Most of my short fiction I sell for a fixed amount, which varies depending on the market (magazine, anthology, etc.). Very rarely do I sell a short story for royalties. So it’s nearly always a surprise when I get a royalty check for one of them.
They’re never large. Forget living on them, I couldn’t buy a celebratory drink on them! But if you take the attitude that once a quarter you might find a five-dollar bill in the laundry, it’s a pleasant repeating surprise.
You know those LA bars that offer a free drink if you show a residuals check under a certain trivial amount? I wonder if they accept royalty checks, too?
But sometimes writers can do fun things with the money we make. Sometimes really good things. Tune in tomorrow to find out where my preorder sales are going. Hint: I’ll be more than 140% in the red for every book sold, but it’s worth it.
