Rob's Book ranking

[DRiP_Guy]

Since the world has been long held in waiting for Rob's oft promised second self published book, I thought it might be timely at this juncture to review the "Success" of his first:

Morris Rosenthal: I've seen ranks as low as the mid-three millions for books that have sold a single copy,
...

There's no more true or succinct advice for new authors in any genre than the old adage, "Write what you know." To help those writing and publishing a book, I've taken the liberty of adding a couple of words, "Publish what you know you can sell."

...an average rank of 1,000 to mean you have a seriously successful title,
an average rank of 10,000 to mean your doing pretty good for a book that's no bestseller,
an average rank of 100,000 to mean it's not going to contribute significantly to your income, and
an average rank of 1,000,000 to mean you only need to check a couple times a year...

http://www.fonerbooks.com/surfing.htm

[DRiP_Guy]

And, of course, the historical trajectory:

[arrete]

Whoa!  hocus is in serious trouble.  I'm not sure another book is the answer.  Something like a job would be more productive.  Sad times in Purcellville .

arrete

[DRiP_Guy]

Whoa!  hocus is in serious trouble.  I'm not sure another book is the answer.  Something like a job would be more productive.  Sad times in Purcellville .

arrete

Sad indeed. Brought me to mind of yet another Rob classic:

...the boss's assistant asks employees to pitch in for a group gift... you'd rather not participate. What should you do?

Given his current success, this response is fraught with even more meaning than when originally cited:

Rob Bennett, a career development consultant in Purcellville, Va., said that citing your current personal financial situation was acceptable.

http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.h ... A9639C8B63

[DRiP_Guy]

Given his strategy, and the bursting bubble on home prices combined with high property taxes, I wonder when Bennett kicks into 'sell' mode with his strategy of eatting the shingles, outlined here:

Because he retired early, Bennett withdraws no more than 4 percent of the value of his investments. But if he needs more money, "I allow myself to take up to 2 percent of my [home] equity."

Bennett keeps a running tab on his home's value. He considers this a conservative strategy, because he will only spend 2 percent of equity if his home value keeps climbing more than 2 percent. Moreover, equity represents less than half of his assets. And, he says he may ultimately sell his house and realize some cash gain.

http://www.chicagotribune.com/classifie ... &cset=true


So, what's the Hoco SWR been lately, Rob?

[DRiP_Guy]

The official Hoco-plan, for easy reference:

http://boards.fool.com/Message.asp?mid= ... sort=whole

[DRiP_Guy]

The Hocoplan's essential elements, for those in a hurry:

I make up this difference with a technique I think of as "the personal inflation rate

Magical thinking

I may set up a separate set of books

Illogical methods, that would be illegal to use in a business

I view the book that I am writing as a capital asset.

Illogical methods, that would be illegal to use in a business

I did not want to wait too long to get started with the second career.

Calling it FI/RE when it really never was.

I would have viewed it as a bit of a deprivation to give up vacations altogether. So I arranged things so that, any year in which I earn more than $10,000 (most of them, I hope), there will be money for vacations.

No vacations

At certain levels of income, I could afford to make generous charitable contributions. This is where the money will go if the stash gets high enough

No charitable giving

I hope to acquire a 50 percent stock allocation at levels of overvaluation (not undervaluation) lower than those prevailing today.

Bearish fear leading to speculative fancy

I don't measure risk the way that some others do.

Magical thinking

I don't want my wife to have to live in a house she doesn't like, or my kids to not be able to afford college.

No addition to Villa Loco, and no higher education fund for Rodd or Todd.

I am living a life of less financial risk after retirement than I lived before.

Blind delusion and denial

[Cute Fuzzy Bunny]

And, of course, the historical trajectory:

So...each 'x' is a book sale, right?

[DRiP_Guy]

21 June 2008

Passion Saving the Path to Plentiful Free Time and Soul-satisfying Work (Hardcover)
by Rob Bennett

Sales rank: 2,773,436

Amazon price: $9.99, "Comments: Absolutely brand new, still in shrink wrap!"

What Amazon sales rank means:

Morris Rosenthal: "I've seen ranks as low as the mid-three millions for books that have sold a single copy... Nobody outside of Amazon knows EXACTLY how many copies of a given title are sold in a given time period, and since ranks are relative to each other, it's a constantly moving target. The idea behind my reverse-engineering the ranking system was always to give rough idea of how a title was selling, not an exact number. "



http://www.fonerbooks.com/surfing.htm


This chart clearly is non-linear, but we would be overly polite, generous, and enormously optimistic to say it appears that Rob's book is selling up to one copy per year through this channel (Amazon).

[DRiP_Guy]

I sure hope you don't decide to go through with your original plan, Rob.

You can still get a job as a greeter at Walmart, or as a fry cook at McDonald's, [s]or as a manual laborer.[/s]

Bennett:

What happens if the writing income doesn't come in?

My wife divorces me, takes the kids, I turn to alcohol, and then a life of crime, I get arrested, sent to jail, lose my faith, and shoot myself to end the pain. That's the plan, anyway.

http://boards.fool.com/Message.asp?mid=17248724

[Schroeder]

I sure hope you don't decide to go through with your original plan, Rob.

You can still get a job as a greeter at Walmart, or as a fry cook at McDonald's, [s]or as a manual laborer.[/s]

Bennett:

What happens if the writing income doesn't come in?

My wife divorces me, takes the kids, I turn to alcohol, and then a life of crime, I get arrested, sent to jail, lose my faith, and shoot myself to end the pain. That's the plan, anyway.

http://boards.fool.com/Message.asp?mid=17248724

Am I worried about what happens if the writing income doesn't come in? Nah. Rob's been well taken care of. Thanks to his inheritance.

Schroeder

[ogrecat]

21 June 2008

Passion Saving the Path to Plentiful Free Time and Soul-satisfying Work (Hardcover)
by Rob Bennett

Sales rank: 2,773,436

Amazon price: $9.99, "Comments: Absolutely brand new, still in shrink wrap!"

shrink wrap?

Is that standard in vanity publishing, or is that available at extra cost?

[DRiP_Guy]

shrink wrap?

Is that standard in vanity publishing, or is that available at extra cost?

The garage is pretty humid, so he paid $10.42 per book to have his $9.99 books protected.

Oh, sure it looks pricey on the surface, but Rob figures he can make up for it in volume.

(Using much the same inscrutable logic as his 'redeem-one-shingle-at-a-time' FI/RE financing plan.)

[DRiP_Guy]

I happened to be on Amazon this AM, and I also realized it had been far?too long since we caught up with Rob's book ranking.

In summary? ?He has keep the exact same trajectory in his ranking over the last year! Tremendous result Rob! Great staying power!

Date: 10/19/2011 ?
Ranking: 4,407,187




One can only hope you are able to replicate these kind of results for blockbuster book number two. Rob!


Ground breaking numbers, Rob. Groundbreaking.

Morris Rosenthal: "I've seen ranks as low as the mid-three millions for books that have sold a single copy..

[ataloss]

maybe the long delayed book 2 will sell better  :)