Nords' book ...

[Nords]

One more book this week.

Funny-- when Amazon's Author Central claims that four or more books have sold that week, I'm more than happy to believe they got it right. Or within their usual correction factor of 8-10x.

But when they report two or fewer books sold, I question their accuracy even more than the usual correction factor...

 

[Greg V]

One more book this week.

Funny-- when Amazon's Author Central claims that four or more books have sold that week, I'm more than happy to believe they got it right. Or within their usual correction factor of 8-10x.

But when they report two or fewer books sold, I question their accuracy even more than the usual correction factor...

I bought the Nook version a couple of weeks ago. It was an enjoyable and useful read. I retire from both my military and civilian jobs in a couple of months (I'm an Air Reserve Technician, so I have both roles as part of my job) so a broad range of reference books helps as I will live under multiple retirement systems.

 

[ejw93]

Nords -

Just read your recent blog post on my google reader...

To clarify, I agree that the TSP is a great 401k plan- you effectively get 10% of your gross salary in your 401k if you simply defer 5% of your salary. I am participating in the TSP (maxing out the match, plus a bit more) and am undecided if I will go for the Roth option when it is finally available in the Fall (combined Fed and CA state income tax is ~35%).

As for the IRS 'active participant' rules, I made a bit of an oversimplification. 1st, all Federal employees are considered 'active participants' in a 401k-type plan, since TSP provides all FERS employees with 1% 'automatic agency contributions' gratis.

2nd, 'Active participants' are not absolutely shut out of contributing to an individual IRA, but it's pretty darn close. MFJ phaseout for IRA deductibility starts at $92k. If your MFJ income is less than $92K to begin with, you're barely in to the 25% bracket, so Roth contributions might be a better idea anyway.

 

[Nords]

One more book logged by Amazon's Author Central, and that brings the count through the end of last month.

Amazon's November-April total is 65 copies, the same as their sales total from June-October 2011. Of course during that first period Impact Publications actually sold 605 copies, so hopefully the ratio of actual:Amazon sales is at least that high for this period. I'll know the final Nov-Apr numbers in July when we get the next royalty check.

One more book was donated to the College of Dupage Library in Glen Ellyn, IL. Thanks! If you're stationed at Naval Training Center Great Lakes, maybe your local library could request that copy through an inter-library loan. (Is there another military base near Glen Ellyn?) The other 29 libraries reported to WorldCat.org are at The military guide to financial independence & retirement (Book, 2011) [WorldCat.org], but I know that WorldCat hasn't been told about the copies in the Hawaii State Library. There are probably many more Mainland libraries that have a copy of the book, too, so it's worth checking your local library first.

I've finished recording Amazon's weekly reports in this thread. I'll read feedback & answer questions here, of course, but otherwise my next post in this thread will be in July when I get the actual semi-annual sales data.

I don't read every thread on the board, but I've subscribed to this one and I should be notified when new posts go up. Like the other posts in this thread, please let us hear your feedback and your stories for the second edition. If you don't want to put up a public post, you can contact me by PM or e-mail.

And thanks again to everyone who's bought the book and read the blog!

 

[Tekward]

I just shared the Amazon book link with my three CG daughters.

 

[Nords]

I just shared the Amazon book link with my three CG daughters.

Thanks, and the book could use more USCG stories...

 

[Nords]

Impact Publications had problems with their inventory software, and some of you have heard the wrong numbers from me, but here's the correct data.

Between November 2011 and April 2012, 232 copies of the book were sold along with another 35 Kindle editions. 232 pocket guides were also sold.

Total sales (June 2011-April 2012) are now 831 books, 41 Kindle editions, and 3161 pocket guides.

Some of the earlier royalty payments were held in reserve last time, and that was returned with this payment. So I received a check for $524.59, which will be transferred to my Fidelity Charitable Gift Fund account. Half of that will be donated to the Wounded Warrior Project and half will be donated to Fisher House. I make the donations "In honor of the contributors to the book "The Military Guide to Financial Independence and Retirement". Please use this contribution where it's needed most. See The-Military-Guide.com or e-mail NordsNords@Gmail.com." I just learned that a USNA classmate is VP Ops for Fisher House, so I'll reach out to him as well.

The publisher says that this year all of his sales have fallen off a cliff. The military is drawing down and is concerned about sequestration. Family support centers have not received their full FY12 funding and they aren't buying many books... mostly cheap "military to civilian" transition guides. The profitable sector of Impact right now is the "ex-offender re-entry" catalog... for prison convicts who are being released.

The military exchanges have also clamped down on their bookshelves, which continue to shrink and to be hidden in the corners. They're now only purchasing "packages" of titles, which should start in October. One of the reasons I went with a traditional publisher is for access to the military exchanges-- and over a year after the book's in print, it might finally happen.

"Civilian" booksellers are equally terrified-- in their case by the shift to digital products. They're sticking with best-sellers and serial authors. First-time authors don't get a chance unless they make the New York Times.

I asked whether the book sales were a sine wave or an exponential decay. He thinks it's a sine wave. The publisher's print run was 5000 copies, so he hopes sales will pick up in 2013. He feels that the book is "evergreen" and only needs an update every 2-3 years.

In the meantime we've agreed that I should publish individual chapters as eBooks and sell them through the website. I'm writing the first one now (insurance) and I'll start the sales in November after taking the blog out to its own host. Subsequent chapters will collect the blog posts and the reader stories for more eBook chapters.

Let me know if you have a specific item you'd like to see in the table of contents!

 

[xmanz3]

Nords!

Congrats and job well done! I didnt know you wrote a book, I'm definitely buying a copy.

 

[Nords]

Nords!
Congrats and job well done! I didnt know you wrote a book, I'm definitely buying a copy.

Thanks!

Take a look at the blog when you have a chance (see my profile "About me" for the URL), and post an update here!

 

[Stanley]

Is Nords OK? I noticed a big decline in his messages, or is it just my imagination?
He is probably spending his time surfing the waves rather than surfing the internet. That is a wise choice.

 

[arebelspy]

Is Nords OK? I noticed a big decline in his messages, or is it just my imagination?
He is probably spending his time surfing the waves rather than surfing the internet. That is a wise choice.

I've seen him around the net recently (but he did post about some issues with his ISP), and I believe he's doing fine. His latest blog post was two days ago.

 

[HawkeyeNFO]

Seen him on MMM (with the above poster) lately, and also on his own blog.

 

[Nords]

Is Nords OK? I noticed a big decline in his messages, or is it just my imagination?
He is probably spending his time surfing the waves rather than surfing the internet. That is a wise choice.

Winter surf has been excellent. I'm spending my time where it has the most value to me.

I'm spending my writing time on the blog, an eBook draft, and related social media-- Facebook, Twitter, & Linkedin groups now, eventually a couple of other websites down the road. Reader comments/e-mail are up significantly: 1-2 hours/day just for them. I've also been collaborating/mentoring with other personal finance bloggers (especially on Facebook's FINCON group). At least 80% of all that eventually turns into another blog post (I have over a dozen of them in draft) but the effort takes time which used to be spent here. Luckily it's very rewarding.

Of the time I spend with the friends I've made from this board, most of that is the blog, Facebook, & e-mail. If you have a military personal finance question for me and the readers then ask it there. I've collected a number of interesting military-friendly and Hawaii-related feeds on the blog's Facebook page, too. Let me know if you have a military Facebook page that I should add to the mix.

I'll eventually finish off a couple of my threads here, but I'll be doing most of my writing where I have the most control over it. I see I have a few PMs to catch up on-- I'll answer those today.

I'm still posting to my blog on Mondays & Thursdays. "Guest Post Wednesday" is for military servicemembers, veterans, and their families-- if you have advice or stories to share, please send them to me! You can write under your own byline or anonymously (as a number of you already have!). You can write in a post format if you want, or just PM/e-mail me a couple paragraphs and let me do the HTML. The "writing" part is what counts; the blogging is only formatting.

I'll run guest posts from military-friendly businesses, too-- for a sponsorship fee. If you're trying to reach out to the military and their families then take a look at the blog's advertising guidelines.

I've seen him around the net recently (but he did post about some issues with his ISP), and I believe he's doing fine. His latest blog post was two days ago.

Seen him on MMM (with the above poster) lately, and also on his own blog.

MrMoneyMustache.com reminds me of the early days of Early-Retirement.org, only with more readers and better backlinks. Good moderators over there, too!

Hawaiian Telcom got their assets kicked by Mainland DNS changes, and then [-]finger-pointed & argued[/-] read me their customer "service" scripts instead of fixing their ragged gear. Right before "Military Saves Week", too. But I can see the Bluehost server again, and I finally have tomorrow's post loaded.

 

[jon-nyc]

Holy cow, sounds like you got a job,

 

[Sarah in SC]

Holy cow, sounds like you got a job,

Wow, that's for sure! I've got a real job and don't work as hard as Nords! Hope you at least get vacation time every now and then as a break from being retired!

And thanks about us moderators here and at mmm. Nice to be appreciated, especially since you've put in your mod time here just like us and weathered the storms a time or two.

Best wishes on the blog and books, and on seeing that grown up daughter launch her post college life!

 

[Stanley]

Nords has an amazing website. Even non military folks can learn a lot from it. I am constantly amazed at the wealth of knowledge we have on this site.

 

[Nords]

I sold The-Military-Guide.com, and I'm still writing for it.

More precisely, I sold the blog's revenue stream to a buyer who's taking over the blog's management while I continue to write. We agreed that I'd stick around for a three-year earnout, and I'm going to keep marketing the book and pocket guide and new eBooks on the site.

The buyer is donating the purchase price directly to Wounded Warrior Project. On the next three anniversaries of the sale (as I meet the terms of the earnout) he'll make three more (smaller) donations to WWP.

I'll also keep sending all the book royalties to WWP and Fisher House.

From the reader perspective, nothing changes (except the theme & layout). From my perspective, I offloaded a burden to an experienced entrepreneur & marketer who can grow the blog better than I ever would. I also exchanged the future value of a stream of charity donations for a lump sum. From the buyer's perspective, he's using his skills to build an income for his own military retirement. The military charity gets a big win now, but he'll realize his big win as he grows the blog and its revenues.

We're recruiting more guest posters and contributors, so c'mon over to share your advice & stories!

More details about the sale and the buyer are at this announcement:
http://the-military-guide.com/2013/08/19/under-new-management/

 

[arebelspy]

Thanks for being up front about it. Some other sites that sold hid the fact and beat around the bush and let the site decline under the new management. I'm glad you found a buyer that seems to fit well, rather than a corporate one that just wants to suck it dry. Congrats!

 

[braumeister]

Oh, good grief!
I suppose this means we'll be seeing more of you here, doesn't it?

 

[omni550]

Congrats. Sounds like a win-win for all involved.

Looking forward to seeing more posts from you here, Nords.

omni

 

[Nords]

Thanks for being up front about it. Some other sites that sold hid the fact and beat around the bush and let the site decline under the new management. I'm glad you found a buyer that seems to fit well, rather than a corporate one that just wants to suck it dry. Congrats!

We're in the "try before buy" phase until the end of September. If he runs into a show-stopper (or even just has a change in priorities) then he can back away. We want both sides to be happy before he starts donating to Wounded Warrior Project, because I don't think they give refunds.

I've had run-ins with a couple of other bloggers about transparency and credibility, so I want to do this right. I'll let the buyer share the sale price when he's ready, but the number brings a smile to my face. I think the three-year earnout eases his content concerns, too. Everything else about the sale is open for discussion. If I haven't mentioned something, please ask me about it.

I can see myself putting a few more years into this, but by 2017 I'll be 57 years old and retired for 15 years. The median age of the military is about 22 years, so it'll be time to complete my turnover and stand relieved.

You servicemembers & veterans who've always wanted to try blogging, but aren't interested in the hassles of running a blog: now's your chance to write for us! There's no better place to learn.

Oh, good grief!
I suppose this means we'll be seeing more of you here, doesn't it?

Congrats. Sounds like a win-win for all involved.
Looking forward to seeing more posts from you here, Nords.
omni

Thanks, but, um, not so much. Forums get much less of my time than they used to.

I was spending 30-60 minutes a day tweaking the blog with all of the good ideas that clutter up a to-do list. That's worth the effort if you're trying to boost your income, and it literally pays off, but it seems kinda pointless when you're already FI. I also need to learn how to dial back my testosterone-poisoned hypercompetitive urges, too. Curtez is going to run with the blog's potential and turn it into a cash cow, and I'll be enjoying the show from the sidelines.

In the meantime I'll be spending my new free time on an eBook about military insurance decisions: SGLI, VGLI, CRSC, SBP, RCSBP, TRS, TFL, FLTCIP, and even DIC. It's not just another acronym decoder but rather a guide to the issues and pitfalls surrounding the various choices. I can sell the eBook for $3-$4 (through the blog) and later add that material to the 2nd edition of The Military Guide.

Just like the book & pocket guide, all of my eBook revenues will go to military charities. I'm seeking contributors who want to share their advice & stories, and I can use proofreaders for the draft(s), too. If you contribute to the project then you get a vote on which military charities get the income. Impact Publications is pretty generous with their royalties but eBooks have the potential to yield a lot more revenue.

It's possible that I might indulge myself in a little more surfing, too...

 

[Dreamer]

Sounds like a win-win situation. It is great that you come up with ways to donate money to good charities. I hope to see you a little more often on here too, but can understand you wanting to surf more!