A. Jarrell Hayes

$5 Books! Are You Crazy?

Wed, 16 May 2012 13:25:00 +0000

I often get asked why I sell my paper books for only $5. Usually in the form of "Are you crazy?" or "How do you make any money?"

To answer the first question, yes, I'm crazy--like a fox. (At least I think so.)

To answer the second question, yes, I do make money, just not as much if I priced my books at $10 or $12 or $15 each. But that's fine with me, and here's why.

I self-publish. There is no agent taking a cut from my royalties. I don't hire editors for my books. I didn't pay anyone an enormous fee to publish the book (I learned my lesson from my first book), or to distribute it, or market it. (I have no problem with agents or editors [I do freelance editing myself], but not everyone's path is the same. This is the path I chose; it will not work for everyone.)

I don't do heavy marketing. Not anymore, at least. I typically add $5 - $10 each month to my profile on Project Wonderful, a site where advertisers bid on ad space by the day. I might put in an extra $15 or $20 sporadically for other promotional stuff, like blog features or book tours. Not often, but I'm thinking of doing more in the future. I don't think I've spent $300 in marketing--that's the total for all 12+ my books!

I keep my costs low, thus my profit margin isn't as slim as one would assume selling books for only $5 a piece. I use Createspace, which places my books on Amazon at no extra cost. I consider any books sold on Amazon as extra.

But then people ask "Don't you value your books more? You should price them accordingly to how much they cost to write." Well, for me, writing costs time. I don't believe the saying "time equals money." You can always earn more money, but you can't buy back time. For me, I can't price my books according to the time spent writing them--the time spent is invaluable and cannot be reduced to currency.

So why do I price my books at $5? For the reader. I write fiction. They are, more or less, books for pleasure, or leisure, reading. Sure, I'd like the reader to take away some universal truths from my poems and tales, but they are written for the main purpose of entertainment (expanding the reader's mind and worldview are secondary functions). I sell escapism. Books can be re-read, poems stick to the ribs like good Carolina bar-b-que. I'd rather give the reader the experience at a reasonable price. Because I can.

My books weren't always $5. But changes in self-publishing have afforded me the opportunity to lower my prices. I save through self-publishing. Why not pass those savings on to readers?

Fiction Published: "Four Women"

Sun, 29 Apr 2012 02:45:00 +0000

Greetings and salutations!

My short story "Four Women" has been published in Urbania Magazine! You can read it here:

http://urbaniamag.com/four-women-by-a-jarrell-hayes/

"Four Women" is from my short story collection Popular Television. Its release date is July 1st. You can pre-order copies here. (Pre-orders come with a special gift.)

Thank you for reading!

Words = Life,

A. Jarrell Hayes

Fiction Published: "Occupy Asparagus"

Fri, 20 Apr 2012 04:50:00 +0000

Greetings and salutations!

My flash piece "Occupy Asparagus" is live on The Mugwump Corporation. Hopefully you'll get a few chuckles out of it. Read it here:

http://www.themugwumpcorporation.com/2012/04/occupy-asparagus-guest-post-by-jarrell.html

Words = Life,
A. Jarrell Hayes

Video: The Poets Are Dead? Reading

Thu, 19 Apr 2012 13:20:00 +0000

Greetings and salutations!

I'm delighted to share a video of my featured performace at Last Rites on March 25, 2012. I read from my latest poetry collection The Poets Are Dead? Enjoy!

Special thanks to my co-host Pat King, HI Baltimore Hostel for having the event, the great audience members, and Malaya Love for putting together an amazing video!

Thanks for watching!

Give a poet a pen,
A. Jarrell Hayes

Best of 30th Year Poetry - March 2012

Thu, 19 Apr 2012 13:10:00 +0000

Greetings and salutations!

I'm here to share the "Best of 30th Year Poetry" for March 2012. These are the poems that have gotten the most notes (likes and reblogs) on Tumblr. And the winners are . . . *drum roll*

"Summer Sleep" (6 notes)

"Utopia" (4 notes)

"Personal Problem" (4 notes)

"Friend Zone" (4 notes)

"Burn, Baby" (4 notes)

Thanks for reading!

Give a poet a pen,
A. Jarrell Hayes

Book Release! Stranger Than Speculative Fiction, Vol. 2

Tue, 03 Apr 2012 04:25:00 +0000

Greetings and salutations!

I'm pleased to announce the publication of Stranger Than Speculative Fiction, Vol. 2. It is a collection of eight fantasy, sci-fi, and horror shorts. You can download it for free from Smashwords:

http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/146948

Enjoy!

Words = Life,
A. Jarrell Hayes

30th Year Poetry - Week 1

Sun, 18 Mar 2012 13:45:00 +0000

Greetings and salutations!

My poem-a-day blog 30th Year Poetry is off to a great start. Here are the poems I've written so far:

"Birthdays"

"Death Days"

"No Need For Snow"

"Ice Cream Wasted"

"Utopia"

"Harvest Moon"

"Matchbox Collection"

"Owl's Watching"

If you have a Tumblr account, you can follow the blog. If you don't have a Tumblr account, you can create one or subscribe to the blog's RSS feed.

Thanks for reading!

Give a poet a pen,
A. Jarrell Hayes

Poem Takes Prize!

Tue, 13 Mar 2012 18:10:00 +0000

Greetings and salutations!

My poem "Shaving Cream" recently won 2nd place in the Cash Awards competition held by Lucidity Poetry Journal. It was published in the Winter 2011 issue of the journal.

You can read the poem here:

"Shaving Cream"

Give a poet a pen,
A. Jarrell Hayes

Review! Love Taps: Mynes by Jerome Dickens and JoVonna Rodriguez

Tue, 13 Mar 2012 18:00:00 +0000

Greetings and salutations!

Bold Book Blog has a new review! I review Love Taps: Mynes by Jerome Dickens and JoVonna Rodriguez, a beautiful and inspiring collection of love poems, love emails, and love letters. Read the full review here.

Give a poet a pen,

A. Jarrell Hayes

"A Nice Run: A Short Story" (18+) (NSFW)

Sun, 26 Feb 2012 00:10:00 +0000

Marc had lived a wild life full of partying and sex. When he is involved in a car accident, he reunites with a mysterious shaman from his childhood and begins to question if his life was merely a futile search to find love.

WARNING: This short story contains themes and language that might be inappropriate for children under 18. Adults only. It is also not safe for work (NSFW).

It is free to read and download on Scribid here:

"A Nice Run: A Short Story"

Enjoy!

Words = Life,
A. Jarrell Hayes