 years to write and I sell it for £15.99. It’s 268 pages of gold, containing Ancient Egyptian history, religious comparison, African history, anthropology, archaeogenetics, language comparison etc. I’m proud of it, my company was launched specifically for it and I decided that would be my price. My best friend and I went back and forth after he thought I should sell the book for £7.99. I’ll just leave that one there!
I like to think of myself as something special, lol (you don’t know the things that cross my mind). I call myself a trailblazer, a lightworker, and Indigo child and all sorts of crazy stuff. Maybe I am, maybe I’m not. My numerology forecast says I was born to do it my way and my life will be very unconventional, that I shouldn’t even bother trying to fit in with the crowd because Ill just be wasting my time. I’m a 1 path if you’re interested in that sort of thing. If you know me personally you will probably agree, but after those 3 key moments I decided this was what I was going to do. What were those 3 key moments you may ask?
1) I read a tweet on Malorie Blackmans page last week saying that authors like doctors, teachers and lawyers deserve to be paid for their work, this was a retweet from Michelle Harrison exposing the disgusting email from someone called the Disgruntled Book Thief that calls writers elitist just for wanting to be paid for their work.
2) I reflected on all the time and effort I’d spent writing and thought it’d be good if I could get paid accordingly, after all the time sacrificed, money lost from pursing other things such as prestigious I.T contracts and how much of a shame it’ll be to make little or no money from my book.
3) I remember an email from someone that your book could give you financial freedom, and began to think of all the ways that I could do this.
I’m not here to give you a sob story, I’ve happily chosen to write and do all the other things in my life but upon reflection, thought, and seeds planted by the likes of Michelle Harrison and Malorie Blackman I cannot help to think how writers and their books are heavily undervalued.
I’m a writer who would very much love to do this full time. I have a list of 10 plus books that I would like to write. I have a publishing company, I help to publish other writers’ books and I’m working on achieving this dream of becoming a full time writer/entrepreneur.
Some books on Waterstones are priced as little as £5.99. Most authors receive only 6-10% of royalties from each book, the rest goes into print costs, the agent and/or publisher, and a wholesale price with the retailer/distributor depending on the income stream. So a writer may get as little as 0.50p per book, certainly less than a pound in most cases. Please stop and think about this for a moment.
A book priced slightly higher at £10-12 is the same price as an average meal. What you scoff down in twenty to thirty minutes is the same price as a product which has taken years and tumultuous amounts of effort. I’ve already mentioned that I get £30 for a one-hour exercise class, the cost fo two books and couple of pounds left over (£6 to be exact). Driving Instructors get around £25 an hour and my jobs in IT averages around £25 an hour. I know from business, that people pay for the value of something. A homeowner doesn’t mind spending a couple of hundred pounds for a plumber to come and fix a broken pipe out of hours that can potentially flood the house. The potential damage, repairs and general disturbance that could arise from not getting it fixed quickly are far worth the value of paying a premium price.
From a reader’s point of view, let’s say it takes anything from a week to a month to read a book. That is people with lives, jobs, families, children, etc. A typical English reader goes through 200–250 words a minute. At 200 words a minute, that is 450–502 minutes, for a 300-page book at 90-105000 words so between 5 1/2 and 6 1/2 hours. The quickest it’ll take me to finish a boo is a about two weeks if I set my mind to it and ignore other things. But generally, I’d finish a book in a few months after starting and stopping.
I like to think that I’m a good writer, that I have some skill and some talent, that I’m able to tell a story and create dialogue, action and images in your head that inspire and move you, if not enthral and captivate you. Of course, that is for you the reader to decide. I like to think that since putting pen to paper or (button to MS Word) since 2009 I’ve improved my writing skills and on the way to mastering my craft. I won several awards at school for writing stories in English class but had no idea this would be a career for me. A writer and a book is a double coincidence of wants. Writing is as much a joy for the reader as it is for the writer, it allows the writer a chance to express themselves, to explore and is a journey of self-discovery. I don’t think there are many ways to truly understand a person than to read their book or watch their film. It shows the depths of their mind, the things that are important to them, how they process things and the decisions they would make in certain circumstances.
I do not write for money, I write for love first and for money second. To do something for years with no pay, and no guarantee of pay, I can’t do anything more to convince you. But after all is said and done, as a businessman when you do have that finished product sitting in front of you, it’s my job to sell and maximise it.
I’d like you to stop and think about some of your favourite books. Books that you couldn’t put down, books that connected with you on a spiritual level, that changed your life, that took you into magical words and taught you about life and yourself. Wasn’t that worth more than 7.99. How do you feel that you, the person who loved the book so much only contributed between 5p0 to £1 to the author. That doesn’t fit well with me.
If we compare a book to other products in the entertainment industry, the price of a movie in a cinema or movie theatre for the Americans is £9 for an adult, new computer games sell on average at £49.99 and can go up to £85 for premium editions. A good seat at a concert of your favourite musician will cost £50 to £75, sometimes more if they’re an A list musician.
In the writing world the book is our stage, and very few authors even tap into appearances, book signings, radio e.t.c like they’re supposed to. So in reality the sale of each book should be heavily prioritised, ensuring the maximum price that covers both the author for their talent and dedication and the reader for the length of time and joy that is gained from reading it.
I’m not here to charge people unfairly, or moan about the hard lives of authors, I’m not here to start a revolution or have everyone agree with me. What I am here to do is raise a point, paint a picture, give you something to think about, share information, make a stand and stand by it. It is evident that most authors make little or next to no money for their books and for the length of time it takes us to write and the value we bring to the world, I for one value my writing skills and what I have to bring to the table. Its a pretty steep price for an unknown writer such as myself but I literally can’t think of doing it any other way.
The White and Gold people will be published on or around the 15th October and will be selling at £50 via Akasha Publishing Ltd.
Author’s Note
Hi guys, here is a short authors note. I wanted to share my experiences of writing the dress and my thoughts on what it means to me, in relation to the world and current events. As taken from the back of the book!
I don’t know about you guys, but I thought ‘the dress’ was absolutely amazing! After it died down, I thought how great it would be if there was a continuation of this phenomenal event, and how this was something the world needed to witness.
I had the idea to write it the day it happened, and made a great start, but with life and other responsibilities, I lost my focus. I truly wanted to make a remarkable story inspired by the dress, to give it the justice it deserved, and somehow, I knew I was the one chosen to tell the story. This book was inspired by my love of comics, anime, and movies, such as X-Men, Heroes and superhero movies. I have spent the last three years chugging it out, slowly but surely, and perfecting it to the best of my ability. The time has now come for the story to be told.
The dress was one of those moments that reminded us of our differences, our mortality and made us question our reality. We live in promising but uncertain times; the world is changing probably at a faster rate than ever in history. We have the Internet of Things, AI, the 4th density, the fourth industrial revolution, the Age of Aquarius, gender wars, and a seemingly global awakening taking place. Let’s embrace change, but let’s do it the right way, with the right principles and guidelines to follow.
I believe the world governments should completely overhaul their laws and policies, (within reason) to create a free and more loving world. We have the correct guidelines to follow through logic alone and the Lemurian Principles. We are not slaves to governments and corporations, we are incredible, sentient beings, and our world quite frankly is a prison. The purpose of life is to live, to explore and to fulfil our potential. As an introduction, I advocate for a three-day, 21 hour working week, tougher crimes for criminals of the worst kind, and more freedom in the world. It is up to us as humans, and a species to build this new and free world so we and our descendants can live like they are supposed to, free!
I hope we can live in a world where we accept each other’s differences, talents and shortcomings. I look forward to how the human race will grow and eventually join the rest of the Intergalactic federation.
Make sure you read the sequel, ‘The White & Gold People: Part II’, the story continues! I hope you enjoyed it. Please leave a review on Amazon and share with your network. I leave you with love and light.
“My name is Segun Starchild, and I am a White and Gold Person!”
Extended Trailer Voice-over Script
Hi guys, I’m excited to have just published the Extended Video Trailer for The White & Gold People online. Here is the voiceover script for those who love a good read. 🙂
If you liked the video please like, comment and subscribe to the channel and support my crowdfunding campaign on Indiegogo.
The dress was this craaaazzy, unpredictable, one in a million-type event that defied reality. The likes of which we have NEVER seen before. I mean, to see with your own two eyes, a dress in one set of colours, white and gold, and have someone tell you no, actually it’s blue and black, that’s insane! We’re aware of optical illusions, for example the chess board with two squares that looks like different shades of grey but is actually the same colour and you know this because if you draw a connecting bar between them you can see it’s the same colour, but something like the dress was unheard of and it literally divided the planet.
After it made the rounds through social media, I didn’t want it to end, I loved it. I have a vivid imagination, I’m into sci-fi and conspiracy theories, so I asked myself the question ‘what if there was more to the dress than it seems?’ What if in some alternate reality the dress was a precursor to a much bigger event? And then I saw a quote from the talk show host Ellen and that was it. I was compelled to create this alternate reality in a book, named, ‘The White & Gold People.’ I know some people are going to hate me for bringing it back. You finally thought you were free from the madness that was the dress debacle but I think deep down there’s a part of us that wants to explore this strange phenomenon in more detail.
We know that the dress was actually blue and black, and neuroscientists have explained the reason why we saw the dress in different colours was due to whether our brains perceived it to be lit in a shadow or artificial light. If you saw the dress in blue and black you were totally right, your eyes were not deceiving you, it was in fact blue and black. But what if you saw it in white and gold? In a technical sense you were wrong, it was blue and black but on a higher level, on a spiritual level you weren’t wrong, you were gifted!
And that was the premise of the book. There are people like entrepreneurs, sports coaches and talent scouts that have the ability to see opportunity and potential in things and people where no one else does. In the same light, the White and Gold people, they have the ability to see past reality, they can see into another dimension, they can see with their mystical third eye. In the book the dress is the first stage of a rise in consciousness, a move into the 4th dimension. The White and Gold People are evolving into a new species with superhuman abilities and higher intelligence that I call ‘homo pas horáō’ (all seeing man), while unfortunately the Blue and black people literally stay the same. They have to watch their friends, lovers, family and enemies fly, teleport, see into other realms, become stronger, faster and smarter while they remain exactly the same. The book deals with the contrast between the two groups and focuses on their relationship.
Whatever the reasons behind why the dress kicked off this evolutionary shift, we have one very clear and finite outcome, two different groups of people who not only see differently but are physically and spiritually miles apart. We’re on social media trying to connect with people who look like us and share the same values and share the same beliefs as us, but there will always be people and groups who no matter what we say, no matter what we do can never see things from our point of view. And that is why wars start, that is why families are divided, that is why civilisations fall. The history of the world is one of war and conflict over race, religion, freedom, class, gender, money and resources. So what will happen between our two groups? Will the White and Gold and the Blue and black people be able to get along and live in peace or will they clash. Find out only in ‘The White and Gold People,’ by Segun Starchild. OUT NOW ON ALL EBOOK FORMATS!
Hi my name is Segun Starchild. And I hoped you’ve enjoyed my promotional video. If you are interested in reading this book, you can order your copy now on Ebook. I would like your help to support this project by pre-ordering your copy of the White and Gold People. I’m holding pre-sales to fund the marketing and production of the book into on paperback and hardback, so clink on the links below to order. You can also get cool t-shirts and other accessories from for yourself or a friend. Thanks for watching,