Book Drive Wrap

by Daniel on February 23, 2010 at 9:13 am

So, the Book Drive is officially over.

I’d really like to thank everyone for making it a grand success. Sure, we didn’t conquer the world, but we did go really, really far, and took Steam Crow to some new uncharted waters.

In the spirit of transparency, I’m sharing some business numbers that I don’t usually like to make public. Just remember that the cost of something is not only the physical product, but also the hundreds and hundreds of hours of development.

Here are the Book Drive stats: (As of 2-24-10)

We made 78% 82% of our $5000 goal. ($4153)
Most orders came in the last 6 weeks of the drive.
Nobody took us up on the $5000 deal, though several folks really thought about it.
We had 67 orders with an average of $59.21 per transaction (WOW! This is amazing.)
Actual printing cost: $6100.00 (Next time, the drive will reflect our actual costs.)

Why 82% is not a failure:

It’s bone simple: we’re only $2100 $1947 away from this book being profitable. (Instead of $6100 away…)

That my friends, is a grand thing. We thank you for this.

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What I’ve learned this time (with our 4th book)

Printing in China is cheaper, but there are many assorted fees to get the books here. Heck, it cost me $90 to simply pay for my book. (Wire fees.)

It’s going to be a lot of work to get the orders shipped out. But it’s a priority. I want you to be happy. It will happen soon.

Customs is a little crazy. Customs Agent probably made my life easier.

Planning ahead is not enough. I need to be working on the next book right now, so I have more time to proof. (Thanks Sara!)

Allowing you to choose your support level was epic good. We’re going to do that again. 13 levels was probably a bit much though.

Doing the Book Drive during Xmas was not so helpful. Order were dead in December, but perked back up in January.

Next time, we’re going whole hog. I think that we can raise 100% of the next book. This 82% proved that it’s really achievable.

Some people thought that this Book Drive was a donation drive. I don’t want your donation, I just want your order. I hope that we never have to ask for a handout… it’s not how we roll.

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